Rocket writes fast. In five minutes his first section fills half a page.
"Done with the sides," he says. "I added that the tall side is the best in town."
Raven reads it with her pencil hovering. "What do you notice about that sentence?"
"It is... true?"
"Is it in the notes?" Rocket looks. It is not. "It is my opinion," he admits.
"An explainer uses facts you can point to," Raven says. "Point to the note, then write the sentence."
Nova dims her light over the page. "Cut what you cannot point to," she says. "Then add a detail from the notes to fill the space."
Rocket crosses out the sentence and copies the note about the yellow line instead.
Relevant means connected to the topic. Every fact in your explainer must be relevant, and this week every fact must come from Raven's notes.
Develop each section with details and examples from the notes. A section with one fact is thin. A section with three connected facts is clear.
Raven thinks aloud: "The notes say the sign has three rules. So my Rules section can name all three, and that is three details from one note."
An opinion is not a fact. "The tall side is the best" cannot be pointed to in the notes, so it does not belong.
Here is Rocket's first draft of his Care section, then the same section after he checked every sentence against the notes.
| Fact from the notes, or not? | True or false? |
|---|---|
| The notes say the ramp is busiest after school and on Saturday mornings. | ? |
| The notes say the ramp was built in one afternoon. | ? |
| The notes say neighbors tie the tarp corners down in winter. | ? |
| The notes say the tall side is for beginners. | ? |
Draft two sections today. Use the checklist before you stop.
Two sections drafted from the given text. Tomorrow you link them with transitions and write the ending.