Classification and Division Paper
Baseball, basketball, or football teams Popular music Careers for worne n
rite a classification essay on any of the following topics. Make sure ro single method of rating rhe subtopics, from best to worst, easiest ro c, or leasr desirable ro most desirable, for example.
Jobs you have had Scudent services, including health, police, food, etc, Vacation destinations Bosses or professors you have known Talk shows or news programs
Writing in Context
Assume you have been asked by a narional magazine to write about s political attitudes. You may develop your essay by division or clabsificationi can discuss politics.in general terms of liberal and conservarive or restrict commenm on students'attitudes toward a particular issue, such as capital punishment, or health care. Write a humorous paper about campus fashion by dividing students into Invent titles or labels for each group, and supply enorigh demils sb readers readily fir the people they meet into one of your categories.
STUDENT PAPER: DIVISION AND CLASSIFICATION
This paperwas writtcn in response to the followin3 assisnment:
' Write a 500-word paper classifying people, obiects, o, ,rrr", you have observed on campus. Make sure that you choose rnianingful divisions and describe each cate- gory fully.
Hispaqics on Campus
Students, faculty, and admlnlstrators tend to refer to "Hlspanics" ae if all Latlno and Latina students belonged to a single homogeneoug group. Actua,ll5r, there are four dlsttnct gloups of Hlspanic students. Outsidens ma,y onty see slight discrepanotes in dress and behavipB b-ut there ane profound differences which ocoasionallSr border on suspicion and hostility. Ttreir dlfferences are best measured by their attitude towa?d and. their degfee of acceptance of malnstrean Ame"ican vaJues and culture
The least g,ssimilated and most alien €lloup of these students are polttically active immlgrants or cNldren of tmml€tants. These are the students who sponsored the reoent protest against lVestern Civiiiza- tion,oourses. Most of them were born in Moxlco or Puerto Rico. En- 6lish is thelr second ]a,n€Ua€e arrd a perceived cultural baPier. Because of this, they tend to see European culture as oppressive, an
hurdle blocklng theF progfess. Thoy are keenly.sensitlve to negat'lve stereotSrpets of Ilisparrics and resent media portrayals of ban- dits, drl$ deblbrs,'anO ga-ng members.
Equally alien to American culture but less politicaW aotive are tJre foreign students from Latin America. Itl.hether they are from Mex- ico, Chlle, or Arg€Rtina, they speak exceUent English. Many have U.ved or studied ln Europe. As cltizens of thelr native countrles, they have oo irrsesurlties about thelr ethnic ldentlttes and seem wilUng to mix socially vuith A.nenlcanp, but only if they share the sa,me olass values.
t!16 tmmlgflurts, thelrconsider tJnemselves linked to culture. Mary7 speak trbench and Clerman in addltlon to
panish and Italian. Often they s6em to feel more at hoIoe with
4U Chapter 9'.' Division and ehssification
foreieF sbudents from Europe than either Americans or other Ilispanic stud.ents.
The most assimilated and largest group of Hispanic students
are secqrid and third generation Latinos aird Latinas. X'ew speak more th6,n a few Spanish phrases. Manypronounce their names $ri-th arl, Arrgio aocent, so that they say "Ramme?-ez" f6r Rameriz. They interact with all students and consider therirsetves Americans. Their pargnts work for fBM, sell real estate, or own restaurants. These students are not politicall3r active. They use the terPs l'Chicar:of' "Latino," and "Spanish" lnterchangeabty. Although manlr participate in Hispanic cultural activities on camprrs, they generally avoid polltical raliies. OnIy a few consider themselves
'
radical, &nd some, especially the Cuban-Amerlcans, are extremel5r conservative.
There is a gloup of Hispanics who are so assimilated. into main- Etream AmericaR oulture that I call them invisible. Because of latep marriage, many Hispanics have last names like O'Brien,,Edel-m.an, Kowalski. My father is third generation, Irish. I[hile urorking on a,qt gineeflng project in Mexico, he met mJr motheq who ironica,Ily had Irish grandmother. I was born in San Diego but spent aJmost everi, summer in Cancun with my aunt. I speak and write Spanish. I subscribe to Mexican magazines. I serve on numerous Hispanic organizabions. But because of my blonde hair and m;r last n&me' Oallaghan, I am frequently viewed as arr outside? by Hispanics who d.on't speak Spanish.
Questions for Review and Revision
1. What's the student's thesis? Z. How does the Student define lier smndard of measurement? 3. What value does this classification have in understar.rding Hi
students? 4. Is each class of students clearly defined? Can you think of any
you know who would not fit in one of the categoriesl 5. Does the student include enough exainples or descriptiohs to fully q
plain each category ofstudents? 6. Read the essay aloud. Can you detect weak or awkward
need revision?
Chapter 9 . Division and Classificati
Writing Suggestions Using this paper as a model, wrire a similar classification paper abo students on your campus. Classify students by academic plrior-u.r, sch.ool. spirit, support of athleric teams, or involvem.ni in ..-p activities or politics. Remember to use a single srandard or method evaluation. collaboratiae writing: Discuss this essay with other srudenrs. Do studen in-other ethnic groups fit a patern similar to rhe Hispanics at the writel college? Work together ro selecr a group, and writl a short paper th, classifies them into different types.