elaborativ

Elaborativ is an adjective used in some European academic writings to describe phenomena, strategies, or devices whose primary purpose is to elaborate or expand upon a core item of information. The term is cognate with the English word elaborative and traces back to the Latin elaborare, meaning to develop or work out in detail. In scholarly usage, elaborativ signals an emphasis on depth, clarification, and added meaning rather than brevity.

In cognitive psychology and education, elaborativ approaches involve adding meaning, associations, or examples to new material to improve comprehension and memory. Elaborativ encoding contrasts with shallow processing by encouraging individuals to generate connections, imagery, or explanations. Common techniques described as elaborativ include paraphrasing, self-explanation, and the creation of illustrative examples.

In teaching and note-taking, elaborativ methods aim to promote transfer of learning and critical thinking. Elaborativ notes may pair key ideas with definitions, analogies, or real-world applications to help learners reconstruct and retain information. In assessment, elaborativ responses require justification, reasoning, or expansion beyond minimal answers.

In discourse and linguistics, elaborativ elements are components that extend a statement by adding detail or qualification, such as appositive phrases, adjectives, or subordinate clauses. These elements can affect coherence, emphasis, and rhetorical impact, though they may also increase cognitive load for readers or listeners if overused.

See also elaboration, elaborative interrogation, encoding, and discourse analysis.