From the course: College Prep: Writing a Strong Essay

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Providing specific details

Providing specific details

From the course: College Prep: Writing a Strong Essay

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Providing specific details

- So take a look at these two descriptions. Here's the first. "I needed more books and movies "from the library." Now here's the second. "I had read the last book in the "Game of Thrones series, and pretty much "memorized the dialog of the Dr. Who DVDs "I borrowed last weekend." What's the difference between these two? Both present the same basic information, but in the second sentence, which comes from the sample essay in the exercise files, it mentions specific details. Not just books, but the last book in the Game of Thrones series. Not just any movies, but Dr. Who DVDs. Now, try substituting Twilight for Game of Thrones, or The Bachelor for Dr. Who. How does that change your image of the person who wrote this essay? Fiction writers use specific details for indirect characterization, like we talked about in our last movie, with the example from The Scarlet Letter. But in narrative writing, specific details also help to add an element of truthfulness to writing. This can be really…

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