from: http://www.w3.org/XML/1999/XML-in-10-points.html
- XML is for structuring data
- XML looks a bit like HTML
- XML is text, but isn't meant to be read
- XML is verbose by design
- XML is a family of technologies
- XML is new, but not that new
- XML leads HTML to XHTML
- XML is modular
- XML is the basis for RDF and the Semantic Web
- XML is license-free, platform-independent and well-supported

Wistfully, the explanation is frequently a conception that is so basic it would just necessitate a small moment of time to put into place, but is ofttimes omitted.