PARAGRAPH DEVELOPMENT

Cause and Effect

Use cause and effect in paragraphs when you are tracking the development of one situation or event out
of another. Cause and effect is an analytical mode of paragraph development that attempts to show how
events are influenced by or caused by othersthe linkage of causation. In the following paragraph the
development follows the inductive pattern of reasoning from effects back to causes.

Description

Use descriptive prose to provide a physical picture or a functional view of the subject. Physical description
develops a picture by identifying the shapes, materials, position, and functions of its subject. Such prose
often serves as the raw material for more elaborate forms of analytical prose.

Comparison and Contrast

Use comparison and contrast to develop a topic by examining its similarities or dissimilarities to another
thing, process, or state. Comparison emphasizes the similarities, contrast the differences. A paragraph
may use both comparison and contrast. In the following example, two kinds of electrical cable are
compared. The aim here is to convey the superiority of A over B for two categories of performance.

Exemplification

Use exemplification paragraphs to provide instances that clarify your topic statement. In the following
paragraph, the topic sentence is supported in examples that illustrate, support, and clarify the main point.