Reading (or watching) a great story unfold is fun, but readers have to pay attention to detail to keep up with the plot. You’ve already learned about two kinds of details and ideas that make up a story: explicit and implicit. Take a moment to review what you know.
Versus
The words explicit and implicit both come from an older word meaning “ply,” or fold. Look at the open fan on the left. Its folds are open so that you can see the design’s details right out in the open. The fan on the right, by contrast, is folded shut. You can’t see the details, but you can guess what they might look like based on the bits you can see.
Explicit details and ideas are like the unfolded fan. The author has opened up the scene and used words and phrases to add details right there for you to read. The prefix ex- in explicit is like the prefix un- in unfold.
Implicit details and ideas are like the folded fan. The author gives you some information, but she folds up other information. Imagine how long a novel would be if the author included every tiny detail!
To “unfold” implicit details and ideas, readers bring what they already know from background knowledge and personal experience to the story. They add these kinds of information to what they read to make inferences or draw conclusions. In a way, readers are working with the author to make the story more complete.
Now that we’ve reviewed both explicit and implicit details, read each detail or idea about Esperanza’s experiences in “Los Aguacates: Avocados.” Decide whether the detail is explicit (stated right in the text) or implicit (inferred from the text). Then, click the card to flip it over and check your answer.
