Being Specific
In addition to understanding the 3 Es and anticipating reader questions, a final tactic to help you sufficiently support ideas in your writing is being specific. In this text, you will learn some ways to do this in your writing to bring it to life.
A final tactic to help you sufficiently support ideas in your writing is being specific. Being specific means using precise language that will create a picture in your readers' minds. Compare, for example the following two sentences:
General – He stopped the car.
Specific – Victor slammed on the brakes of his rusty blue Honda.
Discussion: What is the difference between these two sentences?
Another way to think about being specific is to think of it as showing and not telling. The following are some suggestions that will help you be more specific and vivid in your writing.
Use exact names and specific quantities.
Instead of: She loves her job as a Certified Nursing Assistant at a nursing home.
Shauna loves her job as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Sunshine Nursing Home.
Instead of: I had to load heavy boxes of paper products all night at my job.
I had to load twenty-five pound boxes of paper products all night at my Office Max warehouse job.
Use lively verbs.
Instead of: The garbage truck went down the street.
The garbage truck rumbled down the street.
Use language that appeals to the five senses (sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch).
While we can never assume that our readers share our opinions or experiences, one thing that we do share is that all humans experience the world through a combination of the five senses (or, depending on disability, maybe three or four of them): sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Because we know our readers share these ways of experiencing the world, language that appeals to the five senses, is going to be incredibly helpful in bringing our ideas to life.
Instead of: The view of the mountains was beautiful.
The view of snow-covered jagged mountain peaks behind the tall dark green pine forest was beautiful.
Instead of: An alarm went off to alert the town about the tornado.
A high pitched piercing siren went off to alert the town about the tornado.
Instead of: Zach offered me a chocolate chip cookie.
Zach offered me a freshly baked sweet gooey chocolate chip cookie.
Instead of: The park had a field of flowers.
The park had a field of sweetly fragrant flowers.
Instead of: She jumped into the lake for a swim, but decided to get out.
She jumped into the frigid lake for a swim, but decided to get out when she started to shiver from the icy cold water.
Use direct quotes.
Show your readers what a person is saying instead of telling them!
Instead of: My Dad yelled at me when I came home drunk at 2am.
When I walked in drunk at 2am, my Dad said, "I look at my son and see a loser going nowhere with his life".
Give examples.
Instead of: I usually spend my weekends running errands.
I usually spend my weekends running errands such as going to the grocery and doing laundry.
You can also think of being specific in terms of answering reader questions. In that first sentence from the "exact names" pair, readers might ask, "Who is she?" or, "Which nursing home?" In the second set, readers might ask "how heavy?" From the "lively verbs" pair, readers might ask, "How did go the garbage truck go down the street?" Notice how in this case, the two sentences contain the same number of words, but one clearly conveys more information. What are some differences you see between the verb "went" and the verb "rumbled"? In the next pairs of sentences, readers might ask questions like, "What did the mountains look like?" "What did the siren sound like?" "What did the cookie taste like?" "What did the flowers smell like?" and "What did the water feel like?" The sentences which include descriptions that tap into the five senses give readers a much more clear picture. In the sentence about speech, readers might ask, "What did your Dad say?" In the last pair of sentences (about examples), readers might ask, "what kind of errands?"
The goal of good writing is to take whatever awesome ideas you have in your head and get them on the page in such a way that it is so crystal clear to your readers that they can easily picture what you are saying. Certainly one of the most enjoyable parts of reading a good book is that it creates what is almost like a running movie in your mind. Good description and specific language will make our words come to life for our readers.
MORE SHOWING AND LESS TELLING!!!
Source: Erin Severs
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 License.