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Explanation
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Explanation as a mode of academic writing appears across virtually every discipline, from biology and economics to history, theology, and technology. Rather than arguing a position or narrating events, explanatory writing prioritizes clarity — breaking down complex systems, processes, or phenomena so that a reader can genuinely understand them. This makes it a foundational skill in English composition courses, where students learn to present information in structured, accessible ways regardless of subject matter.

The papers collected here reflect the broad range of contexts in which explanation is required. Some take a scientific or technical approach, such as examining how LASIK surgery works or identifying the symptoms caused by exposure to mercury and arsenic. Others explain organizational structures, business strategies, or economic paradoxes like the diamond-water problem studied in microeconomics. Still others address social, legal, or cultural subjects — from reciprocity within the Iroquois Confederacy to the traditions of the Catholic faith — demonstrating that explanation adapts to whatever situation or subject demands it.

A strong explanatory essay begins with a clear sense of scope: identify precisely what needs to be understood and why it matters to the reader. Evidence carries weight when it is specific and well-sourced — definitions, data, examples, and step-by-step reasoning all serve the goal of genuine understanding. The most common pitfall is confusing explanation with argument; an explanatory thesis states what something is or how it works, not what the writer believes about it. Keeping that distinction sharp ensures the writing stays focused on illuminating rather than persuading.

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Paper Undergraduate
Geography/Political Science (A) the Main
(a) the main characteristic of the Cold War was, first of all, that this was an ideological conflict between two superpowers, the U.S. And the Soviet Union. From that perspective, Colin Flint's statement is definitely…
Research Paper Doctorate
Ethnocentrism and cultural relativism in anthropology
¶ … anthropological concepts of 'ethnocentrism' and 'cultural relativism'.
Paper Undergraduate
Self awareness, emotional intelligence, and personal development factors
DECEPTION in INVESTIGATION, INTERROGATION, and TESTIMONY
Essay Doctorate
Fiscal policy, economic choices, and congressional budget office analysis
This paper discusses a wide variety of topics in macro economics to include: the federal government's sources of revenues / expenditures, trends in the national debt and possible strategies for dealing with these issues. Once this occurs, is when there are more specific insights about the challenges and scope of the problem. This is the point that the reader will have a greater understanding as to how we can possibly deal with these issues.
Paper Doctorate
Scientific Inquiry Into Extraterrestrial Life
In the early days of Ufology, researchers appeared too eager to verify sightings, which they then interpreted as evidence of 'nuts and bolts' spacecraft piloted by intelligent EBEs. Like numerous deities and other extraterrestrial visitors, EBEs are generally held to be concerned about human conduct. This concern was widely reported in the spate of UFO sightings after the Second World War and the beginnings of the nuclear age. Sensationalist reports merging with Hollywood fantasy led to a distancing of orthodox science from Ufology. Explanations offered by Ufologists frequently ignored Occam's razor, which is a rule against multiplying entities or - in general terms - a rule which says don't involve extraordinary hypotheses until the ordinary ones have been eliminated. The apparent resistance to falsification also contributed to Ufology's lack of credibility. However, modern Ufologists, such as Jenny Randles and Paul Fuller of the British Unidentified Flying Object Research Association (BUFORA), are strict adherents to Popperian-inspired scientific methodology, enthusiastically seeking to falsify EBE explanations and providing explanations which are acceptable to orthodox scientific opinion. In this respect the modern Ufologist is a debunker rather than a myth-spinning believer. Explanations in terms of atmospheric phenomena, hallucinations or hoaxes are generally expected from BUFORA publications. Over the years the BUFORA standpoint has been vindicated. So much 'confirmatory' evidence has been demonstrably unreliable. Photographs, which were once considered as hard evidence, are now held to have zero credibility because of the likelihood of fakes. With the advent of sophisticated image-manipulation computers whose work is undetectable, photographs unsupported by other reliable confirmatory evidence are unacceptable. Eye witness reports are also problematic as they are frequently influenced by psychological and cultural factors.
Paper Doctorate
Culturally Relative Ethics vs. Objective
Answers and analyses to 2 different ethical issues in business and hiring. The first issue is whether or not there is an objective concept of morality or if morality is just a culturally-determined concept, The second issue relates to the fair hiring of women in executive management.
Research Paper Undergraduate
Aboriginal Survivors Female Aboriginal Survivors
In 1993, many Native Indian women stood up before a Joint Commission to explain their hurt and despair resulted from their stays at Canadian Residential Schools. More recently the Canadian government asked the Law…
Paper Undergraduate
Predestination and free will: philosophical perspectives
The debate over predestination and free will played a formative role on the evolution of different Christian faiths, particularly during the Middle Ages (Armstrong, 85). It remains one of the most divisive…
Paper Undergraduate
Hawaii Takeover by U.S. Pages
Pages 4-5 Merze Tate's Explanations Regarding Mahele
Paper Undergraduate
Devised; it Has to Be
The research methodology constitutes a paradigm or theory that relates how the researcher approaches his/her study, as well as how he/she undertakes the research effort. In the study, "Using the 'power of the data'…