Writer's Toolkit: Six Approaches

You want to explain a topic to a reader. (This also applies to writing a speech.) You want to make the meaning clear. As a writer, you have several devices in your toolkit.

Definition. Tell the reader what the word, phrase, topic "means". This goes beyond the dictionary meaning to emotional meanings, cultural meanings, the "connotations" or word associations that go along with the word or phrase. For example, the word "popcorn" has a dictionary meaning, but it can also bring up memories of movies we've seen, carnivals we've attended, TV parties in our living rooms, etc. When the reader is on the same wave-length with you and knows what you mean when you say "freedom" or "liberty", then the reader can follow you with understanding as you develop the larger topic.

Illustration. This one is the easiest to find and use. Give me an example of "an educated person". Give me an example of a "bargain price for an airline ticket." Give me an example of a really well-made pizza. Some topics or sub-topics only require one or two strong examples. Other topics beg for many examples to reinforce what your main point is.

Comparison and Contrast. Sometimes you can really explain your topic by placing it beside something it resembles or beside something that is totally different from it. New York and Los Angeles are two very large cities but they're not identical. You might make New York's traits and quirks clear by placing it beside how it's done in Los Angeles. Two brothers in your family have the same parents but one is quiet and more studious while the other is outgoing, fanatical about a favorite football team, and subject to energy highs and lows. When you want to introduce your reader to a topic unfamiliar to him/her, you might start with something he/she does know. Think of a foreign country you have visited. To explain one of its large cities, you might start with a description of a large U.S. city and then move on to describe how the European (Asian, African) city differs.

Classification and Division. You can explain a broad topic by dividing it into "classes" or "types". Take "tourists". There are tourists who travel to take pictures only, tourists who travel to learn about another culture, tourists who travel because their best friends went to the same country. When you use "division", you take one thing and break it down into its parts. For example, in discussing human anatomy, you might talk about systems such as respiratory, digestive, circulatory, muscular, cardiovascular, etc. You get the idea.

Process Analysis. This kind of explaining involves "how-to." Sometimes you are telling the reader how to keep financial records for a business. Sometimes you are describing a historical process...such as how did the automobile as we know it in the U.S. get to where it is today? Sometimes you're describing a physical, natural process, such as how a plant makes its own food through photosynthesis. In process analysis, you must make sure to include all the important steps and show how one step connects to the next. And you need to use language the reader will understand.

Cause-Effect. This type of writing requires very careful thinking and analysis. The "cause" of a marital breakup is not the fight that Hector and Pearl had last Friday night. (The problem started long before that.) The "effect" of the marital breakup involves each of the spouses, their children, in-laws, maybe even work associates and members of their bowling team. Too often our conversations show superficial thinking as we assign causes to a bad economy, bratty children, pushy bosses, cars that don't run right. Causes may be "buried" until we do the research. The "effects" may be easier to spot because they happen right in front of us.

All these tools do not have to be used in isolation. As you develop a topic in your writing, you may call upon one or more of them in a combination that makes your meaning clearer than clear. Tools are meant to be used. May these serve your purposes well.