3:2 Explication

When and Where Did I Find It: I found this word in the Dreher and Singer (2001) article for this week.  This word is used as one of the features of a "friendly" text.  


What It Means: According to the article, explication is "the degree to which the author states information as opposed to requiring the reader to infer" (Dreher & Singer, 2001, p. 100).  Given the context in which the word is used, I believe this means that explication is the level of detail or explanation the author provides within a text.  If there is very little explication in a given text, then the author did not provide many outright details to aid the reader in understanding the main ideas of the text.  


Level of Familiarity: Prior to reading this article, I believe I have seen this word before.  I'm sure I have read this word in other texts and, if asked to define it, I could have provided a definition that is relatively close to the definition given in the article.  However, in my previous encounters with this word, it was not used to describe an aspect of a "friendly" text.


Do I Want to Know This Word Well and Why? Yes, I want to know this word well.  I believe it is important for us as educators to know what "explication" means and how it relates to the texts that we provide for our students.  Especially as future literacy specialists, this word is important to know as it is used to describe a characteristic of a given text. 


Do I Think Others Should Know This Word Well...If So, Who and Why? While I think that many others may not have reason to use this word very often in daily life, I do think that this word is important to know.  "Explication" can be used to encourage others to provide more information and detail in writing as well as in other forms of communication (such as speaking).  Given that this word can be used in a broader sense than simply referring to an aspect of readable text, I believe that others should know this word well so that they may use it in other situations.