Paragraph developments are the
thought patterns in the paragraphs. McWhorter (1986) states that there are many
kinds of paragraph patters that are usually used in a paragraph of a text, such
as, illustration-example, definition,
comparison and contrast, cause and effect, classification, and chronological
order or sequence of events.
1. Illustration-Example
The illustration-example pattern has examples in the development of the
paragraph. This pattern is explained by providing specific instances that
illustrate it. We may give example of the topics that we study. We can use some
example to illustrate or to support main idea and we can use list signal words
for illustration- example.
Example:
Electricity
is all around us. We see it in lightning. We receive electric shocks when we
walk on a nylon rug on a dry and then touch something (or someone). We can see
sparks fly from a cat’s fur when we pet in the dark. We can rub a balloon on a
sweater and make the balloon stick to the wall or the ceiling. Our clothes
cling together when we take them from the dryer.
In the paragraph above, electricity
is all around us is the main idea of the paragraph; and lightning,
nylon rug, cat’s fur, balloon, and clothing
from dryer are examples which explain the main ideas. In other words,
the main idea is supported by giving examples. Signal words that commonly used
in this patter are, such as, for example, to illustrate, for
instance, and in the case of.
2. Definition
The definition pattern has
definitions in the development of the paragraph. This pattern defines something
that makes it different from each other’s. The definition itself has two parts:
part that tells the general class belongs to and part that describes how it is
different from others.
Example:
An opossum is animal with a ratlike tail that lives in the trees. It
carries its young in pouch. It is active at night and pretends to be dead when
trapped.
The first part of this paragraph
is animal is a general class, while rest is the part which differences
each opossum from the other animals. Within the second part, a reader might
interpret opossum with other animals.
3. Comparison
and Contrast
The comparison and contrast
pattern emphasize similarities and differences between ideas, theories, people,
concepts, or events in the development of the paragraph. The comparison pattern
focuses on similarities, while contrast pattern emphasizes the differences. It
may be organized in different ways. We can list all similarities ant then all
differences. After that, we discuss the first item, and presenting both
similarities and differences; continue to do the same way for the second item.
Example:
Housing in New York City differs in several ways from that in most
other cities of the United States. About 60 percent of New York’s families live
in apartment buildings or hotels. In other cities, most people live in New York
City rent their homes. In other U.S cities, most families own their homes.
About 70 percent of the housing in New York City is more than 30 years old, and
over 300,000 families live in buildings that are more that 70 years old. Most
other cities have a far larger percentage of newer housing.
This paragraph discusses about
housing in New York City. The signal words used is differ.
The signal words for comparison:
compare, resembles, in
comparison, similar, in the same way/manner, parallels, like, similarly, likewise, also, both, correspondingly.
The signal words for contrast:
but, nevertheless, although, instead, conversely, on
the other hand, differences, rather than, different, unlike, however, yet, in contrast, less wordy, as opposed to, bigger than, differs from.
4. Cause and
Effect
The cause and effect pattern has
the causes and effects described in the development of the paragraph. This
pattern describes an event or action that is caused by another event or action.
It explains how and why something happened. In this case, causal relationship
between two or more event or actions are shown with cause and effect. Causes
may be implied or directly stated and often multiple causes (MC) or multiple
effects (ME) are as evident (McWhorter, 1994: 121). This patter can vary in
some combinations such as:
- one cause and one effect
- one cause and multiple effects
- multiple causes and single effect
- multiple causes and multiple effects
Example:
The car would not start this morning, the bus was 30 minutes late. I
lost my office keys, and my secretary called in sick. Because of all these
problems, I had a terrible headache by lunchtime.
It can be seen that this
paragraph try to explains multiple causes and single effect. The multiple
causes are the car would not start, the bus was 30 minutes late, and my
secretary called in sick. And the single effect is I had a terrible
headache. The signal word used in this paragraph is because. Then,
we may use other signal words in a paragraph, such as:
The signal words for cause:
because, for this reason, cause, an account of, due to, why.
The signal words for effect:
as a result, thus, consequently, therefore, in effect, result.
5.
Classification
The classification pattern has
classifications of the topic in the development of the paragraph. This pattern
divides a topic into parts or categories based on common or shared
characteristics. In this pattern, an object or idea will be explained by
dividing into parts and describing each.
Example:
Horticulture, the study and cultivation of garden plants, is a large
industry. Recently has become a popular are of study. The Horticulture field
consists of four major divisions. First, there is pomology, the science and
practice of growing and handling fruit trees. Then there is olericulture, which
is concerned with growing and vegetables. A third field, floriculture, is the
science of growing, storing and designing flowering plants. The last category,
ornamental and landscape horticulture is concerned with using grasses, plants,
and shrubs in landscaping.
This paragraph explained that
horticulture by describing its four areas of fields of study, such as,
pomology, olericulture, floriculture, and ornamental and lanscape. The signal
words used in this paragraph are: first, then, third, and last.
But, there are many other signal words that can be used:
Sorts, categories, element
features, parts, characteristics, several
kinds, numbers, classes, types, methods, classify, ways, kinds, divide, group.
6. Chronological
Order
The chronological order pattern
has chronological events arranged in the development of the paragraph.
Actually, there four forms of this pattern. They are chronological order refers
to the arrangement of events in time, process focuses on the order in which
procedures or steps are accomplished, order of importance expresses priority or
preference, and spatial order refers to physical location, position, or order.
The signal words for this pattern
are as follows:
first, second, third, next, most important, last, above, after, last, during, eventually, finally, later, stages, steps, at
the end.
Example:
The process of making adjusting entries is very simple and logical.
First for each account it is necessary to determine what is in the account, in
example, it is balance. Next, it is necessary to determine what should be in
the account. Finally, if there is a difference, the account is either debited
or credited so that the final balance becomes correct. A corresponding credit
or debit entry must be made to one or more other accounts so that the adjusting
entry balances.
The paragraph above tells us
about the sequence how to make adjusting entries. The process is described in
chronological order, beginning with the first process and ending with the last
process.
Sometimes, a writer uses mixed
pattern in which one pattern is combined with another pattern. It can be seen
in the following example:
In the beginning, I thought that the white world was very different
from the world I was moving out of and I turned out to be entirely wrong. It
seemed different. It seemed suffer, it seemed more polite, and, of course it
seemed much richer from the material point of view. But I didn’t meet anyone in
that world who didn’t suffer from the same affliction that all the people I had
fled from suffered from and that was they didn’t know who they were. They
wanted to be something that they were not. And very shortly I didn’t know who I
was, either. I could not be certain whether I was really female, really
talented or fraud, really strong or merely stubborn. In short, I had become an
American. I had stepped into, I had walked right into, as I inevitably had to
do, the bottomless confusion that is both public and private, of the American
republic.
Here, the writer tries to combine
one pattern with another pattern. It can be seen from the signal words used in
the paragraph, such as, in the beginning, but, very shortly,
and in short. The paragraph does not belong to one pattern.
