Example of Explanation Text and Generic Structure: CANCER

This text is describing one of the deadly diseases in the world. How a cancer is formed in the human body is written to show where it comes from and how it mutates. The description of that cancer formation then is considered as an example of explanation text.

Explanation text is very similar to procedure in English writing genres. Both procedure and explanation text tries to show reader how the object discussed is formed or why it happens. However they are different from each other in the way that are written. Procedures text are composed in imperative sentences while the explanation is written in the mode affirmative sentences.

Cancer: Example of Explanation Text

What is cancer? It is actually a group of more than one hundred separate diseases. Most of us are fear from cancer It is reasonable because next to heart disease, cancer is the second leading cause of death.

Cancer cells come from normal cells because of mutations of DNA. Those mutations can occur spontaneously. The mutations may be also induced by other factors such as: nuclear and electromagnetic radiation, viruses, bacteria and fungi, parasites, heat, chemicals in the air, water and food, mechanical cell-level injury, free radicals, evolution and ageing of DNA, etc. All such factors can produce mutations that may start cancer.

Cancer cells are formed continuously in the organism. It is estimated that there are about 10,000 cancer cells at any given time in a healthy person. Why do some result in macroscopic-level cancers and some do not? First, not all damaged cells can multiply and many of them die quickly. Second, those which potentially divide and form cancer are effectively destroyed by the mechanisms available to the immune system.

Therefore cancer develops if the immune system is not working properly or the amount of cells produced is too great for the immune system to eliminate.

This example of explanation text about cancer is simplified from:www.digital-recordings.com/publ/cancer.html

Note on Generic Structure
From the sample text above, we can identify the generic structure of explanation text as below
1. General statement: What is the text about? It is clearly about how a cancer is formed
What is cancer?
2. Sequenced explanation: What description relate to cancer formation in detail. Some phrases are shown below:
Cancer cells come from normal cells because of mutations of DNA

Cancer cells are formed continuously in the organism
That is all about explanation text about how cancer is formed. Explanation text tries to answer two things; how and why. If you find a text relating to the two answer, surely the text is an example of explanation. Happy learning English Online.

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