ClASSIFICATION ESSAY
When you classify, you divide the members of a group into categories whose members share similar characteristics. But on what basis do you assign the members to categories? When you classify, you need a principle of classification - a guideline for your classifying procedure. For example, the students in your English class might be classified according to their native languages: Spanish speakers, Vietnamese speakers, Japanese speakers, Dutch speakers, Arabic speakers, and so on. However, including a group such as "hard-working students" disrupts the classification by switching principles of classification. Members of the "hard-working" group could also be members of any of the other groups. Using more than one principle in this way causes categories to "overlap" ; that is, the members of one category could also fit into one or more of the other categories. Just what principle of classification to choose is up to you. There are any number of principles available; the important thing to remember is to use only once principle of classification in an essay.
Making the Classification Complete
Once you have decided on a principle of classification, check to see if the classification includes all member of the group. For instance, if you are classifying the students in a class, the categories should cover every student in that class, if at all possible. If the students in a class were classified as brilliant or stupid, on obvious group - the average students - would be lift out. To avoid omission of members and oversimplifying the analysis, it is generally a good idea to divide the group into more than two categories. For most college essays, three or four categories are the average.
When you divide a large group into categories whose members share common characteristics, there will be some members that do not fit perfectly into a category. For instance, you might classify politicians as liberals or conservatives, but since some politicians may be liberal concerning some issues and conservative on others, it would be wise to admit any variations or complications in the classification. It is also a good idea to note what the primary characteristics of the members are. For instance, do these politicians vote conservatively most of the time? If so, then placing them in the conservative category and mentioning that they vote liberally on some issue could be justified.
Organizing the Classification Essay
After deciding on the principle of classification and dividing the group into categories, you need to discuss each of those categories. In the developmental paragraphs, it is useful to devote one paragraph to each category. When discussing the category, include the following pints:
1. Identify the group. If it has a special name, identify it.
2. Describe or define the category. What are the general characteristics of the members of this category? Once you have established what the category is according to your classification, discuss the common characteristics of the members.
3. Give examples. Often it is helpful to illustrate the characteristics (which are generalizations, by the way) by giving one or two examples of typical members of the category.
In the second and subsequent developmental paragraphs, add another point:
4. Distinguish this category from the other categories. Discuss the characteristics of the second category by comparing and contrasting them with those of the first category. Doing this will help to distinguish between the categories. How does group 1 really differ from group 2? (For coherence, as in comparison-contrast, try to discuss the characteristics in the same order as with the previous group.)
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