Division or Classification Essay

Division or Classification Essay

Instructions/Descriptions

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Division or Classification Essay

Essay 2—Division or Classification

In The Field Guide, read “Classifying and Dividing” (pp. 418-22).

Essay Introduction

You have already completed an expository essay with examples used as the primary means of support; this essay is slightly more complex but will build on skills you learned with the first essay.

Division is a form of analysis in which one element is separated into its component parts so it may be understood more easily. You must select one single principle (basis) for this division and stick to that single basis.

The government of the United States, for example, is a single element. The black circle below represents the government.

Since our government is so complex, it is more easily understood if we divide it into parts as shown in this diagram.

A division essay on the government of the United States would have three paragraphs, one on each branch.

Classification is a form of analysis in which many elements are sorted and organized into appropriate groups, types, kinds, or categories in order to make the information easier to grasp. You must select one principle (basis) for the grouping and stick to this single principle.

A marching band, for example, has many members. These people are represented by all the individual dots in the image below.

In order to help someone understand how all of these people work together to perform, the individuals can be grouped together as shown in this image.

The people inside the red circle lead the band while those in the green oval are members of the auxiliary units (majorettes, color guard, etc.). All the other dots are people who play instruments.

Either division OR classification is the main purpose of your essay, so be sure to structure the essay as a division or classification paper, NOT an illustration like your first essay.

Thesis Statement

The thesis statement for this essay will differ a bit from the thesis you wrote for the illustration essay; the main point of difference is the assertion. Whether you choose to classify or divide, this thesis has three key parts: subject, assertive principle, and map.

1. The thesis must, of course, have a subject. This is the topic you are going to divide or classify, the large element that is being separated or the many elements that are being grouped.
2. The thesis must also have an assertive principle of division or classification. This means the basis on which you will be dividing your element into smaller parts or categorizing many elements. What idea are you using to group (classification) or separate (division)?

The assertive principle is the unifying idea of the entire essay. For instance, if you are classifying students by major, each map section must be related to a particular major; don’t suddenly switch to classification by fraternity—only discuss the major. Another example is if you are classifying dogs by breed: you might have categories like spaniels, terriers, hounds, and retrievers. You would not have a category called “long-haired” because that’s a physical characteristic, not a breed.

I cannot stress enough the importance of the assertive principle. Without this element, you will have great difficulty in producing the map sections and you will end up with an essay that lacks unity.

1. The essay map must contain a minimum of three groups, types, etc., just like the map you wrote for the first essay. If a subject can be divided or classified into four, five, or six areas, you must include all of them in the map and write a body paragraph for each one. If you don’t want to write five or six body paragraphs, you should narrow your subject or pick another subject rather than leave obvious sections out.

Here is a sample thesis for a division essay:

To fully appreciate its complexity, Americans must understand that the United States government is divided into the executive, legislative, and judicial branches according to the part each plays in creating laws.

The one large subject, the United States government, is divided into its parts. The assertive principle is according to the part each plays in creating laws. (This narrows the focus of the paper to only discussing the role each branch has in the creation of our laws.) The essay map names the three branches of the government. (Note: If the federal government had four or five branches, all would have to be included for this thesis to be correct.)

Second sample division thesis:

To provide efficient operations and organization, a fire department is broken down into command, support, suppression, and defense divisions while on a fire scene.

The assertion in this sample is not as blatantly stated. However, it is obvious the writer will explain the job each division performs while the department is at a fire scene.

The following sample thesis statements for classification essays use the same color-code as above (subject in blue, assertion in red, essay map in green).

To remain safe while driving, one must be aware of the drivers to be most on guard against; they fall into three distinct categories according to their dangerous driving habits:  the maniacs, the ultra-conservatives, and the inattentive drivers.

Marching band members can be classified by their role in the performance as the leaders, the instrumentation, and the auxiliary.

Marvel heroes can be classified by their origin stories as those who were born a hero, made themselves a hero, and forced by others to become a hero.

Rarely, a subject might be used for either division or classification. Here is one sample; notice the difference in the wording of the subjects. This difference may seem unimportant, but it is significant and impacts the wording of the assertion.

Division thesis: A marching band can be divided into the leaders, the instrumentation, and the auxiliary based on their role in the performance.

Classification thesis: Marching band members can be classified by their role in the performance as the leaders, the instrumentation, and the auxiliary.

As you draft your thesis/map, keep these ideas in mind.

1. Select one assertive principle and stick to it.
2. Establish the best order for the map sections.—The best order will depend on your subject and the map sections you choose. You might organize the map sections from least to most, from the smallest to the largest group, or in some other way.
3. Avoid undeveloped categories.—You are going to fully develop each body paragraph with description and at least one example. If you cannot think of an example to use for the category, it is likely too narrow.

4. Avoid indistinct categories.—The idea in each map section must be distinct from every other section. In other words, map sections cannot overlap. For example, a paper explaining the types of cloth commonly used for bed sheets cannot include map sections for both cotton and flannel because flannel is a type of cotton.

Like the last essay, NO RESEARCH is allowed for this essay. Do not use sources other than your own mind for this essay. Also, like the last essay, NO personal subjects are allowed; this means you cannot write about types of bosses you have had or kinds of movies you like.

Assignment

Your first assignment for this essay is to complete and submit prewriting, an audience analysis, and a thesis/map.

1. Perform prewriting. For your chosen topic, first perform prewriting of your choice. Fill a page with possible ideas.
2. Write an audience analysis. Complete an audience analysis for the people you are addressing in this essay. What are their interests, hobbies, etc.? Complete this step before writing the thesis.
3. Develop a thesis statement with map.

Topic Suggestions

You are not limited to the following topic suggestions, but subjects like these work well for this essay. Additional topic suggestions are provided in a separate file.

Division topics include such subjects as the government, a budget, and the military. Many other subjects are possible.

Classification topics include all types of subjects. These are not organized in any particular way.

movie goers

children’s movies (or some other genre)

airplane passengers

sports fans

salespeople

customers

preachers

church-goers

doctors

insults

police officers

procrastinators

audiences at rock concerts

problems a specific group faces

baseball pitchers

quarterbacks

nurses

babysitters

video game players

weapons in a specific video game

places of worship

sacrifices

apologies

aircraft

diets

Division or Classification Essay

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