Reading and Writing

The students should be able to The students should be able to The students should be able to
distinguish different patterns of use the different signal words for write a paper using a specific
development in writing. different patterns of pattern of development.
development in writing.
 Pattern of Development: Narration

Pattern of Development: Description

Pattern of Development: Cause and Effect

Pattern of Development: Exemplification

Writing can be difficult for most students, especially if
they do not know how to write coherently and
cohesively. Sentences and paragraphs must
demonstrate relationships when conveying the writer's
thoughts and ideas about a topic, and this can be
accomplished effectively by employing patterns of
development.

In this lesson, we will examine different development

patterns that will help you produce better academic
papers.
 A pattern of development is how an academic
paper is put together from paragraph to
paragraph so that the thesis and evidence for it
are presented in a way that makes sense and is
easy to follow. Without a pattern of
development, a paper may be hard to
comprehend.
Some ways to build a piece of writing are
through narration, description, cause and effect,
and examples.
A narration is a way to tell a story by putting events in a logical order. It
tells what happened or describes a chain of events that led to a conclusion
or end. It tells us what happened, where it happened, and when.

Narration is the pattern of development of short stories, poems, fiction

and non-fiction books, films, and TV and radio programs. When you
describe a narrative from a particular point of view, you are engaging in
the practice of narrating.
Here are some examples of narration:

• Reading a novel
• Being told what someone did last night
• Telling someone how to do something
• Figuring out what caused a low grade on a test
Narration refers to telling a story or recounting a series of events. It can be based on personal experience or on knowledge gained
from reading or observation. Chronology usually governs narration, which includes concrete detail, a point of view, and sometimes
such elements as dialogue

The idea for this book was born one night after a grueling conversation with my then
eleven-year-old son. He had come home from his progressive middle school unnaturally
quiet and withdrawn, shrugging off my questions of concern with uncharacteristic
irritability. Where was the sunny, chatty boy I dropped off that morning? What had
befallen him in the perilous halls of middle school? I backed off but kept a close eye on
him, watching for clues.
After a big bowl of his favorite pasta, he sat on a sofa in my study and read his
science textbook as I wrote at my desk. We both enjoyed this simple yet profound
togetherness, the two of us focused on our own projects yet palpably connected. As we
worked under the soft glow of paper lanterns, with the heat on high and our little dog
snoring at his feet, my son began to relax. I
could feel a shift as he began to remember, deep in his body, that he was home, that he
was safe, that he did not have to brace to protect himself from the expectations of the
outside world.
A paragraph that employs description seeks to convey to the reader the image of a person, an object, a
place, or a scenario through the use of words. It relies significantly on sensory elements, including sight,
sound, smell, touch, and taste. The two types of description are objective and subjective.

The focus of an objective description is Subjective description shows how a

on the thing being described, not on the writer feels about the subject and uses
writer's feelings, thoughts, or personal more descriptive and richer language
reactions to it. than objective description.
Description is closely allied with narration because both include many specific details. However, unlike narration, description
emphasizes the senses by painting a picture of how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, or feels.

I make friends, over time, with the other “girls” who work my shift: Nita, the
tattooed twenty-something who taunts us by going around saying brightly, “Have we
started making money yet?” Ellen, whose teenage son cooks on the graveyard shift
and who once managed a restaurant in Massachusetts but won’t try out for
management here because she prefers being a “common worker” and not “ordering
people around.” Easy-going fiftyish Lucy, with the raucous laugh, who limps toward
the end of the shift because of something that has gone wrong with her leg, the
exact nature of which cannot be determined without health insurance. We talk
about the usual girl things — men, children, and the sinister allure of Jerry’s
chocolate peanut-butter cream pie.
 A cause is something that makes an event or condition happen, and an
effect is what happens as a result. The primary objective of cause-and-
effect in writing is to figure out how different things are related in terms
of their causes and effects.

There are topics that need emphasis on the questions of "how" and "why,"
and this is where the cause and effect pattern may be helpful.
Analyzing the causes that lead to a certain effect or, conversely, the effects that result from a cause is a powerful foundation for
argument.

Cause and effect is often signaled by a why in the title or the opening paragraph. In “I Know
Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” (p. 89), Francine Prose sets out what she believes are the
causes for high school students’ lack of enthusiasm for reading: “Given the dreariness with
which literature is taught in many American classrooms, it seems miraculous that any sentient
teenager would view reading as a source of pleasure.” In the following paragraph, she explains
the positive effects of reading classical literature:

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.
Examples are often used in a wide range of situations. In this pattern, the writer explains the main idea by
giving a long example or a series of examples that are each very specific. Exemplification is a way to show
or explain what the rest or whole of something is like.

You've probably noticed that when you read a lesson about a new topic, watch a documentary, or listen to
a classroom discussion, the best parts are when people give specific examples to back up their points; it's
mainly because we tend to understand better through the aid of examples and illustrations.

Writers use examples a lot in all kinds of writing to explain and make things clear, add interest, and
persuade. Exemplification is what a writer does when they use examples to help prove or clarify a point.
Providing a series of examples — facts, specific cases, or instances — turns a general idea into a concrete one; this makes your
argument both clearer and more persuasive to a reader. A writer might use one extended example or a series of related ones to
illustrate a point.

In the following paragraph from “I Know Why the Caged Bird Cannot Read” (p. 89), Francine
Prose establishes the wide and, she believes, indiscriminate range of readings assigned in high
school classes by giving many examples of those her own sons have read:

My own two sons, now twenty-one and seventeen, have read (in public and private schools)
Shakespeare, Hawthorne, and Melville. But they’ve also slogged repeatedly through the
manipulative melodramas of Alice Walker and Maya Angelou, through sentimental middlebrow
favorites (To Kill a Mockingbird and A Separate Peace), the weaker novels of John Steinbeck, the
fantasies of Ray Bradbury. My older son spent the first several weeks of sophomore English
discussing the class’s summer assignment, Ordinary People, a weeper and former bestseller by
Judith Guest about a “dysfunctional” family recovering from a teenage son’s suicide.
• A pattern of development is how an academic paper
is put together from paragraph to paragraph.

• A narration is a way to tell a story by putting events

in a logical order. It tells what happened or describes
a chain of events that led to a conclusion or end.

• A description conveys to the reader the image of a

person, an object, a place, or a scenario through the
use of words.

• A cause is something that makes an event or

condition happen, and an effect is what happens as
a result.

• Exemplification is a way to show or explain what the

rest or whole of something is like.
You need to use the four patterns of development from this lesson to make a portfolio
of your writing.

You are an aspiring writer and you are applying to a company that requires sample
written work in a portfolio.

Your target audience for the writing portfolio that you are trying to create depends on
the topic that you are going to use.

You recently graduated from a university and are applying to be a creative writer for a
well-known company in the country.

You need to compile sample written works utilizing the patterns of development,
mainly narration, description, cause and effect, and exemplification.
 The topic that has been chosen The use of patterns of The use of language and its
by the students is interesting and development follows the mechanics is neat, easy to follow,
relevant. standards from the lesson. and clear.
 Pattern of Development: Definition

Pattern of Development: Comparison

and Contrast

Pattern of Development: Problem-Solution

Pattern of Development: Persuasion

❑ Definition is generally defined as the
thorough explanation of a term with
regard to its being, origin, purpose, and
function.
❑ It is the most fundamental way to introduce
something to someone, especially when
hearing it for the first time.
❑ The very first place where you can find
definitions of various words is of course the
dictionary.
❑ But did you know that you can define terms
around you without even holding your
dictionary? All it takes is common sense and
the knowledge of these three vital words.
Here now is the anatomy of the definition:

A. Term

This is the word that you are about to define.

You always start the definition by mentioning
the term at the very start of your sentence, or
paragraph.
Here now is the anatomy of the definition:

B. Genus

This is the group that the term belongs to. It is

the classification or the association you make
when you hear the word.
Here now is the anatomy of the definition:

C. Differentia

From the Latin term that means “different”, the

differentia is the defining factor that separates
the term from the other members of the genus
it is classified to. Simply put, the differentia is
what makes the term unique on its own right.
 Now let us define platonic love.

TERM GENUS DIFFERENTIA

 Let’s define the term “highlighter”. What kind
of highlighter, you may ask? Let’s try to define
both, since it has two definitions.

TERM GENUS DIFFERENTIA

Kinds of extended definitions

1. Listing and Description of Parts

You can define a term by listing down the

various components that makes it whole.

e.g. The conventional smartphone is

composed of an LED screen, an audio jack, a
built-in speaker system, a built-in camera, an
internal battery pack, and a SIM card slot.
Kinds of extended definitions

2. Etymology

You can discuss the origin of a particular word

to get its original meaning and to know how it
came to have its present meaning.

e.g. The word tourniquet comes from the

French verb “tourner”, which means “[to] turn.”
(a tourniquet is a medical device used to
constrict blood flow from a limb of a person; it
is usually used by turning the device to tighten
the arm/leg, hence the word’s origin)
Kinds of extended definitions

3. Exemplification

You can define terms by giving specific

examples to give the readers an idea of what
you may be meaning with the term you are
introducing to them.

e.g. Various systems of government that are

being practiced around the world are
presidential democracy, communism,
parliamentary democracy, monarchy,
federalism, theocracy, dictatorship, and military
junta.
Kinds of extended definitions

4. Negation

You can also define terms by telling readers

what it’s not, what it can’t do, or what it’s not to
be.

e.g. The M1 Helmet is not supposed to be

used as a wash basin, a cooking pot, a head
rest, or a shovel.
Kinds of extended definitions

5. Function

You can define something (particularly a

technical term) by simply describing how it
works, and what it is initially for.

e.g. The earliest types of sewing machine

work by operating a foot pedal to constitute a
stitch cycle on the fabric while moving the
fabric at the same time. The faster you pedal,
the longer, and farther, the stitch will be.
Kinds of extended definitions

6. Outcome/Effect

Abstract ideas can be defined by how they

directly (or indirectly) affect the people or any
other object or creature involved.

e.g. Research has proven that gasoline

inhalation can deal long-term consequences
to the body of pump attendants and motorists
alike, such as migraines, confusion, and
cancers.
Kinds of extended definitions

7. Historical references

You may also give the previous definitions of a

term to show how it has progressed through
history, especially since some words change
meaning over time, depending on the context
of usage and the people who use it.

e.g. During the Great Depression, to have a

“rocky road” is to lose a job and become
penniless.
❑ when you compare two or more items, you
are actually pointing out their similarities;
on the other hand, when you put the same
things in contrast, you are determining their
respective differences.
Example
Example

The Republic of Korea, i.e. South Korea,

and the Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea, i.e. North Korea, are two nation-
states which bear the same name, but
have their differences.
Example
The South Korea is a democratic country where citizens vote for their
President and Prime Minister through elections. Their economy is
dependent on a free market, in which different public and private
companies compete for the sales of their respective goods and
commodities. South Korean citizens can travel freely to and from the
country with a passport. In terms of geopolitics, South Korea is an ally
of the United States, who operate a number of military bases in the
country. North Korea, which has more land mass than its southern
counterpart, is a socialist country which imposes a centralized
economy so as to promote equal distribution of goods and
commodities to its people. The country has been ruled by a single
family: the Kim dynasty, since its foundation in 1949. North Koreans,
due to their strict regulations, cannot travel outside the country
except those who are diplomats. They are in good political and
economic terms with China and Russia, the latter’s relationship with
North Korea dating back to World War 2, when Russia assisted in
liberating North Korea from Japanese occupation.
Example

Despite their differences, the two Koreas

are united with their similarities. The North
and the South are of a united race and
culture, only to be separated by the so-
called “forgotten war” of 1950-53, and is
divided geographically by the DMZ, or the
Demilitarized Zone. In world politics, they
are both member nation-states of the
United Nations, which is a grim reminder
of the legitimization of the division of a
once united and rich peninsula whose rich
culture rivals that of China and Japan.
❑ The problem-solution pattern (also known as
“situation” pattern) is effective for the
following writing situations:

A. persuasion
B. explanation of a process
Persuasion
Especially when laying out a certain unfulfilled
plan, writing it in a paragraph may lead readers
to the direction you want them to tread,
especially if the audience has absolutely no
knowledge about it.

e.g. laying out plans for bicycle lanes on

national and secondary roads (such as EDSA,
Taft Avenue, Espana Boulevard, Sucat Road,
Roxas Boulevard, Alabang-Zapote Road,
Macapagal Boulevard, Ortigas Avenue)
Explanation of a process
When you are talking about a particular topic with
which most of the audience are familiar with and
you want to share your personal stand on taking on
the situation, it is best done in the problem-solution
paragraph pattern.

To solve the problem laid out earlier, the sample

paragraph on the next slide will explain how the
conventional problem-solution pattern is written.
The narration pattern will also be utilized in the
sample sentence to give a personal take on the
explanation of solving the situation.
Example
One Saturday afternoon, my friend Jim and I were about to
reach the peak of this mountain we were climbing. Just as
we were about to accomplish one of the best experiences
of my life, the rain started to pour. I remembered that
before leaving the house, a huge storm was about to
approach the country, and it may last until the weekend.
Jim mentioned that if we went down in the middle of the
storm and shelter in my sedan, we may encounter an
accident of sliding down to the base of the mountain,
causing unwanted injuries.
Example
Jim, who had attended a basic course on outdoor survival in
College, suggested that we set up camp on our present location.
He then mentioned that he had an emergency blanket on his
cargo pocket, as well as his trusty Swiss Army Knife dangling on his
keychain. Jim taught me that the emergency blanket (which
looked like a huge piece of foil which is not made from aluminum)
can be improvised as a temporary shelter for two persons, not to
mention that it can also keep ups warm while the rain is pouring.
He then instructed me to look for vines that may crawl around
our location, as these vines will be used to tie the ends of the
emergency blanket to the nearest tree. After I have collected a
good twenty feet of vines, he then asked me to collect all the
nearest rocks in our location to serve as a barrier from the water
that may flow on our improvised shelter. Wanting to also unleash
my inner “Boy Scout”, I picked up two large banana leaves and
placed it below the emergency blanket, which Jim has already
improvised as a wall and a roof, facing the direction of the rain.
Example
Our improvised shelter managed to contain the rain
throughout the night. We made sure that our phones were
turned off, as it may attract lightning strikes since we were
at an elevated place. Jim also managed to create a fire for
additional warmth, since the cold wind was another
adversary to face along with rainwater. This situation made
me realize the importance of having a “MacGyver
mentality”: to be prepared and creative in whatever
situation I’m in.
❑ Persuasion is a pattern of development that
uses evidence and logical reasoning to
convince an audience to adopt a viewpoint
or take an action.

❑ To discuss how paragraphs are written in the

persuasive pattern, here’s a sample from an
unnamed writer and their take on the death
penalty. We will go over each part of the
paragraph along the way to point out the
vital statements.
Example
1The government killing someone over a crime is
absurd. 2The only thing that they are doing is
adding to the problem. 3 If someone is put to
death because they murdered someone, you end
up having two people dead instead of just one.
4There are plenty of other ways to punish
criminals that are not so barbaric. 5We have things
like life imprisonment without parole. 6This would
allow the criminal to not only get to live but also
prevent them from doing any other crimes.
Example
7This also follows the 5th amendment which is right to
life as well as the 8th amendment which is the
government cannot do any harsh or cruel punishments.
8 Justice is brought this way too without more deaths
occurring. 9Also, life without parole allows mistakes to
be corrected... 10It is a fact that “41% of the population
would choose the death penalty over a sentence of life
without parole coupled with restitution to the victim’s
family(deathpenaltyinfo.org). 11This means that more
people are already on the side of against the death
penalty. 12Since 1996, the decline of people in favor of
the death penalty has gone down drastically. 12The
death penalty is inhumane because there are cases
where the execution has led to a lot of pain and
suffering.