Patterns of Development in Writing

• Writing well-focused paragraphs entails

  considerable thought. In coming up with a

  well-focused paragraph, you use strategies or

  patterns in developing such. Patterns of

  paragraph development are designed to help

  you organize your writing and define its

  purpose. You can narrate or tell a story,

  describe a person or a place, define a word, or

  explain an idea or a concept. Whichever

  pattern you choose reflects the way you think

  about a topic.
• NARRATION

  The term narrate comes from the Latin word

  narratus, which means “to account or tell.”

  Narration tells or recounts in time sequence what

  happened to someone or to something, which

  may be fictional or true.

  A narration tells a story. It gives an account of an

  incident or reports a series of events leading to a

  conclusion or ending. It states what happened,

  where, and when.
• Narrative paragraphs contain action verbs that

  move the story along in an interesting manner.

  They also use transitional words or phrases to

  indicate time or sequence.
• 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
• DESCRIPTION

  When you need to give a vivid picture of the

  nature of people, places, events, and things, you

  need to use the descriptive pattern of paragraph

  development. In this pattern, you provide the

  details of how your subject looks, sounds, feels,

  smells, or even tastes like.

  A description provides information on what a

  person, an object, a place, or a situation is like. It

  appeals to the reader’s senses, allowing him or

  her to see, hear, taste, smell, or feel the subject.
• The two types of description, according to

  purpose, are objective and subjective.
• An objective description aims to inform or to

  identify; hence, it is factual. It is sometimes called

  informative, scientific, or technical. It focuses on

  the physical aspect, and it appeals to the intellect.
• Subjective description aims

  to elicit special feelings or reactions because it is

  suggestive and evocative.
• Aside from adjectives, descriptive paragraphs

  also make use of signal words that denote

  location or direction:

  to the left, to the right, from near to far, from

  top to bottom, and so on.
• example of a descriptive paragraph:

  The axolotl is a type of salamander. They are

  amphibians, but while most amphibians live on

  both land and water, they live almost

  exclusively underwater. Also, unlike most

  amphibians, they do not undergo a drastic

  transformation. Young axolotls hatch from eggs

  as miniature versions of their lizard-like adult

  forms. Axolotls have white or grayish bodies

  that can grow up to 18 inches long. Their

  colorful gills, which resemble antlers, show

  prominently on each side of their head. They

  eat tiny aquatic animals and can be very

  sluggish when not looking for food.
• The following is an example of a narrative

  paragraph:

  Yesterday morning, I was on my way to school

  when I came across the elderly man who lived

  further down the street. He was pulling a

  stroller loaded with clay pots and small sacks

  of soil.
• DEFINITION

  A definition paragraph or essay explains what

  something is in comparison to other members of

  its class, along with any limitations.

  A definition explains a concept, a term, or a

  subject. Its main purpose is to tell what something

  is. A definition clarifies the meaning of a word or

  an idea in a simple and understandable

  language.
• DEFINITION consists of three parts:

  1. the term, concept, or subject to be

  defined;

  2. the general class where it belongs, and

  3. the characteristics that differentiate it from

  the other members of its class.
• Three Types of Definition:

  1. Synonym
  2. Intensive Definition
  3. Extensive Definition
• Synonym


  This is a word that is similar or almost similar in

  meaning to the word or idea being defined.

  ex:pretty – beautiful

  adept - skillful
• Intensive Definition


  This includes the term to be defined, the class to

  which the term belongs, and the characteristic(s)

  that make it different from the other members in

  the same class or species. This is also known as a

  one-sentence definition.

  ex:Emotional intelligence (term) refers to the

  abilities (class) involving emotional discipline

  and control (characteristics differentiating EI

  from other abilities).
• Extensive Definition


  This is an expansion of the intensive definition

  into a paragraph.

  ex:The greenhouse effect is a natural process. As

  the sun shines, Earth absorbs some of its

  energy. Then the greenhouse gases in the

  atmosphere like water vapor, carbon dioxide,

  methane, nitrous oxide, and the ozone absorb

  and emit that energy.
• EXEMPLIFICATION AND

  CLASSIFICATION

  Exemplification may be used to show or illustrate

  the characteristics of the rest or the whole of

  something. On the other hand, classification is the

  process of explaining something by dividing or

  grouping it into types of categories. This

  separates people, places, or things into groups

  according to or based on a criterion or several

  criteria.
• Exemplification


  In this pattern of development, the writer

  explains the main idea by giving an extended

  example or a series of detailed examples.
• In developing a paragraph using exemplification

  or illustration, the writer develops a general

  statement, the topic sentence, and one or more

  examples. Illustrations through clear and specific

  examples help explain abstract ideas and clarify

  meaning in texts. This may be long or short. Many

  writing assignments in various disciplines require

  the use of exemplification. Argumentative essays,

  feature articles, reviews, reports, and case

  studies often use examples to prove a point.
• Below is an example of a paragraph using

  exemplification.

  The Pantheon of Greek mythology is made up

  of various immortal beings. According to the

  lore, everything began with the First Borns,

  who embodied different aspects of creation.

  These were Gaea, often called Mother Earth;

  Pontus, the boundless Seas; and Oranos, Lord

  of the Sky.
• Classification

  Classification refers to the sorting or arrangement

  of subjects (e.g., persons, places, things, ideas)

  into groups or categories according to their

  common or shared characteristics.

  The subjects can be grouped in many different

  ways depending on the writer’s purpose. With a

  purpose in mind, you can determine how to

  group the subjects in your list. The group or

  category should have a single basis of

  classification.
• The purpose of a classification paragraph is to

  clearly define something and place it in a group

  according to some basis or rule. You must first

  have a strong sense of purpose. Without this

  sense of purpose, your system for classifying

  information may not meet your needs.
• Below is an example of a paragraph that uses

  classification:

  When conceptualizing a character for your

  story, there are a number of classes or

  archetypes you can choose from to form the

  base of the character’s personality. One of the

  most common ones, which is usually chosen as

  the protagonist of an adventure story, is the

  Warrior. Warriors possess many traits that are

  considered heroic. They are brave, strong, and

  decisive, which makes them good leaders.

  Next is the Damsel.
• Comparing people, things, places, events,

  situations, or even ideas is done to illustrate how

  they are similar to each other. There is a need to

  identify the points of comparison and make a list

  of similar characteristics or qualities for each

  point of comparison.

  Some words that signal similarities are:

  also, like, both, as . . . as, similarly, in the same

  way, equally important, and likewise.
• Contrasting people, things, places, events,

  situations, or ideas, on the other hand, is done to

  illustrate their differences from each other. To do

  this, you need to make a list of the characteristics

  or qualities of the subjects and then identify the

  differences between them.

  Some words that signal contrast are:

  but, however, though, on the other hand, and in

  contrast.
• A paragraph that shows comparison and contrast

  has a unifying idea or purpose. There must be a

  balance in such a way that there is an equal

  amount of information for each subject to avoid

  bias.
• CAUSE AND EFFECT

  A cause states why something happens while an

  effect is what happens. If they are combined, they

  can be used as a writing development pattern.

  With the cause-and-effect pattern, the writer can

  better explain how an event or action leads to

  another. The following words can be used as

  signal words for cause and effect:

  1. as a result

  2. accordingly

  3. because of (this)

  4. due to (this)

  5. consequently

  6. hence/therefore/thus
• There are three different ways to utilize the

  cause-and-effect writing pattern: cause to effect,

  effect to cause, and consecutive cause and effect.
• Cause to Effect - In this pattern, the cause, which is either an event or action, is stated right at the beginning of a paragraph, followed by statements on its effects.

  This type of organization is best for explaining a single cause with multiple effects.

  ex:Salmonellosis is a type of food poisoning

  caused by the Salmonella enterica

  bacterium. People who are infected with such

  illness experience abdominal cramps,

  fever, and diarrhea. Consequently, they suffer

  from severe dehydration, vomiting,

  headaches, and body aches.
• Effect to cause - In this pattern, the effect is stated at the beginning of the text, followed by sentences and paragraphs that

  explain further the causes. This type of organization is best for presenting a single effect with different causes.
• Consecutive cause and effect - In this type of organization, each cause has its corresponding effect, and they are tackled one by one in a few sentences or paragraphs. The writer explains each cause and effect completely before moving on to the next pair of cause and effect.
• A problem is defined as an unsatisfactory

  situation that causes troubles or difficulties that

  need to be solved. Thus, it necessitates a

  solution, a way to deal with the situation so that

  the troubles or difficulties are removed.
• In writing across disciplines, the problem-solution

  pattern of development is used to deal with topics

  that logically pose problems and present solutions.
• The following variations of the problem-solution pattern are the problem-solution, problem-cause-solution, and problem process-solution.
• Problem-solution - This is a pattern that has a

  straightforward approach. The problem is stated

  simply, and a possible solution is given.
• Problem-cause-solution - In this pattern, the

  cause of the problem is identified and analyzed

  before a possible solution is presented.
• Problem-process-solution - This pattern

  discusses the process or procedure extensively.

  The discussion addresses the problem while the

  leaders are led to the solutions.