CONVENTIONAL RHETORICAL CLASSES OF THE ESSAY, Or Types of essays.

1- Analysis a method of exposition by logical division, applicable to anything that can be divided into component parts: an object, such as an automobile or a watch; an institution, such as a college; or a process, such as mining coal or writing a poem. Parts or processes may be described technically and factually or impressionistically and selectively. In the latter method the parts are organized in relation to a single governing idea so that the mutually supporting function of each of the components in the total structure becomes clear to the reader. Parts may be explained in terms of their characteristic function. Analysis may also be concerned with the connection of events; given this condition or series of conditions, what effects will follow. 2- Argument often contains the following parts: the proposition, that is an assertion that leads to the issue; the issue, that is the precise phase of the proposition which the writer is attempting to prove and the question on which the whole argument rests; the evidence, the facts and opinions which the author offers as testimony. He may order the evidence deductively by proceeding from certain premises to a conclusion; or inductively by generalizing from a number of instances and drawing a conclusion. Informal arguments frequently make greater use of the methods of exposition than they do of formal logic. The attempt to distinguish between argument and persuasion is sometimes made by reference to means (Argument makes appeals to reason: persuasion, to emotions); sometimes to ends (Argument causes someone to change his mind; persuasion moves him to action). These distinctions, however, are more academic than functional, for in practice argument and persuasion are not discrete entities. Yet the proof in argument rests largely upon the objectivity of evidence; the proof in persuasion, upon the heightened use of language. 3- Cause and Effect a seemingly simple method of development in which either the cause of a particular effect or the effects of a particular cause are investigated. However, because of the philosophical difficulties surrounding causality, the writer should be cautious in ascribing causes. For the explanation of most processes, it is probably safer to proceed in a sequential order, using transitional words to indicate the order of the process. 4- Classification the division of a whole into the classes that comprise it; or the placement of a subject into the whole of which it is a part. 5- Comparison and Contrast the presentation of a subject by indicating similarities between two or more things (comparison); by indicating differences (contrast). The basic elements in a comparative process, then, are (1) the terms of the comparison, or the various objects compared, and (2) the points of likeness or difference between the objects compared. Often comparison and contrast are used in definition and other methods of exposition. 6- Definition in logic, the placing of the word to be defined in a general class and then showing how it differs from other members of the class; in rhetoric*, the meaningful extension (usually enriched by the use of detail, concrete illustration, anecdote, metaphor) of a logical definition in order to answer fully, clearly, and often implicitly the question, What is ---?

7- Description that form of discourse whose primary purpose is to present factual information about an object or experience (objective description); or to report the impression or evaluation of an object or experience (subjective description). Most description combines two purposes. It was a frightening night. (An evaluation with which others might disagree.) The wind blew the shingles off the north side of the souse and drove the rain under the door. (Two facts about which there can be little disagreement). Description is often organized either around a dominant impression or by means of a spatial arrangement. 8- Exposition that form of discourse which explains or informs. Most papers required of college students are exposition. The METHODS of exposition are identification, definition, classification, illustration, comparison and contrast, and analysis. 9- Identification a process preliminary to definition of a subject. As a method of exposition, it brings the subject into focus by describing it. 10- Illustration a particular member of a class used to explain or dramatize a class, a type, a thing, a person, a method, an idea, or a condition. The idea explained may be either stated or implied. For purposes of illustration, the individual member of a class must be a fair representation of the distinctive qualities of the class. The use of illustrations, examples, and specific instances adds to the concreteness and vividness of writing. 11- Narration a form of discourse the purpose of which is to tell a story. If a story is significant in itself, the particulars appealing to the imagination, it is narration. If a story illustrates a point in exposition or argument, it may be called illustrative narration. If a story outlines a process step by step, the particulars appealing to the understanding, it is designated as expository narration. Narration may be organized chronologically or in terms of point of view. *rhetoric: the art of using language effectively
From The Essay by Michael F. Shugrue; Macmillan Publishing Col., Inc. New York.1981

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