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Introduction
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An explanation is useful when it makes the relationships in an idea clear. It should help you understand why something follows, when it applies, and what would change the result.
Explaining an idea in your own words can reveal gaps that are easy to miss while reading. Psychologists often call this self-explanation: generating an account of how a step or idea connects with what you know.
The activity is not simply replacing formal words with casual ones. An explanation can sound natural and still be wrong. It needs to preserve the important meaning and be checked against reliable information.