ENGL1010 Composition IListed below are some simple definitions for the Rhetorical Modes of Development. The definitions for the different modes will help writers as they begin to develop a clear understanding of each mode. Additionally, when using gathered evidence to support a thesis, the definitions will help writers choose the mode that best fits the evidence so that the most logical format or technique is used to strengthen the writer's purpose.
Definitions for the Rhetorical Modes of Development
Narration: Tells a story about a series of happenings, usually personal, which result in a change.
Description: Tells what something looks, sounds, smells, tastes, and/or feels like, its essential nature or principal characteristics, and/or how it affects one mentally and emotionally.
Process: Explains how to do something step by step or how something works or is done.
Illustration: Provides representative details, models, instances, or demonstrations that reveal the nature of something or serve as supporting evidence of something
Classification/Division: Sorts items into defined groups and describes the characteristics of members of the group/Breaks something into parts and explains how the parts function in the whole
Cause/Effect: Explains the motivation or sequence of events resulting in a situation or event/explains the results of a situation, condition, action, or event.
Comparison/Contrast: Explains the similarities and differences between two or more things.
Definition: Tells what something is and/or is not.
Argument: Appeals to the reader's logic, emotions, and/or ethics to prove a point or change behavior, attitude, and/or belief.
ENGL1010 Composition I