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Файл:Композиция английской письменной речи. Учебное пособие.pdf
Planning and Drafting the Process Analysis
As always, when the choice is yours, select a familiar topic. If you're not
the outdoor type and prefer a Holiday Inn to the north woods, don't try to explain
how to plan a campout. Muddled, inaccurate, and inadequate information will
result. On the other hand, if you've pitched many a tent, you might want to share
your technique with your readers.
Finding a suitable topic should be easy. In any event, answer the
following questions for each potential choice:
Will the reader find the process important, interesting, or useful?
Should I provide directions for the reader to follow, explain how the
process takes place, or explain how others perform it? Can I explain the process
adequately within any assigned length?
Processes for Readers Who Will Perform Them. If you develop a process
for readers to follow, ponder this second set of questions to help you accumulate
the details you'll need:
What separate actions make up the process? (Be especially careful not to
omit any action that is obvious to you but wouldn't be to your reader. Such an
oversight can ruin your reader's chances of success.)
What is the reason for each action?
What warnings will the reader need in order to perform the process
properly and safely?
Exercise. Develop a complete list of the actions involved in one of the
following processes; then arrange them in an appropriate order.
1. Baking bread
2. Assembling or repairing some common household device
3. Carrying out a process related to sports
4. Breaking a bad habit
5. Building a fire in a fireplace
Start your paper by identifying the process and arousing your reader's
interest. You might, for example, note the importance of the process, its
usefulness, or the ease of carrying it out. Include a list of the items needed to do
the work, and note any special conditions required for a successful outcome. The
paper explaining how to grill hamburgers might begin as follows:
Grilling hamburgers on an outdoor charcoal grill is a simple process that
almost anyone can master. Before starting, you will need a clean grill, charcoal
briquets, charcoal lighter fluid and matches, hamburger meat, a plate, a
spatula, and some water to put out any flames caused by fat drippings. The
sizzling, tasty patties you will have when you finish are a treat that almost
everyone will enjoy.
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Exercise. In the excerpt above, how does the writer try to induce the
reader to perform, the process ?
Use the body of the paper to describe the process in detail, presenting
each step in one or more paragraphs so that each is distinct and easily
grasped. If you've ever muttered under your breath as you struggled to
assemble something that came with fuzzy or inadequate directions, you know
the importance of presenting steps clearly, accurately, and fully. Therefore,
think carefully and include everything the reader needs to know. Note the
reason for any action unless the reason is obvious. Flag any difficult or
dangerous step with a cautionary warning. If two steps must be performed
simultaneously, tell the reader at the start of the first one. In some places, you
may want to tell readers what to expect if they have completed the
instructions properly. Feedback lets readers know they are on track or that
they need to redo something.
Let's see how the first step of the hamburger-grilling paper might unfold.
The first step is to get the fire going. Remove the grill rack and stack
about twenty charcoal briquets in a pyramid shape in the center of the grill.
Stacking allows the briquets to burn off one another and thus produces a
hotter fire. Next, squirt charcoal lighter fluid over the briquets. Wait about
five minutes so that the fluid has time to soak into the charcoal. Then toss in a
lighted match. The flame will burn for a few minutes before it goes out. When
this happens, allow the briquets to sit for another fifteen minutes so that the
charcoal can start to burn. Once the burning starts, do not squirt on any
more lighter fluid. A flame could quickly follow the stream back into the can,
causing it to explode. As the briquets begin to turn from pitch black to ash
white, spread them out with a stick so that they barely touch one another. Air
can then circulate and produce a hot, even fire, the type that makes grilling a
success.
Exercise. In the excerpt above, at what points has the writer provided
reasons for doing things? Where has he included a warning?
Some processes can unfold in only one order. When you shoot a free
throw in basketball, for example, you step up to the line and receive the ball
before lining up the shot, and you line up the shot before releasing the ball.
Other processes can be carried out in an order of choice. When you grill
hamburgers, you can make the patties either before or after you light the
charcoal. If you have an option, use the order that has worked best for you.
End your paper with a few brief remarks that provide some perspective on
the process. A summary of the steps often works best for longer, multistep
processes. Other popular choices include evaluating the results of the process or
discussing its importance. The paper on hamburger grilling notes the results.
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Once the patties are cooked the way you like them, remove them from the
grill and place them on buns. Now you are ready to enjoy a mouthwatering treat
that you will long remember.
E. M. Pryzblyo
Processes for Readers Who Won't Perform Them. Like how-to-do-it
processes, those intended for nondoers require you to determine the steps, or for
natural processes the stages, that are involved and the function of each before
you start to write. In addition, since this type of essay will not enable readers to
perform the process, think carefully about why you're presenting the information
and let that purpose guide your writing. If, for instance, you're trying to persuade
readers that the use of- rabbits in tests of the effects of cosmetics should be
discontinued, the choices you make in developing your steps should reflect that
purpose.
To arouse your reader's interest, you might, among other possible options,
begin with a historical overview or a brief summary of the whole process, or you
could note its importance. The following introduction to an essay on the aging of
stars provides a brief historical perspective:
Peering through their still-crude telescopes, eighteenth-century
astronomers discovered a new kind of object in the night sky that appeared
neither as the pinprick of light from a distant star nor as the clearly defined disk
of a planet but rather as a mottled, cloudy disk. They christened these objects
planetary nebulas, or planetary clouds Modern astronomers recognize
planetary nebulas as the fossil wreckage of dying stars ripped apart by powerful
winds. . . .
Because the reader will not perform the process, supply only enough
details in the body of the paper to provide an intelligent idea of what the
procedure entails. Make sure the reader knows the function of each step or stage
and how it fits into the overall process. Present each in one or more paragraphs
with clear transitions between the steps or stages. The following excerpt points
out the changes that occur as a young star, a red giant, begins the aging process:
As the bloated star ages, this extended outer atmosphere cools and
contracts, then soaks up more energy from the star and again puffs out: with
each successive cycle of expansion and contraction the atmosphere puffs out a
little farther. Like a massive piston, these pulsations drive the red giant's
atmosphere into space in a dense wind that blows with speeds up to 15 miles
per second. In as little as 10,000 years some red giants lose an entire sun's
worth of matter this way. Eventually this slow wind strips the star down close
to its fusion core.
As with processes aimed at performers, end your paper with a few
remarks that offer some perspective. You might, for example, evaluate the
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results of the process, assess its importance, or point out future consequences.
The ending of the essay on star aging illustrates the last option:
The cloud of unanswered questions surrounding planetaries should not
obscure the real insight astronomers have recently gained into the extraordinary
death of ordinary stars. In a particularly happy marriage of theory and
observation, astronomers have discovered our own sun's fate. With the
interacting stellar winds model, they can confidently predict the weather about 5
billion years from now: very hot, with really strong gusts from the east.
Adam Frank, Winds of Change
Exercise. Write a process analysis on one of the topics below or one
approved by your teacher. The paper may provide instructions for the reader to
follow, tell how a process is performed, or describe how a process develops.
Prepare a complete list of steps, arrange them in an appropriate order, and
follow them as you write the body of your essay.
1. The stages of a developing relationship
2. The stages in a technical process such as paper production
3. The stages in a student’s adjustment to university
4. Dealing with a bite of a poisonous snake
5. Training a dog or other pet
6. Using a particular computer program
7. Preparing your favorite meal
8. Studying for an examination
9. Achieving some important goal
10. Throwing a successful party
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7. ILLUSTRATION
“It doesn't pay to fight City Hall. For example, my friend Josie . . .”
“Many intelligent people lack common sense. Take Dr. Brandon . . .”
“Topnotch women tennis players are among the biggest moneymakers in
sports. Last year, for instance, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario . . .”
“Predicting the weather is far from an exact science. Two winters ago, a
surprise snowstorm . . .”
Have you ever noticed how often people use illustrations (examples) to
clarify general statements? Ordinary conversations teem with “for example...”
and “for instance...,” often in response to a furrowed brow or puzzled look.
Hank Cassidy serves as the perfect example of a good ole boy, or Chicago's
Watertower Plaza illustrates a vertical shopping mall. But illustration is not
limited to concrete items. Teachers, researchers, and writers often present an
abstract principle or natural law, then supply concrete examples that bring it
down to earth. An economics instructor might illustrate compound interest by an
example showing how much $100 earning 5 percent interest would appreciate in
ten years. Examples can also persuade, as when advertisers trot out typical
satisfied users of their products to induce us to buy.
Many classroom writing assignments can benefit from the use of
illustration. A business student writing a paper on effective management can
provide a better grasp of the topic by including examples of successful managers
and how they operate. A paper defining democracy for a political science course
will be more effective if it offers examples of several democratic governments.
An explanation of irony for a literature course will gain force and clarity through
examples taken from stories and poems. Illustration plays a similarly important
role in work-related writing. A teacher wanting a bigger student-counseling staff
might cite students who need help but can't get it. An advertising copywriter
urging that new copiers be bought might mention different instances of copier
breakdown and the resulting delays in customer service. A union steward wanting
a better company safety program might call attention to several recent accidents.
The old saying that a picture is worth a thousand words best explains the
popularity of illustration. The concrete is always easier to grasp than the
abstract, and examples add savor to what might otherwise be flat and vague.
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Selecting Appropriate Examples
Make sure that your examples stay on target, that is, actually support your
general statement and do not veer off into an intriguing side issue. For instance,
if you're making the point that the lyrics in a rock group's latest album are not in
good taste, don't inject comments on the fast lifestyle of one of its members.
Instead, provide examples of lyrics that support your claim, chosen from
different songs in the album to head off objections that your examples aren't
representative.
Furthermore, see that your examples display all the chief features of
whatever you're illustrating. Don't offer Hank Cassidy as an example of a typical
good ole boy unless he fits the general mold by being a fun-loving, easygoing
beer guzzler who likes to hang out with other men. Alternatively, consider this
example of a hacker, a compulsive computer programmer:
Bob Shaw, a 15-year-old high-school student, is a case in point. Bob was
temporarily pulled off the computers at school when he began failing his other
courses. But instead of hitting the books, he continues to sulk outside the
computer center, peering longingly through the glass door at the consoles
within.
Pale and drawn, his brown hair unkempt, Bob speaks only in
monosyllables, avoiding eye contact. In answer to questions about friends,
hobbies, school, he merely shrugs or mumbles a few words aimed at his
sneakered feet. But when the conversation turns to the subject of computers, he
brightens – and blurts out a few full sentences about the computer he's building
and the projects he plans.
Dina Ingber, Computer Addicts
Clearly, Shaw fits Ingber's description of hackers as programmers who
have “a drive so consuming it overshadows nearly every other part of their lives
and forms the focal point of their existence.”
Number of Examples
How many examples will you need? One long one, several fairly brief
ones, or a large number of very short ones? Look to your topic for the answer.
To illustrate the point that a good nurse must be compassionate, conscientious,
and competent, your best bet would probably be one example, since one person
must possess all these traits.
When dealing with trends, however, you'll need several examples. To
show that parents have been raising children more and more permissively over
the last half century, at least three examples are called for: one family from
around 1945, a second from about 1970, and a third from the present time.
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Sometimes topics that do not involve trends require more than one example, as
when you demonstrate the sharp differences between Japanese and American
attitudes toward work.
Finally, some topics require a whole series of examples. If you're
contending that many everyday expressions have their origins in the world of
gambling, you'd need many examples to demonstrate your point.
Exercise. Choose one of the following topic sentences. Select an
appropriate example and write the rest of the paragraph.
1. Sometimes a minor incident drastically changes a person's life.
2. ____________'s name exactly suits (her/his) personality.
3. I still get embarrassed when I remember ____________.
4. Not all education goes on in the classroom.
Exercise. Explain why you would use one extended illustration, several
shorter ones, or a whole series of examples to develop each of the following
statements. Suggest appropriate illustrations.
1. Many parents I know think for their children.
2. The hamburger isn't what it used to be.
3. The ideal pet is small, quiet, and affectionate.
4. Different college students view their responsibilities differently.
5. The hotels in Gotham City run the gamut from sumptuous to seedy.
6. Modern English includes any number of words taken directly from
foreign languages.
Organizing the Examples
A single extended example often assumes the narrative form, presenting a
series of events in time sequence. One person's unfolding experience might
show that “doing your thing” doesn't always work out for the best. Sets of
examples that trace trends also rely on time sequence, moving either forward or
backward. This arrangement would work well for the paper on the growing
permissiveness in child rearing.
On the other hand, a paper showing that different individuals exhibit some
characteristic to different extents would logically be organized by order of
climax (from the least to the greatest extent) or perhaps the reverse order. To
demonstrate how salesclerks differ in their attitudes toward customers, you
might first describe a hostile clerk, then a pleasant one, and finally an
outstandingly courteous and helpful one.
Sometimes any arrangement will work equally well. Suppose you're
showing that Americans are taking various precautions to ward off heart
attacks. Although you might move from a person who exercises to one who
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diets and finally to one who practices relaxation techniques, no special order
is preferable.
Large numbers of examples might first be grouped into categories and the
categories then arranged in a suitable order. For example, the expressions from
the world of gambling could be grouped according to types of gambling: cards,
dice, horse racing, and the like. Depending upon the specific categories, one
arrangement may or may not be preferable to another.
Planning and Drafting the Illustration
Assertions, unfamiliar topics, abstract principles, natural laws – as we've
seen, all of these can form the foundation for your paper. If you have a choice,
you should experience little difficulty finding something suitable. After all,
you've observed and experienced many things – for example, how people can be
TV junkies and the ways students manage the stresses of college life. As always,
the strategies can help generate some possibilities, which you can then evaluate
by asking these questions:
Exactly what point am I trying to make? (Write it down in precise terms.)
Why do I want to make this point? To show how bad something is? To
encourage something? To scare people into or away from something? Who is
my prospective audience? Should I use one extended example, or will I need
more? Why?
Once you've picked your topic, ask yourself, “What example (s) will work
best with my audience?” Then brainstorm each one for supporting details.
Review your details carefully and add any new ones you think of; then
make a new chart and re-enter the details into it, arranged in the order you intend
to present them.
Your introduction should identify your topic and draw your reader into the
paper. If you're illustrating a personal belief, you might indicate how you
developed it. If you're trying to scare the reader into or away from something,
you might open with an arresting statement.
Present your examples in the body of your paper, keeping your purpose
firmly in mind as you plan your organization. If you have many brief examples,
perhaps group them into related categories for discussion. The paper on
expressions from gambling, for instance, might devote one paragraph each to
terms from the worlds of cards, dice, and horse racing. If you're dealing with a
few relatively brief examples – say to show a trend – put each in its own
paragraph. For a single extended example, use the entire body of the paper,
suitably paragraphed. Thus, an extended example of someone with an eccentric
lifestyle might include paragraphs on mode of dress, living accommodations,
and public behavior.
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Revising an Illustration
Think about the following questions and the general guidelines in chapter
3 as you revise your paper:
1. Exactly what idea am I going to put across? Have I used the examples
that best typify it?
2. Are my examples interesting?
3. Have I used an appropriate number of examples?
4. Have I organized my paper effectively?
Exercise. Use one of the ideas below or another that your teacher
approves for your illustration essay. Select appropriate examples, determine
how many you will use, and decide how you will organize them.
1. Russians are risky people
2. If you want something done ask the busiest person around
3. People often choose strange places for vacation
4. People have many strange remedies for hangovers
5. Many intelligent people lack common sense
6. Successful people are often self-made
7. __________ is the most (or least) effective teacher I have ever had
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8. COMPARISON
Which candidate for senator should get my vote, Ken Conwell or Jerry
Mander?
Let me know whether this new shipment of nylon thread meets specs.
Doesn't this tune remind you of an Anne Murray song?
How does high school in Australia stack up against high school in this
country?
Everyone makes comparisons, not just once in a while but day after
day. When we compare, we examine two or more items of likeliness,
differences, or both.
Comparison often helps us choose between alternatives. Some issues are
trivial: whether to plunk the first quarter into Star Wars or Space Ace, whether to
order pizza or a sub sandwich. But comparison also influences our more
important decisions. We weigh majoring in chemistry against majoring in
physics, buying against renting, working for Apple Computer against working for
IBM. An instructor may ask us to write a paper comparing the features of two
word-processing systems. An employer may have us weigh two proposals for
decreasing employee absenteeism and write a report recommending one of them.
Comparison also acquaints us with unfamiliar things. To help American
readers understand the English sport of rugby, a sportswriter might compare its
field, team, rules, and scoring system with those for football. To teach students
about France's government, a political science textbook might discuss the
makeup and election of its parliament and the method of picking its president
and premier, using our own government as a backdrop.
Both your classes and your job will call for comparison writing. Your
humanities instructor may ask you to compare baroque and classical music and
their contributions to later musical developments. Your psychology instructor
may want you to compare two different types of psychosis and assess the legal
and medical ramifications of each. Your biology instructor may have you
consider how the features of two different kinds of body cells enable them to
perform their functions. Comparisons in the workplace are common because
they help people make decisions. An office manager may compare several
phone systems to determine which one the company should install, a nurse
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