{"id":46,"date":"2017-09-04T06:07:31","date_gmt":"2017-09-04T06:07:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/?page_id=46"},"modified":"2017-09-18T15:48:41","modified_gmt":"2017-09-18T15:48:41","slug":"functions-of-language-modes-of-exposition","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/functions-of-language-modes-of-exposition\/","title":{"rendered":"Functions of Language &#038; Modes of Exposition"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"twelve columns\" style=\"margin-top: 10%;\">\n<div class=\"advance\"><a class=\"button button-primary\" href=\"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/text-features\">\u2b05 Previous Lesson<\/a>\u00a0<a class=\"button\" href=\"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/interpretation-of-expository-texts\">Workshop Index<\/a>\u00a0<a class=\"button button-primary\" href=\"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/types-of-evidence-opinion-v-fact-authorial-bias\">Next Lesson \u27a1<\/a><\/div>\n<p><!-- CONTENT BEGINS HERE --><\/p>\n<h1 id=\"title\">Functions of Language &amp; Modes of Exposition<\/h1>\n<h4>Objective<\/h4>\n<p>Review the functions of exposition and how to tailor your text to your intent.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><\/p>\n<h4>Previously Covered:<\/h4>\n<p>The interpretation of expository text begins with reading comprehension. Several strategies may be used to increase\u00a0reading comprehension, either individually (for more advanced readers) or as part of an integral process (for\u00a0beginning readers). Individual strategies are aimed at helping students first understand what the author is saying\u00a0(including vocabulary, basic lines of inquiry, and background investigation) and then decipher the main points of\u00a0the author\u2019s argument (prioritizing information and paraphrasing and summarizing).<\/p>\n<p>Exposition may be intended simply to provide information that the reader needs to perform a certain task or reach an\u00a0individual conclusion. It may be also be intended to persuade the reader of a certain point of view or of the need\u00a0for a certain course of action. Depending on the author\u2019s intent, any of nine modes of exposition may be used to\u00a0structure an argument and the evidence it presents. In order to achieve his or her intent, the author may also use a\u00a0variety of rhetorical tactics, such as humor, diplomacy, or emotion.<\/p>\n<p><!-- --><\/p>\n<section><strong> <span class=\"lesson_subhead\">Basic Language Functions<\/span><\/strong>Language has three basic functions: to inform, to persuade, and to entertain. In terms of expository writing, the\u00a0first two functions are of primary importance. All exposition provides information of some kind. Most expository\u00a0writing goes on to the next step, which is to persuade the reader to adopt some theory or undertake a certain course\u00a0of action.<\/p>\n<p class=\"lesson_subhead\"><strong> Informative Exposition<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In everyday life, expository text is most commonly used to convey basic information. <strong><abbr title=\"A piece of text whose goal is to give the reader basic information or instruction, such as driving directions or a step-by-step process.\">Informative exposition <\/abbr><\/strong>is very\u00a0impersonal. It conveys no authorial opinion and makes no argument but is restricted instead to presenting an\u00a0explanation or series of facts. In general, this kind of exposition uses very plain language in order to remain as\u00a0clear and simple as possible. Examples include driving directions or instruction manuals that include step-by-step\u00a0processes.<\/p>\n<p>Informative exposition also comes in handy in the study of English\/Language Arts. Students are often called upon\u00a0to provide basic information without inserting their own opinions or interpreting the material in any way, as in the\u00a0following cases:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>to objectively summarize a text, as for a book report<\/li>\n<li>to collect and organize factual information from a variety of sources, as when doing research<\/li>\n<li>to present background facts, as when presenting the basis for a premise or supporting an argument<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Here\u2019s an excellent example of informative exposition\u2014Thomas Jefferson\u2019s opening paragraph from the\u00a0Declaration of Independence (July 4, 1776):<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" width=\"618\" cellspacing=\"2\" cellpadding=\"10\" align=\"center\" bgcolor=\"#caebea\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands\u00a0which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal\u00a0station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature&#8217;s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of\u00a0mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<section class=\"question\">\n<h4>Question<\/h4>\n<div>\n<p>What basic piece of information is Jefferson presenting here?<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Sometimes circumstances warrant a people\u2019s rebellion against their current government.<\/li>\n<li>In order to gain the respect of other nations, a people in rebellion must declare the reasons\u00a0for their action.<\/li>\n<li>The people of every nation deserve equal access to freedom and liberty.<\/li>\n<li>God intends all people to be separate but equal.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"button button-primary q-answer\"> Reveal Answer <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"q-reveal\" style=\"display: none;\"><span class=\"lesson_text\">The answer is B. The remainder of the Declaration is persuasive, but here Jefferson is presenting a simple and inarguable point\u2014a people in rebellion must be able to explain themselves in order for their action to be legitimate. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"lesson_subhead\"><strong> Persuasive Exposition<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Though its informative function is fundamentally important, expository text has another primary role: to persuade.\u00a0Political speeches, essays, and systems of philosophy all intend to persuade their audience of something, whether\u00a0it\u2019s the validity of the author\u2019s opinions or the necessity of a certain course of action. In almost any kind of\u00a0persuasive exposition, the author chooses a particular mode of exposition and employs some rhetorical tactic in\u00a0order to make his or her case more convincingly.<\/p>\n<p>In order to present a persuasive argument, the author must also present evidence to support the premise and\u00a0conclusions that the argument advances. Good expository writing presents its supporting evidence as objective fact:\u00a0\u201cThese things are true and beyond question,\u201d the author seems to say. \u201cAny reasonable person would simply take them\u00a0for granted. Let\u2019s move on, then, to the meat of the argument.\u201d In fact, however, supporting evidence is often very\u00a0subjective\u2014that is, it represents one side of an argument while slighting another, equally valid argument; or\u00a0it intentionally gives a slanted view of perspectives other than the author\u2019s.<\/p>\n<p><strong> <abbr title=\"A piece of text intended to convince the reader to adopt an opinion or undertake a course of action.\">Persuasive exposition<\/abbr><\/strong> may take\u00a0a variety of forms. For instance, the author may choose to compare and contrast two sets of information, with the\u00a0goal of showing one to be superior, or may present a problem and then argue the best means of solving it.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"lesson_subhead\"><strong> The Two Go Together: Informative Persuasion<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Regardless of their form or the biases they may conceal, all effective arguments are based in fact. Therefore,\u00a0though an argument&#8217;s main purpose is to advance the author\u2019s thesis, persuasive exposition still retains its\u00a0informative function to some degree. The purpose of the information is to help the reader understand the author\u2019s point of view and, ultimately, to share it.<\/p>\n<p>Look at how in the second paragraph of the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson begins to craft his\u00a0argument intended to persuade his audience that rebellion against Great Britain is not only right , but\u00a0necessary:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" width=\"618\" cellspacing=\"2\" cellpadding=\"10\" align=\"center\" bgcolor=\"#caebea\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>But when a long train of abuses and usurpations \u2026 . . . evinces a design to reduce them under absolute\u00a0Despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for\u00a0their future security . . . . \u2026 The history of the present King of Great Britain is a history of repeated\u00a0injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of an absolute Tyranny over these\u00a0States. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid world.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<section class=\"question\">\n<h4>Question<\/h4>\n<div>\n<p>Given the information Jefferson provides in the first paragraph of the Declaration, what do we know is the point of\u00a0his persuasion? That is, why is Jefferson interested in persuading his audience that rebellion is the right course\u00a0of action?<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Because he wants to establish the government of the new United States as legitimate in the eyes\u00a0of the world.<\/li>\n<li>Because the \u201clong train of abuses and usurpations\u201d are generally unknown to the rest of the\u00a0world.<\/li>\n<li>Because it is important for the new American rebels to understand the reasons for the coming<br \/>\nwar.<\/li>\n<li>Because the colonists are getting used to living under a tyranny and must be motivated to\u00a0fight.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"button button-primary q-answer\"> Reveal Answer <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"q-reveal\" style=\"display: none;\"><span class=\"lesson_text\">The answer is A. We know from the basic information presented in that first paragraph that a rebellion can be legitimized in only one way: if the rebels can state a reasonable case for breaking away from their current government. In persuading the rest of the world that the American colonies are right to rebel, Jefferson\u2019s goal is to give the new government legitimacy in the eyes of the other countries of the world. <\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"lesson_subhead\"><strong> Entertaining Exposition<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the litany of language\u2019s basic functions, \u201cto entertain\u201d usually takes third place after \u201cto inform\u201d and \u201cto persuade.\u201d Writing is said to be entertaining when it makes us laugh, cry, or share another\u2019s experience. As such,\u00a0the entertainment function generally belongs to kinds of writing other than exposition: the novel, short story,\u00a0poem, and drama are all entertaining by nature.<\/p>\n<p>That is not to say that exposition and entertainment are mutually exclusive. Much exposition is highly entertaining,\u00a0as it must excite some sort of response from its audience in order to be effective. However, in terms of exposition,\u00a0the function of entertainment is secondary. When the author seeks to entertain a reader, it is with the goal of\u00a0making the argument more persuasive.<\/p>\n<p>See the following discussion of humor and emotion as rhetorical tactics for more information on how expository\u00a0writing can entertain.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><span class=\"lesson_subhead\"><strong> Modes of Exposition<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The challenge in making any persuasive argument is to present information and supporting evidence so that it clearly\u00a0supports the main point. In presenting arguments in writing, expository authors make trade offs. On one hand, their\u00a0language has permanence. Unlike live speakers, whose words fade with the audience\u2019s memory, authors create a piece\u00a0of static literature that the reader can refer to again and again. On the other hand, live speakers have access to\u00a0powerful communication tools, such as eye contact, facial expression, body language, and tone of voice, that are\u00a0simply unavailable to authors.<\/p>\n<p>Readers cannot ask the author to clarify a point or explain exactly how evidence supports a certain conclusion.\u00a0Expository writing must therefore be crafted for maximum effectiveness so that readers can answer any such questions\u00a0for themselves. First and foremost, a good argument is well organized. Information is presented so that readers can\u00a0easily relate it to the author\u2019s premise. Evidence is also ordered to clearly support the author\u2019s conclusion.\u00a0Ideally, readers never have to question why they are being supplied with a piece of information or how that\u00a0information relates to the author\u2019s premise.<\/p>\n<p>Good expository writing clearly leads the reader from a premise, through a logical sequence of supporting evidence,\u00a0to a reasonable conclusion.<\/p>\n<p>To achieve that goal, expository writing defines various \u201cmodes, \u201d or forms, of exposition, including <strong><abbr title=\"A mode of exposition, describing a piece of expository text whose purpose is to provide the reader with impersonal, objective information.\">basic instruction<\/abbr>, <abbr title=\"Rhetoric: a mode of exposition in which the author divides a large or complex subject into categories in order to more clearly define and, usually, compare them.\">categorization<\/abbr>, <\/strong><abbr title=\"A mode of exposition in which the author examines a situation by considering it as the result of a set of causes\"><strong>cause and effect<\/strong><\/abbr>, <abbr title=\"A mode of exposition in which the author describes a set of ideas or theories according to their similarities and differences, usually with the purpose of proposing the superiority of one of the options.\"><strong>comparison and contrast<\/strong><\/abbr>,\u00a0and<strong> <abbr title=\"A mode of exposition in which the author proposes various solutions to a given problem, usually with the purpose of comparing them and arguing the superiority of one solution.\">problem and solution<\/abbr>.\u00a0<\/strong>Traditionally, this set also includes the descriptive, definitive, and narrative modes. However, <strong><abbr title=\"A basic tool of exposition by which the author is able to illustrate the basic points and concepts being discussed\">description<\/abbr>, <abbr title=\"A basic tool of exposition by which the author is able to explicitly convey to the reader the exact significance of the terms, concepts, and ideas involved in the discussion.\">definition<\/abbr><\/strong>, and <strong><abbr title=\"A basic tool of exposition by which the author conveys to the reader the context and background (that is, the narrative) surrounding the subject being discussed\">narration<\/abbr><\/strong> can more properly be defined as\u00a0tools of exposition rather than modes or forms. All exposition, for instance, tells or narrates a story; it defines\u00a0terms and provides description.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"lesson_text\">Each of the various modes is best suited to a particular type of argument. For instance, <abbr title=\"A mode of exposition in which the author describes a set of ideas or theories according to their similarities and differences, usually with the purpose of proposing the superiority of one of the options.\">comparison and contrast<\/abbr> would be ideal for\u00a0an essay about the relative merits of certain Victorian novels, while categorization would be the more logical\u00a0choice for an essay that sought to define the differences between Victorian and modern literature. However, most\u00a0expository writing uses a combination of modes. A critical essay on the development of the narrative might use the\u00a0<abbr title=\"Rhetoric: a mode of exposition in which the author divides a large or complex subject into categories in order to more clearly define and, usually, compare them.\">categorization mode<\/abbr> to define the various narrative forms, the <abbr title=\"A mode of exposition in which the author examines a situation by considering it as the result of a set of causes\">cause-and-effect mode<\/abbr> to describe how\u00a0each form developed, and the <abbr title=\"A mode of exposition in which the author describes a set of ideas or theories according to their similarities and differences, usually with the purpose of proposing the superiority of one of the options.\">comparison-and-contrast\u00a0mode<\/abbr> to examine how each form uses various narrative elements.<\/p>\n<p class=\"lesson_subhead\"><strong>Categorization<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In this mode of exposition, the author divides a complex topic, concept, or issue into smaller categories, which are\u00a0easier to define and discuss. This mode of exposition also makes an argument easy to read and understand. Because\u00a0the categories are often compared with one another, categorization is frequently used in tandem with the <strong>comparison-and-contrast\u00a0mode<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>As well as being helpful to the reader, categorization is useful to the author. For the author, this mode is an\u00a0excellent way of getting a handle on a complex topic. A discussion of storytelling through the ages, for instance,\u00a0might categorize the narrative into its distinct forms:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Epic poem<\/li>\n<li>Drama<\/li>\n<li>Novel<\/li>\n<li>Short story<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Most complex subjects, however, can be categorized in several different ways. In the case of storytelling, the author\u00a0may choose to divide the topic according to narrative form. But he or she might also categorize by narrative medium,\u00a0such as oral recitation, public performance, and print publication, or attributes of the narrative artist, such as\u00a0culture, gender, and historical influences.<\/p>\n<p>In dividing the main topic, the author must be certain to use the same method of categorization. For instance, it\u00a0would make no sense to divide the topic of storytelling into the categories of oral recitation, female novelists,\u00a0and the theatre of the absurd. These classifications all relate to different aspects of the topic (form, artist, and\u00a0medium) and thus cannot be related to each other.<\/p>\n<p>The author also has the freedom of defining any categories that are appropriate to the discussion. In the essay on\u00a0storytelling, for instance, the author may not intend to discuss literature at all\u2014perhaps the subject is art\u00a0history instead. In that case, the same topic might break down into entirely different categories, such as cave\u00a0painting, illustration, and portraiture.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>A good example of categorization as a mode of exposition can be found in Sigmund Freud\u2019s <span class=\"lesson_objective\">Interpretation of Dreams<\/span> (1911). Here, the bigger topic is not just dreams\u00a0(which could be categorized in any number of ways) but how the waking mind can make sense of them. Freud defines the\u00a0following categories:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>how scientific literature has dealt with dreams thus far<\/li>\n<li>the Freudian method of interpreting dreams<\/li>\n<li>the function of dreams in relation to waking life<\/li>\n<li>how waking life is portrayed in dreams<\/li>\n<li>the source of dream imagery, symbols, and other content<\/li>\n<li>the purpose of dream interpretation in psychology<\/li>\n<li>how dream interpretation benefits the patient<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<section class=\"question\">\n<h4>Question<\/h4>\n<div>\n<p>The categories above are paraphrased from the actual titles Freud gives the seven chapters of <span class=\"lesson_objective\">Interpretation of Dreams<\/span><em>.<\/em> From these categories and their progression,\u00a0what can we conclude is Freud\u2019s main point in this book?<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Dreams all have meanings with the power to elucidate our everyday lives.<\/li>\n<li>Dreams are another aspect of the waking life, one that is usually hidden from consciousness.<\/li>\n<li>Dream interpretation is useful only in the study of human psychology and should not be applied<br \/>\nto fraudulent studies of the human character or to attempts to divine the future.<\/li>\n<li>The relationship of dreams to waking life can be defined, and its study is an important focus of<br \/>\npsychology, with the power to improve the lives of people suffering from mental disorders.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"button button-primary q-answer\"> Reveal Answer <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"q-reveal\" style=\"display: none;\"><span class=\"lesson_text\">The answer is D. The way an author defines his or her categories often reflects a progression of same kind and can also reveal the point or thesis being supported. In our example discussion of storytelling according to its various narrative forms, for instance, the progression was <strong>chronological<\/strong> (from epic poem to short story). Freud defines his categories so that they give increasing support to his thesis\u2014that objective dream interpretation is possible and worthwhile.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"lesson_subhead\"><strong> Cause and Effect<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In this mode of exposition, the author seeks to examine a condition or problem by considering it as the effect\u2014that\u00a0is, as the result of a set of causes. It is commonly used in discussions of empirical fact, where the \u201ceffect \u201d is\u00a0something that can be seen or measured\u2014the disappearance of the ozone layer, the growing conservatism of the\u00a0American voting public, rising gasoline prices, or the rising of the sun. Instead of considering these conditions as\u00a0givens\u2014that is, as objective facts that might be used as the basis for an argument\u2014the <strong>cause-and-effect\u00a0mode <\/strong>looks backward, into the events and actions of the past that might be responsible for bringing\u00a0these conditions into existence.<\/p>\n<p>Consider again the example given in the preceding section, in which an expository piece discusses the subject of\u00a0storytelling. Using the cause-and-effect mode, we would first have to define some aspect of storytelling as an\u00a0effect. For instance, we might choose to examine why contemporary literature is predominantly a printed medium. Our\u00a0examination would then seek to answer the question of how literature has come to be something that is read in\u00a0private rather than performed in public. In answering that question, the causes we might consider could include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>the development of literature written in vernacular languages such as Italian or English (rather than the\u00a0academic languages of Greek and Latin)<\/li>\n<li>the invention of the printing press<\/li>\n<li>growing literacy rates among the nonacademic population<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In interpreting an argument that rests on the cause-and-effect mode, the reader should be alert to possible flaws in\u00a0the author\u2019s logic. Three fallacies are common in cause-and-effect argumentation:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Assuming that chronology implies cause. Just because one event follows another doesn\u2019t mean that the first is\u00a0the cause of the second.<\/li>\n<li>Confusing cause with effect. The previous example may do this by claiming that growing literacy rates were a\u00a0cause for literature\u2019s transformation to a print medium. Perhaps literature began to appear in print because\u00a0more people could read.<\/li>\n<li>Mistaking coincidence for causality. Two things that happen at the same time or are otherwise commonly related\u00a0tend to take on a cause-and-effect relationship. Strange boating accidents that happen in the Bermuda Triangle,\u00a0for instance, are blamed on that geographical location, when in fact each one can be traced to another, actual\u00a0cause.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Read the following passage from Edward Gibbon\u2019s <i>The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire in the West<\/i> (1776):<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" width=\"618\" cellspacing=\"2\" cellpadding=\"10\" align=\"center\" bgcolor=\"#caebea\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>The rise of a city, which swelled into an empire, may deserve, as a singular prodigy, the reflection of a philosophic mind. But the decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness.\u00a0Prosperity ripened the principle of decay; the causes of destruction multiplied with the extent of conquest;\u00a0and as soon as time or accident had removed the artificial supports, the stupendous fabric yielded to the\u00a0pressure of its own weight. The story of its ruin is simple and obvious; and instead of inquiring why the\u00a0Roman Empire was destroyed, we should rather be surprised that it had subsisted so long. The victorious\u00a0legions, who, in distant wars, acquired the vices of strangers and mercenaries, first oppressed the freedom\u00a0of the republic, and afterwards violated the majesty of the purple. The emperors, anxious for their personal\u00a0safety and the public peace, were reduced to the base expedient of corrupting the discipline which rendered\u00a0them alike formidable to their sovereign and to the enemy; the vigour of the military government was relaxed\u00a0and finally dissolved by the partial institutions of Constantine; and the Roman world was overwhelmed by a\u00a0deluge of barbarians.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<section class=\"question\">\n<h4>Question<\/h4>\n<div>\n<p>According to Gibbon, is the degeneracy of the Roman legions a cause or an effect of the empire\u2019s decline?<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Both a cause and an effect\u2014greater and greater conquest exposed the legions to barbarian\u00a0cultures, which caused them to lose their discipline, which in turn caused the emperors to fear them an effect\u2014because the legions were so badly behaved, the populace learned to distrust\u00a0them<\/li>\n<li>Neither\u2014the legions became mercenaries for public hire, thus enforcing the rights of\u00a0public citizens<\/li>\n<li>A cause\u2014the legions learned bad habits in battle and brought them home to Rome<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"button button-primary q-answer\"> Reveal Answer <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"q-reveal\" style=\"display: none;\"><span class=\"lesson_text\">The answer is A. Gibbon states in his second sentence that \u201cthe decline of Rome was the natural and inevitable effect of immoderate greatness.\u201d The degeneracy of the legions was the effect of their exposure to mercenaries and other barbarian vices. In turn, the legion caused the emperors to fear them; they \u201cviolated the majesty of the purple.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"lesson_subhead\"><strong> Comparison and Contrast<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The <strong>comparison-and-contrast mode<\/strong> is common in <abbr title=\"A piece of text whose goal is to give the reader basic information or instruction, such as driving directions or a step-by-step process.\">informative exposition<\/abbr>, where it serves to\u00a0explain the differences between two or more similar subjects without proposing one as better than any of the others.\u00a0For example, a travel writer might write an article about a variety of possible day trips, comparing the attractions\u00a0of different destinations and recommending all of them.<\/p>\n<p>As it applies to persuasive exposition, however, this mode is used to convince the reader that a certain theory or\u00a0idea is superior by comparing it to similar ideas that, by contrast, are clearly not as convincing. The reader\u2019s job\u00a0is to assess the terms of the comparison and decide whether they are fair and also compelling.<\/p>\n<p>In order to draw comparisons and then contrast a series of ideas, the author must first categorize them. To clarify\u00a0this process, let\u2019s examine Karl Marx\u2019s <i>Communist Manifesto <\/i>(1848), which opens with a textbook example of\u00a0how these two modes interact.<\/p>\n<p>The first section opens with the basic premise that Marx intends to support with his manifesto: \u201cThe history of all\u00a0hitherto existing societies is the history of class struggles.\u201d Marx proceeds to categorize human society in terms\u00a0of the oppressor and oppressed and draws the following conclusion: \u201cSociety as a whole is splitting up into two\u00a0great hostile camps, into two great classes, directly facing each other: Bourgeoisie and Proletariat.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>An important element of the argument by comparison and contrast is that it allows the author to define the initial\u00a0categories so that they best support his or her argument. In this case, Marx divides modern society into two main\u00a0classes. Because he defines the attributes of each class, he can easily stack the deck in favor of the one he thinks\u00a0is better. Here is how he describes the bourgeoisie:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" width=\"618\" cellspacing=\"2\" cellpadding=\"10\" align=\"center\" bgcolor=\"#caebea\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>It has drowned the most heavenly ecstasies of religious fervour, of chivalrous enthusiasm, of philistine\u00a0sentimentalism, in the icy water of egotistical calculation. It has resolved personal worth into exchange\u00a0value, and in place of the numberless and feasible chartered freedoms, has set up that single,\u00a0unconscionable freedom\u2013\u2013Free Trade.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Having accepted the author\u2019s categorizations as fair, the reader\u2019s job is not done. Next, it is necessary to decide\u00a0whether the terms of the comparison are also valid and objective. If the comparison is found to be basically biased,\u00a0its conclusions are necessarily flawed. Here, Marx paints a one-sided picture of an entire social class, which he\u00a0denies having any positive or desirable qualities. As a consequence, his argument fails to address the other side of\u00a0the class question, which is the proletariat\u2019s desire to become the bourgeoisie.<\/p>\n<section class=\"question\">\n<h4>Question<\/h4>\n<div>\n<p>We know that the <i>Communist Manifesto<\/i> ultimately argues for the universal establishment of a Communist\u00a0form of government, which eliminates the useless, destructive bourgeoisie and empowers the productive\u00a0proletariat. How then may we expect Marx to support this argument, using the mode of comparison and\u00a0contrast?<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Marx will compare the values of the two classes, with the proletariat class being shown to be clearly\u00a0superior.<\/li>\n<li>Marx will compare Communist society to other forms of government, which by contrast will be shown to be\u00a0oppressive and unjust.<\/li>\n<li>Marx will compare historical periods to show how the rise of industrialism resulted in the creation of\u00a0the modern proletariat.<\/li>\n<li>Marx will compare various modern conceptions of Communism to show how unfairly it is represented from\u00a0other political points of view.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n<p><a class=\"button button-primary q-answer\"> Reveal Answer <\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"q-reveal\" style=\"display: none;\"><span class=\"lesson_text\">The answer is B. Given that Marx believes Communism to be the only form of government in which the proletariat is not oppressed, we can expect him to compare Communism to other political systems and thus show how they are inferior.<\/span><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<hr \/>\n<p class=\"lesson_subhead\"><strong> Problem and Solution<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In this mode of exposition, the author presents a problem and then attempts to persuade the reader how it may best\u00a0be solved. This mode is generally used in conjunction with comparison and contrast. In order for the author to\u00a0demonstrate the superiority of his or her proposal, it is necessary to describe and then debunk the\u00a0alternatives.<\/p>\n<p>Expository writing is the author\u2019s response to some stimulus from the outside world. While many authors write in\u00a0response to positive stimuli, most exposition is written in response to some big or weighty problem, making this\u00a0mode a very useful way of examining almost any piece of persuasive writing. Some major literary works that use the\u00a0<abbr title=\"A mode of exposition in which the author proposes various solutions to a given problem, usually with the purpose of comparing them and arguing the superiority of one solution.\">problem-and-solution mode<\/abbr> include the following:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Jonathan Swift\u2019s \u201cA Modest Proposal\u201d provides a solution to the enormous problem of the starving Irish poor.<\/li>\n<li>Friedrich Nietzsche attempts to solve the problem of fate and injustice in <i>Beyond Good and Evil.<\/i><\/li>\n<li>America\u2019s founding fathers provided a solution to the problem of British tyranny.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The problem-and-solution mode is also helpful as a way for students to formulate their own interpretive responses to\u00a0exposition. Different authors of the same historical period commonly propose different solutions to the same social\u00a0problems. A comparison of these responses leads to a greater understanding not only of the problem under discussion\u00a0but also of the role of exposition in general. In examining how thinkers with many things in common may be\u00a0stimulated by the same problems to reach totally antithetical solutions, the student also investigates the nature of\u00a0critical thinking and thus learns to analyze positions that he or she may otherwise have taken (or discarded) for\u00a0granted.<\/p>\n<p>Take the problem of equal rights. In the years following the Civil War, African Americans who had been slaves did not\u00a0find emancipation to be as freeing as they had hoped. Former slaves found themselves shackled by the social\u00a0prejudice that maintained their inferior status. Two great African American thinkers of the time, Booker T.\u00a0Washington and W.\u00a0E.\u00a0B. Dubois, addressed this problem from radically different points of view.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Washington\u2019s \u201cIndustrial Education for the Negro\u201d was published as the introduction to a collection of essays titled\u00a0<i>The Negro Problem<\/i> (1903). There, Washington states that \u201cthe Negro\u2019s [problem has been] to learn the\u00a0difference between being worked and working\u201d and proposes the following solution:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" width=\"618\" cellspacing=\"2\" cellpadding=\"10\" align=\"center\" bgcolor=\"#caebea\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>For two hundred and fifty years, I believe the way for the redemption of the Negro was being prepared\u00a0through industrial development. Through all those years the Southern white man did business with the Negro\u00a0in a way that no one else has done business with him. In most cases if a Southern white man wanted a house\u00a0built he consulted a Negro mechanic about the plan and about the actual building of the structure. If he\u00a0wanted a suit of clothes made he went to a Negro tailor, and for shoes he went to a shoemaker of the same race. In a certain way every slave plantation in the South was an industrial school. On these plantations\u00a0young colored men and women were constantly being trained not only as farmers but as carpenters,\u00a0blacksmiths, wheelwrights, brick masons, engineers, cooks, laundresses, sewing women and housekeepers.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>In other words, according to Washington, the solution had been there all along: former slaves should value the\u00a0industrial skills they learned as slaves and use those skills to make their living as free men.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Although an essay by DuBois was included in that same collection, DuBois\u2019 s solution to \u201cthe Negro problem\u201d was\u00a0diametrically opposed to Washington\u2019s. In the same year, 1903, DuBois published <i>The Souls of Black Folk<\/i>. He<br \/>\nbegins the first chapter of his book as follows:<\/p>\n<table border=\"0\" width=\"618\" cellspacing=\"2\" cellpadding=\"10\" align=\"center\" bgcolor=\"#caebea\">\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Between me and the other world there is ever an unasked question: unasked by some through feelings of\u00a0delicacy; by others through the difficulty of rightly framing it. All, nevertheless, flutter round it. They\u00a0approach me in a half-hesitant sort of way, eye me curiously or compassionately, and then, instead of saying\u00a0directly, How does it feel to be a problem? they say, I know an excellent colored man in my town; or, I\u00a0fought at Mechanicsville; or, Do not these Southern outrages make your blood boil? At these I smile, or am\u00a0interested, or reduce the boiling to a simmer, as the occasion may require. To the real question, How does\u00a0it feel to be a problem? I answer seldom a word.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<hr \/>\n<\/section>\n<p><!-- CONTENT ENDS HERE --><\/p>\n<div class=\"advance\"><a class=\"button button-primary\" href=\"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/text-features\">\u2b05 Previous Lesson<\/a>\u00a0<a class=\"button\" href=\"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/interpretation-of-expository-texts\">Workshop Index<\/a>\u00a0<a class=\"button button-primary\" href=\"http:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/types-of-evidence-opinion-v-fact-authorial-bias\">Next Lesson \u27a1<\/a><\/div>\n<p><a class=\"backtotop\" href=\"#title\">Back to Top<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2b05 Previous Lesson\u00a0Workshop Index\u00a0Next Lesson \u27a1 Functions of Language &amp; Modes of Exposition Objective Review the functions of exposition and how to tailor your text to your intent. Previously Covered: The interpretation of expository text begins with reading comprehension. Several strategies may be used to increase\u00a0reading comprehension, either individually (for more advanced readers) or as [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-46","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/46","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/46\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":432,"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/46\/revisions\/432"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/americanboard.org\/Subjects\/english\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}