Essay Composition: Development
Development means adding details that explain or illustrate your main idea. Development is also called elaboration. In terms of composition, your sentences and paragraphs may be developed in different ways. That’s why team of highly qualified professional at College-Writers.com decided to help you figure out the most common methods of development.
For example, the standard composition usually relies on the following patterns of exposition, which are considered standard development methods in expository writing:
- Cause and effect
- Analogy
- Example
- Classification and division
- Extended definition
- Contrast and comparison
- Process analysis
The methods of development are not just templates that you should fill with words, neither are they intended to stop you from writing naturally. These methods should help you achieve the purpose of your writing. They can help you use your critical thinking and create a proper structure.
The Importance of Supporting Details
The most common problems for many people who write essays is ineffectively developed body paragraphs. Every paragraph must illustrate, explain, or define your topic sentence. Thus, you should use evidence or supporting information so that your readers can understand your topic sentence properly. In addition, all the information you provide must be specific and clear.
The Body
The body of your essay should deliver what you’ve promised in the introduction. This is the right way to develop your ideas. The main point is not to just add more information but to make sure that this information is substantial and valuable in the context of your topic. Don’t just fill your essay with words, but try to make it stronger.
The best way to support your main idea is to combine the following six methods of development:
- Classification and division
- Statistics
- Quotation
- Dialogue, characterization
- Comparison
- Example
When you use these elements, you demonstrate your readiness to support your claims with some real facts and meaningful conclusions.
Multiple Patterns of Development
When writing short papers, you can usually go with one primary pattern and a few additional patterns. However, longer papers may include several primary patterns of development. For instance, if you’re writing a paper on child abuse, you may start with the analysis of the problem, then focus on prevention, and analyze the ways the state can prevent abuse. You can also address the arguments from those who support the system. The choice of primary patterns depends on the type of audience and the purpose of your paper. Your thesis statement should reflect the purpose of your essay, and then you can use other patterns to develop your ideas.