Example of Explanation Text

How does a cell phone work?

A cell phone, or we know as hand phone, is an important gadget in this modern world. What is a cell phone? A cell phone is actually a radio in certain way. Like a radio, by a cell phone we can communicate to other people in real time. Million people use cell phone for their communication. Even nowadays, people use cell phones to communicate in voice, written and data. Alexander Graham Bell is the person who make great change in the way people communicate to each other. He invented a telephone in 1876. Actually, wireless radio was formally known in 1894 presented by Guglielmo Marconi. Using that technologies, then a cell phone was born. However do you know how actually cell phones work?

This short explanation on how a cell phone work is really wonderful. A cell phone or in long term "cellular telephone' works by transmitting signals of radio to towers of cellular. The towers are networked to a central switching station. The connection usually uses wire, fiber optic-cables, or microwave.

Then the central switching station which handle calls in certain given area is directed and connected to the wire-based telephone system. The cellulars are pick up by the towers and relayed to another cellular telephone user or the user of wire-based telephone network.

The towers can be different in the availability and capability to receive signals. Some tower can receive the signal from short distance and the others can receive more distance. However, there are usually more than one tower in certain given area so that the system can handle the increasing telephone traffic.

Students Are the Master of Their Own Grader

In learning English, students have their own ways and methods. Some students think that they enjoy learning English through doing some exercises related to grammar or writing skills. Other students might think that by practicing English in terms of speaking will enhance their ability. On the other hand, the tests done in school will cover all skills which are reading, listening, speaking, and writing. That means students have to deal with this situation in class. As the consequences, students who realize that they are weak in one skill would feel insecure on how they should deal with the tests they do not really master at. There must be a solution for this.
 

Since the teachers will grade the students, they should do it wisely. Teachers should not just take the score from written tests but also from the students’ performance in class.  Some actively-speaking students should get some appreciation from the teacher because they often dare enough to speak up, while others do not. Although that speaker-kind-of student has weakness in writing, their performance in speaking should cover their English comprehension in so-called a “unique way”.
 

In Indonesia, the use of scoring rubric in class is getting popular. Especially in English subject, teachers should develop a fine and appropriate rubric which later students use to grade one another. This is quite fair since students will be assessed based on the students’ judgment and the teacher’s rubric as well. These two considerations in scoring will benefit students. First, students will know how well they are performing since there are some criteria that they should achieve based on the rubric. Second, students will experience how to score someone’s performance based on the rubric given.
 

This is the actual matter that we, the English teachers, should focus on. We should not let the students down just because they are weak in some skills. Moreover, we should enhance and facilitate their excellence to be even better. Of course we have to make them be sure that other skills are also important to master. It can be done by giving the material that they find it attractive. 

Why should it be "Less Teaching More Learning"?

The idea of Less Teaching More Learning has challenged teachers to do better in their class. Teachers are not only supposed to explain and drill the materials, but also to guide students on how to solve problems. Meanwhile, in reality, it can be seen that teachers only teach materials that later will be used in examinations. Like the old days, students only listen to the teacher’s speech in class, and they are rarely included in the discussion. This is actually the main obstacle of the teaching activity in Indonesia because the teacher is not the center of the teaching and learning activity, but the students are. Therefore, it is expected for the students to be active and critical in class. There are several reasons why teachers should agree with the idea of Less Teaching More Learning in class.

Firstly, teaching is not merely about the materials or competences. Teaching is about giving the students something meaningful, so that they both learn the materials and the values on related subject. If the students are able to achieve the good values in certain subject, they will posses a better behavior in their society.
 

Secondly, teaching is about guiding students to follow their curiosity. What Indonesian students need the most is the critical thoughts and creativity. By feeling curious and having a lot of questions on their head, the student will enhance their creativity and their critical thoughts by their own. Here, teachers’ role is to become a guide for students to help them find the answers to the questions.
 

Finally, the teacher’s role in class is to become the facilitator for the students. Teachers could provide students some questions that will lead them to understand certain materials. The questions may relate to the students’ daily activity or their behavior. Here, students not only learn how to solve some problems but also how to reflect their daily behavior related to the problems.
 

Therefore, Indonesian schools can start implementing the Less Teaching More Learning by providing two teachers or more in one class. It would be beneficial because the students will have more facilitators to help them in class. Moreover, Indonesian students like to be appreciated. Teachers can appreciate the students’ work by providing students with some rewards or honors.

Bad Effect of Smoking

            Nowadays, 80% of all teenagers now smoking. The rates of people smoking have fluctuated for the past twenty years. Majority of lifelong smokers begin smoking habits before the age of 19. When you ask the people who he/she is smokers. “Why you smoking” Many people  answer “smoking are cool” “my father is a smoker” They are wrong . So I have some reasonable reason why smoking not allowed for us. Here it is.

First, all schools do not allow students to bring cigarette and smoking in school`s area. This rule is for keeping the school cleaner. For example, if many students smoking in school area they always throw the cigarette waste to every place. I many students throw the cigarette waste in every place it make the school dirty.

Second, smoking is dangerous for our healthy. The smoke of cigarette can broke the process of exchanges of oxygen and carbon dioxide in lungs. And it also make many diseases, for example impotent, cancer, heart coronary, pregnancy destruction, and many more.

Third, smoking is not allowed in Islam. Al-Qur`an explained that smoking not allowed for all people on the world because it suffer many diseases. Beside that many monks also do not allowed us to smoking.

The conclusion smoking is not allowed for all people on the world because it suffer many diseases and disturb our our healthy. Beside it school and Al-Qur`an also not allowed us to smoking. 

The Bad Effect of Facebook for Senior High School Students

Facebook is one of the friendship site which is most used by the Indonesian society. All of citizens, either adult, youth or kids use account of Facebook. For the adult, Facebook gives any advantages but for the youth, especially senior high school students it will bring any problems. The problems are showed from these following arguments.

First, the students usually forget to study. They would rather spend their time to explore their Facebook account than open their lesson books. Because of that, the prestige of the students must be decreased.

Second, does not Care about His/Her Surroundings. When someone is already addicted to Facebook, there is a big possibility that he/she would not care about his/her surroundings. This person will care about nothing more than the message they are waiting for a reply on.

Then, Because of Facebook, the students can enter into free association. It is because they can search and get any friends from Facebook freely. The psychology’s conditon of the students which is not stable yet causes the students trying a new thing although it is not good for them.

According to these facts, we can know that facebook can give any bad effect for children, especially for senior high school students.

By: Anonymous from SMAN 3 Malang

Why Uniforms Should Not Be Compulsory for Teenage Students

Every government school in Indonesia requires the students to wear the same uniform, all across the country. The only things that may differ, such as school badges and ties, are only used to identify each school from the other. Likewise, most private schools have adopted this regulation as well, despite the fact that each school has a different uniform. It is undeniable that the obligation to don a uniform has its own superiorities and drawbacks. Pertaining to this issue, I disagree to a large extent with the fact that students, especially teenagers, are compelled to wear uniforms to school.

Firstly, not all students are blessed with the privilege of being able to afford a set of uniform. To add to that, most schools I know have different uniforms for different days of the week. Keep in mind that the obligatory physical education attire has not been kept into account. Not to mention the accessories that goes with it, such as a tie, a belt, a pair of socks, shoes, and the like. Furthermore, it is no secret that there are a lot of underprivileged students in Indonesia who are actually competent enough to be admitted in top schools. However, these schools often set a high fee to compensate for the education they provide. Adding it all up with the price of the dreaded uniform and the much needed books would cost a copious amount of money.

Next, viewing this issue from the standpoint of fashion, any sort of uniform will never be able to suit every body type. This would not be such a big deal in my current school since the body type variety is not very diverse. But what about schools which tend to students with various races? Personally, I have had this problem before. My school uniform was a sleeveless pinafore with a useless belt around the waist and an insignificant-by-size badge on the shoulder. I guess it was designed for Chinese girls with petite figures, because all my other friends look good in it. And then there was me: relatively short, full-bodied, flabby-armed me. Other girls would look like pretty little nurses in that uniform. As for me… I looked like I was wrapped up in blue duct tape. Regardless of this being a personal reason, indubitably I am not the only one who faces this predicament. A lot of students have their uniforms altered to suit their bodies better, thus ruining the essence of uniformity itself. Therefore, I think students must be allowed to wear anything that compliments their shape.

Last but not least, I believe teenage students should not be subjected to conformity. Young people should be allowed to explore their personality as they like. Often, personalities are shown by the way people dress. A girl who is struck by the so-called Korean wave should be allowed to wear what Korean girls wear. A metal-head should be allowed to grow their hair out and wear studded garments. This is largely connected with self expression, which in turn will affect how teenagers turn out to be in their adult years. Self acceptance and expression must be sculpted as early as possible, and adolescence seems like an ideal time to start.

Wrapping it all up, a uniform should not be compulsory for teenage students because it is not completely affordable, not suitable for everyone in a fashion-related point of view, and is a manner of forcing conformity to youngsters who in fact need more space for self expression. Nevertheless, a change of a school regulation which has been a tradition for tens of years has to be done delicately. For example, letting students wear any color of shoes would be an excellent start. Gradually, we can move onwards to let freedom of expression flourish for greater things to come.

 By Kartika Darina/ SMAN 3 Malang XI Science 6