Handout: Paragraph & Essay - Methods of Development
When you write a paragraph or an essay you are trying to achieve a particular goal. You may be trying to tell a story, or you may be comparing things or you may be explaining a process. There are many other things you may be trying to do. The following is a list of some ways to develop either a paragraph or an essay.
Narration Telling a story in a sequence of events.
Description Using Sensory images to create a picture with words.
Example Giving instances or illustrations of the main idea.
Comparison/Contrast Showing similarities or differences.
Cause and effect Examining the reasons why or examining the outcomes for an event.
Definition Analyzing the meaning of a word or concept.
Classification Dividing the subject up into groups or parts.
For further examples of these different kinds of essay, follow this link and download this Microsoft Word document.  (Note: Regarding accessibility, this handout has many pictures on it which serve to illustrate the different concepts of essay types.)