A classification essay will break a large subject into categories for the purpose of analysis. Often the most useful classification essay will take disparate elements, things don't seem to go together, and show patterns of connectedness that the reader would not have guessed were there. Many scientific treatises are classifications it often seems that all of biology is a huge endeavor to make sure all living things fit into some neat category. Writing a successful classification essay will challenge your ingenuity in seeing connections between things. The number of categories we work with and how elaborately we describe each category will determine the pace of our essay. Describing or defining one particular category for too long will unbalance the load, and our readers will lose track of our strategy and intent. Do we work toward the most important, the most telling category, the one that will make our major point for us, or do we start with that one and fill in the rest of the picture? the answer to that question will vary from essay to essay.

One of the huge advantages of using a word processor is that you can experiment with the placement of categories and see which works best for you. Once you have written your classification essay, you can try a different paragraph order and try both orders on friends. And while they're at it, they can look for other loose ends in your writing! see editing.

And, of course, as always, what is the point of this classification? what insight into the whole do we get by analyzing the parts in this way? the following essay is really a combination of a personal essay and a classification essay. It was written by ima ersatz, a former community college student who went on to become a community college instructor. She kindly gives us permission to reprint this essay. you can tell a lot about students in a classroom before they open their mouths or put pen to paper. You can tell a lot about what kind of student they are according to where they have chosen to sit in a classroom assuming they're allowed to sit where they want. When i was in college, my favorite perch was always well to the back of the classroom 151 not necessarily in the back row, because i thought that was reserved for true, inveterate slackers, but just in front of the back row. It was part of my scheme to get through four years of college without ever being called on in class. I had other devices pretending to be scribbling notes furiously in my notebook or looking up something in my book profs won't bother you if they think you're taking notes on their precious words , pretending to be suffering from a nasty cold but none more effective over the long haul of a semester than simply choosing my seat carefully.

How i loathed the students in front row, especially bob engstrom! he always raised his hand to ask and answer questions. That was bad enough, but all class long he bobbed his head up and down in agreement with everything the professor said. I would have whacked that head with my copy of bleak house if it weren't so far in front of me. I continue to associate everyone in front row with the back of bob engstrom's head. Later on 151 irony of ironies 151 i became a college instructor who depended greatly on students' willingness to participate in class discussion. I can confirm that what i learned earlier from the back of the classroom is true. Front rows are students who want to appear more interested in what's going on in the class they interact more often and more expertly with the instructor, and they get better grades.

Back seats are either too shy or unwilling to engage in the life of the class they get lower grades. Actually, i've found that back seats are not necessarily the best seats for avoiding the eye of the questioning professor. A professor who stands in front of his class might well look over front seats and look back seats right in the eye.

This is bad for back seats because the professor knows why they're sitting there and will overlook the waving arms of front seats to get at the squirming, coughing victims of back seatdom. Not only are they more comfortable 151 year after year students have been leaning their sleepy heads against the walls until there is a nice groove worn in the plaster 151 but the instructor needs stereoscopic vision to catch them. Thus, if they do fall asleep, side seats are far less apt to fall onto the floor because they enjoy the support of the wall, but they are also never in the direct gaze of the instructor. Surprising point of fact: the very best seat for avoiding the instructor's questions might very well be the first row, side seat either side, perhaps depending on whether the instructor is left or right handed or blind in one eye.

The largest segment of classroom geography, of course, is the area of center seats, that circle of seats in the middle of the classroom, not front or back or off to the sides. They haven't really made a commitment to being an academic star, nor are they willing, quite yet, to write you off and fall asleep on you. The students of center seats deserve the benefit of the doubt, always they will get b's and c's, and frequently there will be a pleasant surprise sitting among them 151 perhaps they came to class late and couldn't find a seat in the front or they just wanted to be disguised for some reason. Be assured she will be treated as an alien by her nearby classmates, and rightfully so.

And, as a young teacher, in my very first literature class at the university of connecticut, i was dumbfounded by a student who insisted on sitting in the very front row center and yet fell profoundly asleep every class. But fifteen minutes into the class this student's head would begin the old bob and weave and snap to attention and soon he would all but snore and drool. I was hypnotized by his drooping eyes and the class began to pay more attention to his weaving head than to my scintillating lecture.

why does the writer present the categories in this order? can you think of other categories based on the classroom's geography that the writer didn't list? does this essay seem aimed toward a specific audience? if so, what kind? what structural elements holds this essay together? try printing the essay and connecting structural elements with circles and lines. Do or did you fit into any of these categories in the classroom? does the essay inspire you to try sitting elsewhere in the classroom the next time you begin a class? can you sum up the writer's point if there is one ? can you point to a thesis statement or place where the point of the essay seems to happen ? there is no scientific evidence to back up what the writer says about where certain kinds of students sit. Would the analysis be improved by such evidence? in your introduction.

If you have narrowed your subject in any way for example, types of bad drivers, rock guitarists, or annoying moviegoers , you should make this clear from the start. In your introduction, you may also want to provide some specific descriptive or informative details to attract the interest of your readers and suggest the purpose of the essay. Finally, be sure to include a thesis sentence usually at the end of the introduction that briefly identifies the main types or approaches you are about to examine. Here 39 s an example of a short but effective introductory paragraph to a classification essay: it 39 s a warm evening in july, and all across the country americans are gathering to watch a game of professional baseball. Armed with hot dogs and cold drinks, they stroll to their seats, some in grand stadiums, others in cozy minor league parks. But no matter where the game is played, you will find the same three types of baseball fan: the party rooter, the sunshine supporter, and the diehard fan.

The specific details provide a setting a ballpark on 34 a warm evening in july 34 in which we expect to see the various fans described. And the diehard fan lead us to expect descriptions of each type in the order they 39 re given. Begin each body paragraph with a topic sentence that identifies a particular type or approach. Arrange your body paragraphs in whatever order strikes you as clear and logical say, from the least effective approach to the most effective, or from the most common type to the least familiar or the other way around. Just make sure that the order of your body paragraphs matches the arrangement promised in your thesis sentence. Here, in the body of the essay on baseball fans, you can see that the writer has fulfilled the expectations set up in the introduction. the party rooter goes to games for the hot dogs, the gimmicks, the giveaways, and the companionship he 39 s not really that interested in the ballgame itself. the party rooter is the sort of fan who shows up on buck a brew night, often with a gang of fellow partiers.

He cracks jokes, hurls peanuts at the team mascot, applauds the exploding scoreboard, blasts an electronic horn whenever he pleases and occasionally nudges a companion and asks, 34 hey, who 39 s winning? 34 the party rooter often wanders out of the park in the sixth or seventh inning to continue his celebrations in the car on the way home. the sunshine supporter, usually a more common type than the party rooter, goes to the park to cheer on a winning team and bask in its glory. when the home side is on a winning streak and still in contention for a playoff spot, the stadium will be packed with this sort of fan. As long as her team is winning, the sunshine supporter will be roaring at every play, waving her pennant and shouting out the names of her heroes. However, as the name implies, the sunshine supporter is a fickle fan, and her cheers quickly turn to boos when a hero strikes out or drops a line drive.

She will stay around until the end of the game to celebrate a victory, but should her team fall a few runs behind she 39 s likely to slip out to the parking lot during the seventh inning stretch. diehard fans are also strong supporters of the local team, but they go to the park to watch good baseball, not just to root for a winner. more attentive to the game than other fans, diehards will study the stance of a power hitter, note the finesse of a quick fielder, and anticipate the strategy of a pitcher who has fallen behind in the count. While the party rooter is chugging a beer or dropping wisecracks, diehards may be filling in a scorecard or commenting on a player 39 s rbi tally over the past few months. And when a sunshine supporter boos an opposing player for tagging out a local hero, diehards may be quietly applauding the expert moves of this 34 enemy 34 infielder. No matter what the score is, diehard fans remain in their seats until the last batter is out, and they may still be talking about the game long after it 39 s over.

Notice how the writer uses comparisons to ensure cohesion in the body of the essay. The topic sentences of the second and third paragraphs refer to the preceding paragraph. Likewise, in the third body paragraph the writer draws explicit contrasts between the diehards and the other two types of baseball fans. Such comparisons not only provide smooth transitions from one paragraph to the next but also reveal the sympathies of the writer. He begins with the type of fan he likes the least and ends with the one he most admires. The concluding paragraph gives you an opportunity to draw together the various types and approaches you have been examining.