DEVELOPMENT BY CLASSIFICATION.

      
     This is the last of the “paragraph developments”.  In this type of paragraph development, you are arranging a mass of information into categories.  This can be quite difficult, as you need to take a (sometimes) very long list of “raw information”, and reduce it to five major categories.  Do not make the “brainstorming” section short, so as to make the “categorizing” process easier; it is better to make a very long “brainstorming” section, then take plenty of time and effort to distill all that information into the five categories you need. 
 
     In this section, we will do two examples.  One will be short and very simple, with the five categories arrived at easily; the other will be long and very complex, to illustrate the process of reducing a large “brainstorming” list to the required five categories. 
 
Example #1. 
Development by:    Classification. 
Written by:    SVW. 
Topic:    Types of noodles. 
Title:    “Different noodles, according to how they are made.” 
Brainstorming:    Knife–dough–boil–popular–instant noodles–dry–extruded–like toothpaste–roll–strips–cut–block–thick noodles–shaved–pulled–dough–table. 
 
Plan outline:   
     [TS]    Many ways – noodles – China. 
     [S1]    “Pulled” noodles. 
     [S2]    “Shaved” noodles. 
     [S3]    Rolled / cut noodles. 
     [S4]    Extruded noodles. 
     [S5]    Instant noodles. 
     [CS]    Others – main – most use.                     
 
Paragraph Text:  
     [TS]    There are many different types of noodles in China, and they can be divided according to how they are made. 
     [S1]    One popular form of noodles is “pulled” noodles (la mian), which are very popular in northern China; these noodles are made by rolling and pulling the oiled dough over a tin-topped table, until the desired thickness of noodle is achieved. 
     [S2]    Another type of noodles in “shaved” noodles (dao xiao mian), also popular in northern China, and very difficult to make; a block of dough is placed on the left forearm, and a special knife is used to “shave” off thick noodles, which seem to leap of their own accord into the boiling water. 
     [S3]    Some noodles are made by first rolling out a sheet of dough, and then cutting it into 1-cm.-wide strips. 
     [S4]    Noodles are sometimes extruded through many holes; the dough comes out like toothpaste. 
     [S5]    Perhaps the most popular form of noodles today is instant noodles. 
     [CS]    There are many other ways of making noodles in China, but these are the ones most commonly used, which are very widespread among the people. 
 
     In the second example, I have chosen a homework written by one of my students.  In the “brainstorming” part, there seem to be many, many words written down, and they appear to have little in common; however, with reflection, you can come up with five “patterns” of information, and these five “patterns” will be the framework for the “body” sentences. 
 
Example #2. 
Development by:    Classification. 
Written by:    Song Jia, 0501. 
Topic:    Types of boyfriend. 
Title:    “The different types of boyfriend in China today.” 
Brainstorming:    Friendly–cruel–liars–handsome–humorous–“playboys”–capable–fools– conscientious–lazy–responsible–inept–rich–bad–abusers–losers–respect their own parents– considerate–“studs”–dreamers–practical–generous–stingy–stable–unstable–honest–strong–
clever–stupid–shy–brave–tall–have “guan xi”–controllable–can cook, and clean the house– patient–productive–mature–comes from good family–social position. 
     Patterns: Psychological–character–social–physical–intellectual–morals. 
 
     If you rank the five “patterns”, and then put a number by each of the words in the “brainstorming” list, you will come up with the following: 
Brainstorming:    1, Friendly–1, cruel–1, liars–4, handsome–1, humorous–1, “playboys”–5, capable–1, 1, fools– 1, conscientious–1, lazy–1, responsible–5, inept–5, rich–1, bad–1,2, abusers–5, losers–1, respect their own parents– 1, considerate–1, “studs”–3, dreamers–5, practical–1, generous–1, stingy–2, stable–2, unstable–1, honest–4, strong–3, clever–3, stupid–1, shy–1, brave–4, tall–5, have “guan xi”–2, controllable–5, can cook, and clean the house– 1, patient–5, productive–1,2, mature–5, comes from good family–5, social position. 
     Patterns: (2) Psychological–(1) character–(5) social–(4) physical–(3) intellectual–(1) morals. 
             
Plan outline:   
     [TS]    Boyfriends – divided – five ways. 
     [S1]    Character / morals. 
     [S2]    Psychological. 
     [S3]    Intellectual. 
     [S4]    Physical. 
     [S5]    Social. 
     [CS]    Must choose carefully!                   
 
Paragraph Text:  
     [TS]    In my opinion, boyfriends can be divided five ways. 
     [S1]    In terms of “character and morals”, I think my boyfriend is not only friendly with me, but also respects our parents. 
     [S2]    I believe in stability, so my boyfriend must be a stable man. 
     [S3]    He must have a beautiful dream, be clever in his job, and have good social relationships. 
     [S4]    In terms of “physical” things, I hope that he will be a tall and handsome person. 
     [S5]    I want someone who is not too rich and not too poor, so he will make me lead a simple and comfortable life, and also cook and clean the house with me. 
     [CS]    We must all choose out boyfriend carefully, and I hope that every girl will find a good boyfriend to cherish her heart!