informative vs explanatory writing definition

📚 Understanding Informative vs. Explanatory Writing

Informative and explanatory writing both aim to convey knowledge to the reader, but they approach the task with slightly different focuses. Think of it this way: informative writing presents facts, while explanatory writing breaks down how or why those facts are significant.

🎯 Objectives

• 🔍 Distinguish between informative and explanatory writing.
• 📝 Identify key characteristics of each type of writing.
• 🧪 Apply these concepts to examples within Chemistry.

🧪 Materials

• 🔬 Excerpt from a Chemistry textbook (informative).
• 💡 Article explaining a chemical process (explanatory).
• 📊 Worksheet with examples of each type of writing.

🔥 Warm-up (5 mins)

🤔 Think-Pair-Share: What's the difference between stating a fact and explaining a concept?
• ✍️ Write down a fact about water ($H_2O$). Then, write a sentence explaining why water is important for chemical reactions.

👨‍🏫 Main Instruction

Informative Writing:

• 📰 Focuses on presenting factual information.
• 📚 Aims to educate the reader on a specific topic.
• 📊 Often uses data, statistics, and direct observations.
• 🧪 Example in Chemistry: "The atomic number of oxygen is 8."

Explanatory Writing:

• 💡 Focuses on explaining a process, concept, or idea.
• 🧠 Aims to clarify how or why something works.
• 📝 Often uses analysis, interpretation, and cause-and-effect reasoning.
• 🌡️ Example in Chemistry: "Oxygen's electronegativity is high, causing it to readily form bonds with other elements, explaining its role in oxidation reactions."

📝 Assessment

Instructions: Read each passage and identify whether it is primarily informative or explanatory.

1. Passage 1: "The molar mass of sodium chloride (NaCl) is 58.44 g/mol."
2. Passage 2: "Titration is a technique used to determine the concentration of a solution by reacting it with a solution of known concentration. An indicator is used to signal the endpoint of the reaction."
3. Passage 3: "Acids have a pH less than 7, while bases have a pH greater than 7."
4. Passage 4: "Le Chatelier's principle states that if a change of condition is applied to a system in equilibrium, the system will shift in a direction that relieves the stress. For example, increasing the temperature of an endothermic reaction will shift the equilibrium towards the products."
5. Passage 5: "The chemical formula for glucose is $C_6H_{12}O_6$."

Answer Key:

1. Informative
2. Explanatory
3. Informative
4. Explanatory
5. Informative