I have English composition homework I need done. There are Four multiple choices exams of 20 questions eachAnd 5 small...

Comparison and Contrast: Showing Similarities and Differences

WRITING QUICK START

the photograph on the opposite page showing someone using Wii to playing a game of golf. Think about how simulating the play of a sport

Wii is similar to and different from actually playing the sport. Make two lists-ways that playing the real sport and the Wii version are

and ways that the real and Wii versions are different. You might choose write about golf or select a different sport. In your lists, include details

the level of physical activity, types of skills required, interaction with players, the setting. and so on. Then write a paragraph comparing the

'xnpripncp<; of playing the sport using Wii and playing the actual sport.

373

374 CHAPTER 16 COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

WRITING A COMPARISON OR CONTRAST ESSAY

Your paragraph about playing the actual and the Wii versions of a Sport is an example of comparison-and-contrast writing. You may have written about the similarities and differences in equipment required, physical exertion involved, and so forth. In addi­ tion, you probably organized your paragraph in one of two ways: (1) by writing about playing the Wii version and then writing about playing the actual sport (or vice versa) or (2) by discussing each point of similarity or difference with examples from Wii and the actual sport. This chapter will show you how to write effective comparison or contrast essa}'5 as well as how to incorporate comparison and contrast into essays using orher patterns of development.

What Are Comparison and Contrast?

Using comparison and contrast involves looking at both similarities and differences. AnalYLing similarities and differences is a useful decision-making skill that daily. You make comparisons when you shop for a pair of jeans, select a sandwich in the cafeteria, Or choose a television program to watch. You also compare alternatives when you make important decisions about which college to attend, which field to ma­ jor in, and which person to date.

You will find many occasions to use comparison and contrast in the writing you do in college and on the job (see the accompanying box for a few examples). In most essays of this type you will use one of two primary methods of organization, as the following two readings illustrate. The first essay, "Amusing Ourselves to Depth: Is The Onion Out Most Intelligent Newspaper?" by Greg Beato, uses a point­ by-point organization. The writer moves back and form between his two subjects (The Onion and traditional newspapers), comparing them on me basis of several key points or characteristics. The second essay, Ian Frazier's "Dearly Disconnected," uses a subject­ by-subject organ.iza.tion. Here the author describes the key points or characteristics of one subject (pay phones) before moving on to those of his other subject (cell phones).

GREG 375

POINT-BY-POINT ORGANIZATION

Amusing Ourselves to Depth: Is The Onion Our Most Intelligent Newspaper? Greg Beato

Greg Beato is a San Francisco-based writer who has written for such publications as Spin, Wired, Business 2.0, and the San Francisco Chronicle. He created the webzine Traff1c in 1995 and was a frequent contributor to the webzlne Suck. cam from 1996 to 2000. He also main­ tains a blog about media and culture, Soundbitten, which he started in 1997. This essay was published in Reason, a libertarian magazine, in 2007. As you read, notice how Beato uses comparison and contrast to make his case for the validity of "fake news••

In August 1988, college junior Tim Keck borrowed $7,000 from his mom, rented a Mac 1 Plus, and published a twelve-page newspaper. His ambition was hardly the stuff of future Journalism symposiums: He wanted to create a compelling way to deliver adver­ tising to his fellow students. Part of the first issue's front page was devoted to a story about a monster running amok at a local lake; the rest was reserved for beer and pizza coupons.

Almost twenty years later, The Onion stands as one of the newspaper industry's few 2 great success stories in the post-newspaper era. Currently, it prints 710,000 copies of each weekly edition, roughly 6,000 more than the Denver Post, the nation's ninth. largest daily. Its syndicated radio dispatches reach a weekly audience of one million, and it recently started producing video clips too. Roughly three thousand local adver­ tisers keep The Onion afloat, and the paper plans to add 170 employees to its staff of 130 this year.

Online it attracts more than two million readers a week. Type onion into Google, and 3 The Onion pops up first. Type the into Google. and The Onion pops up first. But type "best practices for newspapers' into Google, and The Onion is nowhere to be found. Maybe it should be. At a time when traditional newspapers are frantic to divest them. selves ortheir newsy, papery legacies, The Onion takes a surprisingly conservative approach to innovation. As much as it has used and benefited from the Web, it owes

ueh of its success to low-tech attributes readily available to any paper but ~onethe- in short supply: candor, irreverence, and a willingness to offend.

other newspapers desperately add gardening sections. ask readers to share 4 favorite bratwurst recipes, or throw their staffers to ravenous packs of bloggers for

question-and-answer sessions, The Onion has focused on reporting the news_ fake news, sure, but still the news. It doesn't ask readers to post their comments

end of stories, altow them to rate stories on a scale of one to five, or encourage It makes no effort to convince readers that it realty does understand their

and exists only to serve them. The Onion's journalists concentrate on writing and then getting them out there in a variety offormats. and this relatively old­

approach to newspapering has been tremendously successful.

any other newspapers that can boast a 60 percent increase in their print during the last three years? Yet as traditional newspapers fail to draw

376 CHAPTER 115 COMPARISON AND CONTRAST ----~"'~

readers, only industry mavericks like the New York Times' Jayson Blair and USA Today's Jack Kelley have looked to The Onion for inspiration.

One reason The Onion isn't taken more seriously is that it's actually fun to read. In 1985 the cultural critic Neil Postman published the influential Amusing Ourselves to Death, which warned of the fate that would befall us if public discourse were allowed to become substantially more entertaining than, say, a Neil Postman book. Today

newspapers are eager to entertain - in their Travel, Food, and Style sections, that is.

But even as scope creep has made the average big·city tree killer less portable than a

ten-year-old laptop, hard news invariably comes in a single flavor: Double Objectivity

Sludge.

Too many high priests of journalism still see humor as the enemy of seriousness: If the news goes down too easily, It can't be very good foryott. But do The ctnion and its more fact-based acolytes, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report, monitor current events and the way the news media report on them any less rigorously than, say, the

Columbia Journalism Review or USA Today? During the last few years, multiple surveys by the Pew Research Center and the

Annenberg Public Policy Center have found that viewers of The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are among America's most informed citizens. Now, it may be that Jon Stewart isn't making anyone smarter; perhaps America's most informed citizens

simply prefer comedy over the stentorian drivel the network anchormannequins dis­

pense. But at the very least, such surveys suggest that news sharpened with satire

doesn't cause the intellectual coronaries Postman predicted. Instead, it seems to

correlate with engagement.

It's easy to see why readers connect with The Onion, and it's not just the jokes: De­ 9 spite its "fake news" purview, it's an extremely honest publication, Most dailies, espe·

ciallythose in monopoly or near-monopoly markets, operate as if they're focused more

on not offending readers (or advertisers) than on expressing a worldview of any kind.

The Onion takes the opposite approach. It delights in crapping on pieties and regula~y publishes stories guaranteed to upset someone: "Christ Kills Two, Injures Seven, in

Abortion·Clinic Attack." "Heroic PETA Commandos Kill 49, Save Rabbit." "Gay Pride

IAN FRAZIER DEARLY DISCONNECTED 377

Siegel once told a lecture audience that the paper was "very nearly sued out of

existence» after it ran a story with the headline "Dying Boy Gets Wish: To Pork Janet

Jackson," But if this irreverence is sometimes economically inconvenient, it's also a

major reason for the publication's popularity. It's a refreshing antidote to the he-said/ she·said balancing acts that leave so many dailies sounding mealy-mouthed. And

while The Onion may not adhere to the facts too strictly, it would no doubt place high if the Pew Research Center ever included it in a survey ranking America's most trusted news sources.

During the last few years, big-city dailies have begun to introduce "commuter" pa­

pers that function as lite versions of their original fare. These publications share some

of The Onion's attributes: They're free, they're tablOids, and most of their stories are l>ite-sized, But whik! they !!lay be less filling, they still taste bland_ You have to wonder: Why stop at price and paper size? Why not adopt the brutal frankness, the willingness

to pierce orthodoxies of all political and cultural stripes, and apply these attributes to a genuinely reported daily newspaper?

Today's publishers give comic strips less and less space. Editorial cartoonists and

folksy syndicated humorists have been nearly eradicated. Such changes have helped

make newspapers more entertaining-or at least less dull-but they're just a start,

Until today's front pages can amuse our staunchest defenders of journalistic integrity to severe dyspepSia, if not death, they're not trying hard enough.

SUBJECT-BY-SUBJECT ORGANIZATION

Dearly Disconnected Ian Frazier

Ian Frazier is an American writer and humorist whose books include Great Plains (1989), family (1996), Travels In Siberia (2010), and several collections of columns he wrote for The New Yorker magazine both as a staff writer and independently. The following essay

12

13

Parade Sets Mainstream Acceptance of Gays Back 50 Years." There's no predictable

ideology running through those headlines, just a desire to express some rude, blunt

truth aboutthe world.

One common complaint about newspapers is that they're too negative, too focused

on bad news, too obsessed with the most unpleasant aspects of life. The Onion shows how wrong this characterization is. how gingerly most newspapers dance around the

unrelenting awfulness of life and refuse to acknowledge the limits of our tolerance

and compassion. The perfunctory coverage that traditional newspapers give disasters

in countries cursed with relatability issues is reduced to its bare, dismal essence:

"15,000 Brown People Dead Somewhere." Beggars aren't grist for Pulitzers, just

lines: "Man Can't Decide Whether to Give Sandwich to Homeless or Ducks." of the human spirit are as rare as vegans at an NRA barbecue: "loved Ones Recall

Man's Cowardly Battle with Cancer." Such headlines come with a cost, of course. Outraged readers have convinced

advertisers to pull ads. Ginger Rogers and Denzel Washington, among other celebri­

ties, have objected to stories featuring their names, and former Onion editor Robert

was adapted from a column that appeared in MotherJones magazine in 2000. As you read, highlight the key points FraZier makes about pay phones and cell phones and his attitude toward each.

was living by myself in an A-frame cabin in northwestern Mon­ tana. The cabin's interior was a Single high-ceilinged room, and at the center of the

mounted on the rough-hewn log that held up the ceiling beam, was a tele. phone. The woman I would marry was living in Sarasota, Florida, and the distance

between us suggests how well we were getting along at the time. We had not been in

for several months; she had no phone. One day she decided to call me from a phone. We talked for a while, and after her coins ran out I jotted the number on

wood beside my phone and called her back. A day or two later, thinking about the wanted to talk to her again. The only number I had for her was the pay phone

I'd written down.

pay phone was on the street some blocks from the apartment where she

. As it happened, though, she had just stepped out to do some errands a few

378 CHAPTER 15 COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

minutes before I called, and she was passing by on the sidewalk when the phone rang. She had no reason to think that a public phone ringing on a busy street would be for her. She stopped, listened to it ring again, and picked up the receiver. Love is pure luck; somehow I had known she would answer, and she had known it would he me.

Long afterwards, on a trip to Disney World in Orlando with our two kids, then aged six and two, we made a special detour to Sarasota to show them the pay phone. It didn't impress them much. It's just a nondescript Bell Atlantic pay phone on the ce­ ment wall of a building, by the vestibule. But its ordinariness and even boringness only make me like it more; ordinary places where extraordinary events have occurred are my favorite kind. On my mental map of Florida that pay phone is a landmark looming ahove the city it occupies, and a notable, if private, historic site.

I'm interested in pay phones in general these days, especially when I get the feel­ ing that they are about to go away. Technology, in the form of sleek little phones in our pockets, has swept on hythem and made them begin to seem antique. My lifelong en· tanglement with pay phones dates me; when I was young they were just there, a given, often as stuhhorn and uncongenial as the curbstone underfoot. They were instruments of torture sometimes. You had to feed them fistfuls of change in those pre-phone-card days, and the operator was a real person who stood maddeningly between you and whomever you were trying to call. And when the call went wrong, as communication often does, the pay phone gave you a focus for your rage. Pay phones were always getting smashed up, the receivers shattered to hits against the booth, the coin slots jammed with chewing gum, the cords yanked out and unraveled to the floor.

There was always a touch of seediness and sadness to pay phones, and a sense of transience. Drug dealers made calls from them, and shady types who did not want their whereahouts known, and otherwise respectable people planning assignations, and people too poorto have phones of their own. In the movies, any characterwho used a pay phone was either in trouble or contemplating a crime_ Mostly, pay phones evoked the mundane: UHoney, I'm just leaving. I'll he there soon." But you could teU that a lot of undifferentiated humanity had flowed through these places, and that in the muteness of each pay phone's little space, wild emotion had howled.

The phone on the wall of the concession stand at Redwood Pool, where I used to stand dripping and call my mom to come and pick me up; the sweaty phones used almost only by men in the hallway outside the maternity ward at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York; the phone in the old wood-paneled phone booth with leaded glass windows in the drugstore in my Ohio hometown - each one is as specific as a birthmark, a point on earth unlike any other. Recently I went back to New York City after a long absence and tried to find a working pay phone. I picked up one receiver after the next with success. Meanwhile, as I scanned down the long hlock, I counted half a dozen or pedestrians talking on their cell phones_

It's the cell phone, of course, that's putting the pay phone out of business. The pay phone Is to the cell phone as the troubled and difficult older sibling is to the newborn_ You sometimes hear people yelling on their celt phones, hut almost ing at them. Cell phones are toylike, nearly magic, and we get a huge kick out of as often happens with technological advances until the new wears off. When I phone user gentlv push the little antenna and fit the phone back into its brusheo-vlnY' carrying case and tuck the case inside his jacket beside his heart, I feel sonty for the beat-up pay phone standing in the rain.

IAN FRAZIER DEARLY DISCONNECTED 379

People almost always talk on cell phones while in motion-driving, walking down 8 the street, riding on a commuter train. The celt phone took the transience the pay phone implied and turned it into VIP-style mobility and speed. Even sitting in a restaurant, the person on a cell phone seems importantly busy and on the move. Celt-phone conversa­ tions seem to be unlimited hy ordinary constraints of place and time, as if they repre­ sent an almost-perfect form of communication, whose perfect state would he telepathy.

And yet no matter how we factor the world away, it remains. I think this is what 9 drives me so nuts when a person sitting next to me on a bus makes a call from her cell phone. Yes, this husy and important caller is at no fixed point in space, but neverthe­ less I happen to be beside her_ The job of providing physical context falls on me; I become her caU's surroundings, as if I'm the phone booth wall. For me to lean over and comment on her celi-phone conversation would be as unseemly and unexpected as jf J were in fact a wall; and yet I have no choice, as a sentient person, but to hear what my chatty fellow traveler has to say.

I don't think that pay phones will completely disappear_ Probably they will survive 10 for a long while as clumsy old technology still of some use to those lagging behind, and as a hackup if ever the superior systems should temporarily fail. Before pay phones became endangered I never thought of them as puhlic spaces, which of course they are_ They suggested a human average; they belonged to anybody who had a couple of coins. Now I see that, like public schools and public transportation, pay phones helong to a former commonality our culture is no longer quite so sure it needs.

I have a weakness for places-for old battlefields, car-crash sites, houses where 11 famous authors lived_ Bygone passions should always have an address, it seems to me. Ideally, the world would he covered with plaques and markers listing the notable events that occurred at each particular spot. A sign on every pay phone would describe how awoman hroke up with her fiance here, how a young ballplayer learned that he had made the team_ Unfortunately, the world itself is fluid, and changes out from under us_ Eventually pay phones will become relics of an almost-vanished landscape, and of a time when there were fewer of us and our stories were on an earlier page. Romantics like me will have to reimagine our passions as they are-unmoored to earth, like an infinitude of cell-phone messages flying through the atmosphere.

Characteristics of Comparison or Contrast Essays 0,~;

writers use comparison and contrast, they consider subjects with characteristics lltc.ommon, examining similarities, differences, or both. Whether used as the primary

of development or alongside another pattern, comparison and contrast can be for various purposes to make a point about a subject.

moarison or Contrast Has a Clear Purpose and contrast essay usually has one of three purposes- to express itiet1S, to

Of to persuade. In an essay about playing sports, Wii and actual, the purpose be to express your ideas about playing sports, based on your experiences with

actual sports. Alternatively, the purpose could be to inform readers who are either form of the SPOft, explaining what to expect in each casc_ Fi­

purpose could be to persuade readers that playing the Wii form of a sport is accessible, and entertaining. In "Dearly Disconnected" (pp. 377-78), for

CHAPTER 15 COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

the author expresses his nostalgia for the in "Amusing Ourselves ," the author tries to persuade readers frankness" may have a

news reponing.

Comparison or Contrast Considers Shared Characteristics

You cannot compare two things unless they have something in common. When mak­ ing a comparison, a writer needs to choose a basis of comparison-a fairly broad common characteristic on which to base the essay. For an essay comparing baseball and football, for example, a basis ofcomparison might be the athletic skills required or the rules and logistics of each sport. To develop the essay, the writer examines the two subjects points of comparison-characteristics relating to the basis of com­ parison. In an essay using athletic skills as a basis of comparison, fot example, points of comparison might be heigbt and weight requirements, running skills, and hand-eye coordination. In an essay based on rules and logistics, points of comparison might in­

WHAT ARE PARISON AND CONTRAST? 381

Comparison or Contrast Makes a Point Whatever the purpose of a comparison or contrast essay, its main point abour its sub­ jects should spark readers' interest rather than bore them with a mechanical listing of similarities or differences. This main point can serve as the thesis for the essay, or the thesis can be implied in the writer's choice ofdetails. In "Amusing Ourselves to for example, the thesis statement is implied in paragraphs 3 and 13: In comparison to the brutal honesty of The Onion, traditional newspapers seem timid and dull.

An explicit thesis has three functions:

1. It identifies the subjects being compared or contrasted. 2. It suggests whether the focus is on similarities, diJJimmces, or both. 3. It states the _inpD'int of the comparison or contrast.

Notice how the following three sample theses meet the above criteria. Note, too, that each clude scoring. equipment. and olavine: fields.

Exercise 16.1

For three items in the following list, identifY two possible bases ofcomparison you clJUid use to compare each pair oftopics:

1. Two means of travel or transportation

2. Two means of communication (emails. telephone calls. postal letters, text messages)

3. Two pieces of equipment

4. Two magazines or books

5. Two types of television programming

A Comparison or Contrast Essay Fairly Examines Similarities, Differences, or Both Depending on their purpose, writers using comparison and contrast may focus on similarities. differences, or both. In an essay intended to persuade readers that ers Beyonce Knowles and Jennifer Lopez have much in common in terms and cultural influence, the writer would focus on similarities-hit records, millions of fans, and parts in movies. However, an essay intended to inform readers about the singers would probably cover both similarities and differences, discussing the different childhoods or singing styles.

An essay focusing on similarities often mentions a few differences, usually in the introduction, to let readers know the writer is aware of the differences. Conversely, an

that focuses on differences migbt mention a few similarities. you cover similarities, differences. or both in an essay, you should

to treat your subjects fairly. Relevant information should not be purposely to show one subject in a more favorable light. In an essay about Knowles and for instance, you should not leave out information about Lopez's charity an effort to make Knowles appear to be a nicer person. In "Dearly Disconnecte Frazier regrets the demise of the pay phone but admits that cell phones are nearly magic.»

thesis suggests why the comparison or contra.~t is meaningful and worth reading about.

• Similar appeals in commercials for three popular break:f.:lst cereals reveal

America's obsession with fimess and health.

• Although different in prnpose, weddings and funerals each draw families r-ma;hpojnt~

together and confirm family values.

• The two cities Niagara Falls. Ontario, and Niagara Falls, New York, demorultrate ,--------mainpoint--------,

two different approaches to appreciating nature and preserving the environment.

For one ofthe topic pairs you worked on in Exercise 15.1 (p. 380). select the basis ofcom­ that seems most promising. Then write a thesis statement that identifies the subjects, (similarities, diffirences. or both), and the mJlin point.

JiQmparison or Contrast Considers a Sufficient Number Significant Characteristics and Details

comparison or contrast essay considers characteristics that arc 'lgmm:am relevant to the essay's purpose and thesis. In 'l\musing Outselves to

Beato considers such significant characteristics as circulation, type presented, degree of seriousness. and honesty.

the number of details can vary by topic, usually at least thtee or four characteristics are needed to support a thesis. Each characteristic should be

described or explained so that readers can gra.p the main point of the comparison A writer may use sensory details, dialogue, examples, expert testimony,

kinds ofdetail in a comparison or contrast essay. In "Dearly Disconnected, " supports his points by using anecdotes and vivid descriptions.

382 CHAPTER 15 COMPARISON AND CONTRAST WHAT ARE COMPARISON AND CONTRAST? 383

Visualizing a Comparison or Contrast Essay: Subject-by-Subject Organization Two Graphic Organizers In a subject-by-subject organization, you first discuss all points about house A-its layout,

size, building materials, and landscaping. Then you do the same for house B. This pat­For more on graphk organizers, Suppose you want to compare two houses (house A and house B) built by the same tern is shown in the !!taohic organizer in Figure 15.2. "et' Chapter 3, pp. 59--61. architect for the purpose of evaluating how the architect's style has changed over time.

After brainstorming ideas, you decide to base your essay on these points ofcomparison- size, building materials, and landscaping. You can organize your essay in one of

two ways-point by point or subject by subject.

Point-by-Point Organization In a point-by-point organization, you go back and forth between the twO houses, noting similarities and differences between them on each of the four points of comparison, as shown in the graphic organizer in Figure 15.1.

Introduction

Body: Points of Comparison I-­ or Contrast

Background information

Subjects: A comparisonl contrast of houses A and B

Thesis statement

Summarizes main points Disconnected" uses a subject-by-subject organization. Review the essay,

study the graphic organizer shown in Figure 15.3, on page 384.

384 CHAPTER 15 COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

Anecdote about the pay phone the authors wife called him from before they were married

Seem pathetic and unsavory --=-:=]

Retain a sense of human emotion because ofth~ i many people who use them for different rea:onsJ

Body: Points of Contrast or Comparison

as and places I in the author's life I,

Are very popular now

Do not make users angry

Seem toylike and magical

Give a sense of movement, timelessness,'-',

1and placeiessness ~ __.-l

Exercise 15.3

Draw a graphic organizer for '/lmusing Ourselves to Depth" (pp. 375· 77).

Integrating Comparison and Contrast into an Essay

Although you will write some essays using comparison and contrast as the primary pattern ofdevelopment, in most cases you will integrate comparisons or contrastS essays that on other patterns, such as description, process analysis. or Comparisons or contrasts can be particularly

A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT 385

have occasion to use is an analogy, wmemtng lIntamiJiar by it to something

the evolution by compar­

incofDorate comparison or contrast into essays based on

1. Detennine the purpose of the comparison or contrast. What will it contribute to your essay?

2. Introduce the comparison or contrast clearly. Tell your readers how it sup­ pom the main point of the essay. Do not leave it to them to figure OUt why the comparison is included.

3. Keep the comparison or contrast short and to the point. An extended compari­ son will distract readers from the overall point ofyour essay.

4. Organize the points of the comparison or contrast. Even though it is part of a larger essay; the comparison or contrast should follow a poim-by-point or subject­ by-subject organization.

5. Use transitions. Transitional words and expressions are the flow into the comparison or contrast and then

In a Doctot, with a Tear, a Shrug, and a Schedule" on pages 403-5, Abi- Zuger uses comparison and contrast along with other patterns ofdevelopment.

A GUIDED WRIT! NG ASSIGNMENT

The following guide will lead you through the process of writing a comparison or Although you will focus on comparing or contrasting your subjects, you

one or more other patterns of development in your essay.

The ASSignment

Write a comparison or COntrast essay on one of the own' pairs or one

1. lwo public figures

2. Two forms of entertainment (movies, concerts, radio, music videos) or one form of entertainment as it is used today and as it was used ten Ot more years ago

.3. Two styles of communication, dress, or teaching 4. The right and wrong ways of doing something 5. Your views versus your parents' or grandparents' views on an issue

,. 6. Two different cultures' approaches to a rite of passage, such as birth, puberty, or death

cultures' views on the roles that should be played by men and

two different eras

386 CHAPTER 15

Learning Style Option$

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

Depending on the topic pair you choose, you may need to usc Internet or library sources to develop and support your ideas about the subjects. Your audience is your classmates. As you develop your comparison or contrast essay, consider using one or more other patterns of development. For example, you might use process analysis to explain the right and wrong ways of doing something or cause and effect to show the results of two teaching styles on learners.

Generating Ideas

Generating ideas involves first choosing subjects to compare and then prewriting to discover similarities, differences, and other details about the subjects.

Choosing Subjects to Compare Take your time selecting the assignment option and identifying specific subjects for it. Use the following guidelines to get started:

1. Some of the options listed on page 385 are concrete (comparing two public fig­ ures); others are more abstract (comparing communication styles or views on an issue). Consider your learning style and choose the option with which you are most comfortable.

2. If you are a social learner, choose subjects that classmates are familiar with so that you can discuss your subjects with them. group brainstorming about vari­ ous possible subjects.

3. Choose subjects with which you have some firsthand experience or that you are to research. You might try questioning or writing assertions to help you

generate ideas. 4. Choose subjects that interest you. You will have more fun writing about them, and

your enthusiasm will enliven your essay. Tty mapping or sketching to come up wi th interestine: subjects.

Et,~~ay ($rog:ress ~

Using the preceding suggestions, choose an assignment option from the list on page 385 or an option you think of on your own. Then do some prewriting to help you select two specific subjects lor your comparison or contrast essay.

Choosing a Basis of Comparison and a Purpose Suppose you want to compare or contrast twO well-known football players-a quar­ terback and a linebacker. If you merely present the various similarities and differences between the two players, your essay will lack direction. To avoid this problem, you need to choose a basis of comparison and a purpose for writing. You could compare the players on the basis of the positions they play, using the height, weight, skills, training needed for each position as points of comparison. Your purpose would inform readers about the two positions. Alternatively, you could base your on their performances on the field; in this case, your purpose might be to readers to accept your evaluation of both players. Other bases of comparison the players' media images, contributions to their teams, or service to the communlLY·

A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT 387

Once you have a basis of comparison and a purpose ill mind, try to state them clearly in a few sentences. Refer to these sentences as you work to keep your essay on track.

Ess,;;.lY in Progress 2

For the assignment option and subjects you selected in Essay in Progress 1, decide on a basis of companson and a purpose for your essay. Describe both clearly in a few sen­ tences. Keep in mind that you may revise your basis of comparison and purpose as your essay develops.

Ccnsidering Your Audience and Point of View

As you develop your comparison or contrast essay, keep your audience in mind. ror more 011 ovdierl("c and point of Choose points of comparison that will interest your readers. For this chapter's assign­ view; .see Chapter 5, pp. ment, your audience is made up ofyour classmates. You also need to think about point ofview, or how you should address your readers. Most comparison or contrast essays are written in the third person. However, the first person may be appropriate when )'Ou use comparison and contrast to express personal thoughts or feelings.

Discovering Similarities and Differences and Generating Details

Your next step is to discover how your two subjects are similar, how they are different, or both. Depending on your learning style, you can approach this task in a number of different ways:

1. On paper or on your computer. create a two-column list of similarities and IMming Styk Optioll$ differences. Jot down ideas in the appropriate column.

2. Ask a dassmate to help you brainstonn aloud by mentioning only similarities; then counter each similarity with a difference. Write notes on the brainstorming.

3. For concrete subjects. try visualizing them. Take notes on what you see, or draw For more On de5crfption, a sketch ofyour subjects. .see Chapter 12.

4. Create a scenario in which your subjects interact. For example, is automobiles of today and eighty-five years ago, imagine taking your great­ grandfather, who owned a Model T Ford, for a drive in a 20121uxuty car. How would he react? What would he say? .

5. Do research on your two subjects at the library or on the Internet. For more on library and Internet research, see Chapter 22.

Your readers will need plenty of details to grasp the similarities and differences be­ tween your subjects. Use description, examples, and facts to make your subjects seem real to your readers.

to maintain an even balance between your two subjects; gather roughly the c53DIe amount of detail for each. This guideline is especially important if your purpose

:15 to demonstrate that subject A is preferable to or better than subject R Your readets :~l become suspicious if you provide plellty of detail for subject A and only sketchy ~rnformation for subject R

if} Progress 3

Use the preceding suggestions and one or more prewriting strategies to discover simi­ larities and differences and to generate details about your two subjects.

II

388 CHAPTER 15

! I , l

For mOT'2 on rhesis statements,

Chapter 6

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COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

Developing Your Thesis

The thesis statement for a comparison or contrast essay needs to fulfill the three cri­ teria noted earlier: It should identifY the subjects; suggest whether you will focus on similarities, differences, or both; and state your main point. In addition, your thesis should tell readers why your comparison or contrast of the rwo subjects is important or useful to them. Look at the following sample thesis statements:

WEAK The books by Robert B. Parker and Sue Grafton are similar.

REVISED The novels of Robert B. Parker and Sue Grafton are popular because readers are fascinated by the intrigues ofwitty, inde­ pendent private detectives.

The first thesis is weak because it does not place the comparison within a context or give the reader a reason to care about it. The second thesis is more detailed and specific. It provides a basis for comparison and indicates why the similarity is worth reading about

r£3S:,;lY ih P1"ef;;"'£'~';~!

Using the preceding suggestions, write a thesis statement for this chapter's essay as· signment. The thesis should identify the two subjects of your comparison; tell whether you Will focus on similarities, differences, or both; and convey your main point to readers.

Evaluating Your Ideas and Thesis

With your thesis in mind, review your prewriting by underlining or highlighting ideas that pertain to your thesis and eliminating those that do not. If you are working on a computer, highlight these key ideas in bold type or move them to a separate file. Try to identifY the points or characteristics by which you can best compare your subjects. For example, if your thesis is about evaluating the performance of rwo football players, you would probably select various facts and details about their training, the plays they make, and their records. Think of points of comparison as the main similarities or dif­ ferences that support your thesis.

Take a few minures to evaluate your ideas and thesis. Make sure you have enough points ofcomparison to support your thesis and enough details to develop those points. If necessary, do additional prewriting to generate sufficient support for your thesis.

~~,Sf-"ay in Pr':)f.;fr''f:3'S 5

Using the preceding suggestions and comments from your classmates, list the points comparison you plan to use in your essay and evaluate your ideas and thesis. Refer to the list of characteristics on pages 379-81 to help you with your evaluation.

Trying Out Your Ideas on Others

Working in a group of two or three students, discuss your ideas and thesis for this chapter's assignment. Each writer should state his or her topic, thesis, and points of comparison. Then, as a group, evaluate each writer's work.

A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT 389

Organizing and Drafting

Once you have evaluated your thesis, points of comparison, and details, you are ready to organize your ideas and draft your essay.

For morc on drafting an e.llo/, 'iee Choptcr 7

Choosing a Method of Organization Before you begin writing, decide whether you will use a point-by-point or a subject-by­ subject organization (review Figures 15.1 and 15.2, pp. 382-83). To select a method of organization, consider the complexity of your subjects and the length of your essay. You may also need to experiment with the rwo approaches to see which works better. It is a good idea to make an outline or draw a graphic organizer at this stage.

Here are a few other guidelines to consider:

1. The subject-by-subject method tends to emphasize the larger picture, whereas the point-by-point method emphasizes details and specifics.

2. The point-by-point method often works better for lengthy essays because it keeps both subjects current in your reader's mind.

3. The point-by-point method is often preferable for complicated or technical subjects. For example, if you compare rwo computer systems, it would be easier to explain the function of a memory card once and then describe the memory cards in each of the rwo systems.

E.·say in Progress 6

Choose a method of organization-point by point or subject by subject-and organize the points of comparison you generated in Essay in Progress 5.

Drafting the Essay

Use the following guidelines when writing your first draft:

1. Ifyou are using point-by-point organization, keep the following suggestions in mind.

• Work back and forth berween your rwo subjects, generally discussing the subjects in the same order for each point. If both subjects share a particular characteristic, then you may want to mention them together.

• Use a separate paragraph for each point of comparison, in most cases. • Arrange your points of comparison carefully. You might, for example, start with

the clearest, simplest points and then move on to more complex ones.

2. Ifyou are using a subject-by-subject organization, keep the following lsuggestions in mind.

• Be sure to cover the same points for both subjects. • Cover the points of comparison in the same order in both halves ofyour essay. • Write a clear statement of transition wherever you switch from one subject to

the other.

3. Use transitions. Transitions are especially important in helping readers follow For /nore on 'rom't,ons, see you make in a comparison or contrast essay. Transitions alert readers to C!wpter 7, pp. 150-52

subjects or to new points of comparison. An essay that lacks transitions choppy and unconnected. Use transitional words and phrases such as similarly,

On the one hand, on the other hand, and not only . .. but also.

leaming Style Optiom

Far more on the benefi15 ofpeer reView, see Chapter 9, pp. 188-9J.

For more on keeping on error log,

see Chapter 10. pp. 221-22.

lines for drafting, wr~e a first draft of your comparison or contrast essay.

Analyzing and Revising

If possible, set your draft aside for a day or two before rereading and revising it. As you reread, concentrate on ideas and not on grammar or punctuation. Use one or more of the following suggestions to an.IrLe your draft:

1. Reread your essay aloud, or ask a friend or classmate (0 do so as you listen. 2. Draw a I!raohic organizer, make an outline, or update the organizer or outline you

A graphic organizer or outline will indicate whether your org-ani­ contains inconsisrencies or gaps.

3. Read each paragraph with this question in mind: So what? If any paragraph does not answer that question, revise or ddete it.

Use Figure 15.4 to your an.Iysis of the strengths and weaknesses in your draft You might .Iso a classmate to review your draft essay lIsing the questions flowchart. Your reviewer should consider each question listed in the flowchart,

cXlmllning each "No" answer.

Essay in Progress 8

Revise your draft using Figure 15.4 and any comments you received from peer reviewers.

Editing and Proofreading

The last step is to check your revised essay for errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and mechanics. Be sure to check your error log for the types of errors you tend to make.

As you edit and proofread your comparison or contrast essay, watch out for the following rypes of errors:

1. Make sure to USe the right forms of adjectives and adverbs when compar­ ing two items (comparative) and three or more items (superlative). The following

show how adjectives and adverbs change forms.

Adjectives Adverbs

Positive sharp early Comparative sharper earlier

Superlative sharpest earliest

purpose (to express ideas, inform, or persuade)?

YES··

2. Write the basis of comparison at the top of your paper. Is your basis of com· parison dear? Does it clearly relate to your thesis?

YES

3. List your points of comparison. Place a checkmark v next to the sentences that focus on similarities between the subjects. Mark an X next to the sen­ tences that focus on differences. Have you included all significant points of comparison? Do you fairly examine similarities and differences? Is each similarity or difference significant, and does each support your thesis?

4. Underline the topic sentence of each paragraph. Does each paragraph have a clear topic sentence? If you are us­ ing point-by-point comparison, is each paragraph focused on a separate pOint or shared characteristic?

ing reason your purpose.

• Ask a friend or classmate to help you think of a clear or new basis for comparison.

• Delete any discussion of similarities or differences that are not significant or that do not support your thesis.

• Review your prewriting to see if you over­ looked any Significant points of compari­ son. If so, revise to add them.

• If you have trouble thinking of points of comparison, conduct research or ask a classmate to suggest ideas.

• Follow the guidelines for writing clear topic sentences (pp. 167-70).

• Consider splitting paragraphs that focus on more than one point or characteristic and combining paragraphs that focus on the same one.

(continued on next page)

390 CHAPTER 15

ro! more on wfiting effective paragraphs, induding

introductions ana COtldusiOflS, see Chapier 7.

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT 391

4. Write an effective introduction. The introduction should spark your readers' interest, present your subjects, state your thesis, and include any background informa­ tion your readers may need.

5. Write a satisfYing conclusion. Your conclusion should offer a final comment QUESTIONS REVISION STRATEGIES on your comparison or contrast, reminding readers of your thesis. For a lenl!thv or

essay, you might want (0 summariz.e your main points as well. 1. Mfilhtillnf your thesis statement. Does • Revise your thesis using the suggestions the subjects being compared on p. 388.

Essay Pro~~rcs~~ and state your main point? Does it or "NO • Brainstorm a list of reasons for making Using the organization you developed in Essay in Progress 6 and the preceding guide' do nearby sentences express a clear the comparison. Make the most promis­

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST392 CHAPTER 16

(Figure 15.4 contirHu:td)

QUESTIONS

5. Draw a waV'f underline under the con­ crete details ineach paragraph. Do you include enough details to make your comparisons vivid and interesting? Have you provided roughly the same amount of detail for both subjects?

6. Draw a graphic organizer of your es­ say, or review the one you did earlier. Did you use either point-by-point or subject-by-subject organization con­ sistently throughout the essay? Is your organization clear to your reader?

YES

7. Reread your introduction and conclu­ sion. Does the introduction provide a context for your comparison? Is the conclusion satisfying and relevant to the comparison?

NO

NO

NO

REVISION STRATEGIES

• Add or delete details as necessary. • Review your prewriting to see if you

overlooked any significant details. • Research your subjects to come up with

additional details. (See Chapters 21 and 22.)

• Study your graphic organizer to find inconsistencies or gaps.

• Reorganize your essay using one method of organization consistently.

• Add transitions if necessary.

• Revise your introduction and conclusion to meet the guidelines in Chapter 7, pages 153-56 and 156-57.

• Consider proposing an action orway of thinking that is appropriate in light of the comparison.

II Both No Country for Old Men and True Grit were suspenseful, but I liked True

hetter.

Grit &est-. worst

" George, Casey, and Bob are all bad at basketball, but Bob's game is,~

2. Make sure that items in a pair linked by correlative conjunctions (either . .. or, neither . .. nor, not only . .. but also) are in the same grammatical form.

.. The Grand Canyon is not only a spectacular tourist attraction but also

",cient~er-~ a useful geological

Essay in Progress 9 Edit and proofread your essay, paying particular attention both to adjectives and adverbs used to compare and to items linked by correlative conjunctions.

STUDENTS WRITE 393

Students Write

Heather Gianakos was a first-year student when she wrote the following comparison­ and-contrast essay for her composition course. Although she has always enjoyed both

of cooking that she discusses, she needed to do some research in the library and on the Internet to learn more about their history. As you read the essay, consider the writer's thesis and points of comparison.

Border Bites

Heather Gianakos

Chili ~rs, tortillas, tacOS! All these roods belong to the styles of cooking known as

Mexican, Tex-Mex, and southwestern. These internationally popular styles often overlap; some­

times it can be hard to tell which style a particular dish belongs to. Two particular traditions of

(!laking, however, play an especially important role in the kitchens of Mexico and the American

Southwest-- native-derived Mexican cooking ("Mexican"), and ~n~t9dgif~'~1;\~~~4,,~!~~~.~r,f\

particularly from Texas ("southwestern").

Many of the traditions of~,utl1i1\Jl~ten:t cooki ng grew out of difficult situations--cowboys

and ranchers cooking over open fires, fur example. Chili, which can contain beans, beef,

tomatoes, corn, and many other ingredients, was a good dish to cook over a campfire because

everything could be combined in one pot. Dry foods, such as beef jerky, were a convenient

way to solve food storage problems and could be easily tucked into saddlebags. In Mexico,

fruits and vegetables such as avocados and tomatoes were widely

available and did not need to be dried or stored. They could be made into spicy salsa and

guacamole. Mexicans living in coastal areas could also enjoy fish and lobster dishes

llJ!,mison and Jamison 5).

;t1j!\"'li:I~fi~i,p~!~!ittlji~ and Mexico since the time of the

who made tortillas (ft.at, unleavened bread, originally made from stone-ground corn and

ilften of European descent, adopted the tortilla but often prepared it with wheat ft.our. which was

cooking, but corn is usually the primary grain in dishes with precolonial origins.

whose name derives from a word in Nahuatl, the Aztec group of languages) are a deli­

example: Ahunk of cornmeal dough, sometimes combined with ground meat, is wrapped in

$~!~,t.IJ!~~,t(~rt, cooking, com is often used fur leavened com bread,

is made with com flour rather than cornmeal and can be ft.avored with jalapenos or back

Introduction indicates Glanakos wlll examine both similarities and diRerences but will focus on differences. Her II1II _gives a basis of comparison of her two subject.. Mexican and southwdjl!'rp cooking: the tradition, and geographic locations of the people who developed them. It also makes a point: that these differences have led to the diRerence, in the food.

Subject A: sOOt~terft

Subject B: Mexican

Point of comparison .1: the physical conditions in which the two styles developed, Notice that Gianakos IJses point~ by~point comparison, discussing both subjects in each paragraph and often using,~ between them. She also cites sources for her information.

Point of comparison -2: the use of corn and wheat

394 CHAPTER 15 -~- ..-,-~-".~",,,,-~-~.=~.'

PoInt ofcomparison #3: the uS1:! of chicken

Subject B: M~xican

Conclusion: Gianakos returns to the idea of overlap mentioned in the introduction and makes dear her purpose­ to inform readers about the differences between the two cUisines.

Gianakoslists her sources at the end of her paper, following MlAstyle.

dency to become rancid, pork ribs were often marinated in vinegar and spices and then hung

to dry. Later the ribs were basted with the same sauce and grilled (Campa 278). The resulting

dish has become a favorite both north and south of the border, although in Mexican cooking,

where beef is somewhat less important than in southwestern cooking, pork is equally popular

in many other forms, such as chorizo sausage.

Cooks in San Antonio or Albuquerque would probably tell you that the food they cook is as 1

much Mexican as it is southwestern. Regional cuisines in such areas of the Southwest as New

Mexico, Southern California, and Arizona feature elements of both traditions; chimichangas-­

deep-fried burritos--actually originated in Arizona (Jamison and Jamison 11). Food lovers who

sample regional specialties, however, will note--and savor--the contrast between the spicy, fried

or grilled, beef-heavy style of southwestern food and the richly seasoned, corn- and tomato­

heavy style of Mexican food.

Works Cited

Campa, Arthur L Hispanic Culture in the Southwest. Norman: Uof Oklahoma P, 1979. Print.

Central Texas Barbecue Association. "CTSA Rules." Central Texas Barbecue Association. CTBA, 16 Aug.

2004. Web. 6 May 2005.

Jamison, Cheryl Alters, and Bill Jamison. The Border Cookbook. Boston: Harvard

Common, 1995. Print.

1. What other regional cuisines might make effective topics for a comparison and contrast essay?

2. Gianakos compares the cuisines of the American Southwest and Mexico using the traditions and geographic locations of the people who lived there as the basis of comparison. In your journal, explore several other possible bases of comparison that could be used to compare these cuisines.

3. Write an essay comparing foods of two other regional cuisines.

The following section provides advice fOr reading comparison and contrast essays. Two model essays illustrate the characteristics ofcomparison and contrast covered in this chap­ ter and provide opportunities to examine, analyze, and react to the writer's ideas. The =od essay uses comparison and contrast along with other methods of development.

Working with Text: Reading Comparison or Contrast Essays

Reading a comparison and contrast essay is somewhat different from reading other kinds of essays. First, the essay contains two or more subjects instead of just one. Sec­ ond, the subjects are being compared, contrasted, or both, so you must follow the

For more on reading strategies. see Chapter 3,

Subject A: sou\llwestel1'l

Subject B: Mexican

Point of comparison #4: the use of beef

Subject A:s<itlthl'i"$~m

SUbject B:.~·

Point ofcomparison #5: the use of pork

Subject A: SoUtltVil;!j\.rn

COMPARISON ANO CONTRAST

Meat of various kinds is often the centerpiece of both Mexican and southwestern tables.

However, although chicken. beef, and pork are staples in both traditions, they are often pre­

pared quite differently. Fried chicken rolled in flour and dunked into sizzling oil or fat is a popu­

lar dish throughout the American Southwest. In traditional Mexican cooking, hOWever,

chicken is often cooked more slowly, in stews or baked dishes, with a variety of seasonings, in­

cluding ancho chiles, garlk, and onions.

Ever since cattle farming began in Texas with the early Spanish missions, beef has been

eaten both north and south of the border. In southwestern cooking, steak--flank, rib eye, or

sirloin--grilled quickly and served rare is often a chef's crowning glory. In Mexican cooking,

beef may be combined wtt:Ir vegetables and spices and rolled into a fajita or served ground in a

taco. For a Mexican food purist, in fact, the only true fajita is made from skirt steak, although

Mexican food as it is served in the United States often features chicken fajitas.

In Texas and the Southwest United States, barbecued pork ribs are often prepared in bar­

becue cook-offs, similar to chili-cooking competitions. Such competitions have strict rules for

the preparation and presentation of the food and for sanitation (Central Texas).

while the BBO is seen as a southwestern specialty, barbecue ribs as they are served in

southwestern-themed restaurants today actually come from a Hispanic and Southwest Mexican

tradition dating from the days before refrigeration: Since pork fat, unlike beef fat, has a ten­

.•_____J...WO ~~~'iVIT~_ TEXT: RE.... 01~~c;.~M P!,.R~_O~.!!~O_NTR!,~!,,~,!,!~

Analyzing the Writer's Technique

1. Evaluate Gianakos's title and introduction. Do they provide the reader with enough background on her topic?

2. Using a point-by-point organi7Ation, Gianakos presents her two subjects in the same order - first southwestern cuisine, then Mexican cuisine-for each point of comparison except in paragraph 3. Why do you think she discusses the two cui­ sines together in this paragraph?

3. How does Gianakos's use ofsources contribute to her essay?

Thinking Critically about Comparison and Contrast

1. Reread the first sentence of the essay. What type of cooking is mentioned here and never discussed again in the essay? How does this decision by Gianakos affect your response to the first paragraph and to the essay as a whole?

2. Describe Gianakos's tone. Is it effective in this essay? 3. What do phrases such as «subtle, flavorful differences" (para. 1), "Food lovers' (7),

and "richly seasoned" (7) contribute to the essay? If Gianakos had included more phrases like these, how would the essay be changed?

4_ What comparisons did Gianakos not make that she could have made?

Reacting to the Essay

396 CHAPTER 15

For more on preYlewing,

see Chap''' 3, pp. 48-50.

For more on discovering ideas Jor

a re~ponse paper, see Chapter 4,

pp. 86~95.

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

author's points of comparison between or among them, Use the guidelines below to read comparison-and-comrast essays cf'f:ectively.

What to Look For, Highlight, and Annotate

1. As you preview the essay, determine whether it uses the point-by-point or by-subject organization, Knowing the method of otganization will help you move through the essay more easily.

2. IdentifY and highlight the thesis statement, ifit is stated explicitly. What does it tell you about the essay's purpose, direction, and organization?

3. Read the essay once to get an overall sense ofhow it develops. As you read, highlight each point of romparison the writer makes.

4. Review the essay by drawing a graphic organizer (see Figures 15.1 and 15.2). Doing so will help you Jearn and recall the key points of the essay,

How to Find Ideas to Write About

To tespond to or write about a comparison and contrast essay, consider the following strategies:

• Compare the subjects using a different basis of comparison. If, for example, an essay compares or contrasts athletes in various spons on the basis ofsalary, you could com­ pare them according to the training required for each sport. For an essay that emphasi'.cs differences, consider writing about similarities, and vice versa.

• To write an essay that looks at one of comparison in more depth, you might do research or interview an expert on topic.

Thinking Critically about Comparison and Contrast

Comparison and contrast writing can be quite straightfurward when the writer's pur­ pose is only to inform. However, when the writer's putpose is also to persuade, you need to ask the critical questions below.

1. Does the Author Treat Each Subject Fairly?

Examine whether the author gives equal and objective coverage to each subject. If one of the subjects seems to be favored or given special consideration (or if one seems not to be treated fairly, fully, or adequately), the author might be biased-that is, introducing his or her own values or attitudes into the comparison. The lack of balance may not be intentional, and even a biased piece of wtiting is not necessarily unteliable, bur you should be aware that other points of view may not have been presented. In "Dearly Disconnected," Frazier devotes more covetage to pay phones than to cell phones and appears nostalgic abour pay phones but somewhat annoyed by cell phones.

DANIEl. GOLEMAN HIS MARRIAGE AND HERS: CHILDHOOD ROOTS 397 --~~-- ,'~'----~-~'--"-

2. How Does the Organization Affect Meaning?

In thinking about the question of fairness, notice especially whether and how the au­ thor uses a point-by-point or subject-by-subject otganization. These twO organizations provide different emphases. Point by point tends to maintain a steady balance, keep­ ing the reader focused on both subjects simultaneously, while subject by subject rends to allow in-depth consideration of each subject separately. If a writer wants to present one subject more favorably than the other, he Ot she may present that subject and all its characteristics first, thereby shaping the reader's attitude toward it in a positive way before the reader encounters the second subject. Alternatively, a writer may present all the faults of the Jess favored subject first and then leave the reader with a final impres­ sion of the more favored subject. Even in point-by-point organization, the order in which the subjects are discussed fot each point may suggest rhe writer's preference for one or the other. As you consider the method of org-anization, ask yourself how the essay would be different if the other method had been used or if the order of the two subjects had been reversed.

The choice oforganization may also depend on factors other than fairness or bias. In "Dearly Disconnected," if Frazier had used a point-by-point rather than subject­ by-subject organization, he would have found it more difficult to include his personal reflections on the meaning of the pay phone in his life.

3. What Points of Comparison Are Omitted?

As you evaluate comparison or contrast essays, be sure to consider the other compari­ sons or contrasts that the author could have made. In "Amusing Ourselves to Depth," Beato could have discussed the type of audience that would be drawn to each type of publication, but he did not. "In Dearly Disconnected," Frazier could have compared the convenience ofcell phones versus pay phones, bur he did not.

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST ESSAY

As you read the following essay by psychologist Daniel Goleman, notice how the writer uses the elements ofcomparison and contrast discussed in this chapter,

His Marriage and Hers: Childhood Roots

Daniel Goleman holds a PhD In behavioral and brain sciences and has published a num­

ber of books on psychology, including, Destructive Emotions: A Scientific Dia/ogue with the

Dalai Lama (2003), Social Intelligence: The New Science ofHuman Relationships (2006),

" and Ec%gica/lntelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts ofWhat We Buy Can Change Everything (2009). Goleman reported on the brain and behavioral sciences for the New

.York Times for many years and was elected a fellow of the American Association for the

Advancement of Science for his efforts to bring psychology to the publiC, I n his book Emo­

tiona/Intelligence (1995), from which the following selection was laken, Goleman describes

emotional skills required for daily living and explains how to develop those skitts. As

CHAPTER T5 COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

you read the selection, notice how the writer uses comparison and contrast to explore his subject-differences between the sexes-and highlight his key points of comparison.

As I was entering a restaurant on a recent evening, a young man stalked out the door, his face set in an expression both stony and sullen. Close on his heels a young woman came running, her fists desperately pummeling his back while she yelled, "Goddamn you! Come back here and be nice to me!" That poignant, impossibly self'contradictory plea aimed at a retreating back epitomizes the pattern most commonly seen in couples whose relationship is distressed: She seeks to engage, he withdraws. Marital therapists have long noted that by the time a couple finds their way to the therapy office, they are in this pattern of engage-withdraw, with his complaint about her ·unreasonable" de· mands and outbursts, and her lamenting his indifference to what she is saying.

This marital endgame reflects the fact that there are, in effect, two emotional reali­ ties in a couple, his and hers. The roots of these emotional differences, while they may be partly biological, also can be traced back to childhood and to the separate emotional worlds boys and girls inhabit while growing up. There is a vast amount of research on these separate worlds, their barriers reinforced not just by the different games boys and girls prefer but by young children's fear of being teased for having a "girlfriend" or "boy­ friend."' One study of children'S friendships found that three·year·olds say about half their friends are of the opposite sex; for five·year·olds it's about 20 percent, and by age seven almost no boys or girls say they have a best friend of the opposite sex.' These separate social universes intersect little until teenagers start dating.

Meanwhile, boys and girls are taught very different lessons about handling emotions. 1 Parents, in general, discuss emotions-with the exception of anger-more with their daughters than their sons.1 Girls are exposed to more information about emotions than are boys: when parents make up stories to tell their preschool children, they use more emotion words when talking to daughters than to sons; when mothers play with their infants, they display a wider range of emotions to daughters than to sons; when mothers talk to daughters about feelings, they discuss in more detail the emotional state itself than they do with their sons-though with the sons they go into more detail about the causes and consequences of emotions like anger (probably as a cautionary tale).

Leslie Brody and Judith Hall, who have summarized the research on differences in emotions between the sexes, propose that because girls develop facility with language more quickly than do boys, this leads them to be more expelienced at artic· ulating their feelings and more skilled than boys at using words to explore and substi· tute for emotional reactions such as physical fights; in contrast, they note, "boys, for whom the verbalization of affects is de·emphasized, may become largely unconscious of their emotional states, both in themselves and others."'

At age ten, roughly the same percent of girls as boys ale overtly aggressive, given to open confrontation when angered. But by age thirteen, a telling difference between the sexes emerges: Girls become more adept than boys at artful aggressive tactics like ostracism, vicious gossip, and indirect vendettas. Boys, by and large, simply continue being confrontational when angered, oblivious to these more covert strategies.sThis is just one of many ways that boys-and later, men-are less sophisticated than the opposite sex in the byways of emotional life.

When girls play together, they do so in small, intimate groups, with an emphasis on minimizing hostility and maximizing cooperation, while boys' games are in larger

DANIEL GOLEMAN HIS MARRIAGE AND HERS, CHILDHOOD ROOTS 399 -----.~.-"'------.~--~,~-"-".,~~.~,--~~-----~.--------~---~.

groups, with an emphasis on competition. One key difference can be seen in what hap· pens when games boys or girls are playing get disrupted by someone getting hurt. If a boy who has gotten hurt gets upset, he is expected to get out of the way and stop crying so the game can go on. If the same happens among a group of girls who are playing, the game stops while everyone gathers around to help the girl who is crying. This difference between boys and girls at play epitomizes what Harvard's Carol Gilligan points to as

400 CHAPTER 15 ~--~--------~---

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

a key disparity between the sexes: boys take pride in a lone, tough·minded indepen'

dence and autonomy, while girls see themselves as part of a web of connectedness.

Thus boys are threatened by anything that might challenge their independence, while

girls are more threatened by a rupture in their relationships. And, as Deborah Tannen

has pointed out in her book You Just Don't Understand, these differing perspectives mean that men and women want and expect very different things out of a conversation,

with men content to talk about "things," while women seek emotional connection.

In short, these contrasts in schooling in the emotions foster very different skills, with 7

girls becoming "adept at reading both verbal and nonverbal emotional signals, at ex·

pressing and communicating their feelings," and boys becoming adept at "minimizing

emotions having to do with vulnerability, guilt, fear, and hurt.'" Evidence for these dif·

ferent sl~nees is ~ry strong in IRe scientific literalur~. Hundreds of studies have fOood,

for example, that on average women are more empathic than men, at least as measured

by the ability to read someone else's unstated feelings from facial expression, tone of

voice, and other nonverbal cues. Likewise, it is generally easier to read feelings from

a woman's face than a man's; while there is no difference in facial expressiveness

among very young boys and girts, as they go through the elementary·school grades boys

become less expressive, girls more so. This may partly reflect another key difference:

women, on average, experience the entire range of emotions with greater intensity and

more volatility than men-in this sense, women are more "emotional" than men?

All of this means that, in general, women come into a marriage groomed for the

role of emotional manager, while men arrive with much less appreciation of the im·

portance of this task for helping a relationship survive. Indeed, the most important

element forwomen-but not for men -in satisfaction with their relationship reported

in a study of 264 couples was the sense that the couple has "good communication."'

Ted Huston, a psychologist at the University ofTexas who has studied couples in

depth, observes, "For the wives, intimacy means talking things over, especially talk·

ing about the relationship itself. The men, by and large, don't understand what the

wives want from them. They say, 'I want to do things with her, and all she wants to do

is talk.'" During courtship, Huston found, men were much more willing to spend time

talking in ways that suited the wish for intimacy of their wives·to·be. But once mar·

ried, as time went on the men-especially in more traditional couples-spent less

and less time talking in this way with their wives, finding a sense of closeness simply

in doing things like gardening together rather than talking things over.

This growing silence on the part of husbands may be partly due to the fact that, if

anything, men are a bit Pollyannaish about the state of their marriage, while their wives

are attuned to the trouble spots: in one study of marriages, men had a rosier view than

their wives of just about everything in their relationship -lovemaking, finances, ties

with in·laws, how well they listened to each other, how much their flaws mattered.'

Wives, in general, are more vocal about their complaints than are their husbands, par·

ticularly among unhappy couples. Combine men's rosy view of marriage with their

sian to emotional confrontations, and it is clear why wives so often complain that

husbands try to wiggle out of discussing the troubling things about their relationship.

(Of course this gender difference is a generalization and is not true in every case; a

psychiatrist friend complained that in his marriage his wife is reluctant to discuss

tional matters between them and he is the one who is left to bring them up.)

DANIEL QOI.EMAN HIS MARRIAGE AND HERS: CHILDHOOD ROOTS 401 ¢-----------~--...-~---~,'~--""-----.,~"------",.-"'--------.--.-----~- ,---_. ­

The slowness of men to bring up problems in a relationship is no doubt compounded 10

by their relative lack of skill when it comes to reading facial expressions of emotions. Women, for example, are more sensitive to a sad expression on a man's face than are

men in detecting sadness from a woman's expression.,o Thus a woman has to be all the sadder for a man to notice her feelings in the first place,let alone for him to raise the

question ofwhat is making her so sad.

Consider the implications of this emotional gender gap for how couples handle the 11

grievances and disagreements that any intimate relationship inevitably spawns. In

fact, specific issues such as how often a couple has sex, how to discipline the children,

or how much debt and savings a couple feels comfortable with are not what make or

break a marriage. Rather, it is how a couple discusses such sore points that matters more for the fate of their marriage. Simply having reached an agreement about how

to disagree is key to marital survival; men and women have to overcome the innate

gender differences in approaching rocky emotions. Failing this, couples are vulnerable

to emotional rifts that eventually can tear their relationship apart .... mhese rifts are

far more likely to develop if one or both partners have certain deficits in emotional

intelligence.

Nons 1. The separate worlds of boys and girls: Eleanor Maccoby and C. N.lacklin, "Gender Segregation in

Childhood,' in H. Reese, ed., Advances in Child Development and Behavior (New York: Academic Press, 1987).

2. Same·sex playmates: John Gottman, "Same and Cross Sex Friendship in Young Children." in I. Gottman and J. Parl<er. eds., Conversation ofFriends (New York: Cambridge University Press, 1986).

3. This and the following summary of sexdTfferences in socialization of emotions are based on the excelient review in leslie R. Brody and Judith A. Hall, "Gender and Emotion," in Michael Lewis and leannette Haviland, eds., Handbook ofEmotions (New Yorl<: Guilford Press, 1993).

4. Brody and Hall, "Gender and Emotion," 456. 5. Girts and the arts of aggression: Robert B. Cairns and Beverlev D. Cairns, Lifelines and Risks (New York:

Cambridge University Press, 1994). 6. Brody and Hall, "Gender and Emotion," 454. 7. The findings about gender differences in emotion are reviewed in Brodv and Hall. "Gender and

Emotion/' B. The importance of good communication for women was reported in Mark H. Davis and H. Alan Oathout,

"Maintenance of Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships: Empathy and Relational Competence," Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 53, no. 2 (1987): 397-410.

9. The study of husbands' and wives' complaints: Robert I. Sternberg, "Triangulating love," Rober! Sternberg and Michael Barnes, eds., The Psychology of Love (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1988).

10. Reading sad faces: The research is bV Dr. Ruben C Gur at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine.

ining the Reading

Summarize the differences that Goleman claims exist between men's and wom­ en's ways of expressing emotion. Accotding to Goleman, what are the root causes of the differences between how men and women express emotion? How can the emotional differences between spouses cause marital difficulties, according to the writer?

r­ 404 CHAPTER 16 COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

intern and keep working, often talking to patients' relatives long into the night. "I am now breaking the law," she would announce cheerfully to no one in particular, then trot off to do just a few final chores.

The man had a strict definition of what it meant to be a doctor. He did not, for instance, "do nurses' work" (his phrase). When one of his patients needed a specimen sent to the lab and the nurse didn't get around to it, neither did he. No matter how important the job was, no matter how hard I pressed him, he never gave in. If I spoke sternly to him, he would tum around and speak just as sternly to the nurse. The woman did everyone's work. She would weigh her patients if necessary (nurses' work). feed them (aides' work). find salt­ free pickles for them (dietitians' work), and wheel them to X-ray (transporters' work).

The man was cheerful, serene, and well rested. The woman was overtired, hyper­ emotional, and constantly late. The man was interested in his patkmts, but they never kept him up at night. The woman occasionally called the hospital from home to check on hers. The man played tennis on his days off. The woman read medical articles. At least, she read the beginnings; she tended to fall asleep halfway through.

t telt as it Iwas in a medieval morality play' that month, living with two costumed symbols of opposing philosophies in medical education. The woman was working the way interns used to: total immersion seasoned with exhaustion and adrenaline. As far as she was concerned, her patients were her exclusive responsibility_ The man was an intern of the new millennium. His hours and duties were delimited; he saw himself as part of a health-care team, and his patients' welfare as a shared responsibility.

This new model of medical internship got some important validation in the New England Journal ofMedicine last week, when Harvard researchers reported the effects of reducing interns' work hours to 60 per week from 80 (now the mandated national maximum). The shorter workweek required a larger staff of interns to spell one another at more frequent intervals. With shorter hours, the interns got more sleep at home, dozed off less at work, and made considerably fewer bad mistakes in patient care.

Why should such an obvious finding need an elaborate controlled study to estab· lish? Why should it generate not only two long articles in the world's most prestigious medical journal but also three long, passionate editorials? Because the issue here is bigger than just scheduling and manpower.

The progressive shortening of residents' work hours spells nothing less than a change in the ethos of medicine itself. It means the end of Dr. Kildare, Superstar-thaI lone, heroic healer, omniscient, omnipotent, and ever-present. It means a revolution in the complex medical hierarchy that sustained him. Willy-nilly, medicine is becoming. democratized, a team sport_

We can only hope the revolution witt be bloodless. Everything will have to change. Doctors will have to learn to work well with others. They will have to learn to write and speak with enough clarity and precision so that the patient's story remains accurate as care passes from hand to hand. They will have to stop saying "my patient" and begin to say ·our patient" instead.

---.--.~--

1moroJityplay: a type of play performed in the Middle Ages in which characters represent abstractions (love. death, peace, and so on); irs purpose is to teach a tesson about right and wrong.

DEFINING AABIGAIL ,---~--."'~,.-.---..----~---",.--

It may be, when the dust settles, that the system will be more functional, less error· 11 prone. It may be that we will simply have substituted one set of problems for another. We may even find that nothing much has changed. Even in the Harvard data, there was an impressive range in the hours that the interns under study worked. Some logged in over 90 hours in their SO-hour workweek. Some put in 75 instead. Medicine has always attracted a wide spectrum of individuals, from the lazy and disaffected to the deeply committed. Even draconian scheduling policies may not change basiC personality traits or the kind of doctors that interns grow up to be.

My month with the intern of the past and the intern of the future certainly argues 12 for the power of the individual work ethic. Try as I might, it was not within my power to modify the way either of them functioned_ The woman cared too much. The man tared too little. She worked too hard, and he could not be Pf~d into working hard enough. They both made careless mistakes. When patients died, the man shrugged and the woman cried.lffor no other reason than that one, let us hope that the medi· cine of the future still has room for people like her.

Examining the Reading

I, How do the two interns differ in cheir approach to medicine? 2. What different philosophies of medicine do the two interns represent? 3, Describe the working condirions of interns. 4. What do we learn about the author and her philosophy of medical practice? 5. Explain the meaning of each of the following words as it is used in the reading: de­

limited (para. 6), ethos (9), omniscient (9), omnipotent (9), and draconian (11).

Analyzing the Writer's Technique

1. Highlight Zugds thesis and evaluate its placement. 2. Identify the points of comparison on which the essay is based. 3. What other patterns of development does the author use? Give one exanlple and

explain how it contributes to the essay. . 4. Evaluate the effectiveness of the point-by-point organization. How would the

essay diffi:r if it had been written using a subject-by-subject organization? 5. Evaluate the essay's conclusion. How does it reflect the rhesis and organization of

the essay?

Visualizing the Reading

Analyze Zuger's use of point-by-point organization by first identifying the different ofcomparison in her essay in the box on page 406. The first one has been done

you. Add additional rOWS to the box as needed.

DOCTOR 406.--_.. _­

1

.,.. CHAPTER 15

For mare on locating and

documenting 5curCe,t see Part 5.

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST

Points of Comparison The Man The Woman

Organizational styles Efficient (Palm Pilot) Disorganized (overstuffed pockets and notebook)

Thinking Critically about Text

1. In her final sentence, Zuger reveals a bias toward one of the models of medical in­ ternship she is comparing. Is bias apparent anywhere else? Explain.

2. What is the connotation of "nurses' work" (para. 4)? 3. What other types of sources and information could the author have included to

make this essay more comprehensive?

Reacting to the Reading

1. Discuss an experience of visiting a doctor or hospital. Within which philosophy of medical care did your treatment fall?

2. Discuss the training and education you will need for a career you are interested in pursuing. What knowledge and skills will you need to succeed in the field, and how will the training provide them?

3. Write a journal entry el<.ploring whether medical care has become depersonalized. Give Cl<.amples from your el<.perience.

4. Write an essay comparing or contrasting males and females in another profession (teachers, police officers, nurses).

Applying Your Skills: Additional Essay Assignments

Write a comparison or contrast essay on one of the topics below, using what you have learned in this chapter. Depending on the topic you choose, you may need to conduct library or Internet research.

To Express Your Ideas

1. Compare I wo families that you know or are part o£ Include points of compari­ son that reveal what is valuable and important in family life.

.__.___._'___'____'_...__ --'.:~.;...;c:..;..:..N_'_'G_."y"CO:_,UCCR,_,_S.,--K,:..I.c:L:.;L;.:S::.:...':.:.:~_-:~:.:,_:: E 6 SAY ASS I G N M E N T S 407

2. Compare your values and priorities today with those you held when you were in high school.

3. Compare your lifesryle today with the lifestyle you intend to follow after you graduate from college.

To Inform Your Reader

4. Compare library resources with those available on the Internet. 5. Compare twO sources of information or communication as Beato does in "Amus­

ing Ourselves to Depth" (p. 375).

To Persuade Your Reader

6. Choose a technological change that has occurred in recent years, as Frazier does in "Dearly Disconnected" (p. 377), and argue either that it is beneficial or that its drawbacks outweigh its usefulness compared with the old technology.

7. Compare two views on a controversial issue, arguing in favor of one of them. 8. Compare twO methods ofdoing something (such as disciplining a child or train­

ing a pet), arguing that one method is more effective than the other.

Cases Using Comparison and Contrast

9. You are taking a course in photography and have becn asked to write a papet comparing and contrasting the advantages and uses of black-and-white versus color film. Your instructor is your audience.

10. You are working in the advertising department ofa company that manufactures in-line skates. Your manager has asked you to evaluate twO periodicals and rec­ ommend which one the company should use to run its advertisements.

Classification and Division: Explaining Categories and Parts

WRITING QUICK START

photograph on the opposite page shows fruits and vegetables on display at

arm market. Notice that they are arranged according to type of produce. Can

imagine how difficult it would be to find what you need if all produce were

piled onto a table or shelf, with broccoli, pears. peppers, and bananas

mixed together? Most stores and markets arrange or group their products for

convenience of their customers. like a few minutes to brainstorm other ways a particular store or Web site

or could group its products for customer convenience. You may propose a

method or construct a humorous one. Then write a paragraph describing

system. Come up with a title for each group and describe what products

in it. Include the characteristics of each product group.

409

410 CHAPTER 16 CLASSIFICATION ANO DIVISION-...~"'''-~-"'~~".

WRITING A CLASSIFICATION OR DIVISION ESSAY

Whoever arranged the fruits and vegetables in the market used a process called classifica­ tion-grouping things into categories based on specific characteristics. 'This chapter will show you how to write effective classification and division essays as well as how to incor­ porate classification and division into essays using other patterns ofdevdopment.

What Are Classification and Division?

You use dassi6ca:tion to organize things and ideas daily. Your dresser drawers are prob­ organized by categories, with socks and sweatshirts in different drawers. Grocery

stores, phone directories, libraries, and even restaurant menus arrange items in groups according to similar characreristics.

Classification. then, is a process of sorting people, things, or ideas into groups or categories to help make them more understandable. For example, your college caralog classifies its course offerings by school. division, and department.

Division, similar to classification, begins with one item and breaks it down into pam. Thus, for example. the humanities department at your college may be divided ... into English, modern languages, and philosophy, and the modern language courses might be further divided into Spanish, French, Chinese, and Russian. Division is closely related to process analysis, which is covered in Chapter 14.

A classification or division essay explains a topic by describing rypes or parts. For example, a classification essay might explore rypes of advertising-direct mail. radio, television, newspaper, Internet, and so forth. A division essay might describe the pans of an art museum-exhibit areas, museum store, visitor services desk, and the like.

You will find many occasions to use classification and division in the writing do in college and the workplace (see the accompanying box for a few examples). In following essay, Jerry Newman classifies the kinds of managers he round in fast-food restaurants. An example of a division essay, "A Brush with Realiry: Surprises in the Tube" by David Bodanis, appears on page 417-18.

_,______. ____•______.____ JERRY NEWMAN MY SECRET LI

My Secret Life on the McJob: Fast Food Managers Jerry Newman

Jerry Newman is a professor of management at the State University of New York- Buffalo

and coauthor of the textbook Compensation, tenth edition (2010). He has also worked as a business consultant at AT&T, Hewlett·Packard, RJR Nabisco, and McDonald's. This selection is from My Secret Life on the McJob: Lessons In Leadership Guaranteed to Supersize Any Management Style (200n, which Newman wrote after working at various fast·food restau­ rants to learn about their operation and management. As you read, highlight each category

ohna!lagef that Newman estabtlshes.

I thought aU my fast food stores would be pretty similar. They weren't. Some stores 1

made employees wear name tags, going as far as sending people home if they repeatedly didn't wear their name tags, while other stores didn't seem to care. In

some stores crews socialized after work, but in others they barely talked to each

other, even during work. Even though every chain had strict rules about every facet

of food production and customer interaction, how employees were treated was part of an individual store culture, and this varied from store to store. These differences

could often be traced to the managers' values and practices and how consistently

they were applied both by the managers and by their sensei,' much more so than any edicts from headquarters. The best·run store I worked at was [a] Burger King;

the worst-run store was also a Burger King. If corporate rules had a controlling

impact, shouldn't stores have been much more similar? At one McDonald's the

employees were extremely friendly; at another the tension between groups was

palpable. The differences, I think, can be traced to the managers. The following

is a sampler of the types of managers I encountered. Only the last group, perfor­

mance managers, was good at finding a sensei and developing consistent people

practices.

THE TOXIC MANAGER Most new employees learn through feedback. When you're first learning a job, there's 2

relatively little ego involvement in feedback; good managers seem to know this and

in early days of employment are quick to point out better ways of doing a task. [Toxic]

managers, though, use sarcasm or disrespectful comments to indicate when they are unhappy with your work. One of the worst offenders I ran into was the store manager at

Arby's, who admitted that the main reason he was hiring me was to change the store

culture. He said he was tired of employees who were vulgar and disrespectful, but it

"didn't take long for me to realize that the role model for their behavior was actually the manager himself-Oon. His attitude and style set the tone for everyone else in his

store. Almost as bad, the key individual with the necessary attributes to be a sensei •shared Don's disregard for the feelings of others. Don, in particular. didn't confine

Japanese word for "teacher" or "master." Newman uses it to mean an employee who is not a manager but who is both highly skilled at his or her job al1d sociallyinfiuential among fellow employees.

McJOB 411

412 CHAPTER 16 CLASSIFICATION AND DIVISION

his wrath to "bad" employees. Bill, a diligent long-timer, messed up a coupon order.

A customer had an entertainment book coupon for one Value Meal free with the pur­

chase of another. There was a labyrinth of steps to complete some of the discounts

correctly. When Bill made the error, it was right before the end of Don's shift, and Don

tore into him, saying loudly enough for everyone to hear, ·Well, I'm leaving before BiU

can make my life any more miserable," It didn't take long to infect others with this lack

of respect for employees.

TKE MECKANICAL MANAGER

The most common type of manager I encountered was the Mechanical Manager, who 1

was for the most part either an assistant manager or a shift manager, not a full store

manager. You could spot the Mechanical Managers from across the room-they

did their jobs, day after day, as if fast food was slow death. They didn't wall! to bl!'

there, and they were just going through the motions. They typically had gotten their

jobs because they were reliable crew members and had put in enough time that

some reward was needed to keep them working. A promotion has a certain finality,

though-it makes you confront reality: 15 this what I want out of life? Most say "No,"

and that's probably why I didn't see very many store managers who were mechani­

cal. Before most store managers had reached that level (one store manager told me

it was a ten·year journey), those who weren't interested in fast food as a lifetime

career had moved on to other career pursuits. While looking for other opportunities,

though, they did what was necessary to get by. Luis at McDonald's was the perfect

example.

In my first McDonald's experience I made myself a grid showing all of the sand- ,

wiches and their ingredients. After a day of having instructions blasted at me, I needed

a visual training aid to finally put things together. ! shared this grid with Luis on my

third day, expecting he might already have training materials like this (<ilS was the case at Wendy's) or that he could use it to train other visual learners. As I ha~ded Luis the Excel spreadsheet,! watched his face and saw no reaction. None. He tdld me he'd

."_._••_ .._....~__ .'''_.__J:,,E::..R,C.RY NEWMAN MY LIFE ON THE McJOB 413

way James responded to my quitting was refreshing. With my back problems becoming

increasingly worse,' called James to tell him that' was quitting and dreaded leaving

him in the lurch. But he was amazingly kind, telling me to take care of myself and force·

fully telling me to pick up my check.

TKE PERFORMANCE MANAGER

It's easy to spot the Performance Manager. Here relationships are still important, but

now they serve as a means to ensure performance. Through word or deed she very

quickly lets you know what is expected. I like this. No ambiguity, no doubt about what

it takes to make the grade. The best at this was Kris, who, it seemed to me, watched

for slackers much more closely than did the managers at other fast food places. She

told me during the interview that I would be watching DVDs rny first day. She also

mentioned that one of the new people had taken three to four bathroom breaks while

watching the videos, which was an excessive number, she thought. She also com­

mented that she rnight be losing some people because she thought they were slower

than they should be. 'got the message: She would be watching my work and looking

to see if' was going to goof off. My experience in other places was that you got fired for

only two things: not showing up and insubordinate behavior. Clearly she was adding a

third reason-poor performance. Good for her! Kris's watchful eye extended beyond bathroom breaks. I found out the hard way

that taking breaks, even unpaid ones, wasn't allowed unless legally required. Ap­

parently in New York State, you're not entitled to a break until after five hours of

work. So when I asked Kris for a break before the appointed time, she answered with

an emphatic "No." Kris's message was clearly that we do our jobs by the book, no

exceptions. Over time at this Burger King I began to notice that Kris wasn't a taskmaster all the 8

time. Sure, during busy times she was prone to exhort the staff to work faster. And

she didn't tolerate leaning (remember, "If you've got time to lean, you've got time to

dean"). But this attitude relaxed a bit during slower times, and it especially relaxed for

leave it for Kris, the store manager. Clearly he saw the value in it-he didn't toss it,

after all-but a reinforcing response for my initiative required a level of involvement he

didn't or couldn't muster.

TKE RELATIONSKIP MANAGER

The Relationship Manager was a relatively rare breed in my experience. james was \

the prototype. He led by building relationships and demonstrating that he cared about

our destinies-hard to do when it seemed like every week someone was leaving and another person was coming on board. From the first day, james was very different from

what! was used to. When I first met him for my job interview, he was fifteen minutes

late because he was out picking up an employee whose car had broken down. I never

saw any other manager pick up or take home a crew member who had transportation

problems. In fact, at one store I watched Mary, an older worker teetering on the edge

of poverty, sit in a booth out front for two hours waiting for her husband to pick her up after his shift at a Sam's Club. As , came to learn, this kindness wasn't unusual for

James. And in being kind, james created a culture that was much rnore friendly and

supportive than that in many of the other fast food places' had experienced. Even the

the better workers like Daniel, Eric, and Craig, three of the fastest guns on the sand­

wich assembly board.

Characteristics of Classification and Division Essays

A successful classification or division essay is meaningful to its audience. The writer uses one principle of classification or division, with exclusive categories or parts that are broad enough to include all of the members of me group.

Classification Groups and Division Divides Ideas According to One Principle

items into groups, a writer needs to decide on what basis to do so. For example, could be classified in terms of their size, habitat, or diet. For a division essay, the must decide into what parts to divide the topic. A journalist writing about a

aquarium could divide me topic according to type of fish displayed, suitability for of different ages, or quality of the exhibits.

414

To develop an effective set ofcategories or parts, a writer needs to choose one dple of classification or division and IJ-IC it consistently throughout the essay or piece of writing. In "My Secret Life on the McJob: Fast Food Managers," classifies managers according to their management style.

Once a writer chooses a principle of classification or division, the next step is identify a manageable number ofcategories or parts. An essay dassiJYing birds ing to dict, for example, might use five or six types ofdiet, not twenty.

Classification or Division Follows a Principle Determined by the Writer's Purpose and Audience

Because several different principles can be used to categorize any group, the er's purpose and audience sh<luld detennine the principle of classification. personnel director of a college might classiJY professors by age in preparing nancial report for trustees that projects upcoming retirements, whereas a writing a humor column for the campus newspaper might categorize professors teaching style.

To develop a meaningful classification, therefore, choose a principle that will interest your readers and fulfill your purpose. If, for instance, you want to parents about the types of day-care facilities in your town, you could dassiJY Gay­ centers according to the services they offer because your readers would be looking that information. A journalist writing to persuade readers ofhis newspaper that a aquariwn is designed for children might divide the exhibits according to their ity for children ofdifferent ages.

~ Brainstorm three diffrrent prindpks ofclassification Or division you could use for each following topics:

1. Sports teams

2. Fast-food restaurants

3. Internet access

4. Academic subjects 5. Novels

ClaSSification Uses Categories and Division Uses Parts That Are Exclusive and Comprehensive

The categories or parts you choose should not overlap. In other words, a lar item should fit in no more than one category. A familiar example is categories 25 to 30 and 30 to 35 are not mutually exclusive since someone thirty would fit into both. In an essay about the nutritional value ofpizza, you divide your topic into carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, but you should not

AND DIVISION? 415

separate category for saturated fat, since saturated fat is already contained in the futs category.

The categories or parts you choose should also be comprehensive. In a division essay, all the major parts of an item should be included. In a classification essay, each member of the group should fit into one category or another. For example, an essay categorizing fast-food restaurants according to the type of food they serve would have to include a category for pizza.

Choose aprinciple ofclassification or division for two ofthe topics listed in Exercise 16.1. Then 11UIke " list ofthe ctmgories in which eJU;h item could be included orparts into which each item could be divided.

Classification or Division Fully Explains Each Category or Part

A classification or division essay contains adequate detail so that each category or part can be understood by readers. In "My Secret Life on the McJob: Fast Food Managers,» Newman dearly presents the four types of managers, using personal experience, exam­ ples, and description. Details such as these enable readers to "see" the writer's categories or parts in a classification or division essay.

Classification or Division Develops a Thesis The thesis statement in a classification or division essay identifies the topic and may reveal the principle used to dassiJY or divide the topic. In most cases it also suggests why the classification or division is relevant or important.

Here are two exanlples of thesis statements:

Most people consider videos a form of entertainment; however, videos can also serve educational, commercial, and political functions.

The Grand Canyon is divided into two distinct geographical areas-the North Rim and the South Rim-each ofwhich offers different views, facilities, and climatic amditions.

Visualizing a Classification or Division Essay: A Graphic Organizer

The graphic organizer shown in Figure 16.1 outlines the basic organization of a clas­ sification or division essay. The introduction announces the topic, gives background information, and states the thesis. The body paragraphs explain the categories or parts and their characteristics. The conclusion brings the essay to a satisJYing dose by rein­ IOrcing the thesis and offering a new insight on the topic.

Read the division essay on page 417 and then study the graphic organizer for it in 16.2 (on p. 419).

For more on graphic orgonizers. see Chapter 3, W. 59-61.

• CLASSIFICATION AND DIVISION

...---------:--,--, r Topic announcement Introduction r-t Background information

Thesis statement

Characteristic

Category 1or Part 1 Characteristic

Characteristic

Characteristic

Category 2 or Part 2 Characteristic

Characteristic Bocly~Categories or Parts- ., -

Characteristic

" Category 3 or Part 3 Characteristic

Characteristic

Characteristic

Category 4 or Part 4 CtJaracteristic

Characttfristic

I r Reinforce thesis ""'----Co'"''''-'n-c:::-W'''s7'o''n"C'·--"''"C'7h Offer new insight or perspective

seams are splayed, pressure waves are generated inside, and the paste begins to flow.

But what's in this toothpaste, so carefully being extruded out?

Water mostly, 30 to 45 percent in most brands: ordinary, everyday simple tap water. 2 It's there because people like to have a big gob of toothpaste to spread on the brush,

and water is the cheapest stuff there is when it comes to making big gobs. Dripping a bit from the tap onto your brush would costvlrtuaUy nothing; whipped in with the rest

of the toothpaste, the manufacturers can seU it at a neat and accountant-pleasing $2 per pound equivalent. Toothpaste manufacture is a very lucrative occupation.

Second to water in quantity is chalk: exactly the same material that schoolteachers

use to write on blackboards. It is collected from the crushed remains of long-dead

ocean creatures. In the Cretaceous seas chalk particles served as part of the wickedly

sharp outer skeleton that these creatures had to wrap around themselves to keep from

getting chomped by all the slightly larger other ocean creatures they met. Their massed

graves are our present chalk deposits.

The individual chalk particles-the size of the smallest mud particles in your

garden-have kept their toughness over the aeons, and now on the toothbrush

they'll need it. The enamel outer coating of the tooth they'll have to face is the

hardest substance in the body-tougher than skull, or bone, or nail. Only the chalk

particles in toothpaste can successfully grind into the teeth during brushing, ripping

off the surface layers like an abrading wheel grinding down a boulder in a qu.arry.

The craters, slashes, and channels that the chalk tears into the teeth will also

remove a certain amount of built-up yellow in the carnage, and it is for that polishing function that it's there. A certain amount of unduly enlarged extra-abrasive chalk frag­

ments tear such cavernous pits into the teeth that future decay bacteria will be able to

bunker down there and thrive; the quality control people find it almost impossible to

screen out these errant super-chalk pieces, and government regulations allow them to stay In.

In case even the gouging doesn't get all the yellow off, another substance is worked 6 into the toothpaste cream. This is titanium dioxide. It comes in tiny spheres, and it's

the stuff bobbing around in white wall paint to make it come out white. Splashed around onto your teeth during the brushing it coats much of the yellow that remains.

Being water SOluble it leaks off in the next few hours and is swallowed, but at least for

the quick glance up in the mirror after finishing it wil\ make the user think his teeth

"""__"_..___ DAVID BODANIS A BRUSH WITH REALITY: SUR IS IN THE TUBE

A Brush with Reality: Surprises in the Tube David Bodanis

David Bodanis is a journalist and the author of several books, including The Body Book (1984), The Secret Garden (1992), The Secret Family (1997), Electric Universe: The Shocking True Story ofElectricity (2005), and Passionate Minds: The Great Love Affair ofthe Enlighten­ ment (2006). The following essay is from The Secret House (1986), a book that traces a family of five through a day, analyzing foods they eat and products they use_ As you read the selec­ tion, highlight the writer's thesis and the sections where he divides his topic into parts.

-""-----"- ---,~---- -- ---, ­ Into the bathroom goes our male resident, and after the most pressing need is satis­

fied, it's time to brush the teeth. The tube of toothpaste is squeezed, its pinched metal

__ _

.- __~~~~~~!.F~~ND DIVISION? 419 418 CHAPTER 16 CLASSIFICATION AND DIVISION ____.,.~_____.~_"_".'~.",.__•. .--.,,,_._"~~"_~.__.~ '.. ~ ··_,.h ~""'_,~~_,_, _~"_ ~ .,,_""

are trUly white. Some manufacturers add optical whitening dyes-the stuff more com· monly found in washing machine bleach-to make extra sure that that glance in the mirror shows reassuring white.

These ingredients alone would not make a very attractive concoction. They would stick in the tube like a sloppy white plastic lump, hard to squeeze out as well as revolt­ ing to the touch. Few consumers would savor rubbing in a mixture of water, ground-up blackboard chalk, and the whitener from latex paint first thing in the morning. To get around that finicky distaste the manufacturers have mixed in a host of other goodies.

To keep the glop from drying out, a mixture including glycerine glycol-related to the most common car antifreeze ingredient-iS whipped in with the chalk and water, and to give that concoction a bit of substance (all we really have so far is wet colored chalk), a large helping is added of gummy molecules from the seaweed Chondrus crispus. This seaweed ooze spreads in among the chalk, paint, and antifreeze, then stretches itself in all directions to hold the whole mass together. A bit of paraffin oil (the fuel that flickers in camping lamps) is pumped in with itto help the moss ooze keep the whole substance smooth.

With the glycol, ooze, and paraffin we're almost there. Only two major chemicals left to make the refreshing, cleansing substance we know as toothpaste. The ingredi· ents so far are fine for cleaning, but they WOUldn't make much of the satisfying foam we have come to expect in the morning brushing.

To remedy that, every toothpaste on the market has a big dollop of detergent too. You've seen the suds detergent will make in a washing machine. The same sub­ stance added here will duplicate that inside the mouth. It's not particularly necessary, but it sells.

The only problem is that by itself this ingredient tastes, well, too like detergent. It's horribly bitter and harsh. The chalk put in toothpaste is pretty foul·tasting too, for that matter. It's to get around that gustatory discomfort that the manufacturers put in the ingredient they tout perhaps the most of all. This is the flavoring, and it has to be strong. Double rectified peppermint oil is used-a flavorer so powerful that chemists know better than to sniff it in the raw state in the laboratory. Menthol crys· tals and saccharin or other sugar simulators are added to complete the camouflage operation.

Is that it? Chalk, water, paint, seaweed, antifreeze, paraffin oil, detergent, and pep­ permint? Not quite. A mix like that would be irresistible to the hundreds of thousands of individual bacteria lying on the surface of even an immaculately cleaned bathroom sink. They would get in, float in the water bubbles, ingest the ooze and paraffin, maybe even spray out enzymes to break down the chalk. The result would be an uninviting mess. The way manufacturers avoid that final obstacle is by putting something in to kill the bacteria. Something good and strong is needed, something that will zap any aCCidentally intrudant bacteria into oblivion. And that something is formaldehyde-the disinfectant used in anatomy labs.

So it's chalk, water, paint, seaweed, antifreeze, paraffin oil, detergent, peppermint, formaldehyde, and fluoride (which can go some way towards preserving children's teeth)-that's the usual mixture raised to the mouth on the toothbrush for a fresh morning's clean.lfit sounds too unfortunate, take heart. Studies show that thorough brushing with just plain water will often do as good a job.

421I A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT

2. State the prindple of classification. Do so briefly but make sure it is clear to your readers.

3. Name the categories or parts. In the sentence that introduces the classification or division, name the categories or parts to focus your readers' attention on the expla­ nation that follows.

In "The Dog Ate My Flash Drive, and Other Tales ofWoe" on page 433, Carolyo Foster Segal uses classification along with other patterns of development to develop her thesis about student excuses.

A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT

The following guide will lead you through the process division essay. Note that you may need to integrate one or more velopment in your essay to develop your thesis or make a learning sryle, you may choose various ways of generating

a classification or patterns ofde­

Depending on yoU! organizing ideas.

The Assignment

Write a classification or division essay on a one of the followin!! lisrs:

Classification

1. Types of pets 2. Types of sPOtts fans

ofyour own choosing or on a

place.

Generating Ideas

There are tWO primary methods for generating ideas and for classifying or those ideas. With method 1, you first generare details and then group the details into categories or parts. With method 2, you first generate categories or parts and then generate details that support them. Here is how both methods apply to classification

essays and division essays:

CLwification

Method 1: First think ofderails that de.<cribe the group. Then use the details to categorize group members.

Method 2: First identify categories. Then think of details that describe each category.

Divisron

Method 1: Brainstorm details about your topic and then group the details into partS or seccions.

Method 2: Think about how yOUt rhink of details that

can be divided into easy-to-understand partS. Then

each part.

toMethod 1 is effective when you approach the classification or division from __ identifying details and then grouping the details. Depending on your

slyle and your topic, it may be casier to start by creating categories or parts and filling in details about each one. In this case, use method 2.

420 CHAPTER 16

To draw detafled graphh::

orgamzer5 using a computer. visl! www.bed[ord$tmortins. .com/slJ((fmfulcollege.

CLASSIFICATION AND DIVISION

Exercise 16.3

Draw a graphic organizer for "My Secret Lifo on the McJob: Fast 411-13). Note that because this is an excerptfoam a book, it does not

Integrating Classification or Division into an Essay

Classification or division is often used along with one or more other patterns of opment. For example, an essay that argues for stricter gun control may categorize in terms of their firepower, use, or availability. A narrative aboU( a writer's frustrat-. ing experien= in a crowded international airport terminal may describe the A;f.l'~rpn' parts or areas of the airport.

Use the following tips to incorporate classification or division into an essay based on another pattern of development:

1. Avoid focusing on why the classification or division is meaningful. When used as a secondary pattern, its significance should be dear from the context in which the classification or division is presented.

3. lypes of movies 4. Types of classmates 5. Types ofshoppers 6. Types of television dramas

Division

1, Your family 2. A machine or a piece of equipment 3. An organization 4. A sports team or an extracurricular dub 5. Apublic place (building, stadium, department store, or theme 6. Your college

Depending on the topic you seiect, you may need to use Internet or library sources to develop and suppott your ideas about it. You may also need to narrow the topic. Your audience consists of readers ofyour local newspaper.

Ali. you develop your classification or division essay, consider using one or more other patterns of development. For example, in a classification essay, you might compare and contrast rypes of sportS fans or give examples of types of movies. In a division essay, you might describe the partS of a theme park or another public

For more on descnpt/On,

ifhutration, and compari.'iOn and

contrast, ,See Chapters 12, 13,

ond 15,

422 CHAPTER 16

Fot more Oil purpo!>e, Qudience,

and point of view, see Chapter 5,

pp.

For more on prewriting !>trate-ies, see Chapter 5, pp" 110-18,

For more on oblervotfon, see

Chapter 22.pp. 617~78.

leoming Style OptJOIIS

For mote 0" fibrary end Internp.t research, see Chaptet 22. pp,597-606,

CLASSIFICATlOI\I AND DIVISION

Your principle of I 'fi' d' .. ' WConSidering Your Purpose, Audience and Point of Vie c asSl catton or d' lV1SIon ' vn'J ~ur categories or parts, and your detail must aU fit your purp d

users about the comr::se an ~u lence. ~ your purpose is to inform novice compute be straightforward dnents 0 ha ~erslon computer (PC), your parts and details mus

an nontee mea How'f'puter technicians to rch I .ever, I your purpose IS to persuade com > • • . p~ ,a~e a parttcu ar kind of PC, your parts and details Idmore techmcal. For this GUIded Writing Assignment you d' . wfou

of your local newspaper. ' r au lenee consists 0 reade

As. you work on your classification or division essay k If h £ II' uesno ns. . ,as yourse t e 10 owm

q • Is my principle ofcl 'fi' . . ..

audience? assl cation or divlSlon appropn<1te for my purpose and • Do my categories d .

Will my readers o~parts :; h my detatls advance the purpose of the essay? What point of un er:'ltlaben t e .categones or parts?

View WI st SUit my purpo d d' fi third person? The Ii I se an au lencc- rst, second, or; in informal writ' ~t person ( , we) ~r second person (you) may be appropriate ence with the to;g 1 you or t~r ~udlence have personal knowledge ofor experi­ they) is appropria:~ you are ~assl~lflg.o.r dividing. T~e third person (he, she, it, your audience. m more orma wrmng or for tOpiCS less familiar to you or

Generating Details and Grouping Them into Categories or Parts

Work through the following tasks in whatever order suits your topic and your style, using either method 1 or method 2 (p. 421).

Generat:ing tiet4i1s. For each category or part, you need to supply specific details will make it clear and understandable to your readers. As you work on your then, write down examples, situations, or sensory details that illustrate each categorlll

A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT 423

and worthwhile to your audience. Experiment with several principles of classification d'lVlSlon. . untt you find one that fits your purpose an d .or '1 audience.

Choosing categorics or part.. Use the following suggestions to determine your

' categoncs or parts: ' . .1. In a classificatr.on essay, make sure most or all members of the group fit mto one of

. . .r .. b' Idyour categones. For example, m an essay about unsare dnvmg ha Its, you wou

include the most common bad habits. In a division essay, no essential parts should be e out. For example, III an essay about partS of a baseball stadIUm, you would 1ft' '

not exclude the infield or bleachers. 2. In a classification essay, be sure the categories are exclusive; each group member

should fit into one category only. In the essay about unsafe driving habits, the categories of reckless drivers and aggressive drivers would overlap, so exclusive categories should be used instead. In a division essay, make sure the partS do not

I ." .over ap. In the essay about the parts of a baseball stadIUm, the parts playmg field" and "infield" would overlap, so it would be better to use three distinct

parts of the field - infield, outfield, and foul-ball area. 3. Create specific categories or parts that will engage your readers. In a classifica­

tion essay, categorizing drivers by their annoying driving habits would be more interesting than simply distinguishing between "good" and "bad" drivers. A division essay on players' facilitieS in a baseball stadium-dugout, locker room, and bullpen _ might be more interesting to sports fans than an essay

describing different seating sections of the stadium. Choose descriptive names that emphasize the distinguishing feature of the category or part. In a classification essay, you might categorize highway drivers as "I-own-the-road" drivers, "I'm-in-no-hurry" drivers, and "I'm-daydreaming" drivers. In a division essay about the parts of a baseball stadium, you might use

"home-tun heaven" to name one part.

Do not hesitate to create, combine, or eliminate categories or partS, as needed.

or part. Use one or more of the following strategies:

1. Visit a place where you can observe your topic or the people associated with it. example, to generate details about pets, visit a pet store or an animal shelter. notes on what you see and hear. Record conversations, physical chara<.1:eristics, haviors, and so forth.

2. Discuss your topic with a classmate or friend. Focus your talk on the qualities characteristics ofyour topic.

3. Brainstorm a list of aU the features or characteristics ofyour topic that come to mind.

4. Draw a map or diagram that illustrates your topic's features and characteristics. 5. Conduct library or Internet research to discover facts, examples, and other details

about your topic.

Choosing a principle ofclassification or division. Look for shared features or teristics. Your principle ofclassification or division should be interesting, meanmgtID,

Essay in Progress 1 Choose a topic for your classification or division essay from the list of assignmen~ op­ tions on pages 420-21, or choose one on your own. Then use the preceding guidelines for method 1 or method 2 to generate details about your topic, choose a principle of classification or division, and devise a set of ('.categories or parts. Whatever method you use, list the examples, situations, or other details that you will use to describe each cat­ egory or part. You might try drawing a graphic organizer.

Developing Your Thesis nee you choose categories or parts and are satisfied with your details, you are ready develop a thesis for your essay. Remember that your thesis statement should iden­

topic and reveal your principle of division or classification. In most cases, it also suggest why your classification or division is useful or important. Notice

following weak theses have been strengthened by showing both what the cat-

are and why they are important.

For mon:: on thesis statements,

see Chapter 6

424 CHAPTER 16

SR~,' Chapter 7.

CLASSIFICATION AND DIVISION

WEAK

RllVISED

WEAK

REVISED

There arc four types of insurance that most people can

If you understand the four common types of insurance, be able to make sure that you, your family members, property arc protected.

Conventional stores are only one type becoming more

other types are

conventional stores are still where most people pur­ chase products, three new types of shopping are becoming increasingly popular -face-co-face sales conducted in a home, sales via telephone or computer, and sales from automatic vend­ ing machines.

Draft your thesis and then check your prewriting to make sure you have details to support the thesis. If necessary, do some additional prewriting.

Essay in Progress 2

Using the preceding guidelines, develop a thesis for your classification Or division essay.

Evaluating Your Ideas and Thesis

Take a few minures to evaluate your ideas and thesis. Start by rereading everythIng you have written with a critical Highlight the most useful details and delete mose that are repetitious or irrelevant. are working on a computer, highlight useful details in bold type or move them to a separate file. As you review your work, add useful ideas that come to mind.

Trying Out Your Ideas on Others

Working in a group of two or three students, discuss your ideas and thesis for this

chapter'S assignment. Each writer should describe to the group his or her topic, prin·

ciple of classification or division, and categories or parts. Then, as a group, evaluate

each writer's work and suggest recommendations for improvement.

Essay in Progress 3 Using the preceding suggestions and comments from your classmates, evaluate your

thesis, your categories or parts, and the details you plan to use in your essay. Refer to

the list of characteristics on pages 413-15 to help you with your evaluation.

Organizing and Drafting

Once the

have evaluated your categories or parts, reviewed your thesis, and considered ofyour classmates, you are ready to otganize your ideas and draft your essay.

A GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT 425

Choosing a Method of Organization Choose the method of organization that best suits your purpose. One method that works well in classification essays is the least-co-most or most-to-Ieast arrangement. You might arrange your categories in increasing order of importance or from most to least common, difficult, or frequent. Other possible sequences include chronologi­ cal order (when one category occurs or is observable before another) or spatial order

you classifY physical objects). Spatial order often works well in division essays, as does order of importance. In

describing the parts of a baseball stadium, you might move from stands to playing field order). In writing about the parts of a hospital, you might describe the most

important areas first (operating rooms and emergency department) and then move to less importantiiKililies (waiting rooms and visitor cafeteria).

Drafting the Classification or Division Essay Once you decide how to organize your categories or parts, your next step is to write a

first draft. Use the following guidelines CO draft your essay:

1. Explain each category or part. Begin by defining each one, taking into account the complexity of your topic and the background knowledge of your audience. Define any unfamiliar terms. Then pcovide details that describe each category or part, and show how each is distinct from the omers. Include a wide range of details-sensory details, personal experiences, examples, and comparisons and

contrasts. 2. Provide roughly the same amount and kind of detail and description for

each of your categories or parts. For instance, if you give an example of one type of mental disorder, you should give an example for every other type dis­ cussed in the essay. Generally, allow one or more paragraphs for each category

or part. 3. Consider using headings or lists. Presenting me

numbered list or in sections wim headings can tinct. Headings or lists can be especially useful

or within a make them clear and dis­

number of

categories or parts. . 4. Use transitions. You need transitions to keep your reader on track as you move

from one category or part to anomer. In addition, transitions help distinguish key

featutes between and within categories or parts. 5. Consider using a visual. Diagrams, charts, or other visuals can make your system

of classification or division clearer for your rcaders. 6. Write an effective introduction. Your introduction usually includes your thesis

statement and suggests why the classification or division is usefuL It also should provide background information and explain further, if needed, your principle of

classification or division. 7. Write a satisfying conclusion. Your conclusion should bring your essay ro a

close, reemphasizing your thesis or offering a new insight or oCI:solective

For more on methods of organization, see Chapter 7,

pp- 144-4r

For mOle on tramitiom,

see Chapter 7, pp. 150--52.

For mon? on writing effective paragtapns, including introdwction;. and wne/usions,

For more on keepmg an error log, sep Chapter 10, rP. 221-22.

[-or more on combmmg sentem:.e5 and varying sentence patterns, see Chapter JO, pp. 206--12.

Essay' ~n Pr,,;:.gc('1SS 5 Revise your draft using Figure 16.3 and any comments you received from peer review"­

Editing and Proofreading

The last step is to check your revised essay for errors in grammar, spelling, punctuation. I and mechanics. Watch for the types oferrors you tend to make (refer to your error log).

When editing a classification or division essay, pay specific attention to two par· ticular kinds ofgrammatical error-choppy sentences and omitted commas followio~. introductory elements.

1. Avoid short, choppy sentences, which can make a classification or division essay sound dull and mechanical. 11-y combining a series of shorr sentences and varying sentence patterns and lengths.

,sliCh as German sheph?rds end sheephprding dogs

.. Working dogs""", another one of the American Kennel Club's breed

categories. The.e iRelud. German ""_pheM. aad sheeph<!rtling.lag ... 1he jo:unMln pen, one

.. ,.Qne standard type ofwriting instrumen; is the c...."taifl pen.-It-is some­ times messy and inconvenient to use.

3. Underline the categories or parts. Do they cover all or most members of the group or all major parts of the topic? Are your categories or parts eJ<c1usive [not overlapping}?

YES

4. Place checkmarksV beside the details that explain each category or part. Does your essay fully explain each one? [If it reads like a list, answer "No.")

yis

• Brainstorm or do research to add categories or parts.

• Revise your categories or parts so that each item fits into one group only.

• Brainstorm or do research to discover more details. Add eJ<amples. definitions, facts, and expert testimony to improve your eJ<planations.

(continued on next page)

1

421 " GUIDED WRITING ASSIGNMENT

426 CHAPTER 16

For more on the benefit5 ofpeer revIew; see Chapter 9, pp.

CLASSIFICATION AND DIVISION

If you have trouble finding an appropriate way to conclude your essay, return to statement about why the classification or division is useful and imporrant, and try extend or elaborate on that statement.

tjiS';:Vy 1r. f~fQ$!:t<-::~s 4 Draft your classification or division essay, using an appropriate method of organization and the preceding guidelines for drafting.

Analyzing and Revising

As you review your dran, remember that your goal is to revise your classification or vision essay to make it dearer and more effeai"e. Focus on content and ideas and on grammar, punctuation, or mechanics. Use one or more of the following to analyze your draft:

I. Reread your essay aloud. You may "hear" parts that need revision. 2. Ask a friend or classmate to read your draft and to give you his or her impressicl

ofyour categories of classification or division. Compare your reader's impressions with what you intend to convey, and revise your draft accordingly.

3. Draw a graphic organizer, make an oudine, or update the organizer or you drew or made earlier. In particular, look for any categories or parts that sufficient details, and revise to include them.

Use Figure 16.3 to guide your analysis of the strengths and weaknesses in your essay. You might also ask a classmate to review your draft using the questions in flowchart. For each "No" response, ask your reviewer to explain his or her answer.

=:;;;;---___ ·,FIg:ut~.1~.·a:t

QUESTIONS

1. tlfg\j'(i~ht your thesis statement. Do it and the rest of your introduction NO eJ<plain your principle of classifica­ tion or division and suggest why it is important?

YES

2. Write the principle of classification you used at the top of your paper. Do you use this principle consistently through· out the essay? Does it fit your audience and purpose? Does it dearly relate to your thesis?

YES

REVISION STRATEGIES

• Revise your thesis to make your justifica· tion stronger or more appa rent. Add explanatory information to your introduction.

• Review or brainstorm other possible principles of classification of your topic, and decide if one of them better fits your audience and purpose .

• Revise your categories and parts to fit ei­ ther your existing principle or a new one.

• Rewrite your thesiS to relied your principle of classification.

(Figure 16.3 continued)

QUESTIONS REVISION STRATEGIES

S. Write the method of organization you o Refer to Chapter 7 to discover a moreused at the top of your essay. Is the or.

appropriate organizing plan. ganization clear? Does this method suit your audience and purpose? Have you o Revise the order of your categories or

parts.followed it consistently? o Add transitions to make your organiza.

tion clear.

6. ~ the top.ic sentel'tce of each paragraph. Is each paragraph focused o Consider combining paragraphs that on a separate category or part? cover a Single category or part and

splitting paragraphs that cover more than one.

7. Reread your conclusion. Does it offer o Ask yourself: ·So what? What does this a new insight or perspective On the

topic? mean?" Build your answers into the conclusion.

which he was asked to address the national debate about immigration. As

2. Add a comma after opening phrases or clauses tb:at are longer than four

,. When describing types of college studen~ be sure to consider variations in

II Although there are many types of camera~ most are easy to operate.

Essay in Progress 6

Edit and proofread your essay, paying particular attention to sentence variety and as well as comma usage.

Students Write

Sunny Desai was a student at the University of Maryland at College Park he wrote the following essay in response to an assignment for his writing

etiqibility to enter, but with particular constraints, including purpose of visit and length of stay.

The Web site of the Department of State points out that when the holder of a visa arrives at

acheckpoint for entry into the United States, an immigration officer will determine whether

he or she is actuali1l allowed in, There are many types of visas; in fact, according to the

Department of Homeland Security (DHS), there are over seventy types altogether (Immigration

Oassijlcations). The OVerwhelming majority of visa holders, however, fall into four inain groups.

The most common one is i:l1elotlllst·'lis~; which allows a person to remain in the countrY only temporarily, for a variable length of time. Applicants must pass a security clearance and show

that they have enough money to cover their visit.

~.~I1~,i~~I~!\V~~ of visa is .th~' f{1~ irisa, for those seeking temporary residence for work·related reasons. The visa is mostly used by outsourcing firms and technology companies.

In 2007, Microsoft and Intel were among the ten highest receivers of H1S visas; the rest of

,the top ten were outsourcing companies, mostly based in India (Herbst 63). However, many

doctors and nurses also arrive in the United States in this way. As explained on the Web site

.,e U.s. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a DHS agency, the HIS visa is used mostly by

professional workers, since a bachelor's degree or its equivalent is often an eligibility require­

Even where this is not the case, unskilled laborers are often excluded because of the

country legally, most commonly through holding visas. He cites sources for his information, as he continues to do throughout the essay.

DesaI indicates that his c1asslfkation is comprehensive. induding all major categories, and introduces the fi~t sub<:ategOl)' of the legal category: people on tourist visas.

rhe second subcategory: those on H1B visas.. Notice that at the beginning of this paragraph and the next four. Desai uses a l!!if\i<!~, to signal the next category or subcategory .

Desai provides details to expl3in this type of visa.

read the essay, notice how Desai uses classification as his primary method of organization.

Immigration: Legal and Illegal

Sunny Desai

The immigration debate in the United States has raged on for a number of years without

much movement toward an agreement on how to deal with the issue. Some Americans

believe immigration needs to be curtailed; they argue that immigrants are draining our

economy and social services. and take jobs that citizens coold I!()ld. Others believe that

immigration is beneficial and maintains America's identity as a melting pot of cultures.

Reflecting the views of the public, lawmakers and political candidates are also sharply

divided on the immigration issue. From the standpoint of legal status, there are many types

and subtypes of people who are currently in the United States but not American citizens,

Understanding thes.edistlrtctions i~ the key to good policy decisions and to informed choices

by voters.

For the millions ofdt1~4!n~ of ottler,c:oliritrie, w~o are Int!JeUni\:~ SU!~~ le9~lly,.. the most common method of entry is through a visa--a document that demonstrates a person's

Title: Desai identifies the subject and its two primary classifications,

Introduction: Desai describes the controversy over immigration, identifies legality as his principle of classification, and explains the Importance of classifying_henondtizens. In identif1esthe hisIII two major categories he will discuss.

Desai introduces the fi,rst <ategory of noncitize~~­ people who are !n the

430 CHAPTER 16 CLASSIFICATION AND DIVISION

limited number of visas available. For those who are eligible, the H1B visa is a desirable path to

naturalization--the process that leads to U.S. citizenship. Typically, it is issued for three years,

. STUDENTS WRITE.-------_.._-----_._-----_.._--- ._............... _.__..._---_.._._---_.__.. program in place, it would not be too difficult to add new categories to cover other kinds of "guest

workers." Currently, illegal immigrants are doing mostly jobs Americans do not want to do. But if we

make them leave, the economy would suffer. Therefore, creating a program that allows laborers to

find seasonal work and then return home is a plausible solution to the immigration debate.

Works Cited

Herbst, Moira. "Guess Who's Getting the Most Work Visas." Business Week 6 Mar. 2008: 62-64. Print.

Pew Research Center. "Estimates of the Unauthorized Migrant Population for States Based on the

March 200S CPS." Pew Hisponic CeM!r, 2006. Web. 16 May 2011.

United States. Dept. of Homeland Security. Office of Immig ration Statistics. u.s. Legal Permanent

with the option to renew it once. However, the employer can decide to apply for fewer years

(Employment Authorization).

Apart from tourists and H1B workers, the other two major categories of noncitizens with

temporary legal status in the United States are holders of student visas and business visas.

Temporary entrance is allowed for those seeking to study in the country or having some sort of

business to conduct, whether they are employees of a multinational corporation or foreign

entertainers touring America. The duration of these visas varies greatly, ranging from months to

years. The rules of entry also differ: Some visas allow for mUltiple entries whereas others only

allow one entry.

The :M:O~.iIDcll!!!8ory: permanent legal residents

presence is illegal) and the :~t$~li<li!!~~g of this group (those who entered illegally)

Theiei:?i!ii~t:Ii~ of illegal residents: visa overstays

Conclusion: DesaI proposes a solution to the immigration debate.

Ihisidi5 these 9'OU ps who are allowed tov1~h th e States temporarily, some

people maintain permanent legal residency here but remain citizens of other nations.

Permanent legal residents have identification cards generally called "green cards," also known

as permanent resident cards. Most people who get green cards already live in the United

States and had some sort of family relationship that helped them obtain it. According to the

DHS's Office of Immigration Statistics, other factors that may enhance a person's ability to

become a permanent legal resident are employment-based skills, birth in a country with a low

rate of immigration to the United States, and status as a refugee or seeker of political asylum.

For many, hoLding a green card is the first step toward becoming a citizen. Unlike a visa, it

allows someone to travel abroad for up to a year without losing permanent residency status.

The card is valid for ten years, after which it can be renewed (Office of Immigration

Statistics).

and,~~!laYi$as, there are a large number of

noncitizens living illegally in the United States. By one estimate, up to twelve million illegal

immigrants were in the country as of 2006, the vast majority from latin America ("Estimates' 2).

AU of these people are committing a crime under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The phrase

"illegal immigrants" may conjure up images of people secretly crossing the U.S.-Mexico border,

and certainly many do enter by hiding in trucks, walking through the desert, or swimming across a

border river. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, more than half of illegal immigrants ente(

the country without a visa. Many enter for seasonal employment opportunities and return back

home; however, such immigration is also deemed illegal.

l!\lt!leoR~¥il\if~dt~d~he; ~oun~fyil\egal(y.are1'iottheollty<)tl~·Wl19sepresen~ ~" iis Rle9~t. The other type of illegal "immigrants" is the visa ovarstays. Members of this group

entered the country legally, using a visa, but have stayed beyond its exPiration date. When they

past their allotted time, they, like those who have entered without a visa, are subject to deportation.

Many immigrants, legal or illegal, are in the country because they want to work here. The

temporary-work visa program is now fairly limited and restrictive, but since we already have

Residents: 2006. U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, 2006. Web. 16 Mar. 2011.

---.---.U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Employment Authorization. Dept. of Homeland

Security, 2008. Web. 16 Mar. 2011.

......-.-.. Immigration Classifications and Visa Categories. Dept. of Homeland Security, 2008.

Web. 12 Mar. 201l.

-. Dept. of State. What Is a U.S. Visa? Dept. of State, 2008. Web. 16 Mar. 2011.

Analyzing the Writer's Technique

1. According to Desai, why is it important to understand the classification of immigrants?

2. What types of evidence does Desai use ro develop his essay? :\, Evaluate Desai's introduction and conclusion. How successful are they at engaging

readers' interest?

Critically about Classification and Division

is the connotation of the phrase "melting pot" (para. 1)1 the second sentence ofparagraph 8. Is this fact or opinion? How can you

Desai's sources. What additional kinds of sources might have been useful?

Desai's tone. What kind of audience does he address?

other reasons could Desai have used to establish the importance ofhis

other principles of classification that might be used to c1a.ssifjr noncitizens. a journal entry describing Desai's attitude toward noncitizens.

• ;r:;, 432 4 ---------~~="::-.-:·-':--~=---~~~'~~~~~!'~~~-p-I·~~-'I-~~-------___.______~.____.~_____ . ____""_________ CAROLYN FOSTER SEGAL THE DOG ATE MY FLASH DRIVE 433

For more on reading ~trategies, see Chapter 3.

For more on discovering

ideos for a re~ponse paper, see Chapter 4.

READING A CLASSIFICATION OR DIVISION ESSAY downsized and those who lack skills for employment-because many people are

- " to work due to illness; those who were fired for personal reasons, such as incompetence;

J jnemPIoyed for other reasons. This classification fuils to consider those who are unable

The following section provides advic C d' I' . and those who choose not to work while they raise children or pursue an education. II e ror rea lllg a c asslficaoo d" . d'"'c h - ". h kwe as two model essays The first es'll h n or IVISlOn essay When rea lllg My Secret lire on t e McJob: Fast Food Managers, you mig t as'. . sa I ustrates t . . '. . '

covered In thiS chapter. The second ess: uses la 'fi e <;haractenstlcs of ciasslficatlo whether there are other £)'pes ofmanagers that Newman did not observe or recogruze. of development. Both essays provide y C. 551 cation ~Iong With other meth( the writers' ideas. opportunities to examllle, analyze, and react

Working with Text: Reading a ClaSSification or Division Essay

A classification or division essay is usually tightly organized and relatively easy to low. Use the suggestions below to read classification essays, division essays, or any lng that uses classification or division.

What to Look For, Highlight, and Annotate

1. Highlight the thesis statement, the principle ofclassification, and the name or ofeach category or parr.

2. Use a different color highlighter (or another marking method, such as asterisks numbers) to identify the key details ofeach category.

3. Mark important definitions and vivid examples for later reference. 4. Add annotations indicating where you find a category or part confUsing or

you think more detail is needed.

How to Find Ideas to Write About

To gain a different perspective on the reading, think of other ways of classifYing dividing the topic. for example, consider an essay that classilies types of exercise grams at health clubs according to the benefits th~"Y offer for cardiovascular Such exercise programs could also be classilied according to their cost, degree uousness, type ofexercise, and so forth.

Thinking Critically about ClaSSification and DiVision

When reading classification or division, particularly if its purpose 'is to persuade, on both the comprehensiveness and the level ofd<.'tail by asking the follOwing

1. Does the ClaSSification or DiviSion Cover All Significant Categories or Parts?

To be fair and honest, a writer should discuss aU the significant categories or parts which a subject can be classified or divided. It would be misleading, for example, writer to classifY unemployed workers into only two groups-those who have been

2. Does the Writer Provide Sufficient Detail about Each Category?

An objective and fair classification or division analysis requires that each category be treated with the same level ofdetail. To provide many details for some categories and just a lew for others suggests a bias. For example, if a writer classifYing how high school students spend their time goes into great detail about leisure activities and offers little derail on part-time jobs or volunteer work, the writer may create a &lse impression that students care only about having fun and make few meaningful contributions to society.

3. Is the Principle of Classification Appropriate for the Writer's Purpose?

When evaluating a classification or division essay, determine whether the subject is classi­ fied or divided in a way that fits the writer's purpose. Newman, in "My Secret Life on the McJob: Fast Food Managers," classifies managers according to management style. It would be possible, however, to compare managers according to other criteria such as productiv­ ity, experience, training, or location. Newman's purpose is to comment on relationships between employees and managers and to explore his experience as a fust-food worker, so his decision to use management style was appropriate. However, ifhis purpose had been ro ex­ amine why some McDonald's fianchises are more profitable than others, then classification of managers by financial profitability might have been a more appropriate choice.

In "A Brush with Reality: Sutprises in the Tube," Bodanis devotes several para­ graphs to chalk and gives far less coverage to detergent, for example. This discrepancy may be justified because chalk is, in terms of quantity, the second most important ingredient in toothpaste.

CLASSIFICATION COMBINED WITH OTHER PATTERNS

In the fullowing essay, Carolyn Foster SegaJ combines classification with other patterns of development to support a thesis about student excuses.

The Dog Ate My Flash Drive, and Other Tales ofWoe Carolyn Foster Segal

Carolyn Foster Segal Is professor of English at Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Pennsylvania, where she specializes in American literature, poetry, creative writing, and women's film. She has published poems in Buffalo Spree magazine, Phoebe: Alournal ofFeminist Scholarship, Theory, and Aesthetics, and the Bucks County Writer, as well as many essays in the Chronicle

after week, semester after semester, year after year, in offering excuses aoout why their woti<: is not ready. Those reasons fall into several broad categories: the family, the best friend, the evils of dorm life, the evils of technology, and the totally bizarre.

The Family. The death of the grandfather/grandmother is, of course, the grandmother 2 of all excuses. What heartless teacher would dare to question a student's grief or ve· racity? What heartless student would lie, wishing death on a revered family member, just to avoid a deadline? Creative students may win extra extensions (and days off) with a little careful planning and fuller plot development, as in the sequence of "My grandfather/grandmother is sickn; "Now my grandfather/grandmother is in the haspi· taln; and finally, "We could all see it coming-my grandfather/grandmother is dead.n

Another favorite excuse is "the family emergency, n which (always) goes like this: "There was an emergency at home, and I had to help my family." It's a lovely senti· ment, one that conjures up images of louisa May Alcott's little women rushing off with

HOM'E'NoR~ 'CbN€ ~ ~/~O

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\:': '.,~~~. • ~ ~ ," .. \. ,'''' ~~ .. t'l l,." ."~~"" ;~.

'. ~~.......------- . ,,"'" " ..........---­'.;:~ .' :.~.: , .... I .....~_ • .' .'~. \l, f .,.t _ ~

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the prime of her life has allegedly committed suicide, and no professor can prove other· wise! And I admit I was moved, until finally I had to point out to my students that it was amazing how the simple act of my assigning a topic for a paper seemed to drive large numbers of otherwise happy and healthy middle·aged women to their deaths. I was care· ful to make that point during an offweek, duringwhkh no deaths were reported.

The Evils ofDorm Life. These stories are usually fairly predictaole; almost always fea· 6 ture the evil roommate or hallmate, with my student in the role of the innocent victim; and can oe summed up as foHows: My roommate, who is a horriole person, likes to party, and I, who am a good person, cannot concentrate on my work when he or she is partying, Variations include stories about the two people next door who were running around and crying loudly last night because (a) one ofthem had ooyfriend/girlfriend proolems; (0) one of them was throwing up blood; or (c) someone, somewhere, died. A friend of mine in graduate school had a student who claimed that his roommate at· tacked him with a hammer. That, in fact, was a true story; it came out in court when the bad roommate was tried for killing his grandfather.

The Evils ofTechnology. The computer age has revolutionized the student story, in· spiring almost as many new excuses as it has Internet ousinesses, Here are just a few electronically enhanced explanations:

• The computer wouldn't let me save my work. • The printer wouldn't print. • The printer wouldn't print this file. • The printer wouldn't give me time to proofread. • The printer made a olack line run through all my words, and I know you can't read

this, out do you still want it, or wait. here, take my flash drive. File name? I don't know what you mean.

• I swear I attached it. • It's my roommate's computer, and she usually helps me, but she had to go to the

hospital because she was throwing up blood • • 'did write to the Ustserv, out all my messages came back to me. • I just found out that all my other listserv messages came up under a diferent

name. I just want you to know that its really me who wrote all those messages, you can tel which ones our mine oecause t didnt use the spelcheck! But it was yours truely:) Anyway, justin case you missed those messages or don't belief its my writ· ting, I'll repeat what I sad: I thought the last movie we watched in clas was oorring.

tad/unct: A part-time instructor.

434 CHAPTER 16 CLASSIFICATION AND DIVISION

ofHigher Education, aweekly newspaper for college faculty and administrators. The following essay appeared In the Chronicle in 2000. With the author's permission, It has been revised slightly to update some technological references. As you read, notice how Segal's classification essay also uses description and illustration to fully explain each category she identifies.

Taped to the door of my office is a cartoon that features a cat explaining to his feline teacher. "The dog ate my homework.n It is intended as a gently humorous reminder to my students that I will not accept excuses for late work, and it, like the lengthy warning on my syllabus, has had absolutely no effect. With a show of energy and creativity that would be admiraole if applied to the (miSSing) assignments in question. my students persist, week

, THE DOG ATE MY FLASH

oaskets of food and copies of Pilgrim's Progress, but I do not understand why anyone would turn to my most irresponsiole students in times of trouble.

The Best Friend. This heartwarming concern for others extends beyond the family to friends, as in, "My best friend was up all night and I had to (a) stay up with her in the dorm, (0) drive her to the hospital, or (e) drive to her college oecause (1) her boyfriend oroke up with her, (2) she was throwing up olood [no one catches a cold anymore; everyone throws up oloodl, or (3) her grandfather/grandmother died."

At one private university where I worked as an adjunct,' I heard an interesting spin that incorporated the motifs of ooth oest friend and dead relative: "My oest friend's mother killed herself." One has to admire the cleverness here: A mysterious woman in

436 CHAPTER 16 CLASSIFICATION AND DIVISION

The Totally Bizarre. Icall the flrst story "The Pennsylvania Chain Saw Episode." A com· muter student called to explain why she had missed my morning class. She had gotten up early so that she would be wide awake for class. Having a bit of extra time, she walked outside to see her neighbor, who was cutting some wood. She caHed out to him, and he waved back to her with the saw. Wouldn't you know it, the safety catch wasn't on orwas broken, and the blade flew right out of the saw and across his lawn and over her fence and across her yard and severed a tendon in her right hand. So she was calling me from the hospital. where she was wailing for surgery. Luckily, she reassured me, she had remem· bered to bring her paper and a stamped envelope (in a plastic bag, to avoid bloodstains) along with herin the ambulance, and a nurse was mailing everything to me even as we spoke.

That wasn't her first absence. In fact, this student had missed most of the class meet­ Ings, and I had atreacly recommended that she withdlllw from the course. N6W ! suggested again that it might be best if she dropped the class. I didn't harp on the absences (what if even some ofthis story were true?). Idid mention that she would need time to recuperate

THINKING CR FICATION AND

Category Types of Support

1.TheFamfly

DIVISION 437

and that making up so much missed work might be difficult. ·Oh, no,· she said, "I can't drop this course. Ihad been planning to go on to medical school and become a surgeon, but since 1 won't be able to operate because of my accident, I'll have to major in English, and this course is more importantthan ever to me." She did come to the next class, wearing-as evidence of her recent trauma-a bedraggled Ace bandage on her left hand.

You may be thinking that nothing could top that excuse, but in fact I have one more 10 story, provided by the same student, who sent me a letter to explain why her final assign· ment would be late. While recuperating from her surgery, she had begun corresponding on the Internet with a man who lived in Germany. After a one·week, whirlwind Web roo mance, they had agreed to meetin Rome, to rendezvous (her phrase) atthe papal Easter Mass. Regrettably, the time of her flight made it impossible for her to attend class, but she trusted that I-just this once-would accept late work if the pope wrote a note.

Examining the Reading

1. Identify the categories ofstudent excuses that identifies. 2. Do some student excuses turn out to be an example from the

reading. 3. What obvious mistake was made by the student who offered the chain-saw

excuse? . 4. Explain the meaning of each of the following words as it is used in the reading:

bizarre (para. 1). veracity (2), conjures (3), motifi (5), and harp (9). Refer to your dlcltion:arv as needed.

Analyzing the Writer's Technique

1. Is it helpful or for Segal to list her five categories in her mesis? 2. What is the function essay's title? 3. Who is Segal's audience? How can you tell? 4, What other patterns of development does Segal use in the essay?

Visualizing the Reading

What types ofsupporting information does Segal supply to make her categories seem real and believable? Review the and complete me chart above by filling in at least one type of support for each category. The first one has been done for you.

Thinking Critically about Text and Visuals

1. What other categories could be included in mis essay? 2. What is me connotation of "an interesting spin" (para. 5)? 3. Other than students, what sources does Segal use? Explain why me essay would or

would not benefit from more sources. 4. Does Segal provide sufficient detail in each category? What other kinds of details

might she have included? 5. Is the classification appropriate for Segal's purpose? Why or why not? 6. Describe the tone of me essay. What does it reveal about Segal's attitude toward

students? 7. What does me inclusion of the cartoon add to me essay? Why is the boy selling

"Homework Done" frowning and the boy selling "Homework Eaten" smiling? What is the implied message? What omer visual differences do you visual differ­ ences do you notice becween the cwo

Reacting to the Reading

1. As a student, how do you react (0 me essay? Have you observed these excuses being made (or perhaps even made them yourself)? Do you agree that they are overused? Or did you find the essay inaccurate, unfair, or even upsetting?

2. Write a journal entry exploring how you think instructors should handle students who make false excuses.

3. Write an essay classifying the excuses you have seen coworkers or mnt'I'Vu",,,, make in the workplace to cover up or JUStifY their poor performance, tardiness, Or irresponsibility.

439

For more on locating and

documenting SOU((es, see Part 5,

Applying Your Skills: Additional Essay Assignments

Write a classification or division learned about classification and choose, you may need to conduct

To Express Your Ideas

using what you Depending on the topic you

1. Explain whether you are proud of or frustrated with your to budget money. For example. you might classify budget categories that are easy to master versus those that cause problems.

2. Explain why you chose your career or major. the job opportunities or benefits ofyour chosen field, and indicate why

3. Divide a store-such as a media shop. departments. Describe where you are most

To Inform Your Reader

4. Write an essay for the readers of your college newspaper classifYing college in­ structors' teaching styles.

5. Explain the parts ofa ceremony or an event you have attended or participated in. 6. Divide a familiar substance into its components, as Bodanis does in "A Brush

with Reality: Surprises in the Tube" (pp. 417-18).

438 CfoIAPTER 16 CLASSIFICATION AND DIVISION

~Q§,~.NECTIONS) The Workplace

Both "My Secret Life on the McJob: Fast Food Managers' (pp. 411-13) and 'Sell ­ ing in Minnesota" (pp. 254-56) deal with employment in low-level service jobs. As you answer the following questions, keep in mind that both authors are professionals

who were working under the guise of learning the habits, characteristics, and prob­

lems that everyday workers face in such jobs.

Analyzing the Readings

1. What workplace problems did both Ehrenreich and Newman observe? 2. Write a journal entry exploring the differences and/or similarities that exist be­

tween working at Wal-Mart and working at fast-food restaurants.

Essay Idea

Write an essay in which you explore attitudes toward and expectations about work.

You might consider its value, besides a weekly paycheck, Or you might examine what type of work is rewarding.

R SKILLS: ADDITIONAL

To Persuade Your Reader

7. Categorize types of television violence (0 develop the argument that violence on television is either harmful to children or not harmful to children.

8. In an essay that categorizes types of parenting skills and demonstrates how they arc learned, dL-velop the argument that efkctive parenting skills can be acquired through practice, training, or observation.

Cases Using Classification or Division

9. Write an essay for an introductoty education class identifying a problem have experienced or observed in the public education system. Divide education into parts to bener explain your problem.

10. You oversee the development of the annual catalog for a large community col­ lege, including the section deseribing the services ofkred to students. Decide how that section of the catalog should be organized. and then list the cat:egc,n", it should include. Finally, write a description of the services in one categoty.