Elaboration: Development of IDEAS 2011 Compiled and Created by Beverly Dunaway

 WHEN YOU ARE WRITING, IDEAS COME TO YOUR MIND, BUT THEY ARE JUST IDEAS UNTIL THEY ARE DEVELOPED WITH DETAILS.  FOR EXAMPLE: THE IDEA OF AN UMBRELLA TO USE ON A RAINY DAY IS COOL, BUT WHEN IT IS NOT OPENED AND IT RAINS, THERE IS A PROBLEM.  YOUR IDEA OF USING AN UMBRELLA IS EXTREMELY HELPFUL WHEN IT IS FULLY OPENED ON A RAINY DAY!

 Let the world read about your ideas you develop with “details”, “elaboration”, “anecdotes”, “examples”, “for instance”! Don’t be shy!

 THINK OF FRESH IDEAS!  TAKE YOUR IDEAS AND DEVELOP WITH DETAILS!  BALANCE YOUR WRITING BY DEVELOPING YOUR IDEAS EQUALLY IN YOUR PAPER!  STAY ON YOUR IDEA MORE THAN ONE SENTENCE!  MAKE YOUR IDEA CLEAR TO THE READER!  DEVELOP AND ELABORATE EACH IDEA! DON’T MAKE A LIST OF IDEAS!

 BENJAMIN FRANKLIN: ELECTRICITY

 EVEN THE CLAM OPENS UP HIS SHELL TO SHOW THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PEARL!

 Examples from unedited FCAT Writes Student Anchor Papers (2010)

 Supporting ideas are offered with adequate development ELABORATION: (We take the pizza out of the oven and cut it in square pieces. The knife was so fast that I was done in a minute. We served the pizza to the students. All of a sudden, we hear the students shouting,"This tastes awful! What did you guys do? All we taste is tomato sauce and dough!").

 ELABORATION: SUPPORTING DETAILS Carefully selected details are provided as support ([Drew], [Jenibelle] and I looked at each other and groaned. The school bell rang and we dragged ourselves to the cafeteria. We got in our blue uniforms and got to work. I served pepperoni pizza on a tray. [Jenibelle] served mashed potatoes and gravy. [Drew] got the easiest job. All she did was hand Gatorades to students).

 (When we got into the lunchroom, it was all neat and tidy, no lunch ladies serving up mystery meat. This was going to be extraordinary. We followed and listened to the principal as she led and told us about the lunch room. Principal [Lodz] left us to do our easy job and told us to be ready for her when she checks on us every half-an-hour. We got our hands cleaned, and got comfortable before we even started cooking).

 (I was putting pepperoni-flavored hot sauce on the pizza, and too much came out. Then, this doesn't even sound like it has a smidgen of an atom of a chance at all, the pizza started to grow, and grow, and grow, and grow! It kept growing until it was a gigantic, fire-breathing, pepperoni pizza! We were all very, very scared. Even [Cody] was scared, the bravest of us five. Excuse me, four, [David] had just run out of the room in a fit of what looked like screaming terror).

 (When we got into the lunchroom, it was all neat and tidy, no lunch ladies serving up mystery meat. This was going to be extraordinary. We followed and listened to the principal as she led and told us about the lunch room. Principal [Lodz] left us to do our easy job and told us to be ready for her when she checks on us every half-an-hour. We got our hands cleaned, and got comfortable before we even started cooking).

 Supporting ideas are amply developed through the use of anecdotes and specific details: “For instance, I’m a safety patrol. As a safety patrol I have a giant job to enforce the rules. One time there was a child named [Jake]. He thought it was cool not to follow the rules. I was on duty. [Jake] came speeding as quick as a cheetah and zipped past me. I told him to walk but, he didn’t listen. Then he slipped and scrapped his knee. That is the first reason it is extremely important to follow the rules.”

 “In the library all of the books are organized in to sections by number. You have to treat books with care by bringing them back on time and carefully turning the pages. That comes under the rule of be respectful. If the school did not respect the books the books would be every wear. They would be on the floor!! They would have ripped pages!! That rule also helps to keep a healthy school because you can be walking and then trip on a book. If you take care of books you can keep them for a long time.”

 “Another reason why school rules are important is so you can’t cheat, or have calculators on a test. If you copy off someone’s answers on a worksheet, they’re not going to be there for you to copy off when you’re taking the test for it. Try your best. If you need help, ask for it. Or what if someone copies off your test? Plus, what if when you copy off someone’s answers, they have the answers wrong? Would you be very happy? I know I wouldn’t! If you use a calculator for an answer, what if you lose the calculator? What then? You can learn better if you just try and don’t cheat or use calculator.”

 “My last reason why it is important to have rules is because you need to listen. If a teacher is talking and you are not listening you will not know what you are supposed to be doing. Normally if the teacher thinks you are not listening they will ask you what they said. Most of the time you will say what. Not often do you know what they were saying but sometimes you get lucky. You also need to listen if it is an emergency because a tornado could be coming towards you.”