Scribd
Upload
712 views

Patterns of Paragraph Development

The document contains examples of six different types of academic writing: narration, description, process analysis, classification/division, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect. The narration example tells the story of a man who caught an unexpected piranha fish while fishing. The description example provides sensory details about the appearance and traits of piranha fish. The process analysis example outlines the steps to safely swim with piranhas. The classification/division example separates piranha species into four genera. The comparison/contrast example compares the author's experiences in rural New Mexico and rural New Hampshire. The cause/effect example discusses how novels can help readers develop tolerance for ambiguity and complexity.

Uploaded by

Deathkill
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
712 views

Patterns of Paragraph Development

The document contains examples of six different types of academic writing: narration, description, process analysis, classification/division, comparison/contrast, and cause/effect. The narration example tells the story of a man who caught an unexpected piranha fish while fishing. The description example provides sensory details about the appearance and traits of piranha fish. The process analysis example outlines the steps to safely swim with piranhas. The classification/division example separates piranha species into four genera. The comparison/contrast example compares the author's experiences in rural New Mexico and rural New Hampshire. The cause/effect example discusses how novels can help readers develop tolerance for ambiguity and complexity.

Uploaded by

Deathkill
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
You are on page 1/ 7

Name: John Peter D.

Pestaño Date Submitted: 10/29/21


Grade & Section: XI – Pythagoras Subject Teacher: Mrs. Christy Kimeiafar

1. Narration

The purpose of narration is to tell a story or relate an event. Narration is an especially


useful tool for sequencing or putting details and information into some kind of logical order,
usually chronological. Literature uses narration heavily, but it also can be useful in non-fiction,
academic writing for strong impact.

 Example:
One North Carolina man found quite a surprise last year while fishing in the Catawba
River: a piranha. Jerry Melton, of Gastonia, reeled in a one pound, four ounce fish with an
unusual bite. Melton could not identify it, but a nearby fisherman did. Melton at first could not
believe he had caught a piranha. He said, “That ain’t no piranha. They ain’t got piranha around
here.” Melton was right: the fish is native to South America, and North Carolina prohibits
owning the fish as a pet or introducing the species to local waterways. The sharp-toothed,
carnivorous fish likely found itself in the Catawba River when its illegal owner released the fish
after growing tired of it. Wildlife officials hope that the piranha was the only of its kind in the
river, but locals are thinking twice before they wade in the water.
2. Description

The purpose of description is to recreate, invent, or visually present a person, place,


event, or action so that the reader can picture that which is being described. It is heavily based
on sensory details: sight, sound, smell, feel, taste.

 Example:
Piranha are omnivorous, freshwater fish, which are mostly known for their single row of
sharp, triangular teeth in both jaws. Piranhas’ teeth come together in a scissor-like bite and are
used for puncture and tearing. Baby piranha are small, about the size of a thumbnail, but full-
grown piranha grow up to about 6-10 inches, and some individual fish up to 2 feet long have
been found. The many species of piranha vary in color, though most are either silvery with an
orange underbelly and throat or almost entirely black
3. Process/Analysis

Analyzing a process can also be thought of as “how-to” instruction. Technical writing


includes a lot of process analysis, for instance. Academic writing can incorporate process
analysis to show how an existing problem came to be, or how it might be solved, by following a
clear series of steps.

 Example:
You can safely swim with piranhas, but it’s important to know how and when to do it.
First, chose an appropriate time, preferably at night and during the rainy season. Avoid piranha-
infested waters during the dry season, when food supplies are low and piranhas are more
desperate. Piranhas feed during the day, so night-time swimming is much safer. Second,
streamline your movement. Wild or erratic activity attracts the attention of piranhas. Swim
slowly and smoothly. Finally, never enter the water with an open wound or raw meat. Piranhas
attack larger animals only when they are wounded. The presence of blood in the water may
tempt the fish to attack. If you follow these simple precautions, you will have little to fear.
4. Classification/Division

Classification takes one large concept, and divides it into individual pieces. A nice result
from this type of writing is that it helps the reader to understand a complex topic by focusing on
its smaller parts. This is particularly useful when an author has a unique way of dividing the
concepts, to provide new insight into the ways it could be viewed.

 Example:
Piranhas comprise more than 30-60 species of fish, depending on whom you ask. The
many species fall into four genera: Pygocentrus, Pygopristis, Serrasalmus, and Pristobrycon.
Piranha in the Pygocentrus genus are the most common variety, the kind you might find in a pet
store. Pygopristis piranha are herbivores, feasting on seeds and fruits, not flesh. In contrast, fish
in the Serrasalmus genus eat only meat, and their teeth are razor-sharp. Pristobrycon are the least
friendly of all piranhas; they often bite the fins of other fish, even fish of the same species. The
label piranha, then, refers to a wide variety of species.
5. Comparison/Contrast

Comparison focuses on similarities between things, and contrast focuses on their


differences. We innately make comparisons all the time, and they appear in many kinds of
writings. The goal of comparison and contrast in academic essays is generally to show that one
item is superior to another, based on a set of evaluations included as part of the writing.

 Example:
My memories of my arrival in Hanover, New Hampshire, are mostly of the color green.
Green cloaked the hillsides, crawled the ivied walls, and was reflected in the river where the
Dartmouth crew students sculled. For a girl who had never been far from Crownpoint, New
Mexico, the green felt incredibly juicy, lush, beautiful, and threatening. Crownpoint had vast
acreage of sky and sand, but aside from the pastel scrub brush, mesquite, and chamiso,
practically the only growing things there were the tiny stunted pines called pinion trees. Yet it is
beautiful; you can see the edges and contours of red earth stretching all the way to the
boxshaped faraway cliffs and the horizon. No horizon was in sight in Hanover, only trees. I felt
claustrophobic.

Lori Aviso, “Walking the Path Between Worlds” (point-by-point)

6. Cause/Effect

If narration offers a sequence of events, cause/effect essays offer an explanation about


why that sequence matters. Cause/effect writing is particularly powerful when the author can
provide a cause/effect relationship that the reader wasn’t expecting, and as a result see the
situation in a new light.

 Example:

Great novels can help us master the all-too-rare-skill of tolerating – of being able to hold
in mind – ambiguity and contradiction. Jay Gatsby has a shady past, but he’s also sympathetic.
Huck Finn is a liar, but we come to love him. A friend’s student once wrote that Alice Munro’s
characters weren’t people he’d choose to hang out with but that reading her work always made
him feel “a little less petty and judgmental.” Such benefits are denied to the young reader
exposed only to books with banal, simple-minded moral equations as well as to the students
encouraged to come up with reductive, wrong-headed readings of multilayered texts.

Francine Prose, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Can’t Sing”

You might also like