{"id":163,"date":"2016-03-16T19:57:56","date_gmt":"2016-03-16T19:57:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level1-english\/?post_type=chapter&p=163"},"modified":"2016-07-14T23:42:45","modified_gmt":"2016-07-14T23:42:45","slug":"1-6-2-text-support-and-elaboration","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/waymaker-level1-english-gen\/chapter\/1-6-2-text-support-and-elaboration\/","title":{"raw":"Text: Support and Elaboration","rendered":"Text: Support and Elaboration"},"content":{"raw":"Support and elaboration consist of the specific details and information<\/span>\u00a0writers use to develop their topics. The key to developing support and elaboration is getting specific<\/em>. Good writers use concrete, specific details, and relevant information to construct mental images for their readers. Without this attention to detail, readers struggle to picture what the writer is talking about, and will often give up altogether.\r\n\r\nTwo important concepts in support and elaboration are sufficiency<\/dfn> and\u00a0relatedness<\/dfn>.\r\n\r\nSufficiency <\/strong>refers to the amount of detail \u2014 is there enough detail to support the topic? Good writers supply their readers with sufficient details to comprehend what they have written. In narrative writing, this means providing enough descriptive details for the readers to construct a picture of the story in their minds. In essay\u00a0writing, this means the author finds enough information to support a thesis, and also finding information that is credible and accurate.\r\n\r\nSufficiency, however, is not enough. The power of information is determined less by the quantity of details than by their quality<\/em>.\r\n\r\nRelatedness <\/strong>refers to the quality of the details and their relevance to the topic. Good writers select only the details that will support their focus, deleting irrelevant information. In narrative writing, details should be concrete: they\u00a0contribute to, rather than detract from, the picture provided by the narrative. In essay\u00a0writing, information should be\u00a0relevant to the writer\u2019s goal and strengthen the writer\u2019s ability to meet that goal.\r\n\r\n\"Image\r\n

Show, don\u2019t tell: support and elaboration in narrative writing<\/h2>\r\nMany writers work under the advice to\u00a0\u201cShow, don\u2019t tell.\u201d Good writers help their readers imagine the story by describing the action, providing sensory descriptions, and explaining characters\u2019 thoughts and feelings. Poets are especially adept at using precise details to focus on specific, concrete, observable things or experiences.\r\n\r\nSome ways that writers \u201cshow, don\u2019t tell\u201d include the following:\r\n