DISTINGUISHES BETWEEN AND

AMONG PATTERNS OF DEVELOPMENT

IN WRITING ACROSS DISCIPLINES
 Patterns of development help us
sort information and share
paragraphs or essays. They can help
organize an outline, or depending
on the purpose they can determine
the form that a paper will take.
Remember the most paper will use
a combination of methods, working
together in function of each other.
NARRATION
• Narration – tells a story
- it relates an incident or series of events that
leads to a conclusion or ending.
- it tells the readers when, where, and what
happened.
- the most basic pattern of development.
- is usually used in the humanities. In a
writing class, for instance, you can write about a
particular event or situation.
Example:
Baking and sharing Christmas cookies is my favorite
NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH
• It contains action verbs and transition words that
indicate time or sequence.
The following are some transition words used to
signal time or sequence order:
First, second, etc.
After, next, then, eventually, soon
Meanwhile, a short time later
During, at the same time, simultaneously
Suddenly, instantly, momentarily
The next day, following, thereafter
In the end, ultimately
 The NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH tells a
part of a story in the first person. It
shows a sequence of events connected
by transition words like then,
suddenly, finally, momentarily, and
the next day. Also, action verbs like
was walking, ran, and fell are used to
indicate movement.
EXAMPLE OF NARRATIVE PARAGRAPH
My Seashell Surprise
My first seashell hunt had a surprise ending. Early
one morning my dad and I walked to the beach with a
red bucket. The sand was soft and cool. We collected
orange, white, and brown shells of all different shapes
and sizes. When our bucket was almost filled, I spotted
something black and shiny pointing out of the sand. I
reached down and grabbed the object right before a
wave crashed against my legs. The object felt sharp
and curvy. Finally, I opened my hand. “What is this?” I
asked my dad. He said, “It’s your lucky day. That’s a
shark’s tooth!”
• Concrete Terms – words that identify things, places, and events
that can be measured and observed.
- terms that have physical manifestation in our
world.
Examples: spoon, dog, house
“He was shivering violently from the cold.”
• Abstract Terms – refers to ideas or concepts that are intangible.
Examples: love, freedom, feminism
“The joy in the air was palpable.”
• General Terms - commonly used to denote groups
Example: furniture
“He gave her a piece of jewelry”
• Specific Terms – refer to an individual component of the group.
Examples: cabinets, desks, chairs
DESCRIPTION
• It gives information of what a person, an object, a place,
or a situation is like.
• It appeals to the reader’s senses; it makes the reader
see, hear, taste, smell, or feel the subject.
• The pattern of development which goes into details about
a specific object, person, or location, in order to firmly set
it’s appearance.

Example:
The table at my grandmother’s Thanksgiving dinner is
covered with delicious, great smelling, and colorful holiday
dishes.
DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPH
• It has concrete and specific details, which are
carefully chosen by a writer to paint a picture in the
mind of the reader.
• It describes a thing, a person, or a place.
• Literary analyses, descriptive essays, business
plans, lab reports, and research papers are some
examples of writing genres that use descriptive
paragraphs.
• Detailed information allows the reader to form an
image in his or her imagination.
EXAMPLE OF DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPH
Glenveagh Sunset
When the upper limb of the sun disappears below the horizon the
brilliance of Mother Nature becomes apparent. On my left across the
lake low-lying hills crawl upward across the horizon. In front of me
covered by a few trees, is a lone secluded island. It looks as if it were a
boat, attempting to escape to tranquil waters. On my right the hills
gradually turn to mountains. A tall and slender Lodge Pole Pine
minutely conceals them. Her finger-like branches delicately reach
down toward the lake, trying to touch her own reflection. High above
me, moisture laden clouds span out over the mountain tops,
resembling a magenta colored quilt. In front of me, a broadening
division in the clouds crests with a final effort to avoid succumbing to
the shroud of night. The ever present island balances upon the waters,
reflecting a perfect vision of it's unblemished counterpart. It is a
mirrored understatement of nature's true beauty.
© Kyle Shearin 2005
CHARACTERISTICS OF DESCRIPTION

• It has a clear focus and sense of

purpose.

• It uses sensory details and precise

words.

• It presents details in a logical order.

 VARIATIES OF DESCRIPTION
• Objective
Description – looks
into factual and
scientific
characteristics of what
is being described as
objectively as possible.

*The writer stays away

from emotional
impressions or
• Subjective Description –
a sort of description that
the author would normally
use to “paint a picture” of
how he sees a character,
or how he wants the
reader to see a character.
- also used in a literary
discourse when there is
stereotyped image that can
be attributed to a person,
place, or an event.
DEFINITION
• It explains a concept, term or subject.
• It’s main purpose is to tell what something is to tell what
something is.
• It consists of three parts: (1) the term, concept, or subject
to be defined; (2) the general class to which it belongs, and
(3) the characteristics that differentiate it from the other
members of its class.
• This pattern of development is commonly used in the sciences,
humanities, and business.
• It explains not just what something means or is, but also what
something does, what something is used for, what something
looks like, etc.
VARIATIES OF DEFINITION
• Scientific Definition – defines concepts in the
most factual way, which is often used in
scientific, proper, or real world facts.
• Subjective Definition – defines the objects in
a more personal way.
- usually derived from the
author’s own experiences and opinion.
- often used by a writer to
state something from the point of view of the
characters or in relation to the setting.
THE TERM COULD BE EMPHASIZED BY
THE FF:

• Characteristics or features

• Function

• Effect

• Origin
CLASSIFICATION AND EXEMPLIFICATION

• Classification – divides things into groups,

classes or categories
- organizes ideas into divisions
based on criteria or standards.
- refers to sorting or arranging
subjects into groups or categories
Example:
Although
traditionally pizza is
an Italian dish, Greek
pizza, Mexican pizza,
and Hawaiian are
becoming
increasingly popular.
• Exemplification – provides examples and
illustrations in order to further clarify or explain
the concept or subject matter.
- presents the general statement
and then provides specific and concrete
examples to expound on the main idea.
- shows, proves, or explains a
general idea or point by using examples.
Example: Because
they cannot easily
prepare their own
food, many
college students
who live in the
dorms are on a
diet of fast food,
junk food or
snacks.
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST
• It organizes ideas based on how events,
places, people, things, and concepts are
similar to or different from one another.

a.SEPARATELY – involves describing one

item first followed by the second item.
b.SIDE-BY-SIDE – involves discussing both
items based on each point of comparison
COMPARISON
• to compare persons, things,
places, events, situations,
or ideas is to show how they
are alike.
• means to identify the ways
in which two “different”
items are similar.
• you need to identify the
points of comparison and
make a list of similar
characteristics or qualities
for each point of
CONTRAST
• To contrast persons, things,
places, events, situations,
or ideas is to show how they
are different.
• To do so, you need to make
a list of the characteristics
or qualities of the subjects
and then identify the
differences between them.
• It means to identify the
ways in which two “similar”
items are different.
CAUSE AND EFFECT
• It explains why something happens or what results a particular
event produces.

a. Paragraph emphasizing cause

b. Paragraph emphasizing effect

A cause is simply “why something happens”, and an effect

is “what happens.” Together, they can be used as a pattern of
development in writing.

Example: Italian food in Italy is very different from American

Italian food because of regional variations and because of
availability of ingredients.
CAUSE-AND-EFFECT PATTERN
• With the cause-and-effect
pattern, the writer can
explain how an event or
action leads to another.

There are three

different ways to use the
cause-and-effect pattern in
writing.
1. Cause and Effect
2. Effect and Cause
PROBLEM-SOLUTION
• It focuses on either
a problem or
solution in a
particular area or
situation.

• It is used to deal
with topics that
pose problems and
present in a logical
• Problem – in general, it’s
an unsatisfactory situation
that causes troubles or
difficulties.
• Solution – a way to deal
with the situation so that
the troubles or difficulties
are removed.

In this lesson, the

following variations of the
problem-solution pattern are
discussed:
1. Problem-Solution
PERSUASION
• It convinces readers to agree to an argument or claim about a
particular topic.
• Many writing genres such as critiques or reviews, reaction
papers, editorials, proposals, advertisements, and brochures
make strong use of persuasive paragraphs to state opinions and
to influence others.
• Knowing how to write a persuasive paragraph allows you to
express your personal conviction or opinion.
There are three common techniques that you can use in
developing a persuasive paragraph:

1. Using evidence
THANK YOU !