Identifying Methods of Development

1
Identifying Methods of Development
 
In this tutorial you will learn to recognize
common strategies for organizing and presenting
information in college writing assignments.
Go to next slide
2
Chapter 13 discusses various "methods of
development"--strategies for organizing ideas in
argumentative essays or other forms of writing.
The methods of development discussed include

• narration

• description

• cause and effect

• classification and division

• contrast and comparison

• illustration

• definition

Go to next slide
3
All of geological time is divided into two
Eons the Precambrian Eon, followed by the
Phanerozoic Eon. The Precambrian Eon is the time
from the formation of the earth until evolution
had progressed sufficiently to produce animals
with hard parts that could commonly be preserved
as fossils. This time makes up 88 of the entire
history of earth. The Phanerozoic Eon begins
about 600 million years ago and continues to the
present day. Because the Precambrian Eon contains
little evidence of life, it cannot readily be
divided up using fossils. However, the
Phanerozoic is divided into three Eras the
Paleozoic (which means the time of early life
forms), the Mesozoic (the time of middle life
forms), and Cenozoic (times of later life forms).
(Brian Knapp, Fossils (Danbury, CT Grolier
Educational, 2000), p. 50)
This is the method of classification and
division.
The main purpose of this passage is to divide a
single item (geological time) into its parts
(Eons and Eras), and then to classify those time
periods by grouping them into various categories.
Go to next slide
4
The word problem means different things to
different people. In the business environment
problems are in the mind of the beholder. They
are not necessarily perceived in the same way by
all observers. For the purposes of this
discussion and to prevent ambiguity, problems are
defined as incidents, events, or failures,
however small, that have a negative impact on the
ability of the production operations department
to deliver service as committed in the
service-level agreements. Problems include actual
failures that result in service degradation or
potential failure mechanisms that could lead to
degraded service. (Carroll W. Frenzel, Management
of Information Technology (Boston Boyd Fraser,
1992), p. 342)
Based on your study of this chapter, which method
of development does this passage illustrate?
Go to next slide
5
The word problem means different things to
different people. In the business environment
problems are in the mind of the beholder. They
are not necessarily perceived in the same way by
all observers. For the purposes of this
discussion and to prevent ambiguity, problems are
defined as incidents, events, or failures,
however small, that have a negative impact on the
ability of the production operations department
to deliver service as committed in the
service-level agreements. Problems include actual
failures that result in service degradation or
potential failure mechanisms that could lead to
degraded service. (Carroll W. Frenzel, Management
of Information Technology (Boston Boyd Fraser,
1992), p. 342)
This is the method of definition.
The main purpose of this passage is to define the
term "problem" as it applies to information
technology management.
Go to next slide
6
I awoke at 430 and there was a glorious sight in
the sky, one of the grand spectacles of the
Universe. There was not a cloud in the deep
wonderful blue of the heavens. Along the Eastern
horizon there was a clear deep intense glow
neither scarlet nor crimson but a mixture of
both. This red glow was very narrow, almost like
a riband and it suddenly shaded off into the deep
blue. Opposite in the west the full moon shining
in all its brilliance was setting upon the hill
beyond the church steeple. Thus the glow in the
east bathed the church in a warm rich tinted
light, while the moon from the west was casting
strong shadows. The moon dropped quickly down
behind the hill bright to the last, till only her
rim could be seen sparkling among the tops of the
orchards on the hill. (William Plover, ed.,
Kilvert's Diary (New York Macmillan, 1947), p.
22)
Based on your study of this chapter, which method
of development does this passage illustrate?
Go to next slide
7
I awoke at 430 and there was a glorious sight in
the sky, one of the grand spectacles of the
Universe. There was not a cloud in the deep
wonderful blue of the heavens. Along the Eastern
horizon there was a clear deep intense glow
neither scarlet nor crimson but a mixture of
both. This red glow was very narrow, almost like
a riband and it suddenly shaded off into the deep
blue. Opposite in the west the full moon shining
in all its brilliance was setting upon the hill
beyond the church steeple. Thus the glow in the
east bathed the church in a warm rich tinted
light, while the moon from the west was casting
strong shadows. The moon dropped quickly down
behind the hill bright to the last, till only her
rim could be seen sparkling among the tops of the
orchards on the hill. (William Plover, ed.,
Kilvert's Diary (New York Macmillan, 1947), p.
22)
This is the method of description.
The main purpose of this passage is to paint a
verbal picture of a scene of unusual beauty.
Go to next slide
8
Two strong earthquakes rocked Mt. St. Helens at
827 and 831 on Sunday morning, May 18. The
bulge had grown so steep that the second
earthquake caused it to break away from the
mountain, forming an immense landslide of rock,
soil, and glacial ice. The landslide roared down
the mountain and, in so doing, relieved the
pressure on the gas-charged magma that had been
causing the bulge. The magma then exploded
through the side of the mountain where the bulge
had been. This horizontal blast flattened trees
in a 400-square-kilometer area on the north side
of the mountain. Large trees as far as 25
kilometers away were knocked over. The
landslides, combined with large volumes of new
volcanic ash from the eruption, poured down the
Toutle River and into the Columbia River, filling
their channels. (Graham R. Thompson and Jonathan
Turk, Earth Science and the Environment (Ft.
Worth, TX Harcourt Brace, 1993), pp. 176-177)
Based on your study of this chapter, which method
of development does this passage illustrate?
Go to next slide
9
Two strong earthquakes rocked Mt. St. Helens at
827 and 831 on Sunday morning, May 18. The
bulge had grown so steep that the second
earthquake caused it to break away from the
mountain, forming an immense landslide of rock,
soil, and glacial ice. The landslide roared down
the mountain and, in so doing, relieved the
pressure on the gas-charged magma that had been
causing the bulge. The magma then exploded
through the side of the mountain where the bulge
had been. This horizontal blast flattened trees
in a 400-square-kilometer area on the north side
of the mountain. Large trees as far as 25
kilometers away were knocked over. The
landslides, combined with large volumes of new
volcanic ash from the eruption, poured down the
Toutle River and into the Columbia River, filling
their channels. (Graham R. Thompson and Jonathan
Turk, Earth Science and the Environment (Ft.
Worth, TX Harcourt Brace, 1993), pp. 176-177)
This is the method of narration.
The main purpose of this passage is to tell the
story of the eruption of Mt. St. Helens in
chronological order.
Go to next slide
10
A fundamental source of Christianity lay in its
appeal as a religion. No matter how far in other
directions we push the search for an explanation
of its expansion, it is always evident that
Christianity won converts primarily because its
teachings answered their deepest religious needs.
Such ideas as the existence of God his sacrifice
of his son to redeem men and women eternal
salvation based on individual worth damnation
for sinners and universal brotherhood supplied a
powerful answer to those seeking to know about
God's ways toward men and women. The humanity of
Jesus, who had lived on earth not long before,
gave intimacy and historical concreteness to
Christianity that other religions lacked. (John
B. Harrison, Richard E. Sullivan, Dennis Sherman,
A Short History of Western Civilization, 7th ed.
(New York McGraw-Hill, 1990), pp. 162-163)
Based on your study of this chapter, which method
of development does this passage illustrate?
Go to next slide
11
A fundamental source of Christianity lay in its
appeal as a religion. No matter how far in other
directions we push the search for an explanation
of its expansion, it is always evident that
Christianity won converts primarily because its
teachings answered their deepest religious needs.
Such ideas as the existence of God his sacrifice
of his son to redeem men and women eternal
salvation based on individual worth damnation
for sinners and universal brotherhood supplied a
powerful answer to those seeking to know about
God's ways toward men and women. The humanity of
Jesus, who had lived on earth not long before,
gave intimacy and historical concreteness to
Christianity that other religions lacked. (John
B. Harrison, Richard E. Sullivan, Dennis Sherman,
A Short History of Western Civilization, 7th ed.
(New York McGraw-Hill, 1990), pp. 162-163)
  This is the method of cause and effect.
  The main purpose of this passage is to identify
the primary cause of the early spread of
Christianity.
Go to next slide
12
You probably do not conduct rigorously controlled
scientific experiments every day, but you often
do manipulate independent variables to observe
their effects on dependent variables. For
example, in trying to find out why your car will
not start, you manipulate various independent
variables (e.g., the battery, the fuel supply,
the ignition) and observe the effects of your
manipulations on the dependent variable (whether
the car starts). In trying to find the best
recipe for your favorite dish, you manipulate
various independent variables (e.g., the
ingredients, the sequence of steps, the cooking
time or temperature), and you observe their
effects on the dependent variable (i.e., how
delicious the resulting dish tastes). (Robert J.
Sternberg, Pathways to Psychology (Ft. Worth, TX
Harcourt Brace, 1997), p. 13)
Based on your study of this chapter, which method
of development does this passage illustrate?
Go to next slide
13
You probably do not conduct rigorously controlled
scientific experiments every day, but you often
do manipulate independent variables to observe
their effects on dependent variables. For
example, in trying to find out why your car will
not start, you manipulate various independent
variables (e.g., the battery, the fuel supply,
the ignition) and observe the effects of your
manipulations on the dependent variable (whether
the car starts). In trying to find the best
recipe for your favorite dish, you manipulate
various independent variables (e.g., the
ingredients, the sequence of steps, the cooking
time or temperature), and you observe their
effects on the dependent variable (i.e., how
delicious the resulting dish tastes). (Robert J.
Sternberg, Pathways to Psychology (Ft. Worth, TX
Harcourt Brace, 1997), p. 13)
This is the method of illustration.
The purpose of the passage is not to provide
convincing evidence for the claim that readers of
the text often manipulate independent variables
to observe their effects on dependent variables.
Rather, it is give two illustrations of this
claim.
Go to next slide
14
Brachiopods are sea animals with two shells, or
valves. Brachiopods can be confused with
bivalves, but the way to distinguish them is to
look at the line that goes through the valves.
Brachiopods are symmetrical around this line,
bivalves are generally not. Most brachipods open
and close the valves with two sets of
muscles. When they die, the withered muscles
hold the valves shut, so that it is usual to find
brachiopods as a complete shell of two connected
valves. Bivalves, on the other hand, open up when
the animal dies, and the valves become detached.
It is therefore common to find clam valves
separately and uncommon to find them together.
(Brian Knapp, Fossils (Danbury, CT Grolier
Educational, 2000), p. 23)
Based on your study of this chapter, which method
of development does this passage illustrate?
Go to next slide
15
Brachiopods are sea animals with two shells, or
valves. Brachiopods can be confused with
bivalves, but the way to distinguish them is to
look at the line that goes through the valves.
Brachiopods are symmetrical around this line,
bivalves are generally not. Most brachipods open
and close the valves with two sets of
muscles. When they die, the withered muscles
hold the valves shut, so that it is usual to find
brachiopods as a complete shell of two connected
valves. Bivalves, on the other hand, open up when
the animal dies, and the valves become detached.
It is therefore common to find clam valves
separately and uncommon to find them together.
(Brian Knapp, Fossils (Danbury, CT Grolier
Educational, 2000), p. 23)
This is the method of contrast and comparison.
 The primary purpose of this passage is to
compare and contrast two kinds of two-shelled sea
animals.
This is the end of this tutorial