🌊 Modes of Development

November 15, 2022

What are Methods of Development?
  • Just like there are different genres of fiction, there are different categories of argument.
  • We will study four of these:
    • Cause-effect (unit 3)
    • Narration (unit 3)
    • Compare-contrast (unit 4)
    • Definition/description (unit 4)

Different Methods of Development
  • Cause-effect:
    • To provide the reasons that produced a certain result, or to identify the results produced by a certain phenomenon
    • Example → To give evidence that the presence of lead is contaminating a city’s water
  • Narration:
    • To tell a story with people, places and events
    • Example → To tell the story of a family whose children have been exposed to lead poisoning
  • Compare-contrast:
    • To identify ways in which two things are similar (compare) and/or different (contrast)
    • Example → To profile a state’s quick response to an affluent city’s water contamination versus a slow response to a poor’s city’s water contamination.
  • Definition/description
    • To explain what something is or to tell what it is like
    • Example → To give a medical definition of lead poisoning and to describe the long-term effects it can have on children’s developing brains.
  • For each argument topic, explain why one method of development might be an effective approach to convincing or persuading your audience.
    • To persuade your school board to make changes to the school dress code
    • To convince your community to support local fine arts programs
    • To persuade local sports fans it’s worth it to come to this season’s home opening game
    • To inform your college of choice of how you came to be a successful admissions candidate

Cause-Effect
  • To provide the reasons that produced a certain result
  • OR to identify the results produced by a certain phenomenon
  • What two fallacies might be easy pitfalls when writing a cause-effect essay?
    • Faulty causality
    • Slippery slope
  • Avoid these by thoroughly explaining and giving evidence of all cause-effect relationships in your writing!

Reading a Cause-Effect Piece
  • Identify the main phenomenon the speaker is trying to explain.
  • Identify the causal factors.
    • What has the speaker traced back to be the cause of the phenomena?
    • What other phenomena does the speaker predict this will cause in the future?
  • Read critically → are all causal relationships thoroughly supported with evidence? What needs more explanation or support?

Writing a Cause-Effect Piece
  • Clearly establish your main claim: A was caused by B, or C will lead to D.
  • Identify the causal factors.
    • Develop these as body paragraphs with sufficient evidence.
    • Make sure there aren’t any “hidden” causal relationships you imply but don’t explain.
  • Evaluate your writing to watch out for FALLACIES. Some common ones:
    • Slippery slope
    • Faulty causality
    • Hasty generalization
    • Ad hominem

Narration
  • To tell a story with people, places, and events
  • The whole story works as evidence for an argumentative thesis
  • Still be wary of fallacies, including:
    • Appeals to pity (a “sob story”)
    • Hasty generalization (this happened to me this one time so it’s true for everybody)
  • Avoid these fallacies by qualifying your claims
    • Rely on more than just appeals to pathos to develop your story
    • Example → instead of saying “everyone can relate to...” say “many people can relate to...”
    • Example → instead of saying “no one likes...” say “few people like...”

Reading a Narrative Argument
  • Identify the thesis of the piece (not always a clear thesis statement; may need to be inferred)
  • Identify evidence for the thesis
    • There may be explicit points of evidence
    • The story as a whole may serve as evidence
  • Read critically:
    • HOW or TO WHAT EXTENT does this story prove the thesis?
    • Are there claims made without sufficient evidence or development?

Writing a Narrative Argument
  • Either clearly imply your thesis, or directly state it somewhere in the piece as a thesis statement.
  • Have a clear beginning and end to your story
  • Develop the story with engaging details that make the reader as interested as if it were an entertaining short story:
    • Use rich descriptive language
    • Use dialogue, where appropriate
  • Evaluate your writing critically
    • Does the story you tell actually serve as clear evidence for your thesis?
    • Did your story ramble anywhere?

Compare-Contrast
  • To compare means to explain how two or more things are similar.
  • To contrast means to explain how two or more things are different.
  • There’s no reason to compare or contrast things that don’t share any characteristics.
    • Apples & oranges? Both fruit.
    • Potatoes & books? Nothing in common.
  • Watch out for the faulty analogy fallacy in this method of development.

Reading a Compare-Contrast Piece
  • Identify the main topics the speaker is trying to explain.
  • Identify the points of similarity and/or the points of difference.
    • What argument is made about each topic through this comparison or contrast?
    • Does the speaker take a “side” in this comparison or contrast, or in other words, have a bias?
  • Read critically → is the speaker making fair comparisons or points of contrast?

Writing a Compare-Contrast Piece
  • Clearly establish your main topics for comparison or contrast
    • Develop this as the main claim or thesis.
  • Clearly take readers through the characteristics that are similar and/or different between your main topics
    • Develop this as your line of reasoning throughout your body paragraphs.
  • Evaluate your writing to watch out for FALLACIES.
    • Do the two things have enough in common to be compared, or is it a faulty analogy?

Defintion/Description
  • To explain what a concept, phenomenon, person, event, etc. is like
  • Answers the question “what is the nature of ____?”
  • Watch out for hasty generalization fallacies: one example is not necessarily representative of all things in that category.

Reading a Definition/Description Piece
  • Identify the topic being defined or described
  • Identify evidence for the thesis (which may be inferred rather than directly stored)
    • Evidence may come from rich descriptions
    • Sometimes multiple perspectives or definitions are given
    • Several examples of something in the class of item being described/defined might be present
  • Read critically:
    • Has the speaker provided enough evidence to give the audience a full understanding of the topic?
    • Has the audience used any fallacies (like hasty generalizations)?

Writing a Definition/Description Piece
  • Either clearly imply your thesis, or directly state it somewhere in the piece as a thesis statement.
  • Typically developed through:
    • Rich details and imagery
    • Examples
    • Brief narrative or anecdotes
  • Watch out for hasty generalization fallacies