Students face a variety of writing tasks in their course work. Although these tasks vary from course to course and discipline to discipline, the ways to present information are similar.
General-to-Specific Pattern is one of these ways.
The general-to-specific pattern is probably one of the most common patterns in college writing. It may be used in any of these familiar places:
• introduction to a paper
• background in a research paper
• opening paragraphs for a discussion or an analysis
• essay examination answers As the name suggests, this pattern is characterized by a movement in your thinking from a generalization to specific details. Your opening paragraph would begin with a general statement and then add details that explain it. The details may continue to become increasingly more specific. The pattern ends with a broad statement that summarizes your thinking that resulted from the details. The most common way to start a GS text is to use either definition or generalization.
• Definition:
• A method of developing a paragraph, essay, or speech by moving from a general observation about a topic to specific details in support of that topic.
• Also known as the deductive method of organization, general-to-specific order is commonly used than the reverse method. By analysis, comparison-contrast-analogy,function,etymology,example,synonyms.
Generalizations
Writing generalizations at the beginning of the GS text can help you to organize your thoughts.
Generalizations:
Are statement that are simple enough, so that most everyone understands them
• Address the