part two discovering meaning: the importance of form

Part Two

Discovering Meaning: The Importance of Form

Chapter 4

• Methods of Paragraph Development

Chapter Objectives

In this chapter you will learn eight methods of paragraph development, including:– Facts and statistics– Examples and illustration– Process– Comparison and contrast– Cause and effect– Classification and analysis– Definition– Analogy

Methods of Development vs Modes of Discourse

• Mode of discourse– Describe the principal types of nonfiction writing

• Narration

• Description

• Exposition

• Persuasion

• Methods of development– Presentation of evidence to support the idea within an

individual paragraph• The main idea cannot be left unexplored

Methods of Development vs Modes of Discourse

• Methods of development– Presentation of evidence to support the idea within an

individual paragraph• The main idea cannot be left unexplored

• It must be – Examined

– Supported Expository methods – Explained– Illustrated– Defined

– The writer chooses the method that best clarifies and supports the main assertion.

The important skill

• The ability to predict what method of development a writer is likely to use.

Facts and Statistics

• As mentioned in Chapter 3, a fact is– A piece of verifiable objective information

• One can prove its truth by – scientific measurement– Personal observation– Duplication

• Statistics are– Data in the form of numbers derived from

• Research studies

• Polls

• Census figures

Examples and Illustration

• An example is– A specific instance of a more general concept

• A writer may support a general idea by citing two or three examples

Specific instances• An illustration is

– A single longer, extended example

Both point to typical and concrete instances of a general idea


• What is the main idea of the passage found on p. 120?


• What is the main idea of the passage found on p. 120?

Because humans so often disappoint us in our lives, stories of heroic dogs

affect us profoundly.

Something is common which makes it explainable

Illustration in Textbooks

• Textbook writers often use illustration to reinforce and add interest to their explanation of abstract concepts.

Process

• There are two kinds of process writing– The directive method

• Shows the reader how to perform a task– Cookbooks– Lab or technical manuals

– The informative method• The writer describes a phenomenon

– How something works– How something developed– How something came into existence

• The writer does not expect his information to be duplicated

Process

• Both types use– Chronological order– Time

To make the steps easy to identify

Comparison and Contrast

• Method used to

explain similarities and differences between two subjects.

• Comparison– Similarities

• Between dissimilar things

• Two related things


• What would be a main-idea sentence for the paragraph on p. 123?


• What would be a main-idea sentence for the paragraph on p. 123?

Surgery and writing have more in common than one might think.


• Contrast – Discussion of differences between two or more related

or like things

A paragraph developed by comparison or contrast does not have to give equal treatment to the two subjects under discussion.


• Read the paragraph at the bottom of pp. 124-125.• Why does Urrea focus more on the Tijuana side

of the border than on the American side?


• Read the paragraph at the bottom of pp. 124-125.• Why does Urrea focus more on the Tijuana side

of the border than on the American side?

The audience is likely to be Americans who would already be familiar with typical American affluence; readers might not be aware of the severe poverty in Tijuana

Contrast in Textbooks

• Contrast is a useful way to distinguish between easily confused concepts or between a correct interpretation and a common misinterpretation.

Practice Exercise 1

• Go to pp. 126-129• Read the following paragraphs.• First, decide which of the following methods of

development predominates– Facts and statistics– Examples or illustration– Process– Comparison and contrast

• Then, write a sentence stating the main idea in your own words.

Practice Exercise 1

A• Method of development: process• Main idea: The lodgepole pine forests in British

Columbia are being devastated by an infestation of beetles.

B• Method of development: contrast• Main idea: Since September 11, 2001, crossing

the border between Mexico and the US has become more difficult, and illegal immigrants’ attitudes have changed as well.

Practice Exercise 1

C• Method of development: facts and statistics• Main idea: Supersizing of meals became the

dominant trend in the fast-food industry during the 1990s, leading to a huge increase in calorie comsumption.

D• Method of development: illustration• Main idea: The idea that a diamond engagement

ring is compulsory is one illustration of how the wedding industry invented a new tradition.

Methods of Paragraph Development—the Second Group

Cause and Effect

• In the cause-and-effect method of development

– Cause refers to reasons

– Effect refers to consequences or results

Writers use this method to explain– Complex events– Problems– Issues

A writer may discuss only causes of a problem or only its effects or both

Cause and Effect

• Read the paragraph at the bottom of p. 129-130• What is the effect?• What are three causes?• What is the final effect?

Cause and Effect

• What is the effect? The average high-school student is weaker academically than the average student was in 1950.

• What are three causes? 1. A decline in standards

2. The degradation of culture

3. Democratization (we expect our schools to offer more academic courses

• What is the final effect? Despite an increase in the number of students who say that they intend to finish college, the increase in the number of students who actually do so is less than 10%

Cause and Effect

• Read the next paragraph found on p. 130• What were the causes of the attacks on the World

Trade Center?• What were the effects of this traversty?

Cause and Effect

• Read the next paragraph found on p. 130• What were the causes of the attacks on the World

Trade Center? 1. Buildings filled with jet fuel

2. Hit by powerful missiles

3. Stairwells built too close together

• What were the effects of this traversty?1. People were trapped causing more than 1,000

unnecessary deaths

Cause and Effect Relationships in Visual Material

• On p. 131, 1. What cause-and-effect relationship does the chart

show?

2. Look again at the four species of animals listed. What conclusion can you draw about the relationship between animal species and the size of their natural home range?

3. Which species of animal has the highest infant mortality rater in captivity?

Cause and Effect Relationships in Visual Material

• On p. 131, 1. What cause-and-effect relationship does the chart

show? The chart shows a correlation between infant mortality in animals and captivity

2. Look again at the four species of animals listed. What conclusion can you draw about the relationship between animal species and the size of their natural home range? Larger species of animals require a larger territory

3. Which species of animal has the highest infant mortality rater in captivity? The polar bear

Analysis and Classification

• Both involve taking apart a larger subject and examining its separate parts to see how each relates to the whole.

• Classification – A writer puts two or more things into classes or

categories following a consistent system.

• Analysis– Involves only a single entity

• Each part examined one at a time


• Read the paragraph on p. 132• What is the basis for the author’s classification

system?


• Read the paragraph on p. 132• What is the basis for the author’s classification

system? cannibalism


• Read the paragraph on p. 133• Identify the various parts of the glass as Petroski

describes them and the function of each.


• Read the paragraph on p. 133• Identify the various parts of the glass as Petroski

describes them and the function of each. – The clear glass makes it easy to see what it contains– The curved surface reflects and refracts light– The heavy thick bottom assures its stability– It’s an appropriate weight for holding water– The shape is cylindrical and symmetrical– The rounded rim protects against chipping– The straight vertical profile makes storage easy

Analysis in Textbooks

• The analytical method is particularly useful in textbook material that must clarify how the parts of a whole work together.

Definition

• Definition is usually associated with a secondary method of development– Typically

• Example or illustration

• Comparison or contrast

• Analysis

• Definition is used to

– Clarify a term that may be • open to varying interpretations (or to

misinterpretation)

• Because he or she is using a word in a subjective or personal way

Definition

• A writer uses definition to – explain the meaning of a new concept– Clarify abstract terms like

• Machismo

• Feminism

• Hero

• Racism

• Patriotism

See the paragraph on p. 135. What is the connection between the Monty Python skit and computer programmers’ adoption of the term?

Definition

See the paragraph on p. 135. What is the connection between the Monty Python skit and computer programmers’ adoption of the term?

It’s the repetitive aspect—changing “Spam” is akin to repetitively flooding a site with meaningless data.

Definition in Textbooks

• Textbooks typically print key terms in boldface or italic type so that they stand out from the rest of the text.

• On p. 135 how do you know what to focus your attention to as you read the passage?

The boldface and italicized word helps the reader to know what to focus attention to.

Analogy

• Analogy is the most sophisticated and therefore the hardest to understand.

• It is an extended metaphor, in which the writer discusses the literal subject in terms of something else.

• Unlike a simple metaphor, the analogy is sustained typically over a few sentences or—less commonly—even throughout an essay.

• Good analogies are effective and compelling because they provide a novel way of looking at a subject.

• They can be fanciful and whimsical.

Practice Exercise 2 pp. 138-141

• Read the following paragraphs.• Decide which method of development

predominates.– Cause and effect– Definition– Classification and analysis– Analogy

• Then, write a sentence stating the main idea in your own words.


AMethod of development: cause and effect

Main idea: A revolution in the food system is happening in our cities and towns.

BMethod of development: definition

Main idea: A Bridezilla is term for a self-absorbed, obsessed woman who wants to stage the perfect wedding.


CMethod of development: cause and effect

Main idea: Methamphetamine causes serious and profound physical and psychological changes in the human body.

DMethod of development: analogy

Main idea: Falling in love is like both craetion of the universe and its evolution.


EMethod of development: analysis

Main idea: Jeans are quintessentially American, reflecting the nation’s cultural myths and ideals.

Combination of Methods

• A writer may use several different methods from paragraph to paragraph or within the same passage for an effect to engage the reader.

Go to Practice Exercise 3 on pp. 141-143.

Read the following passages.

Choose the dominant method(s) of development from the choice provided.

Write a sentence stating the main idea in your own words.

Practice Exercise 3 on pp. 141-143

APredominant methods of development: a/c

Main idea: Though there are obvious hazards involved with working in a kitchen, there are endless sensual pleasures to compensate.

BPredominant methods of development: b/e/f

Main idea: Easter Island society was divided into two classes, chiefs and commoners, each of which lived in a different type of house.

Practice Exercise 3 on pp. 141-143

CPredominant methods of development: c/e/f

Main idea: We must distinguish between selection, a legitimate professional activity, and censorship, the result of someone’s fear of controversy.

Discussion

For what purpose do people write? In Ch. 4 we learn that even surgeons may have the need to write. A journalist becomes a journalist nowadays and has to be fast if he or she is going to get the story. For what reasons do people choose their career as a writer? Christy Brown chose to write about his life and he had to use his left foot in order to write because he had cerebral palsy. What drives the pen? What might be some motivations causing a person to become a writer? What are some qualities or characteristics which writers and other people, such as surgeons, have in common? Post your thoughts for 20 points. Respond to a classmate for an additional 5 points.

Now, remember evidence. Have, at least, 3 citations to prove your point.

part two discovering meaning: the importance of form

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