Strategy 3. Provide Examples | Elaborating on Answers Effectively
(C-Level, Advanced Writing Skill)
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Strategy 3: Provide Examples
It is usually a good idea to give examples to clarify your answers. Even if an exam question does not ask for examples, it is almost as though it is implied that you will provide them to elaborate on your answer.
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Example of providing examples to elaborate on an answer
Example question
“What are phonemes and allophones?”
Simple Answer
Phonemes are the smallest unit of sound in a language that can be used to distinguish one word from another. Allophones, on the other hand, are the variations of a phoneme that occur in different contexts.
Answer with elaboration
Phonemes are the smallest unit of sound in a language that can be used to distinguish one word from another. In English, for example, the sounds /p/ and /b/ are phonemes because they can be used to distinguish between words such as “pat” and “bat.”
Allophones, on the other hand, are the variations of a phoneme that occur in different contexts. For example, in English, the /p/ sound can be pronounced differently depending on its position in a word. In the word “pat,” the /p/ sound is aspirated, meaning that a puff of air is released when the sound is pronounced. In the word “span," however, the /p/ sound is not aspirated. These different pronunciations of the /p/ sound are allophones of the same phoneme.
Up Next: Strategy 4. Provide Illustrations
Continue the lesson to learn this technique you can use to elaborate on your answer.