A trite rule is ripped apart in written material (10)
I believe the answer is:
literature
'written material' is the definition.
(literature is a kind of written material)
'a trite rule is ripped apart' is the wordplay.
'is ripped apart' indicates an anagram (I've seen this in other clues).
'a'+'trite'+'rule'='atriterule'
'atriterule' with letters rearranged gives 'LITERATURE'.
'in' is the link.
(Other definitions for literature that I've seen before include "Books, writing, etc" , "Creative writing" , "Written texts" , "Printed matter" , "What author writes" .)