Writing Explanatory and Opinion Texts
Hello, everyone! When you want to share something you know or express an idea like "Here is what I think!" with others, how can you write it so it is easy to understand?
You might sometimes wonder, "How should I begin writing...?" or "How can I explain my reasons clearly?" It might seem tricky at first, but don't worry! Once you get the hang of proper order and structure (organization), anyone can write clear and persuasive texts.
In this unit, let's have fun learning step-by-step how to write effective "explanatory texts" and "opinion texts" tailored to your grade level!
*Note: How to organize observations and records will be covered in "Writing Records and Reports," while expressive writing such as poetry and stories will be explored in detail in another unit.
---1. [Basics] Explaining in Careful Order (Grades 1 & 2 Steps)
When explaining to someone "what happened" or "how to do something," the most important thing is the order of events.
① Learn the "Beginning, Middle, and End" Structure
When writing, try keeping this simple structure in mind:
・Beginning (Hajime): State what you are going to explain (e.g., "I will explain how to plant morning glory seeds.").
・Middle (Naka): Describe the detailed steps or process in order (it helps to use transition words like "first," "next," and "then").
・End (Owari): Add a concluding statement or a wrap-up sentence (e.g., "Now it is complete. Let's grow beautiful flowers!").
② Sentence Connections and Writing Rules
Pay close attention to the following when crafting your sentences:
・Subjects and Predicates: Match "who (or what)" clearly with "does what (or is what)."
・Correct Use of Particles (Joshi): Use grammatical particles accurately, such as writing "は" (ha) instead of "わ" (wa), "へ" (he) instead of "え" (e), and "を" (wo) instead of "お" (o) for their respective grammatical roles.
・Punctuation: Place full stops (periods: 。) correctly at the end of sentences, and use commas (、) to separate clauses and ideas.
・Quotation Marks (「 」): Use quotation marks when writing spoken dialogue or quoting specific words.
[Key Point]
Once you finish writing, make it a habit to read your text aloud. This helps you spot mistakes on your own, such as missing words or steps that are in reverse order.
2. [Intermediate] Creating Paragraphs and Providing Reasons and Examples (Grades 3 & 4 Steps)
In Grades 3 and 4, you are expected to clearly share your "thoughts" and back them up with supporting "reasons" and "examples (concrete details)."
① Understanding the Role of Paragraphs
To make longer texts easy to follow, we divide our writing into blocks of related meaning called paragraphs, much like separate rooms in a house.
・When starting a new paragraph, indent the first line by one character space.
・Keep one central idea per paragraph.
② Pairing "Thoughts" with "Reasons and Examples"
To make your opinions and explanations convincing, the following structure is very helpful:
1. Beginning (Issue / Claim): State your main topic and what you want to say.
2. Middle (Reasons & Examples): Detail the "reasons" behind your thinking, along with familiar "examples."
3. End (Conclusion): Summarize your thoughts once more to close the piece.
③ Useful Language Tools
・Conjunctions and Linking Words: Skillfully using words like "because," "for example," "therefore," and "however" helps your sentences and paragraphs flow smoothly.
・Demonstratives (Ko-So-A-Do Words): Use words like "this," "that," "such," and "in this way" to refer to words or ideas mentioned earlier.
・Consistent Sentence Endings: Keep your tone consistent throughout the text by choosing either the polite style (keitai: -desu / -masu) or the plain style (jotai: -da / -dearu), rather than mixing them.
④ Quoting Researched Information
Using the exact words or passages found in dictionaries, encyclopedias, or books is called quotation (citing).
When quoting, follow these rules:
・Enclose the quoted text in quotation marks (「 」) to distinguish it from your own words.
・Always state the source (such as the title of the book and the author) showing where you found the information.
[Common Mistake]
"My favorite season is spring. This is because the cherry blossoms are pretty. Also, video games are fun."
If you wander off-topic (like mentioning video games here), your main message becomes unclear. Make sure to carefully choose reasons and examples that are directly related to your idea!
3. [Advanced] Distinguishing Fact from Opinion and Writing Logically (Grades 5 & 6 Steps)
In the upper grades, you will write more persuasive explanatory and opinion texts by considering cause and effect and organizing gathered information effectively.
① Clearly Distinguishing Between "Fact" and "Opinion / Impression"
The golden rule for writing persuasive texts is never to confuse facts with opinions or personal impressions.
・Fact: Information that remains the same no matter who looks at it. These are objective data or events that actually happened. (e.g., "The cherry trees in the schoolyard bloomed yesterday." "Last year, 1,200 books were borrowed from the school library.")
・Impression / Opinion: Your personal thoughts, judgments, or feelings. (e.g., "I think cherry blossoms are very beautiful." "Everyone should read more books from the library.")
Differentiate your phrasing so that the reader can clearly tell what is a verified fact and what is your personal opinion.
② Understanding Cause and Effect
Clarify the link between "why it happened (cause)" and "what happened as a result (effect)."
For example, explaining logically—"Sports Day was postponed (effect) because it rained (cause)"—makes your writing much more convincing and easier for readers to follow.
③ Using Tables, Charts, and Graphs
Using visual materials like diagrams, tables, and graphs helps readers understand numerical differences and trends at a glance, far better than words alone.
・Connect the visual material directly to your writing using phrases like "As shown in Figure 1..." or "Looking at the graph, we can see that..."
・Just like with quotations, remember to indicate the source of your data.
④ Exploring Overall Text Structures
Choose an organizational structure that suits your purpose and audience:
・Deductive Structure (Initial Conclusion / Tokatsu-gata): State your main conclusion or claim right at the beginning, followed by detailed reasons and examples. This is ideal for opinion essays when you want to make a strong impression.
・Inductive Structure (Final Conclusion / Bikatsu-gata): Present various examples and facts first, leading up to a conclusion at the end. This works well when you want readers to explore and deepen their thinking alongside you.
・Framed Structure (Double Conclusion / Sokatsu-gata): State the conclusion at both the beginning and the end, with reasons and evidence in the middle. This is exceptionally clear and widely used in opinion writing.
[Helpful Tip]
When revising (polishing your work), pay close attention to sentence length. If a single sentence is too long, the subject and predicate get separated by too many words, making the meaning hard to follow. If a sentence gets overly complicated, be bold and split it into two with a period!
4. Summary: The Writing Process
Here are the 4 key steps to producing successful explanatory and opinion writing:
Step 1: Collect and Select Materials (Gathering Information)
・Gather plenty of information and ideas related to your topic, keeping your audience and purpose in mind.
・Compare and categorize your materials to sort out what is essential from what is not.
Step 2: Plan the Structure (Outlining)
・Create notes and decide the order of your ideas, planning what goes into each paragraph of the "Beginning, Middle, and End."
Step 3: Draft the Text (Writing)
・Write clearly by distinguishing facts from opinions and using effective linking words.
・Incorporate quotations, charts, or diagrams as needed.
Step 4: Reread and Polish (Revising & Sharing)
・Check for spelling mistakes, omitted words, or incorrect okurigana (kana suffixes).
・Read each other's work with classmates, share feedback and opinions, and celebrate each other's strengths!