The phrase "an ability to explain" is correct and usable in written English.
You can use it when discussing someone's skill or capacity to clarify or make something understandable.
Example: "Her ability to explain complex concepts in simple terms makes her an excellent teacher."
Alternatives: "a talent for explaining" or "a skill in elucidating".
It's tempting to invoke such an ability to explain the achievements of celebrated memory champions such as Lu Chao.
We believe that leadership includes an ability to explain one's perspective as well as engaging in active listening.
This means that an enjoyment of communicating and an ability to explain things in a way that is easily understood by others, are both really important.
The Roth Fellowship requires extraordinary communications skills and an ability to explain policy positions quickly and concisely to the media and to the broader public.
At New York University Hospital, colleagues described Dr. Chazen as a man with a promising future and an ability to explain to the lay public complicated details about Lyme disease, his area of specialty, and other infectious diseases.
It's that kind of statement that has given her a reputation for diagnosing our problems before most people realise there is a problem – not to mention an ability to explain them with frightening clarity.
Like other exemplars of this tradition -- Irving Howe, Philip Rahv, Elizabeth Hardwick -- Kazin possessed a gift for writing and an uncanny ability to explain why a certain writer succeeded or failed, and why it mattered.
Ted Gioia on "The Revolt of the Masses," a 1929 book with "an uncanny ability to explain the most peculiar happenings of the digital age".
Not that his work is a mystery to her. "Rob actually has an amazing ability to explain things," Ms. Marcus said.
All that's required is a pathological focus on your own career, a Superman-level imperviousness to shame, a Herculean ability to explain away obvious hypocrisies and a deep-seated talent for cultivating media coverage -- even as you complain about it and try to invalidate it.
He is known as an engaging and imaginative speaker with a rare ability to explain complex scientific concepts to lay audiences.
