PARAGRAPH

DEVELOPMENT
METHODS – PART 1
Dr. Sunarsih, M.A.

Teacher: Nur Istiqomah Khamidy

 What We Have Learned

1. (Textbook) Previewing
2. Paragraph: Paragraph Patterns and Topic Sentence
3. Paragraph: Paragraph Development (Part 1)

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 Paragraph Development

• Definition • Cause-effect
• Example • Comparison and contrast
• Classification • Narration
• General analysis • Description
• Process analysis • Argument and
persuasion

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 Common Steps for Finding
the Methods of Development
• First, find the paragraph pattern. Look at the topic
sentence. It will tip you off to what is coming.
• Second, look at the linking sentences and words.
They also will show you what the writers are doing.
• Third, look at what writers do in the supporting
sentences. For example, do they tell a story or try to
get you to do something?

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What are linking words?

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 A. Development by Definition

• Writers use definition to tell you the meaning of a term or an

idea.
• In the topic sentence, look for words like What is or What is
the meaning of.
• In the linking words, look for synonyms (words that have
the same meaning) or antonyms (words that have opposite
meanings). Also look for words like that is and on the other
hand, and for enumeration (a, b, c; 1, 2, 3; and so on).
• In the supporting ideas, look for a listing of what the thing
being defined is like.
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 Example
A racist can be defined as a prejudiced person who discriminates because
of another individuals outer appearance or race. Racism can all start as a child
being raised with negative thoughts, or can be brought upon by personal
reasons. For example, growing up in a racist family will give adolescent awful
thoughts about a race without even experiencing how they really feel first
hand. A different example of how one might unfortunately choose to be racist
would be if a person visits a country, and a negative event took place; this
person might become racist toward a group of people that lived there all
because of one personal event that happened. This is not a type of person that
treats people like how they want to treated, but it is a form of hatred toward a
set of people. This kind of person might use mental abuse, or they can even
get physically abusive toward the kind of race they are discriminate towards.
They also can have a type of attitude that thinks that they are better than
certain groups and cultures. Racism is a negative concept that put down
people for no real reason. Racism is a form of ignorance and inequity and only
one could wish for this discrimination to stop all together in order for
everybody to get along.
~© 2005 Fallon Fauque~ 7
Discussion about the Example for Paragraph
Development by Definition

1. Mention the topic and the controlling idea!

2. Mention the details/supporting ideas!
3. Mention at least two linking words used in the
example!

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 B. Development by Example/Illustration

• Writers use examples (illustrations) to give you

common cases of a general statement or idea.
• In the topic sentence, look for an idea or a general
statement.
• In the linking words, look for words like for
example and for instance, and for enumeration.
• In the supporting ideas, look for the examples——
the specific things that are members of the group
named by the general statement in the topic
sentence.

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 Example

Piedmont, or mountain, glaciers are found in many parts of

the world. In North America they are distributed along the
mountain ranges of the Pacific Coast from central California
northward. They abound in the Andes range in South America
and are familiar and greatly admired spectacles in the Alps, the
Pyrenees, the Caucasus Mountains and the mountains of
Scandanavia. Rivers of ice flow down the valleys of various
Asian mountain ranges, including the Himalayas, the Hindu
Kush, and the Karakoram and Kunlun ranges. They are also a
feature of the Southern Alps of New Zealand and are found in
the lofty mountains of New Guinea. The largest piedmont
glaciers are the Malaspina and Bering glaciers, both in Alaska.

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Discussion about the Example for Paragraph
Development by Example

1. Mention the topic and the controlling idea!

2. Mention the details/supporting ideas!
3. Mention at least two linking words used in the
example!

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 C. Development By Classification

• Writers use classification to tell you what groups (or

classes) are like and how groups differ from other
groups.
• In the topic sentence, look for words like groups,
classes, types, kinds, categories, variety.
• In the linking words, look for words like similarly, on
the other hand, all of these, within this group.
• In the supporting ideas, look for statements about
what a class is like. That is, look for a listing of how
members of a group are alike, and for a listing of how
they are different from members of other groups.

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 Example

Local TV interviewers come in two varieties. One is a

bulimic blond person with a deviated septum and a severe
cognitive disorder who went into broadcasting because he or
she was too emotionally disturbed for telephone sales work.
The other variety is suave, sagacious, grossly overqualified for
the job, and too depressed to talk to you. Good local TV
people are always depressed because their field is so crowded.
(P.J. O'Rourke, "Book Tour." Age and Guile, Beat Youth,
Innocence, and a Bad Haircut. Atlantic Monthly Press, 1995)

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Discussion about the Example for Paragraph
Development by Classification

1. Mention the topic and the controlling idea!

2. Mention the details/supporting ideas!
3. Mention at least two linking words used in the
example!

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 D. Development by General Analysis

• Writers use general analysis to show you what the

parts of something are and how those parts are related.
• In the topic sentence, look for the name of a whole
thing. Then, look for words like parts, units, divisions,
aspects, components, elements, chapters.
• In the linking words, look for words like and, also, in
addition, furthermore, moreover, in other words, that
is.
• In the supporting ideas, look for a listing of parts of the
whole thing named in the topic sentence. Look at the
ways those parts are tied together.

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 Example
Writing is a complex sociocognitive process involving the
construction of recorded messages on paper or on some other material,
and, more recently, on a computer screen. The skills needed to write
range from making the appropriate graphic marks, through utilizing the
resources of the chosen language, to anticipating the reactions of the
intended readers. The first skill area involves acquiring a writing
system, which may be alphabetic (as in European languages) or
nonalphabetic (as in many Asian languages). The second skill area
requires selecting the appropriate grammar and vocabulary to form
acceptable sentences and then arranging them in paragraphs. Third,
writing involves thinking about the purpose of the text to be composed
and about its possible effects on the intended readership. One important
aspect of this last feature is the choice of a suitable style. Because of
these characteristics, writing is not an innate natural ability like
speaking but has to be acquired through years of training or schooling.
(Swales & Feak, 1994, p. 34).
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Discussion about the Example for Paragraph
Development by General Analysis

1. Mention the topic and the controlling idea!

2. Mention the details/supporting ideas!
3. Mention at least two linking words used in the
example!

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 E. Development by Process Analysis

• Writers use process analysis to show you how something

works or how to do something. They give you the steps to do
something, and they give you the order in which the steps
must come.
• In the topic sentence, look for words like Here are the steps;
Use these steps; Do these things in this order.
• In the linking words, look for words showing time relations,
such as now, then, in the same way, and next, and for
enumeration (1, 2, 3; first, second, third).
• In the supporting ideas, look for the names of the steps or the
name of the set of situations. Following the names, look for
directions for carrying out the process.
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 Example

Breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend can be easier said

than done, but here are five steps that may help the breaking up
process. First try to distance yourself by suddenly becoming busier
than usual. The next step is to calmly tell the other person that how
you are feeling. Then gently let him or her know that you do not
want to be together anymore. Then make sure to be sensitive of his
or her feelings and answer any questions that he or she may have.
For example, if the person starts to cry, use kind words to help
comfort him or her. After everything is said and done, take some
alone time for your self because everyone has feelings to sort out
after a break up. Finally, go out with friends and meet new people.
With these five steps it will make the breaking up process smooth
for both parties.
~© Sara Bedwell~

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Discussion about the Example for Paragraph
Development by Process Analysis

1. Mention the topic and the controlling idea!

2. Mention the details/supporting ideas!
3. Mention at least two linking words used in the
example!

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 Resource

• Supriyanto, B. Critical Reading. Bandung: Institut

Teknologi Bandung.

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 Quiz

• No assignment for this week!! :D

• Do not forget to do the Quiz on kuliah.itera.ac.id
(Deadline: September 27th, 2020)

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