7 introductio to essay development

7/28/2019 7 Introductio to Essay Development

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Patterns of Essay

Development


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Traditionally, essay writing has been divided into the following patterns of

development:

Comparison and contrast

Definition

Division and classification

Description

Narration

Exposition

Examples

Process

Cause and effect

Argumentation

A description is a verbal picture of a person, place, or thing. In narration, a

writer tells the story of something that happened.

In exposition, the writer provides information about and explains a particular

subject. Patterns of development within exposition include giving examples,

detailing a process of doing or making something, analyzing causes and effects,

comparing and contrasting, defining a term or concept, and dividing something

into parts or classifying it into categories.

Finally, in argumentation, a writer attempts to support a controversial point or

to defend a position on which there is a difference of opinion.

The pages ahead present individual chapters on each pattern. You will have a

chance, then, to learn nine different patterns or methods for organizing material in

your papers. Each pattern has its own internal logic and provides its own special

strategies for imposing order on your ideas. As you practice each pattern, keep these

two points in mind:

IntrodtrCtion to

E s s a y Development

7.1

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Point 1:While each essay that you write will involve one predominant pattern,

very often one or more additional patterns may be involved. For example, con-

sider the two student essays in Chapter 10, "Examples." The first essay there,

"Everyday Cruelty" (page 207), is developed through a series of examples. But

there is also an element of narration, because the writer presents examples that


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164 Patterns of EssayDevelopment

The Progression in Each Chapter

Before you begin to work on particular types of essays, there are several

considerations about writing to keep in mind. They will be discussed in tur

In Chapters 8 through 16, after each type of essay development is explained,

essays and a professional essay illustrating that type are presented, follow

questions about the essays. The questions relate to unity, support, and cohere

principles of effective writing explained earlier in this book. You are then a

write your own essay. In most cases, the first assignment is fairly structure

provides a good deal of guidance for the writing process. The other assign

offer a wide choice of writing topics. In each case, one assignment involves w

an essay with a specific purpose and for a specific audience. And in three in

(examples; cause and effect; and comparison or contrast), the final assign

require outside reading of literary works; a student model is provided for

these assignments.

occur as~ proceeds through his day. In the second essay, "Altered States"

209), use of examples is again the predominant pattern, but in a lesser w

author is also explaining the causes of altered states of mind .

Point 2: No matter which pattern or patterns you use, each essay will pro

involve some form of argumentation. You will advance a point and th

on to support that point. In "Everyday Cruelty," for instance, the autho

examples to support his point that people inflict little cruelties on each otan essay that appears earlier, a writer supports the point that a'particular d

depressing by providing a number ofdescriptive details (see p ge 171). A

writer claims that a certain experience in his life was frightening and the

a narrative to persuade us of the truth of this statement (see page 192). A

another author states that a fast-food restaurant can be preferable to a fan

and then supplies comparative information about both to support his stat

(see page 266). Much of your writing, in short, will have the purpose of pe

ing your reader that the idea you have advanced is valid.

Important Considerations in

Essay Development


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' lowing Your Subject

Whenever possible, try to write on a subject that interests you. You will then find

it easier to put more time into your work. Even more important, try to write on a

subject that you already know something about. If you do not have direct experience

with the subject, you should at least have indirect experience-knowledge gained

through thinking, reading, or talking about the subject as well as from prewriting.

If you are asked to write on a topic about which you have no experience or

knowledge, do whatever research is required to gain the background informationyou may need. Chapter 21, "Using the Library and the Internet," will show you

how to look up relevant information. Without direct or indirect experience, or the

information you gain through research, you may not be able to provide the specific

evidence needed to develop an essay.

In all l ikelihood, there will be a good deal of variety in your college writing

assignments. Sometimes you will be able to write on a topic of your own choosing

or on a point you discover within a given topic; at other times you may be given a

very specific assignment. In any case, do not start writing a paper until you know

exactly what is expected.

First of all, be clear about what kind of paper the instructor has in mind. Should

it be primarily a research paper summarizing other people's ideas? Should Itconsist

entirely of your own ideas? Should it consist of a comparison of your ideas with those

of a given author? Should it be something else? If you are not sure about the nature of

an assignment, other students may be confused as well. Do not hesitate, then, to ask

an instructor about an assignment. Most instructors are more than willing to provide

an explanation. They would rather spend a few minutes of class time explaining an

assignment than spend hours reading student essays that miss the mark.

Second, find out right at the start how long a paper is expected to be. Many

instructors will indicate the approximate length of the papers they assign. Knowing

the expected length of a paper will help you decide exactly how detailed your

treatment of a subject should be.

165Introduction to EssayDevelopment

nderstanding the- Nature and

ength of an Assignment

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nowing Your Purpose and Audience

The three most common purposes of writing are to inform, to persuade, and to

entertain. As noted above, much of the writing you do in this book will involve

some form of argumentation or persuasion. You will advance a point or thesis and


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First-Person Approach

Determining Your Point of View

166

IZ l

Patternsof EssayDevelopment

then support.it-in a variety of ways. To some extent, also, you will write paper

inform-to provide readers with information about a particular subject. And si

in practice, writing often combines purposes, you might also find yourself at ti

providing vivid or humorous details in order to entertain your readers.

Your audience will be primarily your instructor and sometimes other stude

Your instructor is really a symbol of the larger audience you should see your

writing for-educated adult readers who expect you to present your ideas in a cl

direct, organized way. If you can learn to write to persuade or inform such a gen

audience, you will have accomplished a great deal.

It will also be helpful for you to write some papers for a more sJ1~cificaudien

By doing so, you will develop an ability to choose words and adopt a t~meand p

of view that are just right for a given audience. This part of the book inclu

assignments asking you to write with very specific purposes in mind, and for v

specific audiences.

When you write, you can take any of three approaches, or points of view: f

person, second person, or third person.

In the first-person approach-a strongly individualized point of view-you draw

your own experience and speak to your audience in your own voice, using pronou

like I, me, mine, we, our, and us.

The first-person approach is most common in narrative essays based

personal experience. It also suits other essays where most of the evidence presen

consists of personal observation.

Here is a first-person supporting paragraph from an essay on camping:

Firstof all, I like comfort when I'm camping. My Airstream motorhome, with its completely equipped kitchen, shower stall, toilet, double

bed, and color television, resembles a mobile motel room. I can sleepon

real mattress, clean sheets, and fluffy pillows. Next to my bed are device

that make me feel at home: a radio, an alarm clock, and a TV remote-

control unit. Unlike the poor campers huddled in tents, I don't have to

worry about cold, rain, heat, or annoying insects. After a hot shower, I ca

slide into my best nightgown, sit comfortably on my down-filled quilt, an

read the latest best-seller while a thunderstorm booms outside.


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Third-Person Approach

sing Peer Review


First of all, modern campers bring complete bedrooms with them.

Winnebagos, Airstream motor homes, and Fleetwood recreational vehicles

lumber into America's campgrounds every summer like mobile motel

rooms. All the comforts of home are provided inside. Campers sleep on real

mattresses with cleansheets and fluffy pillows. Next to their beds are the

samegadgets that litter their night tables at home-radios, alarm clocks,

and TV remote-control units. It's not necessaryfor them to worry about

annoyances like cold, heat, rain, or buzzing insects, either. They cansit

comfortably in bed and readthe latest best-sellers while a thunderstorm

booms outside.

In addition to having your instructor as an audience for your writing, you will

benefit from having another student in your class as an audience. On the day a

paper is due, or on a day when you are writing papers in class, your instructor may

ask you to pair up with another student. That student will read your paper, and you

will read his or her paper.

In the second-person approach, the writer speaks directly to the reader, using the

pronoun you. The second-person approach is considered appropriate for giving

direct instructions and explanations to the reader. That is why you is used throughout

this book.

You should plan to use the second-person approach only when writing a process

essay. Otherwise, as a general rule, never use the word you in writing. (If doing

so has been a common mistake in your writing, you should review the rule aboutpronoun point of view on pages 104-105.)

The third-person approach is by far the most common point of view in academic

writing. In the third person, the writer includes no direct references to the reader

(you) or the self (I, me). Third person gets its name from the stance it suggests-that

of an outsider or "third person" observing and reporting on matters of public rather

than private importance. In this approach, you draw on information that you have

gotten through observation, thinking, or reading.

Here is the paragraph on camping, recast in the third person. Note the third-person

pronouns their, them, and they, which all refer to campers in the first sentence.

Second-Person Approaeh

udents.

ourself

~ a clear,

_ general

- pers to

-J since,

Jt times

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.ad point

Includes

_ for very

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mmotoret, double

n sleep on a

are devices

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haveto

shower, I can

ed quilt, and

e.

ays based on

ence presented

-YOU draw on

using pronoun


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168 Patterns of Essay Development

Ideallx.-.rood the other paper aloud while your peer listens. If that is

practical, read it in a whisper while your peer looks on. As you read, both you

your peer should look and listen for spots where the paper does not read smoo

and clearly. Check or circle the trouble spots where your reading snags.

Your peer should then read your paper, marking possible trouble spots. T

each of you should do three things.

1 IdentificationAt the top of a separate sheet of paper, write the title and author ..ofthe paper

have read. Under it, write your name as the reader of the paper.

2 Scratch Outline

"X-ray" the paper for its inner logic by making up a scratch outline. The scr

outline need be no more than twenty words or so, but it should show clearly

logical foundation on which the essay is built. It should identify and summarize

overall point of the paper and the three areas of support for the point. .

Your outline can look like this:

Point: _

Support:

(1) _

(2) _

(3) _

For example, here is a scratch outline of the essay on moviegoing on pages

Point: _

Support:

(1) _

(2) _

(3) _


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After you have completed your evaluation of the paper, give it to your peer.

Your instructor may give you the option of rewriting a paper in light of the feedback

you get. Whether or not you rewrite, be sure to hand in the peer-evaluation formwith your paper.

Under the outline, write a heading: "Comments." Here is what you should com-

ment on:

1 While you're writing and revising an essay, you should be constantly evaluating

it in terms of unity, support, and organization. Use as a guide the detailed

checklist on the inside front cover of the book.

2 After you've finished the next-to-final draft of an essay, check it for the

sentence skills listed on the inside front cover. It may also help to read thepaper out loud. If a given sentence does not sound right-that is, if it does not

read clearly and smoothly-chances are something is wrong. Then revise or

edit as needed until your paper is error-free.

Look at the spots where your reading of the paper snagged. Are words missing

or misspelled? Is there a lack of parallel structure? Are there mistakes with

punctuation? Is the meaning of a sentence confused? Try to figure out what the

problems are and suggest ways to fix them.

Are there spots in the paper where you see problems with unity, sup ort, or

organization? (You'll find it helpful to refer to the checklist on the inside front

cover of this book.) If so, offer comments. For example, you might say, "More

details are needed in the first supporting paragraph," or, "Some of the details in

the last supporting paragraph don't really back up your point."

Finally, note something you really liked about the paper, such as good use of

transitions or an especially realistic or vivid specific detail.

oing a Personal Review

3 Comments

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- othly

_ er you

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arize the

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7 introductio to essay development

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