PA R T I I
METHODS OF
DEVELOPMENT
N
o matter what you write, you must choose a means for developing what you say.
This part of the handbook details and illustrates ten common methods of devel-
opment. In alphabetical order, they are as follows:
• Analogy strives to simplify something complicated by comparing the
complicated with the simple, such as comparing how a computer works with
how a sewing machine works.
• Cause and effect explains why something happened, such as why a war
was won or lost, or what happened as a result of something, such as what
happened to the economy in the South as a result of the Civil War.
• Classification puts things together that belong together, such as talking about
the hiking trails in Yellowstone by grouping them—or classifying them—
according to their difficulty.
• Comparison and contrast shows how one subject is similar to or different
from another, such as how one athletic team is similar to another or how one
cell phone is different from another.
• Definitions explain terms, sometimes in just a sentence as part of a larger
written piece, and sometimes as the entire piece, such as responding to the
question, “What is chemotherapy?”
• Description, either technical or literary, gives details so that others see, hear,
smell, taste, or feel what you do.
• Narration “tells the story,” either in fact or fiction.
• Opinion expresses your own thoughts about a subject, such as abortion, but
must be supported with facts and statistics.
• Persuasion attempts to convince others of your opinion.
• Process analysis explains how something was or is done, such as how a goal
was reached or how to use a lathe to turn a table leg.