College Composition / Unit 10 CMP 0231 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Concrete and Specific Words
Captions available
The idea
Concrete words name things readers can see or touch; abstract words name ideas.
In practice
"The artist used many colors" is vague; "The artist used blues and greens alongside reds" lets readers picture it.
Where people slip
Abstract words are sometimes necessary, but a passage built only of them loses readers; anchor ideas in specifics.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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