ROGER B RUEDA WRITING CLASS
10 Kinds of Rhetorical Modes

(1) Description

Descriptive writing calls for close attention to details. Whether your subject is as small as a strawberry or as large as a football stadium, you should begin by observing your subject closely and deciding which details are most significant.

Topic Suggestions:

a basketball, baseball glove, or tennis racket a bowl of fruit a character from a book, film, or television programme a child's secret hiding place a city bus or subway train a closet a favourite restaurant a fridge or washing machine a Halloween costume a hospital emergency room a laptop computer a locker a mobile phone a painting a particular friend or family member a pet a photograph a pizza a rest room in a service station a small town cemetery a storefront window a street that leads to your home or school a treasured belonging a vase of flowers a waiting room a work table an accident scene an art exhibit an ideal apartment an inspiring view an item left too long in your refrigerator an unusual room backstage during a play or a concert the inside of a spaceship the scene at a concert or athletic event your dream house your favourite food your ideal roommate your memory of a place that you visited as a child your old neighbourhood

(2) Narration

At least one of the topics below may remind you of a particular incident that you can relate in a clearly organised narrative essay.

a brush with death a brush with greatness a dangerous experience a day when everything went right (or wrong) a disastrous date a frightening experience a historic event a memorable encounter with someone in authority a memorable journey a memorable wedding or funeral a moment of failure or success a rebellious act a significant misunderstanding a strange job interview a time that you took a stand on an important issue a traffic accident a trip that you would like to take a vacation trip from your childhood an account of a difficult decision that you had to make an account of a visit to a fictional place an act of heroism or cowardice an embarrassing experience an encounter that changed your life an encounter with someone or something you were afraid of an event that marked a turning point in your life an experience that altered your view of someone an experience that helped you grow up an experience that led to renewed faith an experience that left you disillusioned an experience that made you laugh until you cried an experience that showed how appearances can be deceiving an experience that showed how we should be careful of what we wish for an experience that taught you a lesson an eyewitness account of an important event an imaginary encounter with a real person an important discovery an occasion when you experienced rejection an unexpected encounter one minute of a football game (or other sporting event) surviving a hurricane or a tornado (or other natural disaster) the breakup of a friendship the day you decided to change your life the experience of being lost two different versions of the same event your first day at a new job your first day at a new school or college your first time away from home your first visit to the country (or to a large city) your last day on a job

(3) Process Analysis

When developing a paragraph or essay through process analysis, you should keep several points in mind:

Be sure to include all steps and arrange them in sequence.
Explain why each step is necessary, and include warnings where appropriate.
Define any terms that your readers may not be familiar with.
Offer clear descriptions of any tools or materials needed to carry out the process.
Provide your readers with a way of determining whether or not the process has been carried out successfully.

You shouldn't find it difficult to follow these guidelines if you've chosen a topic that you know quite well.

Topic Suggestions:

how a mobile takes pictures how a magician saws a woman in half how a particular accident occurred how a pocket calculator works how an iPod works how ice cream is made how parents (or children) make us feel guilty how teachers make up exams how to apply the Heimlich manoeuvre how to avoid a nervous breakdown during exams how to bathe a cat how to build a great sandcastle how to choose a major how to complain effectively how to develop self-confidence how to edit a video how to end a relationship how to enjoy the weekend for under £10 how to find the perfect roommate how to get along with an instructor without sucking up how to get rid of a roommate - without committing a crime how to give yourself a haircut how to housebreak your dog how to insert a contact lens how to keep peace with a spouse or a roommate how to kick a bad habit how to lose weight without losing your mind how to make (and keep) friends on Facebook how to make the perfect brownies how to make the perfect cup of tea how to overcome insomnia how to pitch a knuckleball how to pitch a tent in the rain how to plan the perfect class schedule how to plan the perfect party how to quit smoking how to rent your first apartment how to save money while saving the environment how to select the best portable media player how to stay sober on a Saturday night how to succeed in (or flunk out of) college how to survive a night of babysitting how to survive a recession how to survive without a car how to take decent photographs with your cell phone how to toilet train a baby how to use Twitter how to wash a sweater

(4) Examples

If you're asked to compose a paragraph, essay, or speech developed with examples, these topic suggestions should help you get started.

Topic Suggestions:

(A) Drawing on your own experiences and observations, use examples to show that you agree or disagree with any one of the following principles:
(1) In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence. (The Peter Principle)
(2) Work expands to fill the time available. (Parkinson's Law)
(3) Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong. (Murphy's Law)

(B) Drawing on your own experiences and observations, use examples to show that you agree or disagree with any one of the following proverbs and observations:
(4) ‘Adults are merely obsolete children.’ (Dr Seuss)
(5) Anticipation is often greater than realisation.
(6) ‘You don't know what you've got till it's gone.’ (Joni Mitchell)
(7) A friend walks in when everyone else walks out.
(8) ‘Punctuality is the virtue of the bored.’ (Evelyn Waugh)
(9) When life throws you lemons, make lemonade.
(10) ‘When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.’ (Steven Wright)

(C) Use specific examples to demonstrate your attitude towards any one of the following subjects:
(11) superstitions
(12) the best or worst film of all time
(13) contemporary slang
(14) Facebook friendships
(15) your favourite (or least favourite) television program
(16) your favourite (or least favourite) commercial
(17) tattoos
(18) Twitter
(19) violence in video games
(20) body piercings
(21) changing gender roles
(22) PowerPoint presentations
(23) the most useful (or useless) invention
(24) online high school or college courses
(25) best or worst job (real or imagined)
(26) your favourite (or least favourite) actor, singer, or musician
(27) your favourite (or least favourite) fictional character

(D) Use specific examples to examine any one of the following subjects:
(28) a parent's greatest responsibilities
(29) fad diets
(30) male or female stereotypes in popular culture
(31) superstitions
(32) the best (or worst) song lyrics
(33) true leaders
(34) good manners
(35) the value of pets
(36) best (or worse) fashions
(37) true heroism
(38) churchgoers
(5) Comparison and Contrast

To write an effective comparison and contrast, keep in mind that your subjects should be logically comparable and your composition should have a clear purpose. See these examples of comparison and contrast at work in paragraphs and essays:

Topic Suggestions:

a good boss and a bad boss a real vacation and a dream vacation a starting pitcher and a reliever an active student and a passive student an online class compared to a traditional class bulimia and anorexia
Harry Potter - on the page and on the screen infatuation versus love living on campus and living off campus
Microsoft’s Zune and Apple's iPod the car you own and the car you dream of owning the rules set for you as a child and the rules you have set (or plan to set) for your own children the Toyota Camry hybrid and the Camry sedan two candidates competing for public office two classes in the same subject: one in high school and the other in college two close friends two coffee shops two fast-food restaurants two hosts of late-night talk shows two memorable teachers or professors two neighbourhoods two perspectives on the same place: morning and night two perspectives on the same place: past and present two pets in the same household two places you have visited two professional athletes two sports fans two stages of a person's life two types of exercise two vampires two versions of the film invasion of the body snatchers two video games two views of your parents: before and after you left home two ways of downloading music or films two ways of losing weight: one healthy, the other dangerous two ways of studying for an exam two ways to break a bad habit two workplaces your experiences before and after giving up a bad habit your family home and the house of your dreams

(6) Analogy An analogy is a kind of comparison that explains the unknown in terms of the known, the unfamiliar in terms of the familiar.

A good analogy can help your readers understand a complicated subject or view a common experience in a new way. Analogies can be used with other methods of development to explain a process, define a concept, narrate an event, or describe a person or place.

Analogy isn't a single form of writing. Rather, it's a tool for thinking about a subject, as these brief examples demonstrate:

Do you ever feel that getting up in the morning is like pulling yourself out of quicksand?
Jean Betschart

Sailing a ship through a storm is . . . a good analogy for the conditions inside an organisation during turbulent times, since not only will there be the external turbulence to deal with, but internal turbulence as well.
Peter Lorange

[T]he world of particle physics is more like a crossword than a clockwork mechanism. Each new discovery is a clue, which finds its solution in some new mathematical linkage.
PCW Davies

For some people, reading a good book is like a Calgon bubble bath - it takes you away.
Kris Carr

Ants are so much like human beings as to be an embarrassment. They farm fungi, raise aphids as livestock, launch armies into wars, use chemical sprays to alarm and confuse enemies, capture slaves.
Lewis Thomas

To me, patching up a heart that'd had an attack was like changing out bald tires. They were worn and tired, just like an attack made the heart, but you couldn't just switch out one heart for another.
CE Murphy

Falling in love is like waking up with a cold--or more fittingly, like waking up with a fever.
William B Irvine

My favourite analogy to success in free markets is looking through a telescope at Saturn. It is a fascinating planet with those bright rings around it. But if you walk away from the telescope for a few minutes and then come back to look again, you'll find that Saturn is not there. It has moved on.
Warren D Miller

Quitting a job is like leaving a woman. It's like abandoning part of yourself.
Benjamin Cheever

Yes, a tree is an underground creature, with its tail in the air. All its intelligence is in its roots. Oliver Wendell Holmes

British author Dorothy Sayers observed that analogous thinking is a key aspect of the writing process. A composition professor explains:

Analogy illustrates easily and to almost everyone how an ‘event’ can become an ‘experience’ through the adoption of what Miss [Dorothy] Sayers called an ‘as if’ attitude. That is, by arbitrarily looking at an event in several different ways, ‘as if’ if it were this sort of thing, a student can actually experience transformation from the inside. . . . The analogy functions both as a focus and a catalyst for ‘conversion’ of event into experience. It also provides, in some instances not merely the heuristic for discovery but the actual pattern for the entire essay that follows.
D Gordon Rohman

To discover original analogies that can be explored in paragraphs and essays, apply the ‘as if’ attitude to any one of the topics listed below. In each case, ask yourself, ‘What is it like?’

Topic Suggestions:

attending a new place of worship becoming addicted to drugs being in a car accident dealing with failure dealing with success discovering a major in college experiencing grief experiencing joy falling in love falling out of love gaining a new friend getting married getting out of debt getting up in the morning going into debt learning a new skill leaving home for the first time losing a close friend making a speech moving to a new neighbourhood quitting a job reading a good book resisting peer pressure responding to bad news responding to good news starting a new job taking a difficult exam watching a friend destroy himself (or herself) watching an exciting film working at a fast-food restaurant

(7) Classification

Many subjects can be explored through classification: that is, identifying and illustrating different types, varieties, and methods. These topic suggestions should help you discover a subject that particularly interests you.

Topic Suggestions:

attitudes towards exercising attitudes towards money attitudes towards politics attitudes towards tipping in restaurants baseball pitchers, football quarterbacks, or soccer goalies cheaters churchgoers comedians customers at your work place dancing styles diets different uses of social networking sites (such as Facebook and MySpace) drivers first dates friends gardeners high school teachers or college professors hobbies methods of studying for a final examination music on your mp3 player note-taking strategies on-campus jobs for students online educational resources people waiting in line political activists portable music players reality shows on television reasons for attending (or not attending) college rides at an amusement park road trips roommates sales clerks self-centred people sports fans stand-up comedians stores in the mall study habits styles of eating in the cafeteria talk-show hosts television comedies television detectives vacations video games videos on YouTube visitors to a museum ways of boring people ways of coping with a cold ways of protecting the environment ways of quitting smoking ways of saving money

(8) Causes and Effects

Some of the following topic suggestions emphasise causes; others focus on effects. But keep in mind that these two approaches are closely related and sometimes not easily distinguished.

Topic Suggestions:

the causes of noise pollution the effect of a parent, teacher, or friend on your life the effects of a coach or teammate on your life the effects of computers on our everyday lives the effects of cramming for an examination the effects of growing up with a personal computer the effects of moving to a new town or city the effects of music downloading on the music industry the effects of noise pollution the effects of not keeping a personal budget the effects of peer pressure the effects of poverty on an individual the effects of pressures on students to get good grades the effects of racial, sexual, or religious discrimination the effects of stress on students in high school or college the effects of the steady increase in the cost of going to college the environmental effects of bottled water the influence of a book or a film on your life the long-term effects of unemployment on a person why adults have more fun than children on Halloween why baseball is no longer the national pastime why college mathematics (or any other courses) is so difficult why growing numbers of people shop online why many adults enjoy animated films. why many children run away from home why many people don't bother to vote in local elections why more and more students are taking online classes why one college course is more rewarding than another why people exercise why people keep pets why reality shows are so popular why sales of DVDs are declining why so few students read newspapers why so many people eat junk food why some people choose not to carry a cell phone why some roommates don't get along why some students cheat why students drop out of high school or college why you selected your major

(9) Extended Definition

Abstract and controversial ideas can often be clarified through extended definitions. The concepts listed here can be defined in various ways and from different points of view.

Topic Suggestions:

a good (or bad) boss a good (or bad) coach a good (or bad) parent a good (or bad) roommate a good (or bad) teacher or professor a happy marriage ambition beauty charisma citizenship common sense conservative courage dedication feminism frustration generosity greed gumption healthy appetite heroism honour human rights humility integrity intelligence kindness laziness leadership liberal maturity modesty optimism peace of mind peer pressure persistence personality physical fitness political correctness pride progress racism respect responsibility right to privacy self-assurance self-respect sense of humour sensitivity sexism sloth sophistication sportsmanship success team player thrift true friendship trust vanity virtue (10) Argument and Persuasion

Any one of the statements below may be either defended or attacked in an argumentative essay or speech.

Topic Suggestions:

A student organisation should be formed to rescue and care for the feral cats on campus.
All citizens should be required by law to vote.
All citizens under the age of 21 should be required to pass a driving education course before receiving a license to drive.
All forms of government welfare should be abolished.
All students in high school and college should be required to take at least two years of a foreign language.
Any citizen who does not have a criminal record should be permitted to carry a concealed weapon.
Any student caught cheating on an examination should be automatically dismissed from college.
At the end of each term, student evaluations of faculty should be posted online.
Both parents should assume equal responsibility in raising a child.
Censorship is sometimes justified.
College athletes should be exempted from regular class-attendance policies.
College students in South Korea should be offered financial incentives to graduate in three years rather than four.
College students should have complete freedom to choose their own courses.
Dieting makes people fat.
Drunk drivers should be imprisoned on the first offense.
Financial incentives should be offered to high school students who perform well on standardised tests.
Freshmen should not be required to purchase a meal plan from the college.
Government and military personnel should have the right to strike.
Government financial aid for students should be based solely on merit.
High school graduates should take a year off before entering college.
Most study-abroad programmes should be renamed ‘party abroad’: they are a waste of time and money.
Non-traditional students should be exempted from regular class-attendance policies.
Participating in team sports helps to develop good character.
People have become overly dependent on technology.
People who contribute to social security should have the right to choose how their money is invested.
Privacy is not the most important right.
Professional baseball players convicted of using performance-enhancing drugs should not be considered for induction into the hall of fame.
Romantic love is a poor basis for marriage.
Students should not be required to take physical education courses.
The continuing decline of CD sales along with the rapid growth of music downloads signals a new era of innovation in popular music.
The lost art of letter-writing deserves to be revived.
The primary mission of colleges and universities should be preparing students for the workforce.
The production and sale of cigarettes should be made illegal.
The solution to the impending crisis in social security is the immediate elimination of this anachronistic government programme.
The war on terror has contributed to the growing abuse of human rights.
To conserve fuel and save lives, the 55 miles-per-hour national speed limit should be restored.
To encourage healthy eating, higher taxes should be imposed on soft drinks and junk food.
University students should not be penalised for illegally downloading music, films, or other protected content.
Zoos are internment camps for animals and should be shut down.