Patterns Study Set

1. Narration

• PoD: Telling a story; recounting of events

• Definition: Explaining information about your topic as a series of events in story format; recounting events.

• Purpose: To explain or entertain by presenting events in a sequence. Examples include personal experiences or significant events.

2. Description

• PoD: Targets the senses with a high level of detail; a type of story, but distinguished by its level of detail.

• Definition: Creating vivid images through words, helping the reader visualize what the writer has experienced.

• Purpose: To give the reader a sensory experience and help them visualize or feel what the writer experienced (often nostalgic or emotional).

3. Process Analysis

• PoD: Explains how something works or how something is done (like how-tos, political systems, or historical events).

• Definition: Giving directions or explaining how something is done or how a process works.

• Purpose: To clarify a process by explaining its steps in a logical, understandable way (e.g., how to cook, how to solve a problem).

4. Exemplification/Illustration

• PoD: Making a point through examples (can be one extended example).

• Definition: Discussing a topic by using a series of examples to clarify points or go into depth about one example.

• Purpose: To illustrate a point or argument by providing relevant examples to help clarify and emphasize the topic.

5. Comparison and Contrast

• PoD: Juxtaposing two or more things to show how they are similar or different.

• Definition: Placing two things next to each other to highlight similarities or differences.

• Purpose: To clarify or deepen understanding by comparing and contrasting elements, ideas, or events.

6. Classification and Division

• PoD: Sorting things into categories and explaining why they fit together.

• Definition: Sorting a topic into groups and explaining why those categories make sense.

• Purpose: To break a topic down into understandable categories, highlighting distinctions or relationships between different parts.

7. Definition

• PoD: Defining a word, concept, or trend and examining how it applies.

• Definition: Providing a clear definition of something and then examining whether the situation fits that definition.

• Purpose: To establish a shared understanding of a term or concept, then analyze situations based on that definition.

8. Cause and Effect

• PoD: Analyzing the causes that lead to particular effects.

• Definition: Explaining how one event or factor causes another to happen.

• Purpose: To show the connection between cause(s) and effect(s), often answering "why" something happened.