Which form of paragraph would you use to explain how something occurs without listing steps?

• A. How-to paragraph
• B. Explanation paragraph
• C. Narrative paragraph
• D. Descriptive paragraph

Answer: (B)

When you want to explain how something happens without giving steps, you use a paragraph that communicates why and how the process occurs. This form focuses on causes, mechanisms, and how the parts fit together, helping readers understand the system itself rather than telling them how to do something. You’ll often see cause-and-effect language that links ideas and shows why the result happens.

This is different from a how-to paragraph, which gives a sequence of steps to complete a task. It’s also different from a narrative, which tells a story with events and characters, and from a descriptive paragraph, which relies on sensory detail to paint a picture. For example, to explain how a bicycle slows down when brakes are applied, you’d describe how friction and braking components interact with the rotating wheel to reduce speed, rather than listing the steps to perform a task.