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Tips on Writing a Division Classification Essay

College writing has many different aspects and students need to learn different types of writing to succeed in their academic career. Students have to write persuasive, argumentative, expository, admission, and division classification essays, as well as many other types of papers. One must have well-developed writing skills to prepare assignments that will bring good grades. Many students get stressed out as soon as they realize that they need to prepare a writing assignment, and the most common reason is that they don’t know how to approach it in the right way. Fortunately, Writers House is here to help you with a bit of advice.

When writing a division and classification essay, students need to follow the given instructions and make sure that their paper will meet certain requirements. First of all, let’s figure out what a division and classification essay is. The main purpose of an essay of this kind is to break down a complicated subject into subtopics which are easy to understand. The classification part of the assignment requires you to sort your subjects into different categories. You should also determine the most important aspects of the subject that need to be classified.

If you don’t know how to approach writing a division and classification essay, here’s the good news for you: assignments of this kind are not as difficult as they may seem. In fact, two-part classification essays are very simple, while three-part essays also offer certain advantages for a writer. Essays with five or more paragraphs enable students to consider their topic in detail, creating a more complete picture. Given that division and classification essays have two main aspects, let’s consider them in more detail.

Classification

To write a classification essay, you should classify the key details into three or more categories. Each category must have its distinctive characteristics. You should also explain and illustrate these categories by providing detailed evidence and examples. Descriptions in division classification essays are aimed to show examples and details that help better understand every category. You can also create short narratives by using anecdotes that illustrate different categories.

Keep in mind that classification is based on the three main elements:

  • items that are being classified;
  • the principle that helps classify a certain set of items;
  • classes to which every set of items belongs.

When classifying sets of items into categories, you should make sure that every set includes items that have similar features, making this set different from other sets. For example, living beings can belong to the category of organisms, while non-living objects won’t fall into this category. A classified set can also be a generic noun, such as professions, sports, or plants.

The principle

Classification is always based on certain criteria which can be a function or quality. These criteria are called the principle of selection. For example, life processes serve as the principle of selection in biology. Geology is also based on a clear principle of selection which helps classify rock into the metamorphic or sedimentary category. The effectiveness of your classification scheme depends on the relevance of your set and its distinctive trait. Fortunately, this feature of division classification essays also makes them easier to write.

Classes

You should understand all the main elements of classification to write effective division and classification essays. When it comes to the classes, you have to explain the descriptor first. You need to clearly identify items that belong to a certain category or class. Your readers will better understand the difference between categories if you explain what makes a certain class stand out, which will be much easier to do if you provide examples that properly illustrate the class according to the main principle. You can also use this principle to compare and contrast different classes. For example, in biology, you can compare organisms from different classes. In fact, compare and contrast isn’t the only method you can use when writing a division classification essay. You can also use such methods as definition, narration, and description.

Organizing an essay

When writing a division classification essay, you should develop an idea that will identify a certain set of items. This idea should explain the importance, value, and relevance of the main scheme of your classification system. Identify your classes in your thesis statement.

The body of the essay must describe every particular class, explaining the relation of this class to the entire system. Given that you have multiple classes available, you need to explain why you decided to classify a certain set into a particular category. However, keep in mind that you only must have one scheme of classification that serves as the basis for the entire essay.

The conclusion section must summarize the topic and highlight the value, relevance, or importance of the scheme.

Possible challenges

If you need to write a classification division essay, you have to provide examples that will illustrate different classes. We recommend that you define every class first, and then provide examples that will explain it. An effective essay of this kind must identify classes by providing distinctive characteristics. Make sure that every item belongs to one class and every class has several items. Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that will provide the definition of a certain class considered in this paragraph. After this, write supporting sentences that will describe the class and its items. Provide specific examples so that your readers can understand why these items fall into this exact category.

Division

The division aspect of writing also helps better understand the subject by dividing it into categories. However, division is all about finding and explaining relations between items. You need to focus on distinctive aspects of different subsystems and consider them in relation to the main system.

To write effective division and classification essays, you should know the elements of division. There are such elements as the system, subsystems, and the principle of analysis. For example, a car is a system, while its engine and transmission are the subsystems. In this case, the functionality serves as the principal of analysis. To describe the biggest system, you should consider every subsystem and explain is functions. You should also consider other subsystems and explain their relation to the system.

You should also understand the difference between division and classification. Items that belong to a certain class must be completely different from the items from other classes. Besides, you cannot classify one item into several classes. In contrast, division implies that items can belong to several classes at once. Individual items are evaluated in the context of the subsystem and compared to other items from the same class.

For instance, human anatomy divides our bodies into respiratory, circulatory, and excretory subsystems. Given that blood is present in all of these categories, it has several functions and can be considered from different perspectives. The classification method of division is based on the functionality of items. The main difference between division essays and process essays is that the latter focus on the connection between different subsystems and processes in the overall system.

Now that we’ve figured out what division classification essays are made of, let’s figure out how to plan and write a division classification essay.

Planning

The writing process includes two steps: planning and writing. First of all, you must decide what you’re going to classify. You need an interesting and original topic. What division classification essays have in common with other essay types is that you need to find a topic that will be interesting for both you and your audience. If your topic isn’t interesting to you, writing will get much more difficult.

One of the easiest approaches is to choose three items in each category. This way, your essay will have a clear and well-organized structure.

Outlining

Division and classification essays have the same format as other types of essays, since you must write an introduction, body, and conclusion. When writing an outline, we suggest that you focus on such important aspects of your future essay as:

  • the main topic;
  • a list of subtopics;
  • definitions of subtopics;
  • examples that explain and illustrate each subtopic.

The writing process

Categories that you choose are crucial because they will help you introduce the topic of the entire paper. Although the categories must be different from each other, they must follow the same principle. Every category must include examples because, this way, it will be easier for you to write an effective essay.

First, you should develop your thesis statement. The thesis statement should both help you introduce the topic and provide a general understanding of the classification. Therefore, it must be concise, clear, and logical.

The first paragraph of your essay will be the introduction, where you should present the thesis statement. However, don’t begin your introduction with the thesis statement. We recommend that you identify the classification first. A good solution is to write a thesis statement at the end of the introduction, after its brief description.

The body paragraphs must provide a complete description of your thesis statement, considering all the categories in detail and illustrating them with examples. Every body paragraph must only focus on one subtopic, or category. This way, your essay will be easy to understand and the structure of the essay will be clear. We recommend that you arrange the body paragraphs to create a logical sequence of items.

Division and classification essays are often based on the analysis of common features and differences. Many writers compare and contrast items to make a transition from one paragraph to another, which helps readers better understand you and makes an essay easier to read.

The last paragraph is the conclusion, which summarizes the most important information. Another purpose of the conclusion is to justify the whole classification system and to acknowledge its limitations, if necessary. In this section, you may also explain why you’ve decided to classify items in this way, and why the chosen principle is relevant, important, or valuable.

Common Transitions

When writing division classification essays, you can assign specific numbers to classes or items. For example, you can refer to your classes as “the first type,” “the second type,” and so on. The main thing is to make sure that the classification principle is actually useful and all the categories are different from each other, having their own distinctive characteristics. Another important aspect of writing is to provide enough examples, illustrating all the categories properly.

Once your essay is complete, don’t forget to proofread and edit it. It must meet all the requirements and be original. Fix any grammar mistakes, and then submit your paper. Don’t forget that you can always order academic assistance and proofreading on Writers-House.com.

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