Selective thinking skills: is it an argument or an explanation?

Quick Answer

An argument tries to convince you that something is true or should be done. An explanation takes something as already true and says why it happened. The word "because" appears in both, so ask whether the writer is persuading or accounting. This page from Braintree Coaching Australia has twelve original short texts, the key and a worked contrast. It is free and takes about 25 minutes.

Who is this practice for?

This set suits a Year 5 or Year 6 child preparing for NSW Selective Thinking Skills who has not yet been asked to say what a piece of writing is trying to do. It is groundwork, not a test format: we do not say that the real test asks children to label texts as arguments or explanations, and we do not say how many such items it contains.

The NSW Department of Education lists Thinking Skills as 40 multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes, and says no previous knowledge is needed. Its Selective practice tests page shows the real format. For how the section works, see our guide to the Thinking Skills format.

When your child can find a conclusion and a reason quickly, move on to necessary assumptions, which assumes that skill.

How do I tell an argument from an explanation?

Read the text and ask two questions in order.

1. Is the writer asking me to believe something, or to do something? If yes, the text is an argument. The thing I am asked to accept is the conclusion. The sentence that gives me a reason to accept it is the reason.
2. Is the writer telling me why something that is already true came about? If yes, the text is an explanation. The thing that is already true is the fact. The sentence that says why is the cause.

If neither question gets a yes, the text is neither. It may describe something or give instructions.

A quick check: an explanation still works if the reader already agrees with the fact. An argument needs the reader to be persuaded, so it is wasted on someone who already agrees.

One topic written both ways

Both versions below are about the same school vegetable garden, and both use "because".

Argument: "Our school should keep its vegetable garden because children who grow vegetables are more willing to eat them."

• Conclusion: the school should keep the garden.
• Reason: children who grow vegetables are more willing to eat them.
• The writer wants you to agree, and the garden's future is not yet settled.

Explanation: "Our school has a vegetable garden because the P&C raised money for the beds and a parent who is a builder put them together."

• Fact: the school has a garden. Nobody is asked to agree, because it is already there.
• Cause: the P&C raised money and a parent built the beds.
• The writer is accounting for something that already exists.

The topic, and even the word "because", stay the same. What changes is the job the sentence is doing.

The twelve texts

Work on paper. For each text:

1. Write A (argument), E (explanation) or N (neither).
2. For an argument, underline the conclusion and put a box round the reason.
3. For an explanation, underline the fact and put a box round the cause.
4. For a text you called neither, write one word for what it does, such as "describes" or "instructs".

Text 1. Every Year 5 class should have a reading corner, because children who can find a book quickly read for longer.

Text 2. The frogs were all at the dam. The creek had dried up by January, so they had moved.

Text 3. First fold the paper in half. Then fold the two corners down so that they meet in the middle.

Text 4. The new bike lane has cut the number of cars on Marsh Street by a third. Therefore the council should build bike lanes on the other main roads too.

Text 5. The ice cream melted before we reached the park because the car's boot had been in the sun all morning.

Text 6. Homework should not be set over the holidays. Children need long breaks to rest, and rested children learn better in term.

Text 7. Tomatoes ripen faster in a greenhouse. The glass traps heat from the sun, and therefore the air inside stays warmer than the air outside.

Text 8. The lighthouse stands at the end of a long stone wall. Its lamp turns once every ten seconds, and the beam can be seen from the beach on a clear night.

Text 9. Because the pool is the only one in the suburb with a lane for beginners, the council should keep it open.

Text 10. Kiri's plant had yellow leaves. It sat in a pot with no holes, so the water had nowhere to drain and the roots rotted.

Text 11. Since every child in the class has now read the book, we should choose a different one for next term.

Text 12. Leaves change colour in autumn. As the days shorten, the tree stops making green chlorophyll, and the yellow and orange colours that were always there show through.

Answers and worked explanations

The split is five arguments (Texts 1, 4, 6, 9, 11), five explanations (Texts 2, 5, 7, 10, 12) and two neither (Texts 3, 8). Check one text at a time.

Text 1: argument

Conclusion: every Year 5 class should have a reading corner. Reason: children who can find a book quickly read for longer. The word because points towards explanation, but nothing here has already happened. The writer is asking for a change, so this is an argument.

Text 2: explanation

Fact: the frogs were at the dam. Cause: the creek had dried up, so they moved. The word so points towards argument, but here it only reports a result. Nobody is asked to believe or do anything.

Text 3: neither

The text gives instructions. There is no conclusion for anyone to accept and no fact that is being accounted for. The word so in "so that they meet" means "in order that", which is a third use that is neither a reason nor a cause.

Text 4: argument

Conclusion: the council should build bike lanes on the other main roads. Reason: the new lane has cut cars on Marsh Street by a third. Therefore here is a fair signal, because it introduces a conclusion.

Text 5: explanation

Fact: the ice cream melted before the park. Cause: the boot had been in the sun all morning. This is a plain use of because, introducing a cause.

Text 6: argument

Conclusion: homework should not be set over the holidays. Reasons: children need long breaks, and rested children learn better. There is no signal word at all. The text starts with the claim the writer wants you to accept, which is the sign.

Text 7: explanation

Fact: tomatoes ripen faster in a greenhouse. Cause: the glass traps heat, so the air inside is warmer. Therefore points towards argument, but it is only linking a cause to its effect. Nothing is being recommended.

Text 8: neither

The text describes the lighthouse. There is no conclusion, and no fact is being accounted for. The sentence about the lamp is more detail, not a reason.

Text 9: argument

Conclusion: the council should keep the pool open. Reason: it is the only pool in the suburb with a beginners' lane. The sentence begins with because, which tempts a child to call it an explanation. The word "should" shows the writer is asking for a decision.

Text 10: explanation

Fact: Kiri's plant had yellow leaves. Cause: the pot had no holes, the water could not drain and the roots rotted. So introduces the cause chain, not a conclusion to accept.

Text 11: argument

Conclusion: we should choose a different book next term. Reason: every child has read this one. Since can mean "because" or "from the time that". Here it gives a reason, and the "should" shows the writer is persuading.

Text 12: explanation

Fact: leaves change colour in autumn. Cause: the tree stops making green chlorophyll and the yellow and orange colours show through. No signal word is used. The text accounts for something that already happens every year.

Why do signal words mislead?

Children are often taught that "so" and "therefore" mean argument and "because" means explanation. That is a useful first guess and it is wrong often enough to matter. In this set the signal points the wrong way in six texts:

Text	Signal word	What it suggests	What the text is
1	because	explanation	argument
2	so	argument	explanation
3	so	argument	neither
7	therefore	argument	explanation
9	because (opening the sentence)	explanation	argument
10	so	argument	explanation

Two more notes. Text 11 uses since, which can point either way, and Texts 6, 8 and 12 have no signal word at all. The reliable test is the one in the second section: is the writer persuading, or accounting?

Transfer task: rewrite one explanation as an argument

Take Text 7 (tomatoes in a greenhouse) and rewrite it as an argument about the same subject. Keep the cause as your reason, and decide on a conclusion.

Self-check: a good answer states a conclusion that asks for a decision, such as "Anyone with a sunny yard should put their tomatoes in a greenhouse, because the glass keeps the air warm and the fruit ripens sooner." The facts are the same. The sentence now tries to persuade, so it contains "should".

What should we do after this set?

• If most errors were on texts with a misleading signal word (1, 2, 3, 7, 9, 10), cover the signal words with a finger, re-read, and ask "persuading or accounting?" again.
• Move on to necessary assumptions practice once conclusions and reasons come easily.
• For mixed Selective practice, open the NSW Selective practice tests and resources guide.
• The free mock tests need a free classroom account. Use one when your child is ready for a timed sitting.
• If you want a structured set of full Selective tests after that, see what the Selective course includes and check it matches your child's entry year before buying.

Sources and review

Official source (checked 2026-10-15, cache row thinking-40-40): NSW Department of Education, Selective High School practice tests: Thinking Skills is 40 multiple-choice questions in 40 minutes, with no previous knowledge required. The Department names no question types, so the argument and explanation distinction here is Braintree's own teaching structure.

Where the texts came from: all twelve texts, the worked contrast and the transfer task are original Braintree Coaching Australia material written for this page. None is taken from an official or third-party paper.

Author: James Rush, content writer, Braintree Coaching Australia.

Answer check: each label was worked by the author using the two questions above. A second solve without the key, run on 2026-10-15 by an automated review pass and not by a teacher, gave the same label for all twelve texts. A named teacher review has not yet been recorded for this set. If you find an error, please tell us.

Last updated: 2026-10-15.