1. Exemplification

2. The purposes of exemplification Examples can be used : 1)to support a general topic statementto support a general topic statement 2) to explain a difficult point or unfamiliar conceptto explain a difficult point or unfamiliar concept

3. This term several useful and interesting courses have been offered. An Introduction to European Culture, for instance, gives us a lot of background knowledge of the history of European philosophy, literature, and arts. From time to time we see slide shows of famous paintings and hear tapes of famous pieces of music, and they make the lectures all the more interesting. American Society and Culture is another course that attracts a large audience. The teacher, who visited the United States not long ago, discusses new trends and changes in American life as well as American history and traditions. We like these and other courses very much, because they help us not only to improve our English but also to broaden our vision.

4. Knowledge often results only after persistent investigation. Albert Einstein, after a lengthy examination of the characteristics of matter and energy, formulated his famous Theory of Relativity, which now acts as a basis for further research in nuclear physics. Using plaster casts of footprints, fingerprints, and stray strands of hair, a detective pertinaciously pursues the criminal. After years of work Annie Jump Cannon perfected the classification of the spectra of some 350,000 stars. Investigations into the causes of polio have provided us with the means for prevention and cure of this dreaded disease only after many years of research. As students, we too are determined in our investigation to find, retain, and contribute to the store of human knowledge.

5. The signal words for exemplification  for example / for instance  take … for example  such as / like  …is a case in point.  one example is …, another example is …  also, furthermore, moreover, besides, in addition, etc.

6. How to write a paragraph by exemplification The topic sentence The topic sentence usually tells the readers the subject under discussion. In addition, it should point out the main idea of the paragraph.

7. Some examples:  In order to prevent non-smokers from being affected, measures must be taken to reduce the chances of smoking.  Knowledge often results only after persistent investigation.  My little niece, a ten-month-old baby, is the most lovely child I have ever seen.

8. The supporting sentences The supporting sentences usually provide several examples which center on the main idea stated in the topic sentence. When thinking of the examples, we should :  Select good examples  Arrange the examples in a good order

9. Select good examples  Good examples should be specific  Good examples should be appropriate  Good examples should be interesting and lively

10. Specific examples can serve the following important purposes:  Establishing a bond of intimacy between you and your readers  Making your writing persuasive and convincing  Explaining your idea clearly  Making your writing interesting

11. Perhaps the most interesting person I have ever met is an Italian professor of philosophy who teaches at the University of Pisa. Although I last met this man eight years ago, I have not forgotten the qualities that make him one of my favourite people. First of all, I was impressed by his devotion to teaching. Because his lectures were always well-prepared and clearly delivered, students swarmed into his classroom. His followers appreciated the fact that he believed in what he taught and that he was intellectually stimulating. Furthermore, he could be counted on to explain his ideas in an imaginative way, introducing such aids to understanding as paintings, recordings, pieces of sculpture, and guest lecturers. Once he even sang in class to illustrate a point.

12. Second, I admired the fact that he would confer with his students outside of the classroom or talk with them on the telephone. Drinking coffee in the snack bar, he would easily make friends with students. Sometimes he would challenge a student to a game of chess. At other times, he would join groups to discuss subjects ranging from astronomy to diving. Many young people visited him in his office for academic advice, others came to his home for social evening. Finally, I was attracted by his lively wit. He believed that no class is a success unless the students and the professor share several chuckles and at least one loud laugh. Through his sense of humour, he made learning more enjoyable and more lasting. If it is true that life makes a wise man smile and a foolish man cry, then my friend is truly a wise man.

13. Spring and autumn are the two best seasons for wearing jeans, but jeans are suitable for winter and summer as well. In my eyes, young people in jeans skirts or shorts are most handsome and beautiful. Imagine a group of youngsters in blue jeans walking toward you, under a blue sky or on a sand beach along which blue waves are shimmering in the sun. What kind of feeling will you have? Deeply impressed by their youthful vitality, you cannot help but wonder at the visible effects created by jeans. This topic sentence tells us that jeans are suitable for all the four seasons. However, this offered example is irrelevant to the main idea expressed in the topic sentence.

14. Maybe it was the strange way things looked and sounded in my familiar room at night that scared me so much. The streetlight or passing car lights made clothes hung over a chair take on the shape of an unknown beast. A tiny creak on the floor would sound a hundred times louder than that in the daylight. And my imagination would take over, creating burglars and monsters on the prowl. Darkness always made me feel so helpless that I would lie very still so that the “enemy” would not discover me.

15. Arrange the examples in a good order  From general to specific  From specific to general  Climatic order

16. My little niece, a ten-month-old baby, is the most lovely child I have even seen. Her face is like a red apple and her eyes are like bright stars. When you carry her in your arms, she likes to put her arms around your neck. All the grownups in the family love her very much and often try to make her smile. But quite often it is she who makes us laugh. Once I winked at her and she smiled. When I did it again, she watched me attentively. Then she tried to imitate. While we closed one eye to wink, she had to close both eyes at the same time, and then quickly opened them again. And that was her way to wink. We all burst into laughter. When we looked at her again, she was staring at us, puzzled, as if she was asking: “What are you laughing at?” General examples: her appearance, her behaviors and her popularity. All these examples reflect the loveliness of the little niece. One specific example is used to show that the little niece is really lovely.

17. Whether you do or do not open a gift in the presence of the giver; whether you should or should not turn the plate over to look at the maker’s symbol on the back; whether you put your coat on before or after you leave the host’s house; whether you eat as quietly or as noisily as possible; whether you carry on a conversation during a meal; whether you walk in front of or behind a seated person; whether it is friendly or an offensive gesture to put your hand on the arm of the person with whom you are talking --- these and a thousand other questions are matters of cultural definition. None of them is inherently right or wrong, and none is good or bad manners except as a society defines it so. These are specific examples introduced by ”whether” The general statement summarizes the general idea implied in the above examples.

18. It was a typical Russian winter. The first snowstorm had turned everything white. The wind was howling, swirling and tumbling over a vast land of ice and snow, freezing and destroying whatever stood in its way. A ragged, misshapen army was staggering and struggling desperately for survival, cold, hungry and decreasing in size every day. The year was 1812. The army was the remnants of Napoleon’s expeditionary force which was withdrawing from Russia after receiving its worst defeat. The war with Russia turned out to be a fiasco for Napoleon and had a devastating effect on his career. the bad weather The worst defeat of an army A fiasco for Napoleon The degree of badness intensified as the paragraph develops

19. The concluding Sentence The concluding sentence usually restates the main idea in the topic sentence.