Modes of Paragraph Development

Learning Objective

To identify, describe, and give exampl

es of modes of paragraph developme
nt
Key Understanding
 Knowledge of the different modes of paragraph
development will help the student be equipped
with a variety of tools in writing for different
purposes.

Key Questions
 What are the different modes of paragraph
development?
 How do these modes of paragraph development
differ from each other?
Causal Analysis
Causal Analysis

CAUSAL ANALYSIS is a mode of paragraph

development that...
 Tackles the causes and effects of a particular
event, phenomenon, or situation;
 Deals with the study of the relationship between
or among at least two happenings;
 Answers the questions “why” and “how”; and

 Usually makes use of keywords like

"therefore", "because", "following", and
"previously".
Causal Analysis
A writer’s purpose for using
Causal Analysis as his/her
primary mode of paragraph
development can largely be
categorized into any–or all–of the
following three.

 Informative, which primarily explains;

 Persuasive, which attempts to convince the
reader to believe what the writer is saying; and
 Speculative, which suggests possibilities
Causal Analysis

What is a CAUSAL CHAIN?

 It is a set of cause and effect that leads to

multiple other sets–all happening one after the
other.

 It is common in an essay that uses Causal

Analysis as one of its modes of paragraph
development.
Causal Analysis

Illustrating the Causal Chain

EXAMPLE: Having a perfect score in an exam in a major subject
If treated as an "effect",
probable "causes" are...
studying well
arriving early for the exam
schedule
eating a full meal beforehand
If treated as an "cause",
probable "effects" are...
feeling good for the rest of the
day
receiving praises from the
teacher, classmates, and
parents as well
passing the subject itself

getting enough sleep the night landing on the honor roll

before
Causal Analysis

Important Reminders in Dealing with Causal

Analysis
 In Causal Chains:
• Identify first the primary and secondary
causes and effects of the situation to
maintain order and coherence in your essay,
and also to avoid losing focus;
• Concentrate on the immediate rather than the
remote causes and/or effects of your paper.
 Be wary of the logical fallacy of faulty causality
or propter hoc, ergo propter hoc (Latin for
“after this, therefore because of this”).
Narration
Narration

NARRATION is a mode of paragraph development

that...
 Is, in its basest definition, "storytelling;
 Is a sequence of events, not necessarily
arranged in chronological order, told by a
narrator, happening in a particular place at a
particular time;
 Creates a world based on the writer’s
imagination; and
 Revisits a world based on the writer’s memory.
 Narration

Characteristics of an Effective Narrative

1. Vivid Description of Details

• Take the reader into the narrative by letting

him/her feel how it is like in the world of your
story.

• Show rather than tell.

 Narration

Characteristics of an Effective Narrative

1. Vivid Description of Details

In the following excerpt lifted from The Day the Dancers Came (pp.
84-93 in the textbook), writer Bienvenido N. Santos is successful in
bringing to life the performance of the dancers that Fil, the
protagonist in the story, recorded in his magic sound mirror:

“… A boy and a girl sat on the floor holding two bamboo poles by
their ends flat on floor, clapping them together, then apart, and
pounding them on the boards, while dancers swayed and balanced
their lithe forms, dipping their bare brown legs in and out of the
clapping bamboos, the pace gradually increasing into a fury of
wood on wood in a counterpoint of panic among the dancers and in
a harmonious flurry of toes and ankles escaping certain pain –
crushed bones, and bruised flesh, and humiliation. …”
 Narration

Characteristics of an Effective Narrative

2. Consistent Point of View (POV)

• There are three most commonly used POV: first-

person, second-person , and third-person POV.

• Among the three, the most often used is the third

person POV.
 Narration

Characteristics of an Effective Narrative

2. Consistent Point of View (POV)

Third-person POV

• pronouns he, she, it, him, her, they, him, her,

its, their, and them consistently appear in the
narration
• Used to convey the narrator as an
“omniscient” and “dispassionate” observer.
 Narration

Characteristics of an Effective Narrative

2. Consistent Point of View (POV)

In the sample text of The Day the Dancers Came, the third-person
POV is used, as shown in this excerpt:

“‘Naturally. Who says you won’t?’ Fil argued, thinking how

wonderful it would be if he could join the company of dancers from
the Philippines, show them around walk with them in the snow,
watch their eyes as they stared about them, answer their questions,
tell them everything they wanted to know about the changing
seasons in this strange land. They would pick up fistfuls of snow,
crunch it in their fingers or shove it into their mouths.…”
 Narration

Characteristics of an Effective Narrative

3. Consistent Verb Tense

• A consistent verb tense is needed to make clear

to the reader whether the story in the narrative
had already happened, has been happening for
some time now, happens on a regular basis, is
currently happening and will do so indefinitely, or
will happen sometime in the future.
 Narration

Characteristics of an Effective Narrative

4. Well-Defined Point or Significance

• A narrative should have a theme.

Theme is…
‒ the unifying thought or idea born out of
all the other elements of the story;
‒ a universal human truth that is not
usually blatantly said in a story; rather,
unraveled as the reader reads.
 Narration

What Are the Different Narrative Devices?

1. Anecdote
• A brief narrative that is written from the writer’s
memory
• Can be used as an introduction to an essay, as
an example to illustrate a point, or as a closing
statement that caps things off nicely in an essay
or as a memento to the reader that will make
him/her remember the narrative
 Narration

What Are the Different Narrative Devices?

2. Flashback
• An event that happened in the past
• A quick look at something that had already
happened
• Not necessarily the focus of a story; rather, more
of an addition to explain or to elaborate on a
point made by the writer in the narrative
 Narration

What Are the Different Narrative Devices?

3. Time Stretch
• A single event in the story that the author
focuses writing about

4. Time Summary
• Characterized by jamming together multiple
events and/or shortening a relatively long period
of time
• Can be determined by the expressions such as
“In a single day…”, “Overnight…”, “After the
winter season…”, “After around a week or so…”,
“A few years after…”, etc.
 Narration

What Are the Different Narrative Devices?

5. Flashforward
• An event that has yet to happen in the story
• A quick look at something that will happen in the
future

6. Dialogue
• A word or a series of words enclosed in a pair of
quotation marks, which signal the characters’
spoken language
Definition
Definition
DEFINITION is a mode of paragraph development
that...
 Explains the essence of a word, an idea, a concept, or
an expression;
 Should be done clearly or through specific terms so
that even the most abstract concepts (e.g. love,
happiness, passion, lust, justice, globalization, etc.) can
be understood easily and relatable to the human
perception;

 Gives information to the reader as to what the author

intends to explain and not argue or persuade; and
 Is also a way of clarifying misinterpretation or
misuse of conventional understanding of words.
Definition
Denotation Vs. Connotation
 Denotation is…
‒ the primary, explicit, or literal definition of a
word;
‒ the meaning of a word based on a dictionary.

 Connotation is…
‒ the secondary meaning of a word;
‒ not necessarily included in the dictionary;
rather, it is how people understand a word based
on their own personal or consensual experiences,
and not based on a dictionary.
Definition
Illustrating Denotation Vs. Connotation

Word Denotation Connotation

The flower or a flowering stem of any

of numerous wild and cultivated
plants of the genus Rosa; esp. the
large, many-petalled flower of any of
Rose the numerous cultivated varieties of Love and romance
this plant, typically red, white, or
yellow, and often scented,
but also occurring in a wide variety of
other forms and colors
Definition
What Are the Other Techniques that Can Be Used in
a Definition Essay?
1. Analysis
• The process of breaking down a concept into its
constituent parts
• Also entails detailing in which one, rather than
zooming out and describing the concept as a whole,
zooms in and focuses on describing the aspects that
make up a concept

Example:
The guitar is a musical instrument that produces sound primarily through
strumming its strings. Its sound is modified or manipulated through the
interaction of the strings with the other parts of the guitar, which are the
headstock or simply the head, the tuners, the nut, the neck, the sound
hole, the body, and the bridge.
Definition
What Are the Other Techniques that Can Be Used in
a Definition Essay?
2. Collocation
• Means that there are words or expressions that are
usually almost immediately associated with the
concept you are trying to define
• The words or expressions are usually located
together, hence the name “collocation”

Example:
Passion is usually collocated with the terms “love” and “lust”. While these
three words are not only compared but also contrasted in the sample text
above, they are most often defined in terms of each other because they
share a common semantic feature of “intense liking”.
Definition
What Are the Other Techniques that Can Be Used in
a Definition Essay?
3. Comparison
• Associating the word or expression being defined with
something else not necessarily synonymous with it
• Highly dependent on imagery which creates a vivid picture of a
concept in the reader’s mind
• Usually used through analogy or through figurative language like
similes and metaphors
• Used to make abstract concepts more understandable by using
comparison to appeal to the human senses of sight, sound,
smell, taste, and touch

Example:
“Groping for imagery I find myself thinking of… passion as hot, strong,
almost thick coffee. … Coffee unleashes energy, has a full-bloodied flavor,
a touch of bitterness unpleasant to others, but delicious to the drinker.”
Definition
What Are the Other Techniques that Can Be Used in
a Definition Essay?
4. Contrast
• Understanding how at least two similar concepts are
different from each other

Example:
“Love is softness; passion is smoulder. Love might be contentment,
but passion is adventure. It must be free, untethered. It must explore,
drive beyond the boundaries, break moulds. Passion discovers, unearths,
examines, magnifies, revels in details. Love rolls up details into a
coherent whole. Love is passive; passion hyperactive. Where love is
melancholic, passion is pain.”
Definition
What Are the Other Techniques that Can Be Used in
a Definition Essay?
5. Etymology
• The history of a word
• Explains the evolution of a word or how it has come
to be

Example:
“Appassionato is the past participle of a Latin word that means ‘to
impassion’… If passion is so good, then why do many fear it? Because by
its etymology (from the Latin word ‘passus,’ past participle of ‘pati’
meaning to suffer) it brings pain. To be capable of passion one must be
open, vulnerable and brave enough to stare pain in the eye.”
Definition
What Are the Other Techniques that Can Be Used in
a Definition Essay?
6. Exemplification and Illustration
• Exemplification
‒ Defining something by giving examples
• Illustration
‒ Giving an example and focusing on it to elaborate
on the concept you are trying to define

Example:
Books are considered to be credible and reputable resource materials to
consult when you are trying to find the definition of a word. Some
examples are dictionaries, thesauri, encyclopedias, and manuals.
Definition
What Are the Other Techniques that Can Be Used in
a Definition Essay?
7. Extended Definition
• A personal interpretation of an author to an abstract
and multifaceted concept
• Goes beyond denotation and connotation
• Gives the reader a new and fresh understanding of a
concept as it largely draws upon the author’s own
perspective of the world

Example:
“I believe that a life lived with passion shimmers, shines, rises above the
ordinary. Allow me to seduce you into passionate existence. To think, to
sing, maybe even to sigh—appassionato.”
Definition
What Are the Other Techniques that Can Be Used in
a Definition Essay?
8. Function
• Know what is the purpose of the word or concept
• Answers the question: What is it used for?

Example:
Whether it may be an ancient sundial, a classy pocket watch, a Rolex or
Swatch wrist watch, an antique grandfather’s clock, or the mighty Big Ben
of London, a clock, first and foremost, is a mechanical device or
technology whose primary purpose is to measure time.
Definition
What Are the Other Techniques that Can Be Used in
a Definition Essay?
9. Negation
• A technique that you can use to define a word or
concept by explaining what it is not

Example:
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not
proud. It does not dishonour others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth.”

– 1 Corinthians 13: 4–6

Definition
What Are the Other Techniques that Can Be Used in
a Definition Essay?
10. Synonyms
• A single word or phrase that shares almost the same
meaning with the concept being tried to be defined

Example:
According to Dictionary.com, “mawkish” means “characterized by sickly
sentimentality” or “weakly emotional.” It can be considered synonymous to
“nauseating” and “sickening” due to dependence on too much emotion.
Definition
What Are the Other Techniques that Can Be Used in
a Definition Essay?
10. Synonyms
• Slang or colloquial language can also be something
considered under the umbrella term of synonyms.

Example:
Another name for hashish is marijuana; popular slang in the United States
also calls it “pot” or “grass.”
– Concepcion D. Dadufalza, Reading into Writing 2:
A Handbook-Workbook-Reader for Critical Reading and Writing in Expository Discourse
Division and Classification
Division and Classification
DIVISION is a mode of paragraph development
that...
 Breaks down a concept into its constituent parts;
 Necessitates separating items–creating
demarcating lines or clear distinctions between or
among little things that make up the whole.

CLASSIFICATION is a mode of paragraph

development that...
 Entails categorization which enables one to group
together items according to their similarities.
 Division and Classification
Principles in Dividing and Classifying Things to
Make Writing More Orderly and Systematized

1. Consistency
• Characterized by having parallel similarities in the
divisions made in writing

2. Exclusiveness
• Shows no overlapping between or among the items
divided and classified together

3. Completeness
• No important part is omitted from the writing
Comparison and Contrast
Comparison and Contrast
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST is a mode of
paragraph development that...
 Tackles the likeness or similarities, and differences of at
least two subjects or topics;
 Makes an unbiased discussion or gives an attempt to
persuade a reader into believing particular
perspectives about the world we live in;
 Helps us make choices, whether it is trivial or serious;
 Can be used to simply entertain audiences with
rarely perceived differences of seemingly similar
objects, or rarely perceived similarities of seemingly
different objects; and
 Could inadvertently lead the reader into an insight
about the human experience.
 Comparison and Contrast
The most common technique
that writers use to demonstrate
comparison and contrast is...
ANALOGY.

 Analogy
• Delves beneath the surface differences of at least
two subjects expose unperceived and
unsuspecting similarities and/or differences
• Often used when a foreign or abstract concept is
compared with a much more tangible or more
familiar term for readers to better understand the
author’s intended meaning
Example:
Just as a sword is the weapon of a warrior, a pen is the weapon
of a writer.
 Comparison and Contrast
Examples of Other Figurative Language that Best
Showcase How Comparison and Contrast Is Used
1. Simile
• Shows direct comparison between between or among
objects
• Almost always used with the words “like” and “as”

Examples:

She was a peasant girl like Joan of Arc.

Your eyes are as bright as the stars in the night sky.

 Comparison and Contrast
Examples of Other Figurative Language that Best
Showcase How Comparison and Contrast Is Used
2. Metaphor
• Shows indirect comparison between between or
among objects

Examples:

“The first hammer-blow in the railway has fallen on me!”

Time is gold.
 Comparison and Contrast
Examples of Other Figurative Language that Best
Showcase How Comparison and Contrast Is Used
3. Oxymoron
• Two seemingly opposite terms are juxtaposed next
to– or near–each other in a single expression

Examples:

Act naturally, all alone, alone together, auto pilot, a blinding light, “… dead
in childbirth…”, deafening silence, a fine mess, a new classic
 Comparison and Contrast
Examples of Other Figurative Language that Best
Showcase How Comparison and Contrast Is Used
4. Personification
• Non-humans (e.g. animals, inanimate objects,
abstractions) are assigned human characteristics
and/or actions
• Literally means "the process of making something
human"

Examples:

Love is blind, the sun is beating down on my back, time is a betrayer – a

villain, the wind is howling
Exemplification
Exemplification

EXEMPLIFICATION is a mode of paragraph

development that...
 Enumerates or gives examples;

 Makes abstract ideas more understandable to

human perception by appealing to the five human
senses; and

 Provides specific instances to support a claim.

 Exemplification
Some Exemplification Techniques to Establish
Credibility in Arguments
1. Visual Illustrations
• Appeal to the sense of sight
• Can be used to concretize abstract concepts like
poverty and love

2. Facts
• Concepts, ideas, and statements that are generally
assumed to be true, real, and/or existing
• Useful in supporting a point as most people accept
these facts as already part of reality that they are
almost always uncontested
 Exemplification
Some Exemplification Techniques to Establish
Credibility in Arguments
3. Anecdotes
• Brief narratives within a piece of writing
• Serve as supporting points or claims that explain or
elaborate the author’s intended argument
• Powerful instruments of persuasion
• Based on the author’s own memory and portrays
him/her in a relatable and understandable way because
anecdotes, ultimately, humanizes the storyteller
4. Details
• Entails analyzing, the process of breaking down a
concept or idea into its constituent parts
• The minute parts, as opposed to the big picture
 Exemplification
Some Exemplification Techniques to Establish
Credibility in Arguments
5. Opinions
• Individual interpretations of people on certain events,
situations, ideas, and/or concepts
• Naturally vary from one person to another due to
people’s different backgrounds and personalities
• Can have the power to make a claim well-founded as
these are first-hand reactions or reviews from people
6. Observations
• Make use of description which is appealing to the five
human senses
• Can be done anytime as all is needed are the five
senses
Persuasion
Persuasion

PERSUASION is a mode of paragraph development

that...
 Makes use of pathos, or appeal to the audience’s
emotion

 Is almost always coupled with argumentation

which makes use of logos, or appeal to the
audience's logic
Persuasion

Three Types of Audience to Keep in Mind When

Defending a Stance
1. Supportive Audience
• Spectators who already briefed or informed on the
issue at hand
• They will likely be supportive of the claims and
arguments

2. Wavering Audience
• Spectators who are not readily accepting to the ideas
• They may listen but does automatically believe what
is being claimed or argued on
Persuasion

Three Types of Audience to Keep in Mind When

Defending a Stance

3. Hostile Audience
• Spectators who are difficult to please and to win
• May represent the opposing stance of the issue being
tackled