Does the writing reflect competence in standard English grammar as evidenced by writing that is reasonably free from:
|
|||||
|
|||||
Details and Examples
Core Skills Writing Rubric
Explanation
Without examples and details, your writing might be too vague for your audience to really understand what you mean. For example, what if you read a paper and the author said "The weather over the weekend was perfect." What does that mean?
For a former colleague, perfect weather means that he was able to spend the weekend skiing. But, even telling you about Professor Monroe's interest in skiing, I am leaving out an important detail. As a result, I could still cause confusion. For example, if you were reading this module in the summer, you might incorrectly assume that my colleague enjoys spending his weekends on the lake behind a boat. Rather, his passion is gliding down a snow covered hill. Had I added the detail "snow" in front of skiing, my meaning would have been clear.
Now let's consider Jim Harper's comments concerning Jason X which appeared in Legacy of Blood. I have reproduced it here without the examples.
"Critical reception was apathetic, but fans were in general agreement that Jason X had supplied exactly what they had expected it to."
As written here, this sentence is both absolutely correct and absolutely meaningless because""without the examples""we don't know what fans expected. Harper's full sentence reads as follows and is much clearer with his specific examples.
"Critical reception was apathetic, but fans were in general agreement that Jason X had supplied exactly what they had expected it to: A ludicrous plot, a young, attractive and mostly stupid cast, complex death scenes and gratuitous nudity."
Useful Internet Sites
Tagg, John. "Use Concrete, Specific Language." Discovering Ideas Handbook. 2003. Palomar College.
"Using Examples." Guide to Grammar and Writing. nd. Capital Community College.
References
Harper, Jim. Legacy of Blood. Critical Vision: Manchester, Great Britain, 2004.
