Example:
Pointing to Instances
Method:
What is an example? An instance that
reveals a whole type.
“There are many women authors of
distinction, such as.....”
By selecting an example, a writer shows
the nature/character of the group from
which it is taken.
In an essay, examples will often serve to
illustrate a general statement:
generalization.
Taken from Raising a Daughter by
Jeanne & Don Elium:
“In the early 1880’s, the widespread
belief that higher education was
detrimental to a girl’s health,
prevented many aspiring students
from attending college. Those whose
parents were of a more liberal mind
studied at home or attended a school for
young ladies, such as Sarah Pierce’s
Litchfield Female Academy, where they
learned how to be virtuous young wives
or perhaps teachers. A proper education
of the times included watercolor painting
and fine needlework, and a rare
schoolmistress like Sarah Pierce also
required her students to study ancient
history, Latin, and Greek.”
This method of giving examples - of
illustrating what you’re saying with a “for
instance” - is not only helpful to all kinds
of writing; it is indispensable.
Without this, essays are BORING! You
could have a myriad of ideas, but if you
don’t use any examples, you bore and
therefore lose the reader.
You NEED examples to make your
ideas understandable.
The Process:
Any example essay is bound to have the
generalization as its thesis, expressed in
a thesis statement.
The thesis statement establishes the
central idea of an essay developed by
example. Then the specifics bring the
idea down to earth for readers.
Examples:
“Sometimes I think we would be better
off (in dealing with social problems) if we
forgot about the broad strokes and
concentrated on the details.” - Anna
Quindlen, “Homeless”
“That first encounter, and those that
followed, signified that a vast,
unnderving gulf lay between nighttime
pedestrians - particularly women - and
me.” - Brent Staples, “Black Men and
Public Space”
An essay developed by
example will often start
with an example or two.
You’ll see something and
your observation will
suggest a generalization
(even passing judgment).
Does an example or two
demonstrate your
generalization for
readers? Is this enough
to achieve your purpose?
Where do you find more
examples???
“We are eager to tunnel
under the Atlantic and
bring the Old World some
weeks nearer to the New;
but perchance the first
news that will leak through
into the broad, flapping
American ear will be that
the Princess Adelaide has
the whooping cough.” Henry David Thoreau
“Walden”
This example was made
out of thin air, yet is
successful. Stated 2
decades before the
telephone existed!
A hypothetical example
can work if it’s fresh &
apt like Thoreau’s.
An example from fact or
experience definitely
carries more weight.
What would you do if you
were to write about the
benefits that recent
science has conferred
upon us?
“Among these are the
smoke detector, originally
developed as Skylab
equipment; the inflatable
air bag to protect drivers
and pilots, designed to
cushion astronauts in
splashdowns; a walking
chair that enables
paraplegics to mount
stairs and travel over
uneven ground, derived
from the moonwalkers’
surface buggy; the
technique of cryosurgery,
the removal of cancerous
tissue by fast freezing.”
When giving examples,
you’ll find the other
methods of writing useful.
An example can take the
form of a narrative, and
sometimes an example
embodies a vivid
description of a person,
place or thing.
DON’T BE LAZY! You
may think, “Oh, I can’t
think of an example right
now, but the reader can
use his/her imagination.”
What if the reader is as
lazy as you??
Sentence Variety:
“One example of a movie about
a disease is In the Forest.
Another example is The Beating
Heart. Another is Tree of Life.
These three movies treat
misunderstood or little-known
diseases in a way that increases
the viewer’s sympathy and
understanding. In the Forest
deals with a little boy who
suffers from cystic fibrosis. The
Beating Heart deals with a
middle-aged woman who is
weakening from multiple
sclerosis. Tree of Life deals with
a father of four who is dying
from AIDS. All three movies
show complex, struggling
human beings caught
blamelessly in desperate
circumstances.”
Three movies dealing with
disease are In the Forest,
The Beating Heart, and
Tree of Life. In these
movies people with littleknown or misunderstood
diseases become subjects
for the viewer’s sympathy
and understanding. A little
boy suffering from cystic
fibrosis, a middle-aged
woman weakening from
multiple sclerosis, a father
of four dying from AIDS these complex, struggling
human beings are caught
blamelessly in desperate
circumstances.”
What? Another Checklist?
Generalization: What general
statement do your examples
illustrate? What ties the
examples together?
Support: Do you have enough
examples to establish your
generalization?
Specifics: Are your examples
detailed?
Relevance: Do all your
examples relate to your
generalization?
Sentence variety: Have you
varied sentence structures for
clarity and interest?