13 Dividing and Classifying
If you were doing the laundry, you might begin by separating the clothing into piles. You would then put all the whites in one pile and all the colors in another. Or you might classify the laundry, not according to color, but according to fabric—putting all cottons in one pile, polyesters in another, and so on. Classifying is the process of taking many things and separating them into categories. We generally classify to better manage or understand many things. Librarians classify books into groups (novels, travel, health, etc.) to make them easier to find. A scientist sheds light on the world by classifying all living things into two main groups: animals and plants.
Dividing, in contrast, is taking one thing and breaking it down into parts. We often divide, or analyze, to better understand, teach, or evaluate something. For instance, a tinkerer might take apart a clock to see how it works; a science text might divide a tree into its parts to explain their functions. A music reviewer may analyze the elements of a band's performance—for example, the skill of the various players, rapport with the audience, selections, and so on.
In short, if you are classifying, you are sorting numbers of things into categories. If you are dividing, you are breaking one thing into parts. It all depends on your purpose—you might classify flowers into various types or divide a single flower into its parts.
In this section, you will be asked to write a paragraph in which you classify a group of things into categories according to a single principle. To prepare for this assignment, first read the paragraphs below, and then work through the questions and the activity that follow.
Paragraphs to Consider
Types of E-Mail
1As more and more people take advantage of e-mailing, three categories of e-mail have emerged. 2One category of e-mail is junk mail. 3When most people sign on to their computers, they are greeted with a flood of get-rich-quick schemes, invitations to pornographic websites, and ads for a variety of unwanted products. 4E-mail users quickly become good at hitting the “delete” button to get rid of this garbage. 5The second category that clogs most people's electronic mailbox is forwarded mail, most of which also gets deleted without being read. 6The third and best category of e-mail is genuine personal e-mail from genuine personal friends. 7Getting such real, thoughtful e-mail can almost make up for the irritation of the other two categories.
Studying for a Test
1Phase 1 of studying for a test, often called the “no problem” phase, runs from the day the test is announced to approximately forty-eight hours before the dreaded exam is passed out. 2During phase 1, the student is carefree, smiling, and kind to helpless animals and small children. 3When asked by classmates if he or she has studied for the test yet, the reply will be an assured “No problem.” 4During phase 1, no actual studying takes place. 5Phase 2 is entered two days before the test. 6For example, if the test is scheduled for 9 A.M. Friday, phase 2 begins at 9 A.M. Wednesday. 7During phase 2, again, no actual studying takes place. 8Phase 3, the final phase, is entered twelve hours before “zero hour.” 9This is the cram phase, characterized by sweaty palms, nervous twitches, and confused mental patterns. 10For a test at nine o'clock on Friday morning, a student begins exhibiting these symptoms at approximately nine o'clock on Thursday night. 11Phase 3 is also termed the “shock” phase, since the student is shocked to discover the imminence of the exam and the amount of material to be studied. 12During this phase, the student will probably be unable to sleep and will mumble meaningless phrases like “a2 + c2.” 13This phase will not end until the exam is over. 14If the cram session has worked, the student will fall gratefully asleep that night. 15On waking up, he or she will be ready to go through the whole cycle again with the next test.
Three Kinds of Dogs
1A city walker will notice that most dogs fall into one of three categories. 2First there are the big dogs, which are generally harmless and often downright friendly. 3They walk along peacefully with their masters, their tongues hanging out and big goofy grins on their faces. 4Apparently they know they're too big to have anything to worry about, so why not be nice? 5Second are the spunky medium-sized dogs. 6When they see a stranger approaching, they go on alert. 7They prick up their ears, they raise their hackles, and they may growl a little deep in their throats. 8“I could tear you up,” they seem to be saying, “but I won't if you behave yourself.” 9Unless the walker leaps for their master's throat, these dogs usually won't do anything more than threaten. 10The third category is made up of the shivering neurotic little yappers whose shrill barks could shatter glass and whose needle-like little teeth are eager to sink into a friendly outstretched hand. 11Walkers always wonder about these dogs—don't they know that anyone who really wanted to could squash them under their feet like bugs? 12Apparently not, because of all the dogs a walker meets, these provide the most irritation. 13Such dogs are only one of the potential hazards that the city walker encounters.
Questions
About Unity
1. Which paragraph lacks a topic sentence?
2. Which sentence in “Three Kinds of Dogs” should be eliminated in the interest
of paragraph unity? (Write the sentence number here.) ________
About Support
3. Which of the three phases in “Studying for a Test” lacks specific details?
4. After which sentence in “Types of E-Mail” are supporting details needed?
(Write the sentence number here.) ________
About Coherence
5. Which paragraph uses emphatic order to organize its details?
6. Which words in the emphatic-order paragraph signal the most important detail?
Activity
This activity will sharpen your sense of the classifying process. In each of the ten groups, cross out the one item that has not been classified on the same basis as the other three. Also, indicate in the space provided the single principle of classification used for the remaining three items. Note the examples.
Examples Water Household pests
a. Cold a. Mice
b. Lake b. Ants
c. Hot c. Roaches
d. Lukewarm d. Flies
Unifying principle: Unifying principle:
_________________________ _________________________
1. Eyes
a. Blue
b. Nearsighted
c. Brown
d. Hazel
Unifying principle:
_____________________________
2. Mattresses
a. Double
b. Twin
c. Queen
d. Firm
Unifying principle:
_____________________________
3. Zoo animals
a. Flamingo
b. Peacock
c. Polar bear
d. Ostrich
Unifying principle:
_____________________________
4. Vacation
a. Summer
b. Holiday
c. Seashore
d. Weekend
Unifying principle:
_____________________________
5. Books
a. Novels
b. Biographies
c. Boring
d. Short stories
Unifying principle:
_____________________________
6. Wallets
a. Leather
b. Plastic
c. Stolen
d. Fabric
Unifying principle:
_____________________________
7. Newspaper
a. Wrapping garbage
b. Editorials
c. Making paper planes
d. Covering floor while painting
Unifying principle:
_____________________________
8. Students
a. First-year
b. Transfer
c. Junior
d. Sophomore
Unifying principle:
_____________________________
9. Exercise
a. Running
b. Swimming
c. Gymnastics
d. Fatigue
Unifying principle:
_____________________________
10. Leftovers
a. Cold chicken
b. Feed to dog
c. Reheat
d. Use in a stew
Unifying principle:
_____________________________
Developing a Division-Classification Paragraph
Development through Prewriting
Marcus walked home from campus to his apartment, thinking about the assignment to write a division-classification paragraph. As he strolled along his familiar route, his observations made him think of several possibilities. “First I thought of writing about the businesses in my neighborhood, dividing them into the ones run by Hispanics, Asians, and African-Americans,” he said. “When I stopped in at my favorite coffee shop, I thought about dividing the people who hang out there. There is a group of old men who meet to drink coffee and play cards, and there are students like me, but there didn't seem to be a third category and I wasn't sure two was enough. As I continued walking home, though, I saw Mr. Enriquez and his big golden retriever, and some lady with two nervous little dogs that acted as if they wanted to eat me, and the newsstand guy with his mutt that's always guarding the place, and I thought `Dogs! I can classify different types of dogs.'”
But how would he classify them? Thinking further, Marcus realized that he thought of dogs as having certain personalities depending on their size. “I know there are exceptions, of course, but since this was going to be a lighthearted, even comical paragraph, I thought it would be OK if I exaggerated a bit.” He wrote down his three categories:
Big dogs
Medium-sized dogs
Small dogs
Under each division, then, he wrote down as many characteristics as he could think of:
Big dogs
calm
friendly
good-natured
dumb
lazy
Medium-sized dogs
spunky
energetic
ready to fight
protective
friendly if they know you
Small dogs
nervous
trembling
noisy
yappy
snappy
annoying
Marcus then wrote a topic sentence: “Dogs seem to fall into three categories.” Using that topic sentence and the scratch outline he'd just produced, he wrote the following paragraph:
Most dogs seem to fall into one of three categories. First there are the big dumb friendly dogs. They give the impression of being sweet but not real bright. One example of this kind of dog is Lucy. She's a golden retriever belonging to a man in my neighborhood. Lucy goes everywhere with Mr. Enriquez. She doesn't even need a leash but just follows him. Dogs like Lucy never bother anybody. She just lies at Mr. Enriquez's feet when he stops to talk to anyone. The guy who runs the corner newsstand I pass every day has a spunky medium-sized dog. Once the dog knows you he's friendly and even playful. But he's always on the lookout for a stranger who might mean trouble. For a dog who's not very big he can make himself look pretty fierce if he wants to. Then there are my least favorite kind of dogs. Little nervous yappy ones. My aunt used to have a Chihuahua like that. It knew me for nine years and still went crazy shaking and yipping at me every time we met. She loved that dog but I can't imagine why. If I had a dog it would definitely come from category 1 or 2.
Development through Revising
Marcus traded his first draft with a fellow student, Rachel, and asked her to give him feedback. Here are the comments Rachel wrote on his paper:
This is a change in point of view—you haven't been using “you” before.
Is this the beginning of a second category? That's not clear.
Not a complete sentence.
Another change in point of view—you've gone from writing in the third person to “you” to “me.”
Most dogs seem to fall into three categories. First there are the big dumb friendly dogs. They give the impression of being sweet but not real bright. One example of this kind of dog is Lucy, a golden retriever belonging to a man in my neighborhood. Lucy goes everywhere with Mr. Enriquez. She doesn't even need a leash but just follows him everywhere. Lucy never bothers you. She just lies at Mr. Enriquez's feet when he stops to talk to anyone. The guy who runs the corner newsstand I pass every day has a spunky medium-sized dog. Once the dog knows you he's friendly and even playful. But he's always on the lookout for a stranger who might mean trouble. For a dog who's not very big he can make himself look pretty fierce if he wants to scare you. Then there are my least favorite kind of dogs. Little nervous yappy ones. My aunt used to have a Chihuahua like that. It knew me for nine years and still went crazy shaking and yipping at me every time we met. She loved that dog but I can't imagine why. If I had a dog it would definitely come from category 1 or 2.
Marcus—I think you need to make your three categories clearer. Your first one is OK—“big dogs,” which you say are friendly—but categories 2 and 3 aren't stated as clearly.
It's distracting to have your point of view change from third person to “you” to “me.”
Since you're trying to divide and classify all dogs, I'm not sure it's a good idea to talk only about three individual dogs. This way it sounds as if you're just describing those three dogs instead of putting them into three groups.
When Marcus considered Rachel's comments and reread his own paragraph, he agreed with what she had written. “I realized it was too much about three particular dogs and not enough about the categories of dogs,” he said. “I decided to revise it and focus on the three classes of dogs.”
Marcus then wrote the version that appears on page 232.
Writing a Division-Classification Paragraph
Writing Assignment 1
Below are four options to develop into a classification paragraph. Each one presents a topic to classify into three categories. Choose one option to develop into a paragraph.
Option 1
Supermarket shoppers
(1) Slow, careful shoppers
(2) Average shoppers
(3) Hurried shoppers
Option 2
Eaters
(1) Very conservative eaters
(2) Typical eaters
(3) Adventurous eaters
Option 3
Types of housekeepers
(1) Never clean
(2) Clean on a regular basis
(3) Clean constantly
Option 4
Attitudes toward money
(1) Tightfisted
(2) Reasonable
(3) Extravagant
Prewriting
a Begin by doing some freewriting on the topic you have chosen. For five or ten minutes, simply write down everything that comes into your head when you think about “types of housekeepers, “attitudes toward money,” or whichever option you choose. Don't worry about grammar, spelling, or organization—just write.
b Now that you've “loosened up your brain” a little, try asking yourself questions about the topic and writing down your answers. If you are writing about supermarket shoppers, for instance, you might ask questions like these:
How do the three kinds of shoppers prepare for their shopping trip?
How many aisles will each kind of shopper visit?
What do the different kinds of shoppers bring along with them—lists, calculators, coupons, etc.?
How long does each type of shopper spend in the store?
Write down whatever answers occur to you for these and other questions. Again, do not worry at this stage about writing correctly. Instead, concentrate on getting down all the information you can think of that supports your three points.
c Reread the material you have accumulated. If some of the details you have written make you think of even better ones, add them. Select the details that best support your three points. Number them in the order you will present them.
d Restate your topic as a grammatically complete topic sentence. For example, if you're writing about eaters, your topic sentence might be “Eaters can be divided into three categories.” Turn each of your three supporting points into a full sentence as well.
e Using your topic sentence and three supporting sentences and adding the details you have generated, write the first draft of your paragraph.
Revising
Put away your work for a day or so. Reread it with a critical eye, asking yourself these questions:
• Does my paragraph include a complete topic sentence and three supporting points?
• Have I backed up each supporting point with strong, specific details?
• Does my paragraph hang together in terms of unity, support, and coherence?
• Have I edited my paragraph and corrected sentence-skills mistakes, including spelling errors?
Continue revising your work until you can answer “yes” to all these questions.
Writing Assignment 2
Write a classification paragraph on one of the following topics:
Instructors Drivers
Sports fans Mothers or fathers
Restaurants Women's or men's magazines
Attitudes toward life Presents
Commercials Neighbors
Employers Rock, pop, rap, or country singers
Jobs Houseguests
Bars Baseball, basketball, football, or hockey players
Family get-togethers Cars
First dates
Prewriting
a Classify members of the group you are considering writing about into three categories. Remember: You must use a single principle of division when you create your three categories. For example, if your topic is “School courses” and you classify them into easy, moderate, and challenging, your basis for classification is “degree of difficulty.” It would not make sense to have as a fourth type “foreign language” (the basis of such a categorization would be “subject matter”) or “early morning” (the basis of that classification would be “time of day the classes meet”). You could categorize school courses on the basis of subject matter or time of day they meet, for almost any subject can be classified in more than one way. In a single paper, however, you must choose one basis for classification and stick to it.
b Once you have a satisfactory three-part division, spend at least five minutes freewriting about each of your three points. Don't be concerned yet with grammar, spelling, or organization. Just write whatever comes into your mind about each of the three points.
c Expand your topic into a fully stated topic sentence.
d At this point, you have all three elements of your paragraph: the topic sentence, the three main points, and the details needed to support each point. Now weave them all together in one paragraph.
Revising
Do not attempt to revise your paragraph right away. Put it away for a while, if possible until the next day. When you reread it, try to be as critical of it as you would be if someone else had written it. As you go over the work, ask yourself these questions:
• Have I divided my topic into three distinct parts?
• Is each of those three parts based on the same principle of division?
• Have I given each of the three parts approximately equal weight? In other words, have I spent about the same amount of time discussing each part?
• Have I provided effective details to back up each of my three points?
• Does my paragraph satisfy the requirements of unity, coherence, and support?
• Have I edited my paragraph for sentence-skills mistakes, including spelling?
Continue revising until you are sure the answer to each question is “yes.”
Writing Assignment 3
There are many ways you could classify your fellow students. Pick out one of your courses and write a paragraph in which you classify the students in that class according to one underlying principle. You may wish to choose one of the classification principles below.
Attitude toward the class Punctuality
Participation in the class Attendance
Method of taking notes in class Level of confidence
Performance during oral reports, speeches, presentations, lab sessions
If you decide, for instance, to classify students according to their attitude toward class, you might come up with these three categories:
Students actually interested in learning the material
Students who know they need to learn the material, but don't want to overdo it
Students who find the class a good opportunity to catch up with lost sleep
Of course, you may use any other principle of classification that seems appropriate. Follow the steps listed under “Prewriting” and “Rewriting” for Writing Assignment 2.
Writing Assignment 4
Write a review of a restaurant by analyzing its (1) food, (2) service, and (3) atmosphere. For this assignment, you should visit a restaurant, take a notebook with you, and write down observations about such elements as:
Quantity of food you receive Attitude of the servers
Taste of the food Efficiency of the servers
Temperature of the food Decor
Freshness of the ingredients Level of cleanliness
How the food is presented Noise level and music, if any
(garnishes, dishes, and so on)
Feel free to write about details other than those listed above. Just be sure each detail fits into one of your three categories: food, service, or atmosphere.
For your topic sentence, rate the restaurant by giving it from one to five stars, on the basis of your overall impression. Include the restaurant's name and location in your topic sentence. Here are some examples:
Guido's, an Italian restaurant downtown, deserves three stars.
The McDonald's on Route 70 merits a four-star rating.
The Circle Diner in Westfield barely earns a one-star rating.
Writing Assignment 5
Imagine that you are a travel agent and someone has asked you for suggestions for family vacations. Write a paragraph classifying vacations for families into three or more types, for example, vacations in theme parks, in national parks, or in cities. For each type, include an explanation with one or more examples (see page 171).