Patterns of Development in Writing
Paragraphs can be developed using a variety of patterns that reflect our thinking
about the material.
It is possible that more than one pattern of development may be used in series of
paragraphs.
Kirszner and Mandell (2002) in their Brief Holt Handbook encapsulated the eight
patterns development.
Patterns of Development
1. Narration
2. Description
3. Definition
4. Exemplification
5. Comparison and Contrast
6. Cause and Effect
7. Process Analysis
8. Division and Classification
9. Problem-Solution
10. Persuasion
Narration
Is a story.
Storytelling can be very effective for the simple reason that people love to hear
stories.
A narrative paragraph can be effective at drawing the reader in and establishing
your voice in the essay
Sequential presentation of events is observed. It is normally chronologically
although at times can use flashbacks
Narratives contain actions words - verbs and adverbs- that help move the story or
process along and make it more interesting
They also use transitions such as first, then, soon, after and suddenly, which
maintain the coherence and show movement from one event to the next.
Contain a story component – characters, setting, conflict, climax and resolution.
Description
You could start with the physical description – the details of how your subject looks,
sounds, feels, smells or even tastes like.
The details can be arranged in any pattern you think is best.
It is not about what the writer sees but what the readers need to see in order to
imagine the scene, the person or the object.
Grow (1999) suggested the use of sensory language.
There are two types of description
– subjective and objective.
Subjective – the writer is describing an impression of what is observed.
Ex. “It was a dark and lonely night.”
Objective - presents an impartial and actual picture of an object or scene. The
writer has to stay away from emotional impressions or responses, bracketing
his/her biases.
Definition
Identifies a term and sets it apart from all other terms that may be related to it.
What follows are the particulars to differentiate the term from the other terms of that class
providing clear details to support the term’s definition.
Common methods of Definition
1. By characteristics - physical features as well as the behaviours
2. By functions – how something works or what it does
3. By what it is not
4. By what it is similar to -
comparison and analogy help us understand things that areunfamiliar to us
5. By example
– giving examples illustrating what the term means can be highly effective
6. By its origin
– providing a history of what a term has meant can help understand itscurrent meaning
7. By its effect
–
discussing what effects the subject produces is important with certainsubjects or in certain
contexts
Exemplification
O
Illustrations through clear and specific examples help explain abstract ideas and illuminate
orclarify meaning in texts.
O
Writers use examples to make a general idea clear
–
to exemplify an idea.
O
May be long or it may be short.
O
It may be a story, anecdote, quotation or a statistic
Comparison and Contrast
O
Examines how given subjects are either similar or different.
O
Comparison examines how the subjects are the same.
O
Contrast examines how the subjects are different.
O
Central to the development using this pattern is the effective use of appropriate
transitionalwords and phrases that signal comparison and contrast.
O
Cause-and-Effect
O
Useful in explaining why something happens.
O
A paragraph emphasizing the “cause” normally starts with an effect, similarly a paragraphemphasizing
the “effect” begins with a particular cause then explains the consequences of
effects of this cause.
O
Know which factor to highlight
–
causes or effects and determine the reason of discussing thecause and/or effect.
O
The most common words and phrases that show cause include because, since, is due to and
iscause by.
O
While the words and phrases such as for this reason, it follows, as a result, as a
consequence,thus, so, therefore.
O
There may be three other types of organization depending on the topic: multiple causes
withsingle effect, single cause with multiple effects and causal chain/domino effect.
Process Analysis
O
Discussion of steps one must take to achieve a particular end.
O
Intended for an audience that needs to learn to learn how to perform a process themselves.
O
Other process analysis writing is informative rather than instructional.Ex. How to resolve
the healthcare crisis
O
Process Analysis paragraph is a kind of paragraph which is used to teach someone how to
dosomething.
O
The steps in a process happen in a sequence, thus, are presented in chronological order. To
indicate the sequence, transitional expressions such as “first”, “second”, “then”, and “finally”
are used
Division and Classification
O
In division, we divide a general category of things into smaller subcategories.Ex. There are
three main problems associated with living across from a high school: noise, trash
andtraffic congestion.
O
In classification, we develop in criteria for the items in a subcategory based on
relationshipbetween the items.Ex. Consider your favorite music store: the compact disc are
organized into many subcategories such ascountry, rock, hip-hop, dance music, world
music, classical, jazz, soundtracks, etc.
O
Division and classification make it easy for individuals to locate what they are looking
for, butthese organizational methods are also useful for understanding complex problems
and issues.
Problem- Solution
O
The writer presents the problem and some facts or reasons why it is a problem.
Naturally,readers look for a solution for the problem. The closing statement or conclusion
highlights theconnection between the problem and the solution.
O
Persuasion
O
Is to convince someone that your opinion on a subject is the right one.
O
Think of your audience and the kind of evidence your audience would likely respond to.
O
The methods include using facts, referring to authority who can give impartial and
unbiasedinformation, predicting the consequence and answering oppositions.
