Download - 7 Introductio to Essay Development
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t's no fun
one's ownws up self-
are worth it.
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
~E!
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
167Introduction to EssayDevelopment
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
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Jt times
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.ad point
Includes
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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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169Introduction to EssayDevelopment
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
. Then
IS not
)u and
- othly
_ er you
~ scratch
~arly the
arize the
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