English 111
Week 6 | Tuesday, April 26
Week 6 Quiz
Plan for Tonight
 Section 1 (5:15-7:00)
– Quiz
– Discussion of Chapters 12, 13, & 15
– Discussion of Swift’s “A Modest Proposal”
– Assign Homework
 Other Items
– Peer Review of Essay 3
– Conferences on Essay 3
Chapters 12, 13, 15
Exemplification, Cause & Effect, Combining the Patterns
Division & Classification
 Division
– the process of breaking a whole into parts
– Begin with a whole and break it into individual parts
 Classification
– process of sorting individual items into categories
– Begin with individual items and sort them into categories
 Used to
– Make sense of seemingly random ideas by putting scattered bits
of information into useful, coherent order
– Identify relationships between a whole and its parts or among
the parts themselves
Division & Classification
 Thesis: should identify your subject, introduce the categories you
will discuss, and perhaps show readers the relationships of your
categories to one another and to the subject as a whole (450).
 Possibly also communicate your evaluation of the subjects, their
strengths and weaknesses.
 Transitional words: the first category, one category, another
category, the most important category, etc.
 Intro: orient readers on topic, principle for classification, and thesis
 Body: treat categories one by one—same order as introduction
 Conclusion: restate thesis, sum up points,
Definition
 Definition - what a term means and how it is different from other
terms in its class
– Formal Definitions – brief, succinct explanations (like dictionary)
– Extended Definitions – longer, more complex definitions (like
essays)
 Uses of Definition in essays
– When the term has more than one meaning
– When you’re using the term in an unusual way
– When your readers probably won’t know what the term means
– When the definition is central to your discussion
Definition
 Make sure you clearly define your terms.
 Provide a true definition—not just a descriptive statement such as
“Happiness is a four-day weekend.”
 Introduction: identifies the term to be defined, perhaps presents a
brief formal definition, and goes on to state the essay’s thesis.
 Body: expands the definition, using any one (or several) of the
patterns of development or the strategies on page 509.
– Synonyms (words with similar meanings)
– Negation (telling what it is not)
– Enumeration (listing it characteristics)
– Analogies (comparisons identifying similarities between the term and
something else.
– Origin and development (word’s derivation, original meaning, and usages.)
Combining the Patterns
 Using the different patterns we’ve read about this semester in
combination
 Often an essay uses a dominant pattern and supports with other
patterns
 How have the patterns combined in your essays this semester?
• Narration
• Description
• Argumentation
• Exemplification
• Cause and Effect
• Comparison and Contrast
• Classification and Division
• Definition
Combining the Patterns
 How might you incorporate the patterns into your Essay 3?
• Narration
• Description
• Argumentation
• Exemplification
• Cause and Effect
• Comparison and Contrast
• Classification and Division
• Definition
“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift
 What literal argument is the essay making?
 What is Swift’s purpose? What do you think he wants his readers
to do after reading the essay? Should they take action? change
their belief? or something else?
 What argument is the essay really making?
“A Modest Proposal” by Jonathan Swift
 Identify at least one example of each of the following in “A Modest
Proposal”
– Pathos
– Ethos
– Logos
– Classification/Division
– Definition
– Compare/Contrast
– Cause and Effect
Homework for Week 8
 Finish Essay 3
– Upload to turnitin.com
– Bring/email copy
 Essay 3 Peer Review Workshop
 Optional Essay 3 Conferences