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To classify means to divide something into groups or categories. The classification is normally made according to one or more criteria. It is often necessary in academic English to classify something you are writing about in order to make comparisons and draw conclusions. This could be done in one or two sentences, a paragraph, or even a whole essay. This page gives information about how to classify , language for classification , and essay structure (if the classification is used for a whole essay).
When classifying something, it is important to understand what criterion (or criteria , if there is more than one) that you are using to divide the thing into different groups. There may be more than one way to classify, and you will need to choose the criteria which make most sense for what you are writing about. For example, if you were to classify students in a university class, they could be divided according to any of the following criteria:
Classifying according to gender would divide the students into 'male' and 'female'. Dividing according to age is more complex, as you may need to specify age ranges, for example 'between 18 and 21', 'between 22 and 25', etc.
The language used for classifying depends on whether you are describing the criterion or the result of applying the criterion. Compare the following examples.
The phrase 'according to' shows that you are talking about the criterion, while the word 'into' shows you are talking about the result. The following are further examples of language for classification using a criterion.
The following are further examples of language for classification showing the result.
It may be necessary to classify when there is no name for the criterion you are using. For example, you may wish to divide a group into Asian and non-Asian students, but there is no category 'Asian-ness' which you can use as your criterion. In this case, you can use the construction 'according to whether... or not' to define the criterion. The language for stating the result is the same. See the following examples:
Finally, it may be necessary to sub-divide, that is, to divide something which has already been divided. In this case, use 'sub-divided' for the second classification, and 'further sub-divided' for the next. See this example:
According to this classification, we will end up with eight groups: Asian males under 25, Asian males over 25, non-Asian males under 25, etc. This is summarised in the following diagram.
There are two main ways to structure a classification essay. The first way, shown in the diagram below (left), is when a single criterion (or single way of categorising) is used, resulting in distinct categories. The purpose of this type of structure is to show understanding of the categories, or justify the method of classification, by giving the categories and describing their characteristics. Sometimes the categories may be sub-divided into sub-categories, which may be listed or described. For the single-criterion classification essay, the criterion (if there is one) should be given in the general background of the introduction, and the thesis statement should list the categories which will be described in the main body. Each body paragraph will usually describe one category in detail.
The second way, shown in the diagram below (right), is when multiple criteria are used to classify the topic in different ways. The purpose of this type of classification is to show understanding of how the topic can be categorised, or justify the criteria for classification, by giving the criteria and showing examples of groupings using these criteria. For the multiple-criteria classification essay, the thesis statement should list the criteria which are described in the main body. Each body paragraph will usually describe the criteria and the groups it leads to. Depending on the level of detail, the examples might be broken down into separate paragraphs.
The two types of structure are shown in the diagram below.
Description of characteristics Description of characteristics Description of characteristics |
Examples of categories Examples of categories Examples of categories ... |
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Below is a checklist for classification. Use it to check your own writing, or get a peer (another student) to help you.
Criteria | The are clear. | ||
Language | The is accurate (e.g. 'according to' to show the criterion, 'into' to show the result). | ||
Structure (for classification essay) | An appropriate is used, either or structure. | ||
For structure, the background gives the criterion while the thesis shows the categories; for structure, the criteria are given in the thesis. |
Find out how to structure an essay in the next section.
Go back to the previous section about definitions .
Author: Sheldon Smith ‖ Last modified: 31 October 2019.
Sheldon Smith is the founder and editor of EAPFoundation.com. He has been teaching English for Academic Purposes since 2004. Find out more about him in the about section and connect with him on Twitter , Facebook and LinkedIn .
Compare & contrast essays examine the similarities of two or more objects, and the differences.
Cause & effect essays consider the reasons (or causes) for something, then discuss the results (or effects).
Discussion essays require you to examine both sides of a situation and to conclude by saying which side you favour.
Problem-solution essays are a sub-type of SPSE essays (Situation, Problem, Solution, Evaluation).
Transition signals are useful in achieving good cohesion and coherence in your writing.
Reporting verbs are used to link your in-text citations to the information cited.
Students are often assigned classification essays to evaluate their ability of data categorization. Even if it seems hard first, in reality, this is rather a simple task if you know what to do. Classification is defined as the way of arranging a number of objects together as long as they share some similar features or source. A classification essay is a paper that deals with arranging several topics in one academic setting sharing common characteristics.
Students prefer to write essays they are accustomed to, like narrative, reflective , or argumentative ones. The classification essay example is not popular but it is not that difficult if to look deeper. The basic goal of this assignment is to help organize thoughts, ideas and other things into categories to pass the right message to those people who would read and analyze it.
Let’s figure out what is a classification essay from an academic viewpoint? This is a classification paper that identifies ideas, objects, characters, and things with shared specific features and divides them into certain groups and categories. Probably, the simplest way to give an explanation is to call it a formal academic paper aimed to demonstrate your categorization skills.
When writing, you will have to arrange given subjects into groups and suggest your own classification essay samples that fall under each one. You choose what criteria to apply for classification and you also have to explain the reasons why you did one way and not another. The basic idea here is to clarify the general principle of categorization, identify a method you will evaluate it and choose the right categories.
Now when you got the answer to the question “What is a classification essay?”, let`s move to the stage when you create a writing plan and start your paper . In the academic field, this is called a classification essay outline: a mini-plan you will use to base your thoughts upon, its structure or skeleton. Having this plan is critical for any writer, beginner or professional, as it helps you easily plan the paper by paragraphs and move step by step. Basically, a classification essay outline is not different from other paper types: it still has the introduction part, the main body with at least three paragraphs, and the conclusion.
Each section consists of the necessary elements to be included in your paper:
Schematically, it will look like this:
Not all your ideas can be good for an academic paper, especially for a classification paper. However, to make this task easier for you, we narrowed down their list to the following most common classification essay topics students usually choose:
Just pick one sample classification essay topics or choose yours.
Besides the 5-paragraph structure, your essay should include:
It is important to have all classes and not to leave any out of your classification essay. As an example, if you talk about traditional English sports and mention polo, golf and tennis but forget about cricket, the paper will be incomplete as cricket is especially important for the English culture. However, try to avoid classification essay topics with many categories as your paper will be way too long.
Check whether all categories fall into the same principle of structuring. For instance, if the topic is food, there is no need to create a category for drinks.
Share the same number of patterns for all categories. The more examples you provide, the better your readers will understand your point.
Learning more on how to write a classification essay, you understand that this not a type of paper when you can just begin with no plan in mind. Once you defined one of classification essay topics, consider the following:
Building up your classification essay, there are some simple things to remember:
The process of writing a classification essay may be really messy as there are many ideas to put together. Following this guide is likely to make this task easier and bring you a good grade. If you're looking for someone who can do my essay, you can contact us and we'll help you write the paper you need.
Good books and great books.
Scholars have come up with different ways to classify books. The most used method of classifying books is by library codes. Outside of a mechanical classification, most critics categorize books as either good or great. Great books are books that constitute an essential background in western cultural literature. They are those books that tradition and some institutions have high regard for in terms of expressing the foundations of western culture. According to the popular author Mortimer Adler, these books had…
A moviegoer is a person who goes to watch movies. In order to know a moviegoer, there is a need to classify the types of movies these individuals are interested in. These movies can be categorized in the genres of informational, drama, action, adventure, epic, horror, crime, and musical. Some categories of movies are interrelated – for example, crime and action movies. Moviegoers can be classified by the genre of the movies they watch, though some individuals enjoy watching movies…
Abstract It is impossible to imagine football without football fans. Football fans, like footballers themselves, make the sport more lively, spectacular, and entertaining. Football supporters differ in their behavior and level of engagement in the game. The goal of this paper is to classify football fans and show the main traits of each group. The paper analyzes a number of related web resources such as encyclopedias, newspapers, magazines, social networks, and video materials in order to gain a deeper perception…
Different Types of Workplace Command Levels Scalar chain I have never noticed the different types of command levels in a workplace, but quite recently I visited an office while I was doing research. I spent almost an entire day at the office and met different workers. I interacted with them and asked questions; it was not my intent, but I noticed that they had people in different levels in this office. This aroused my curiosity and I researched the chain…
Every year, students across the world need to write essays for their chosen topics, and rather often they need to write classification essays. Many students have difficulties while writing this type of essay, as they don’t know how to write classification essay properly. We share our classification essay examples in order to give you an idea of how to write your own paper.
Each classification paper example will teach you:
When you are writing a classification essay, it is intended to combine certain characteristics in the structure and design into a set of classification categories. It allows you to more deeply consider the topic. We should emphasize the requirement of grammatical correctness, which means that there are no mistakes and blots. The level of vocabulary used in the essay should be sufficient for the full disclosure of the topic.
When checking the essay, the style of writing is also evaluated. It implies the need to use a formal style, a clear outline of the presentation, and adherence to the topic. Pay attention – despite the common misconception, the attempt to show the richness of knowledge through the use of informal constructions is often regarded as a drawback.
The main requirement is structure. That is, a classification essay should be written according to the plan. It is expressed in composite elements, each of which must begin with a paragraph:
More than half of all students make such mistakes:
Classification is the method of writing an essay in the way of organizing people, objects, or ideas with general characteristics in certain classes or groups. After you have chosen the topic for a classification essay and have studied it with different strategies of writing, you should be ready to write the first draft.
In the introduction, define your object clearly – in this case, the group that you are classifying. If you have narrowed your object in some way, you should do it clearly from the very beginning. In your introduction, you can also indicate some concrete descriptive or informational data to grab your readers’ attention and present the goal of your essay. Finally, include the thesis statement in which the main types or approaches that you are going to study are indicated in.
Notice that a good introduction creates certain expectations. Concrete details provide a good presentation where we can see different classifications. Moreover, body paragraphs should introduce descriptions of each object in the way it is indicated in the introduction. A good writer continues to describe objects in the body paragraphs.
Start each paragraph of the body with a topic sentence which identifies a concrete type or approach. Then begin to describe or illustrate each type with concrete details. Arrange your body paragraphs in any order which looks clear and logical for you – you may order them from the less effective approach to the more effective one, or from the most popular to the less popular types and vice versa. Write a strong conclusion that summarizes everything that you have mentioned in your body paragraphs. Check your essay for errors.
Make sure that you know how to write a classification essay. If not, we suggest you to read though our samples – they can help you to start your paper. In each essay presented on our site, you can see that the writer has fulfilled the expectations set up in the introduction. Notice how our writers have used comparisons to ensure cohesion in the essay bodies.
The topic sentences in all paragraphs refer to the preceding paragraphs. Writers use strong classifications and divisions related to the most interesting topics. Comparisons that they use not only provide smooth transitions required to an interesting essay, but also reveal the writer’s sympathies. If you read our samples, you will start writing your essay faster and more easily.
We expect that you also find samples of other types of essays interesting as well. They give you the opportunity to write various types of papers easily. You may choose any sample you like to see how a well-structured paper should be written. Or you may want to get some recommendations on how to write your essay. In this case, you should check out our helpful guides on different types of papers.
Make sure that you know how to reveal the essence of your topic and write a strong paper. Consider whether you are successful in your effort to tie all observations and data together. Do you know how to hook your conclusion back to the introduction? Our samples will help you to unify your essay and give you the idea how to make it complete. As you develop and organize your paper, you can look at our samples, or visit our topics page and see how our writers experiment with various writing strategies that help them to complete high-quality custom research paper . Begin your writing by reading through our helpful samples!
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This essay requires you to clearly define categories and provide thorough descriptions for each group. By practicing this type of writing, you can enhance your ability to express your thoughts and ideas in a concise and well-structured manner. It also encourages you to use evidence and examples to support your claims, thereby strengthening your ...
Classification of Books. Classification essays categorize objects, ideas, or people based on shared characteristics. Books, too, can be classified into different types based on their content and purpose. Fiction and non-fiction books are the two primary classifications of books.
The classification essay is your way of creating distinct shelves and arranging those books in an orderly fashion. It is a mixture of expository and analytical essays, as it seeks to establish, discuss, and analyze a subject's properties and characteristics.
A classification essay is designed to take a complex topic and break it down into more manageable and understandable categories, digestible pieces that a reader can easily break down. ... The library houses thousands of books, which would be hard to browse if they were thrown haphazardly on shelves. Instead, all the fiction is organized ...
A classification essay is a type of academic essay that categorizes a topic into distinct groups based on shared characteristics or criteria. The writer's purpose is to create a clear organization of information. Classification should be logical, making it easier for readers to remember the information being presented.
Building on Note 10.43 "Exercise 1" and Note 10.46 "Exercise 2", write a five-paragraph classification essay about one of the four original topics. In your thesis, make sure to include the topic, subtopics, and rationale for your breakdown. And make sure that your essay is organized into paragraphs that each describes a subtopic.
Classification essay outline. The outline is a general description or plan that schematically displays the main points of your essay. The main point of an outline is to help you see the structure of your essay and use it as a useful guide for writing. Usually, a typical outline describes the essence of each point in one sentence.
Use the following classification equation to craft your thesis statement: topic + subtopics + rationale for the subtopics = thesis. (4.6.1) (4.6.1) topic + subtopics + rationale for the subtopics = thesis. The organizing strategy of a classification essay is dictated by the initial topic and the subsequent subtopics.
A sturdy building needs a solid foundation, and so does a classification essay. Research is that foundation. Dive into books, credible websites, and scholarly articles to gather data about your chosen topic. Organize your findings using digital tools like spreadsheets or traditional note cards—whichever suits your style.
The Purpose of Classification in Writing. 4.6: Classification Essays. Classification Essays: Moving from Paragraph to Essay. 10.4 Classification. Classification and Analysis. TCC Writing Center: Classification and Division Guidelines. Classification Division Essay: See It In Practice. How to Write a Classification Essay. Classification Essay
Keep to the number of words. If instructions specify a certain amount of characters (letters, numbers et al.) be cautious to observe the count. Precision is always rewarded. Do not use words that question your confidence regarding classifications, namely 'maybe, probably,' 'I guess,' etc.
Classification Essay Introduction. The introduction is the gateway to the essay, providing essential context and setting the tone for the reader. In a classification essay, the introduction is designed to capture the reader's attention and introduce the broad topic that will be classified.
Example 11.2.1 11.2. 1: When people think of New York, they often think of only New York City. But New York is actually a diverse state with a full range of activities to do, sights to see, and cultures to explore. In order to better understand the diversity of New York state, it is helpful to break it into these five separate regions: Long ...
A classification essay is a type of academic writing in which things, people, or ideas are put into groups based on the things they have in common. The goal of a classification essay is to help readers understand a complicated topic better by breaking it down into smaller, easier-to-understand pieces. It's important to write a classification ...
Remember: A classification essay is writing that organizes, or sorts, things into categories. There are three steps to remember when writing an effective classification essay: organize things into useful categories, use a single organizing principle, and give examples of things that fit into each category.
Classification Essay. A Classification Essay or Division Essay takes a complex subject area and breaks it down into smaller parts so it is easily understood. What this means is you take a broad subject area and break it down into separate categories based on a single principle. A classification essay relies on a single principle of organization.
A large student body means that class sizes are often larger, and some classes may be taught by graduate students rather than professors. Students will feel at home at a university if they want a focused academic program and state-of-the-art research facilities. While some universities are private, many are public, which means they receive ...
To craft a classification essay, you also need to include body section. In the essay body, you can expect to have 3 or more sections. Each paragraph in the classification paper must deal with different issues and explain them properly. The best way is to begin by introducing the criteria and then go on to discuss the strengths and weaknesses.
Online Classification Essay Alternatives. Amy Tan describes relationship with her heritage, her mother, and her languages in Mother Tongue: Jonathan Koppell discusses anonymity, your name, and how the Internet has changed in On the Internet, There's No Place to Hide: 10.5: Classification Essay.
Good and great books differ by nature, not by degree. A good book is not almost a great one; a great book is a totally different creature than a good book. What makes them different is how much they pertain to the human experience. A good book may have …show more content…. There are those that doubt this and have a hard time believing that ...
The classification is normally made according to one or more criteria. It is often necessary in academic English to classify something you are writing about in order to make comparisons and draw conclusions. This could be done in one or two sentences, a paragraph, or even a whole essay. This page gives information about how to classify ...
Basically, a classification essay outline is not different from other paper types: it still has the introduction part, the main body with at least three paragraphs, and the conclusion. Each section consists of the necessary elements to be included in your paper: Introduction. This is the very start when a reader should grasp a basic concept of ...
May 4th, 2013. A moviegoer is a person who goes to watch movies. In order to know a moviegoer, there is a need to classify the types of movies these individuals are interested in. These movies can be categorized in the genres of informational, drama, action, adventure, epic, horror, crime, and musical.