Narration and Description Writing

Narration

• Narration originates from the Latin word "narratus," meaning "to account or tell."
• It involves recounting events in a time sequence, which can be either fictional or true.
• Narrative paragraphs can effectively engage readers and establish the writer's voice in essays.
• Narration tells a story, providing an account of incidents or events leading to a conclusion.
• It specifies what happened, where, and when.
• Narrative paragraphs use action verbs and transitional words to indicate time or sequence.

Description

• Description provides information about the characteristics of a person, object, place, or situation.
• It appeals to the reader's senses, creating a vivid image of the subject.
• Writers use concrete and specific details to paint a picture in the reader's mind.
• Description is used in literary analyses, descriptive essays, business plans, lab reports, and research papers.
• Objective description aims to inform or identify and focuses on physical aspects.
• Subjective description aims to elicit feelings or reactions through suggestion and evocation.

Definition

• Definition explains what something is in comparison to other members of its class, along with any limitations.
• It identifies a term and distinguishes it from related terms, used widely in academic papers.
• A definition clarifies the meaning of a word or idea in simple language.
• It involves the term to be defined, the general class it belongs to, and its differentiating characteristics.
• Types of definition include the synonym, the intensive definition, and the extensive definition.
• A synonym is a similar word; an intensive definition is a one-sentence definition including the term, class, and differentiating characteristics.
• An extensive definition expands on the intensive definition into a paragraph using methods like exemplification, classification, analogy, description, comparison, contrast, and cause and effect.

Exemplification and Classification

• Exemplification illustrates characteristics using detailed examples.
• Classification explains by dividing or grouping into categories based on criteria.
• These patterns provide details to further develop a paragraph and are often used together.
• Exemplification explains an idea by giving an extended example or a series of detailed examples.
• Classification sorts subjects into groups according to shared characteristics.
• Classification requires a strong sense of purpose to group subjects effectively.
• It is applicable in various disciplines, such as classifying current events, TV shows, viruses, food products, and animals.

Comparison and Contrast

• Comparison illustrates how people, things, places, events, situations, or ideas are similar, identifying points of comparison.
• Words signaling similarities: also, like, both, as...as, similarly, in the same way, equally important, and likewise.
• Contrast illustrates the differences between subjects.
• Words signaling contrast: but, however, though, on the other hand, and in contrast.
• Comparison and contrast paragraphs require a unifying idea and a balance of information for each subject.

Cause and Effect

• Cause explains why something happens, and effect is what happens.
• The cause-and-effect pattern explains how one event or action leads to another.
• Three patterns are cause to effect, effect to cause, and consecutive cause and effect.
• Cause to effect starts with the cause followed by its effects, best for a single cause with multiple effects.
• Effect to cause starts with the effect followed by its causes, best for a single effect with different causes.
• Consecutive cause and effect presents each cause and its effect one by one.

Problem-Solution

• A problem is an unsatisfactory situation needing a solution.
• Variations of the problem-solution pattern include problem-solution, problem-cause-solution, and problem-process-solution.
• Problem-solution simply states the problem and gives a possible solution.
• Problem-cause-solution identifies and analyzes the cause before presenting a solution.
• Problem-process-solution discusses the process extensively to lead to solutions.

Process Analysis

• Process analysis discusses the steps in a given process.
• Process refers to a series of actions toward a specific end.
• Analysis refers to a detailed examination.
• Steps are usually presented chronologically, using transitional words like first, second, then, lastly, and finally.
• Process analysis texts can be instructional (teaching steps) or informative (explaining how a process works).

Persuasive Writing

• Persuasive writing aims to convince readers to believe in an idea and take action.
• Techniques include presenting strong evidence, concrete examples, and accurate information.
• Strong evidence includes facts, statistics, expert statements, and research findings.
• Concrete examples can be based on observations or personal experience.
• Accurate information includes evidence that both supports and opposes the writer's ideas.

Modes of Persuasion

• Ethos is an appeal to ethics, using the writer's credibility to convince the audience.
• Pathos is an appeal to emotion, using emotions like sympathy and sadness.
• Logos is an appeal to logic and reason, presenting facts logically and avoiding fallacies.

Common Logical Fallacies

• Ad hominem attacks the person making the argument instead of the argument itself.
• Faulty cause and effect assumes two sequential events are causally related.
• Either/or reasoning provides only two options, ignoring complexity.
• Hasty generalization draws conclusions based on little evidence.
• False analogy compares two things with more differences than similarities.
• Circular reasoning uses the thesis as its own proof.

Sources of Information in Persuasive Writing

• Facts provide solid evidence based on expert findings, studies, or personal experience.
• Statistics can be persuasive if accurate and from reliable sources.
• Judgments are the writer's assumptions based on the facts.
• Testimony includes eyewitness accounts and expert opinions.

Main Idea and Supporting Details in a Paragraph

• Main idea is the central point of a paragraph, stated in the topic sentence.
• Supporting details elaborate on the main idea.

Cohesion in a Paragraph

• Cohesion refers to the unity of ideas in a paragraph.
• Every detail should support the main idea.

Coherence in a Paragraph

• Coherence is the quality of being logical and well-organized.
• Details follow a logical order, reinforced by transitional devices.
• Logical patterns include chronological order, spatial order, order of importance, compare and contrast, and topical order.
• Chronological order presents a sequence of events.
• Spatial order arranges details according to physical space.
• Order of importance arranges details from least to most important, or vice versa.
• Compare and contrast arranges details according to similarities and differences.
• Topical order arranges details according to subtopics within a larger topic.

Structure of a Text

• Typical structure: introduction, body, and conclusion.
• Introduction prepares readers, providing context, and contains the thesis statement.
• Body develops the thesis statement with examples, details, facts, and reasons.
• Conclusion ties ideas together, restates the thesis, and may include recommendations or predictions.

Language Use

• Informal language is used in personal texts for family and friends.
• Formal language is used in academic, business, and official texts.
• Familiar, direct, and simple language allows the audience to understand the message more clearly.
• Familiar language uses words commonly found in everyday life.
• Direct language uses words that get straight to the point.
• Simple language uses commonplace and easy-to-understand words.

Biased and Unbiased Language

• Unbiased language avoids offensive remarks toward individuals or groups.
• Use names or labels that individuals or groups choose for themselves.
• Avoid mentioning group membership unnecessarily.
• Be aware of and avoid using negative or offensive words.

Gender-Neutral Language

• Gender-neutral language avoids favoring a certain gender.

Spelling

• Standard spelling is fundamental for clear communication.
• American and British English have slight spelling differences.
• Some words have variant spellings; consult a dictionary.
• In adding prefixes, the root word's spelling does not change.
• Many words contain i before e except after c.
• Be aware of words with double letters and silent letters.

Punctuation

• Punctuation gives structure to a text and guides the reader.
• Period (.) indicates the end of a statement.
• Question mark (?) ends a question.
• Exclamation point (!) ends a sentence expressing strong emotion.
• Apostrophe (') indicates the possessive case of nouns.
• Comma (,) separates words or phrases in a list.
• Colon (:) introduces a list.
• Semicolon (;) indicates a stop stronger than a comma but weaker than a period.
• Em dash (—) connects clauses, with the second explaining the first.

Capitalization

• Capitalization uses uppercase for the first letter of certain words.
• Always capitalize proper nouns, proper adjectives, days of the week, months of the year, specific course titles, kinship names used in place of personal names, and names of historical periods, events, and documents.

Use of Boldface, Italics, and Underline

• Boldface: important words, news headlines, headings.
• Italics: titles of books, foreign words, important words.
• Underline: Web addresses (hyperlinks).