8b Provide details.
An effective paragraph develops its main idea by providing enough details—including visual details—to hold the reader’s interest. Without such development, a paragraph may seem lifeless and abstract.
A POORLY DEVELOPED PARAGRAPH
No such thing as human nature compels people to behave, think, or react in certain ways. Rather, from our infancy to our death, we are constantly being taught, by the society that surrounds us, the customs, norms, and mores of a distinct culture. Everything in culture is learned, not genetically transmitted.
This paragraph is boring. Although its main idea is clear and its sentences hold together, it fails to gain our interest or hold our attention because it lacks any specific examples or details. Now look at the paragraph revised to include needed specifics.
THE SAME PARAGRAPH, REVISED
A child in Los Angeles decorates a Christmas tree with shiny red ornaments and sparkling tinsel. A few weeks later, a child in Beijing celebrates the Chinese New Year with feasting, firecrackers, and gift money in lucky red envelopes. It is not by instinct that one child knows how to decorate the tree while the other knows how to celebrate the New Year. No such thing as human nature compels people to behave, think, or react in certain ways. Rather, from the time of our infancy to our death, we are constantly being taught, by the society that surrounds us, the customs, norms, and mores of one or more distinct cultures. Everything in culture is learned, not genetically transmitted.
Though both paragraphs present the same point, only the second one comes to life. It does so by bringing in specific details from life, including images that show readers what the paragraph describes. We want to read this paragraph because it appeals to our senses (shiny red ornaments, firecrackers) and our curiosity (why are red envelopes considered lucky?).
Details in visual texts
Details are important in both written and visual texts. If you decide to use an image because of a particular detail, make sure your readers will notice what you want them to see. Crop out any unnecessary information, and clarify what’s important about the image in your text or with a caption. The first image below shows the original photograph taken to illustrate a blog post about street food. The cropped second image, which appeared on the blog, makes the sandwich the center of the frame.
