English

PATTERNS OF IDEA DEVELOPMENT

A. General to Particular
This is a pattern of idea development that begins with a general idea or statement and is
followed by specific details to support and explain it. The details become specific as
development continues. This pattern is also known as the deductive method. (first, second,
third, finally)

B. Claim and Counterclaim

To write a claim is to present an arguable idea that reflects your interpretation, belief, or opinion. To
make a counterclaim is to deny the claim with corresponding reasons or evidences. A counterclaim
is the strongest argument against a claim. To present an idea using this pattern, a writer or speaker
starts by stating the claim then followed by the counterclaim with reasons or evidences to support
the counterclaim.
(Claim, assert, affirm, agree, according to, apparently, believe, estimate, evidently, imagine, likely,
might, perhaps, probably, seem, suggest, on the other hand, yet, still, while it is true to some, It
might be true but…, There is an argument that…Evidence shows that…, a study reveals that…, The
work of (author) indicates that…)

C. Problem-Solution
This pattern of idea development consists of two sections, the problem and the solution. In
the problem section, the writer aims to identify the problem and presents the evidence. In the
solution section, the writer identifies the possible solution and supports the effectiveness of
this solution over the others.

D. Cause and Effect

This pattern of idea development is used to show the relationship between ideas, and topics.
It describes how one event influenced a later event or what caused an event to take place.

Outline
– is simply a framework for presenting the main and supporting ideas for particular subject or
topic. It is also used to develop a framework for thinking about what should be the
organization and eventual contents of your paper. It also helps you predict the overall
structure and flow of your paper.

Purpose of an outline:
• Helps you organize your ideas
• Presents your material in a logical form
• Shows the relationship among ideas in your writing
• Groups ideas into main points

5 Steps to a Strong Outline:

1. Choose your topic and establish your purpose
2. Create a list of your main ideas
3. Organize your main ideas
4. Flush out your main points
5. Review and adjust

Types of Outline:
1. Alphanumeric outline- an outline that uses letters and numbers in the following order:
I. Roman Numerals
A. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, etc.
B. Represent main ideas to be covered in the paper in the order they will be presented
II. Uppercase Letters
A. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, etc.
B. Represent subtopics within each main idea
III. Arabic Numbers
A. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, etc.
B. Represent details or subdivisions within subtopics
IV. Lowercase Letters
A. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, l, m, etc.
B. Represent details within subdivisions

2. Full-sentence outline:
● Each roman numeral (I, II, III, IV…) indicates the start of a new paragraph.
I. is the first sentence of the introduction,
II. is the first sentence of the first paragraph of the body
III. is the first sentence of the second paragraph of the body, and so on
● Each capital letter (A, B, C, D…) indicates a main point within the structure
of the paragraph. So, in our introduction:
A. is the attention seeker
B. is another attention seeker
C. describes a point that makes the topic personal
D. is the thesis statement.
● Each Arabic numeral (1, 2, 3, 4…) indicates a sentence or piece of supporting evidence for
each main point. So, in the first body paragraph (II.), point A. is a general statement that
needs some additional support, so:
1. provides a supporting statement of fact and the citation
 2. provides another sentence with supporting evidence as does 3

Primary source Secondary source

• provide raw information and first- • provide second-hand information

hand evidence and commentary from other
researchers
• are anything that gives you direct • are anything that describes,
evidence about the people, events, interprets, evaluates, or analyzes
or phenomena that you are information from primary sources
researching
• contain new information that has • contain information that has been
not been interpreted, evaluated, analyzed, evaluated, synthesized,
paraphrased or condensed reworded, or interprete

Examples of Primary Sources of Information

Research Field Primary Sources

• History • Letters, Diaries
• Photographs, Video Footages
• Official documents, Records
• Manuscripts
• Autobiographies
• Art and Literature • Novels, Poems
• Paintings, Art Installations
• Films, Performances
• Communication and Social • Interview transcripts
Studies • Recordings of speeches
• Newspapers, Magazines
• Social Media posts
• Law and Politics • Court Records
• Legal Texts
 • Government Documents
• Sciences • Empirical Studies
• Statistical Data
Examples of Secondary Sources of Information

• Journal articles that comment on • Criticism of literature, art works,

or analyze research or music
• Textbooks, Biographies • Dissertations
• Dictionaries and Encyclopedias • Newspaper Editorial/ Opinion
pieces
• Books that interpret and analyze • Biographies
• Political Commentary • Review of plays or books

Synthesizing
● a text is the process of pulling together background knowledge, newly learned ideas,
connections, inference and summaries into a complete and original understanding of the text.
● as you read, you remember familiar information, create new thinking, discover original ideas,
and achieve insight to new perspectives

Process of synthesizing
 ● stop to collect your thoughts
● identify the main idea
● put information into your own words
● respond to the information
● combine new information into your own words and add to your prior knowledge

Paragraph
● is a group of sentences organized to discuss a topic. In fact, the main rule of paragraph
writing is to focus on one idea or topic. To be able to write an effective paragraph, one must
have the essential parts.

Topic sentence
● presents the topic of the paragraph. It will serve as a guide for the writer to keep his or her
writing under control. This is why, a topic sentence is called the "controlling idea" of a
paragraph.

Sentence
● set of words that is complete in itself, typically containing a subject and predicate

Well - written paragraph

● all sentence within a paragraph relate to one main idea or topic

Series of unrelated sentences

● group of sentences that disconnects from the main idea or topic sentence

Narrative
● tells a story which can be fiction (made-up story) or non-fiction (real events).
● to entertain readers
● first person to third person

Expository
● informational texts that present factual data on a topic through description, sequence,
comparison and contrast, cause and effect, and problem-solution.
● explain something
● to simplify and expose things

Explanatory
● explains a particular subject or topic through ideas that support it. It is a kind of factual text
that explains how or why things are. It elaborates on how or why something occurs or give
information on how to do something.
Persuasive
● intends to convince the readers/listeners to believe, perform a certain action or change mind

Descriptive
● It may pertain to places, persons, animals, featuring their qualities and distinctive aspects to
give a clear and complete description of something that happened.

Types of speech according to purpose

Informative or expository speech

● is mainly performed for the purpose of providing the audience with a clear understanding of a
concept or idea. ex. lectures of teachers

Persuasive speech
● is given solely for the purpose of convincing the audience to agree with the speaker’s
opinion. ex. campaign speeches

Entertainment speech
● aims to share laughter and enjoyment to the audience. ex. speeches of comedians and
performers

Types of speech according to delivery

Manuscript speech
● is the word-for-word iteration of a written message using visuals aids

Memorized speech
● reciting a written message word-for-word from memory

Extemporaneous speech
● is the presentation of a carefully planned and rehearsed speech, spoken in a conversational
manner using brief notes. Preparation is limited.

Impromptu speech
● is the presentation of a short message without advanced preparation and it is mostly for
people knowledge about the subject