IN HIS NAME
Essay classification
Student:parastoo-yousefi
professor:Dr.Ahmadi
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What is a Classification Essay?
In a classification essay, a writer organizes, or sorts,
things into categories.
Three Steps to Effective Classification:
1. Sort things into useful categories.
2. Make sure all the categories follow a single
organizing principle.
3. Give examples that fit into each category.
Finding Categories
This is a key step in writing a classification essay. To
classify, or sort, things in a logical way, find the
categories to put them into. For example, say you
need to sort the stack of papers on your desk. Before
you would put them in random piles, you would
decide what useful categories might be: papers that
can be thrown away; papers that need immediate
action; papers to read; papers to pass on to other
coworkers; or papers to file.
Thesis Statement of a Classification Essay
The thesis statement usually includes the topic and
how it is classified. Sometimes the categories are
named.
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(topic)...(how classified)...(category) (category)
(category)
Ex: Tourists in Hawaii can enjoy three water sports:
snorkeling, surfing, and sailing.
How to Write an Effective Classification Essay
1. Determine the categories. Be thorough; don't leave
out a critical category. For example, if you say
water sports of Hawaii include snorkeling and
sailing, but leave out surfing, your essay would be
incomplete because surfing is Hawaii's most
famous water sport. On the other hand, don't
include too many categories, which will blur your
classification. For example, if your topic is sports
shoes, and your organizing principle is activity,
you wouldn't include high heels with running and
bowling shoes.
2. Classify by a single principle. Once you have
categories, make sure that they fit into the same
organizing principle. The organizing principle is
how you sort the groups. Do not allow a different
principle to pop up unexpectedly. For example, if
your unifying principle is "tourist-oriented" water
sports, don't use another unifying principle, such
as "native water sports," which would have
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different categories: pearl diving, outrigger, or
canoe racing.
3. Support equally each category with examples. In
general, you should write the same quantity, i.e.,
give the same number of examples, for each
category. The most important category, usually
reserved for last, might require more elaboration.
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Developing and
Organizing a
Classification Essa
y
Basic Approaches
to Drafting a FiveParagraph Essay
Classification is a method of developing an
essay by arranging people, objects, or ideas
with shared characteristics into particular
classes or groups. Once you have settled on
a topic for a classification essay and
explored it through various prewriting
strategies, you should be ready to attempt a
first draft. This article will show you how to
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develop and organize a five-paragraph
classification essay.
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Introductory Paragraph
In your introduction, clearly identify your
subject--in this case, the group you are
classifying. If you have narrowed your
subject in any way (for example, types of
bad drivers, rock guitarists, or annoying
moviegoers), you should make this clear
from the start.
In your introduction, you may also want
to provide some specific descriptive or
informative details to attract the interest of
your readers and suggest the purpose of
the essay.
Finally, be sure to include a thesis sentence
(usually at the end of the introduction)
that briefly identifies the main types or
approaches you are about to examine.
Here's an example of a short but effective
introductory paragraph to a classification
essay:
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It's a warm evening in July, and all
across the country Americans are gathering
to watch a game of professional baseball.
Armed with hot dogs and cold drinks, they
stroll to their seats, some in grand
stadiums, others in cozy minor-league
parks. But no matter where the game is
played, you will find the same three types
of baseball fan: the Party Rooter, the
Sunshine Supporter, and the Diehard Fan.
Notice how this introduction creates certain
expectations. The specific details provide a
setting (a ballpark on "a warm evening in
July") in which we expect to see the various
fans described. In addition, the labels
assigned to these fans (the Party Rooter,
the Sunshine Supporter, and the Diehard
Fan) lead us to expect descriptions of each
type in the order they're given. A good
writer will go on to fulfill these
expectations in the body of the essay.
Body Paragraphs
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Begin each body paragraph with a topic
sentence that identifies a particular type or
approach. Then go on to describe or
illustrate each type with specific details.
Arrange your body paragraphs in whatever
order strikes you as clear and logical--say,
from the least effective approach to the
most effective, or from the most common
type to the least familiar (or the other way
around). Just make sure that the order of
your body paragraphs matches the
arrangement promised in your thesis
sentence.
Here, in the body of the essay on baseball
fans, you can see that the writer has
fulfilled the expectations set up in the
introduction. (In each body paragraph, the
topic sentence is in italics.)
The Party Rooter goes to games for the hot
dogs, the gimmicks, the giveaways, and the
companionship; he's not really that
interested in the ballgame itself. The Party
Rooter is the sort of fan who shows up on
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Buck-a-Brew Night, often with a gang of
fellow partiers. He cracks jokes, hurls
peanuts at the team mascot, applauds the
exploding scoreboard, blasts an electronic
horn whenever he pleases--and
occasionally nudges a companion and
asks, "Hey, who's winning?" The Party
Rooter often wanders out of the park in the
sixth or seventh inning to continue his
celebrations in the car on the way home.
The Sunshine Supporter, usually a more
common type than the Party Rooter, goes
to the park to cheer on a winning team and
bask in its glory. When the home side is on
a winning streak and still in contention for
a playoff spot, the stadium will be packed
with this sort of fan. As long as her team
is winning, the Sunshine Supporter will be
roaring at every play, waving her pennant
and shouting out the names of her heroes.
However, as the name implies, the Sunshine
Supporter is a fickle fan, and her cheers
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quickly turn to boos when a hero strikes
out or drops a line drive. She will stay
around until the end of the game to
celebrate a victory, but should her team
fall a few runs behind she's likely to slip
out to the parking lot during the seventh
inning stretch.
Diehard Fans are also strong supporters of
the local team, but they go to the park to
watch good baseball, not just to root for a
winner. More attentive to the game than
other fans, Diehards will study the stance
of a power hitter, note the finesse of a quick
fielder, and anticipate the strategy of a
pitcher who has fallen behind in the count.
While the Party Rooter is chugging a beer
or dropping wisecracks, Diehards may be
filling in a scorecard or commenting on a
player's RBI tally over the past few
months. And when a Sunshine Supporter
boos an opposing player for tagging out a
local hero, Diehards may be quietly
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applauding the expert moves of this
"enemy" infielder. No matter what the score
is, Diehard Fans remain in their seats until
the last batter is out, and they may still be
talking about the game long after it's over.
Notice how the writer uses comparisons to
ensure cohesion in the body of the essay.
The topic sentences of the second and third
paragraphs refer to the preceding
paragraph. Likewise, in the third body
paragraph the writer draws explicit
contrasts between the Diehards and the
other two types of baseball fans.
Such comparisons not only provide smooth
transitions from one paragraph to the next
but also reveal the sympathies of the
writer. He begins with the type of fan he
likes the least and ends with the one he
most admires. We now expect the writer to
justify his attitudes in the conclusion.
Concluding Paragraph
The concluding paragraph gives you an
opportunity to draw together the various
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types and approaches you have been
examining. You may choose to offer a final
brief comment on each one, summarizing its
value or its limitations. Or you may want
to recommend one approach over the others
and explain why. In any case, make sure
that your conclusion clearly emphasizes
the purpose of your classification.
In the concluding paragraph to "Baseball
Fans," consider whether the author has been
successful in his effort to tie his
observations together.
Professional baseball would have trouble
surviving without all three types of fans.
The Party Rooters provide much of the
money that owners need to hire talented
players. The Sunshine Supporters bring a
stadium to life and help boost the morale
of the home team. But only the Diehard
Fans maintain their support all season
long, year in and year out. By late
September in most ballparks, enduring
chilly winds, rain delays, and sometimes
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humiliating losses, only the Diehards
remain.
Notice how the writer hooks his conclusion
back to the introduction by contrasting the
chilly night in September with the warm
evening in July. Connections such as these
help to unify an essay and give it a sense
of completeness.
As you develop and organize your draft,
experiment with various strategies, but keep
this basic format in mind: an introduction
that identifies your subject and the
different types or approaches; three (or
more) body paragraphs that rely on
specific details to describe or illustrate the
types; and a conclusion that draws your
points together and makes the overall
purpose of the classification clear.
The Next Step: Revising Your Essay
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