TIPS-Definition & Exemplification (rev. Sept '14)

Exemplification / Illustration This particular mode of essay writing is so simple that we often make it more difficult than it needs to be.  Basically, exemplification essays make a simple claim in the thesis, usually one that asserts that something is good or inferior or beneficial or detrimental.  The body of the essay consists in a series of well organized and convincing examples that answer the basic reader question: Why do you think so? Students are often tempted to complicate this simple idea and write process analysis essays or compare/contrast essays or narratives.  While it's possible that elements of these and other rhetorical types can be found in good exemplification essays, your primary means of developing ideas in this assignment should be simply the creation of good examples. Of utmost importance is specificity.  Too often I see exemplification essays that only vaguely refer to the author's experiences or insights, and these are very "underwhelming."  If you look at the sample exemplification essays in Wyrick, you will notice that the examples are unique, distinct, concrete, and specific.  If you look at "Shooting an Elephant" by George Orwell, you will notice that he does not deny us a single detail.  As a result we are moved--sometimes more than we want to be--to appreciate his most terrible human predicament.  Use such essays as models to imitate.  Use your powers of description to provoke your reader to feel something (not just to think something) by delivering the highest quality examples you can possibly create. Finally, make sure you use at least three examples to "prove" your point.  Using fewer examples is usually not convincing. Once you've selected your strongest examples from the many possibilities that exist for your topic, arrange them in the body of your essay from least important to most important.  this will have the "one, two, knock-out punch" effect on your readers. Exemplification and Illustration I. Exemplification means "giving examples".   Illustration means "making ideas clearer by giving examples or by using diagrams or pictures".   An example is always one of a larger "set" or "class", eg Mercury is an example of an element.   Exemplification and illustration are common techniques in academic writing. Here are some expressions that are often used to introduce examples:   for example    a sample of this... e.g.           particularly for instance    as an illustration as an example  a typical example is ________ such as   Verbs which are used in this connection include:   illustrate   }     and sometimes     {  clarify (to make clear) exemplify  }                      {  elucidate (to make clear)   eg: This can be { clarified with an {example from...              {elucidated      {illustration     II. Read the following four passages. Each one gives an example,     or some examples, from a particular set or class. Notice how each     example is introduced.   1. Waste material, such as old rages, cotton waste, paper, etc.,    should be removed from the welding area.    * "old rages", "cotton waste" and "paper" are examples of waste material.   2. Many proverbs exhibit special proverbial structures which no normal    grammar would describe as complete grammatical sentences. We find for    instance: Like farther, like son, Better late than never.    * "Like Father, like son", and "Better late than never" are examples    of proverbs which have a 'special proverbial structure'.   3. There are some very interesting legends in our folk-lore about the    origins of the peoples of modern Ghana. For example, some of the Asante    believe that their ancestors came out of a hole in the ground, near    Asante Manso. (F.K. Baah)    *The belief that "their ancestors came out of a hole in the ground" is    an example of a legend that the writer believes to be 'very interesting'.   4. If automation means that higher output can be produced by fewer workers    with more machines, then this could lead to shorter hours of work for    most people. Writers such as Aldous Huxley have carried this suggestion    very far and described a future in which all time is leisure time and    there is no work at all.    * Aldous Huxley is given as an example of a writer who has written about    a world with advanced automation.   5. Many industries and engineering projects depend on the study of Geology    for their survival and development: the water supply industry, the    exploitation of oil and coal, the construction of tunnels, canals and    docks, and even the mining of diamonds and precious metals.   III. In the following passages, find the examples or illustration, and say      which set or class the examples belong to. Underline the words or      phrases that signal the example. Pay particular attention to the      position in the sentence of the example /illustration.   1. A market stall can be given as an example of a one man business    organization.   2. The effect of technology on society can be illustrated by the change    that was evoked by the invention of priting.   3. The Second World War stimulated the production of manganese and bauxite.    Nothing illustrates this better than the case of Sieera Leone, where the    value of minerals exported increased from £252 in 1929 to £3.3 million    in 1945.   4. The last decade of the nineteenth century and the first three decades    of the twentieth may well be described as the railway age in West Africa.    Between 1890 and 1926, the French, for instance, constructed railways    from Dakar to Bamako in Senegal and Mali, from Conakry to Kankan in Guinea    and from Cotonou to Paraku in Dahomey.   5. The earliest examples of man-made glass have found among the remains of    the Ancient Middle Eastern civilizations. In Mesopotamia, glass beads    believed to be nearly 4,5000 years old have been unearthed.     IV. Pictures and diagrams are often used to illustrate an idea.     Certain expressions are commonly used to refer to pictures or diagrams.   (a) as shown in Figure1, Table 2, the picture on page 6. (b) as seen in the illustration on page .... (c) as can be seen in .... (d) (see Fig. 1) (e) Figure 1 shows .... (f) .... is exemplified in .... (g) a .... Is shown in ...   Exemplification Essay: An exemplification essay is often relevant and believable. Examples bring an issue to life. Example structure usually begins with a generalization, a topic sentence, a main idea or main point. Next, you move to a vivid explanation using examples to illustrate the main idea. Examples can work as the beginning or ending of many kinds of essays, especially those that need to be persuasive. Types of Examples Anecdotes Facts Stories Illustrations Person Sample Place One Item Group Art Types of Examples: Brief Examples: Used frequently within essays, and are usually concrete, accessible, straightforward ideas, not too complex. Extended Examples: Longer and more detailed. Concrete illustrations of ideas are required to support ideas that are more complex than those required for brieft examples. How do examples improve your writing? They can: Make your prose vivid by showing instead of telling. Writing that shows: Is not general, as a topic sentence or a thesis sentence might be Avoids the to-be verbs (was, have has had, is etc.) and uses the dynamic verbs instead Uses concrete details Uses adjectives and adverbs Make your writing more exciting and readable Set an appropriately energetic, animated or believable tone Make it clear Make it accessible Vary sentence length Vary sentence order and type Strategies for exemplification: Internal POV (Inside out Point of View): Providing concrete details to back up an assertion or claims that you’re making. They supplement writing with detailed information External POV (Point of View): The overall exemplification pattern for the entire essay. Illustrate  a situation Make a point Supports the thesis with examples drawn from experience or research on a topic Explain a situation or a problem Analyze a situation, point, attitude, or argument Exemplification, as with writing in general, is about balance. Balanced hybrids of differing writing styles, types or modes Balanced between general and specific focuses Topic sentences are somewhat general Supporting sentences in paragraphs are more specific Exemplification is a type of analysis Causal Analysis is describing “Why” something happened Process Analysis is “How” something happened Analysis is about asking questions. Consider these common questions: What is the current situation? What kinds of problems are going on now? What kinds of problems were going on in the past? ?Exemplification should not be general, it should be specific. Consider the following table comparing general with specific items. General Specific As the leader of our country, the president vetoed the proposed legislation. Despite public outrage, on July 19th, 2006, President Bush vetoed Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 (_H.R._810_), which was a bill proposing to amend the Public Health Service Act to provide for human embryonic stem cell research. The coach yelled at us. Coach Williams assembled the Jets in a row, and went to B.B. Gant first. He started out cool as he told him to keep his eye on left field. Williams started to yell at Syd Coop to turn his body slightly to the right, and hit it to right field where there’s less coverage. As he progressed down the line, he began to holler at players. By the time he got to the last kid, the spit and sweat flew everywhere. He looked like a bright-red lawn sprinkler. ?Which is the most specific? Which of the following are most specific? Hammer Tool Hardware Gems Diamonds Jewelry Washing machine Electrical appliance Household convenience Difficulties of the first year in college Problems in college Overscheduling the first year of college Buying a carUndertaking a major financial commitment   Undertaking a major financial commitment Being independent and on your own Rolls Coins Quarter _http://www.miracosta.cc.ca.us/home/gfloren/spdef1.htm_ SPECIFIC. Examples, illustrations, facts, details, statistics, descriptions, and narratives are said to be "specific." GENERAL.  Words, phrases, and statements that refer to ideas, thoughts, patterns of reality, groups of things, or categories of a thing are said to be "general." The more objects in the group, the more general the term you use for the group.  Let's consider more examples below. general--> more specific--> most specific the street the main avenue Foothill Avenue a woman a female hero Margaret Sanger a man a male hero MohatmaGandhi a tree an evergreen tree juniper the college the community college Floren College some people ten people ten college students most general <--more general <--specific   As you think about using examples: Play with the details Let patterns emerge from the details Think logically Adjust the order and organization of your examples and illustrations Think of the uses for your example Critique the effect of the example Practice using examples to support your argument As you Read Example Essays: Ask the Major Questions; What does the title mean? What is the essay’s context? What are the writer’s attitudes? What are the writer’s views? What is the writer’s purpose? How does the writer see his audience? What makes the Author an authority? What is the writer’s main message? Are the examples supportive of the premise? How do examples communicate the message, argument, (premise, supposition)? Examples are used to support, but may also incorporate, the other (eight) modes or patterns of development in writing Comparison/Contrast (How things are alike/different) Cause and effect (Relationships) Exemplification (illustration or examples) Narration (stories) Description (Vivid images or sense experiences) Process analysis (Steps or parts that make a whole) Classification (Sorting, naming, categorizing, cataloguing, arranging, sorting and developing a taxonomy.) Charles Darwin evolutionary theories, classified reefs, , barnacles, Definition DEFINITION — TYPES, TECHNIQUES, and TIPS Dealing with Words Denotation and Connotation  ? Denotation is the literal meaning of a word or the "dictionary definition."? Connotation is an association that is connected to a certain word or the emotional suggestions related to that word. The connotative meanings of a word exist together with the denotative meanings. The connotations for the word snake could include evil or danger. Connotative meanings come from reading between the lines to find the meanings other than the literal. The author is the final word on connotative meanings. Connotation is affected by culture, bias, interpretation diction and language. ?Writing Definitions / Techniques of Definition (see other Webout on Definition Tips with Examples) Denotative Techniques Genus-Species [definition by subclass] Definition by Example(s) [enumerative definition] Demonstrative Definitions [ostensive definition] Connotative Techniques Synonymous Definition [words that mean nearly or exactly the same thing as the term being defined] Etymological Definition Operational Definition (working definition) Definition by Similarities and Differences Negative Definition (saying what it's NOT) ?In Writing, you help your audience understand a definition through the following methods: ?Use examples: How was it defined in history? What do experts say about the definition? How has the definition been valued (perhaps by organizations or specialized groups)? In what ways has the definition been useful (to governments, to academia, to you?). What examples of controversy surround the definition: (Poverty level for example. Establishing definitive criteria for poverty-levels help aid organizations create cut-off points).? Define by objective means: Show the topic from an uninvolved, unemotional, or point-of-view. Offer little or no bias. Judgmental (also spelled judgemental) or critical perspectives. Using an even-handed approach. Not swayed to favor one side or the other. Objectivity is technically precise, accurate, unequivocal (clear, plain, unambiguous, unmistakable, indisputable, undeniable, obvious, definite). If you are biased, then your bias is made clearly known to the readers. ? Define by subjective means: Close perspective. Requires involvement and can take a stance or a pick a side. Uses a strong argument for an opinionated perspective.? Define for your audience: Consider what will help them understand the terms. What are their biases going to be? What will pull them toward an objective perspective on the topic? If you're writing about the pain scale, mothers, who have had children, will already have established a pain scale using childbirth as a reference. ? Limit your definition: Define what it isn’t.? Describe it: Your chance to use concrete details, descriptive language (strong verbs...) ?Narrative writing: Tell stories, anecdotes about the term, its use, how it defined culture, changed policy or opened eyes.? Analyze its meaning: How does it relate to other words like it. How does it break down (word origins are commonly written about).? Consider the process of development: How did we come to know the term, concept, idea? Where will it go in the future? ?Classify the term: How does it fit with terms like it? Where does it diverge from other terms? Is it volatile, explosive, contrary, inflammatory, divisive, or is it weak, lax, or uninspiring?? Divide it: Break it into component parts. History, development, events, origins...? How does it conflict with our understanding or POV??Always write with the conflict in mind.