Analogy / 55Each illustrates how an analogy can address a specific content-area audience.
Together, the six samples illustrate part-by-part and whole-by-whole organization,
chronological order and order of importance, fully developed paragraphs, and an
analogy used to introduce a longer paper.
SAMPLE ANALoGY foR WoRkPLACE WRITING
Students were asked to describe what makes a good manager. Because being a good
manager requires many abstract qualities, one student developed an analogy com-
paring a good manager with a good gardener.
The Gardener in the Office
A good manager is like a good gardener. Each begins by looking at the conditions under
which he or she must work. Given a specific climate and specific working conditions, each
must adjust. Within the given environment, however, both the manager and the gardener can
choose the right commodities: the right personnel, the right plants. Because not all people
and all plants react in the same way to the environment, however, a good manager as well as
a good gardener will attend to the differences. Some people work well under pressure; oth-
ers do not. Some plants produce well in partial shade; others do not. Nurturing people as well
as plants can improve production. Even when harvest time comes, the gardener knows to
expect a higher yield from a tomato plant than from a corn stalk; but knowing that, he planted
more corn than he did tomatoes. Likewise, the manager knows to expect a different yield from
people with different responsibilities; so she hires accordingly. Finally, when the crops are sold,
the gardener does not measure each bean’s worth; he considers the total garden’s yield. So
the manager measures the department’s worth. Granted, though, if the eggplant does not pro-
duce anything, the gardener will not replant it next year; and if a worker does not produce, the
manager must consider eliminating that employee. If, on the other hand, the gardener feels he
should have tended the eggplant more carefully, sprayed it for insects, watered it, or fertilized
it, then he may consider replanting, hoping that with better care, the eggplant will be a better
producer. Likewise, the good manager may realize she has not tended the worker as much as
she might, talking with him about problems, offering suggestions for improved output, or alter-
ing the worker’s responsibilities. She may give the worker another opportunity. So, managers,
like gardeners, reap what they sow.ANALYSIS of THE SAMPLE WoRkPLACE WRITING
By using an analogy to talk about good management, the writer describes charac-
teristics without belaboring the point. The creative approach adds interest to the
subject.