Elaboration
Elaboration means: Adding the details needed to paint a picture for your reader.
Whether you write fiction or nonfiction, details are key.
Refer to the paragraph page for information on writing paragraphs.
Elaboration Strategies
Criteria
Description: describes what something looks like or sounds like
The crowd roared as Rex, his head dripping in well-earned sweat, slipped through the opposing team's star and dunked the tie-breaker.
Detail: Adds who, what, when, why, where, how information (specific)
Henry, math in hand, tip-toed into the classroom to turn in the late math that he had redone after his little brother barfed all over it the night before.
Strong Verbs: Action (can it be done?) --- pulls, slips, yells
My Labrador, Rampage, pulls the table cloth until the plate slips onto the floor and crashes, spilling the roast beef for her to gobble up.
"Stop!" yells Mom.
Emotions: How were you feeling? How was the character feeling? How do the characters feel about each other?
I could see my mom frowning. She tapped her foot and crossed her arms. I knew I was in trouble.
Thoughts: What are the characters thinking?
I thought, “Where did I put the key?”
Example: -- a comparison -- an anecdote, evidence, for instance, for example
Africa is a sleeping giant; The dog was as big as a polar bear.
Dialogue: include conversations between characters to SHOW what is happening
“Yeah!” I yelled. “We're going to the carnival.”
“Please don't spend all your money on the ring toss again,” pleaded Mom.
REVISION STRATEGIES
See all the help you need here at our wiki:
Revision
For example, you can learn about:
How do I revise?
Use the muscles in your ARMS:
Add-What else do I need to include? Can I add a more descriptive verb? Can I add a simile? alliteration? consonance? imagery?
Remove-Can I leave out any unnecessary words like of and the? Is there a line that doesn't fit? Can I use fewer, more concise words?
Move-Is
the information in the most logical place? Do I need to change my line
breaks? Are me sentences and paragraphs flowing easily from one idea to
the next? Do I need transitions?
Substitute-What words could be replaced with clearer, stronger words? Nifty nouns and Vivid Verbs: ACTION and ACTIVE
Writers are masters of word power with ARMS using figurative language. Review our strategies:
Poetry Techniques
Figurative Language
|
|
