12 Explanations

Almost done! This is the last part of the body paragraph that we will be learning. This part of the essay can be called many things: explanation, discussion, details, evidence, etc. The name partly depends on the type of essay you’re writing and partly on a teacher’s or writer’s preference. In this class, we’ll call this part the explanation.

The goal of the explanation is to show exactly what you are thinking and to convince the reader that you are correct. This means two things:

1. You cannot take anything that the reader knows for granted. In essays in American English, it is expected that you explain every little step of your thinking.
2. You want to take a strong perspective and show confidence that you are correct.

Let’s look at examples of explanations in an essay we’ve seen before:

Lindsey Hageman

ESLS 025

Essay 1

7/2/25

Good Doctors

The sound of an ambulance siren at 3 AM makes everyone stop and think about the fragility of life. In moments of medical crisis, people realize how much they depend on doctors to help them. Every day, millions of people around the world visit doctors for their health problems. When people are sick or hurt, they trust doctors to take care of them and make them feel better. However, not all doctors provide the same quality of care to their patients. Some doctors are more skilled and helpful than others. What makes one doctor better than another doctor? There are many important qualities that good doctors should have to serve patients well. The most important qualities of a good doctor are medical experience and emotional intelligence.

First, medical experience is the foundation of being a good doctor. To start, doctors must have updated medical knowledge. Example —> For example, a great doctor makes time to read the latest medical research each week. Explanation —> This means that they can help with all types of medical issues, even rare ones. Additionally, it is important that doctors have strong problem-solving skills. Example —> For instance, they can make quick decisions during emergencies because they have experience in many different situations. Explanation —> Making fast choices ensures that patients get the quickest care when they are in potential danger. In conclusion, an excellent doctor must have adequate experience.

Another important quality for a doctor to have is emotional intelligence.  To begin, it is necessary for doctors to be patient. Example —>As an example, if a patient does not understand their medical condition, the doctor does not rush or complain; instead, they take time to explain every detail. Explanation —> This makes patients feel comfortable and confident about taking care of their condition.  Furthermore, good doctors are always empathetic. Example —> One example is a doctor who takes time to comfort a nervous child during a vaccination. Explanation —> This creates a positive experience for the patient and their family so that they are not afraid to visit the doctor when they need help in the future. To conclude, it is necessary for a doctor to prioritize the emotions of their patients.

Do you see the explanations in blue? They are right after each supporting sentence. There are no formal rules for where to put your explanations. As you grow as a writer, you might even mix examples and explanations so that they are difficult to distinguish. However, I recommend placing the start of your explanation after each example to give you a structure to start with.

Let’s look closely at one of the explanations:

Example —> One example is a doctor who takes time to comfort a nervous child during a vaccination. Explanation —> This creates a positive experience for the patient and their family so that they are not afraid to visit the doctor when they need help in the future.

It might seem obvious that comforting a child is important. But we still need to explain why it is important. In other words, here are some questions to think about when writing your explanations:

1. Why is the example important?
2. How does this prove my topic sentence?

This explanation answers both questions. Let’s see how:

1. Why is this important?

• It is important for a doctor to comfort a child because they will not be afraid to return in the future.

2. How does this prove my topic sentence?

• Our topic sentence for this paragraph is: Another important quality for a doctor to have is emotional intelligence. We have proved that it is important to have emotional intelligence because adults and children will feel comfortable to visit the doctor when needed.

Let’s look at another example:

Example —> For instance, they can make quick decisions during emergencies because they have experience in many different situations. Explanation —> Making fast choices ensures that patients get the quickest care when they are in potential danger.

Again, it might seem obvious that a doctor should make quick decisions during emergencies. But we have to explain exactly what we’re thinking and further prove that we are correct. Let’s look at how this explanation answers our two guiding questions:

1. Why is this important?

• It is important for a doctor to make quick decisions because otherwise, patients might be in danger.

2. How does this prove our topic sentence?

• Our topic sentence is “First, medical experience is the foundation of being a good doctor.” We have explained that medical experience is important because it prevents patients from being harmed.

How long should an explanation be?

As you can see, the explanations above are only 1 sentence long. However, explanations typically range from 1-5 sentences; it just depends on how complex the ideas or examples are. When you do the practice exercises, you will see explanations that are longer. As long as you fully answer the two questions we talked about above, you have a strong explanation.