Effective Illustration Techniques in Expository Discourse
Definition
Definition is a technique of expository discourse. To define consists in giving knowledge of what a thing is and in finding the boundaries or limits of the term defined. To define things is probably one of the most significant and ceaseless functions of reason. Consequently, a definition does not only state the precise meaning of a word, phrase, or a term but also sets the limits or bounds within which that word can be used.
Exemplification
Exemplification consists in citing the particular item in order to clarify the nature of a class in which it is included. Most generalizations tend to lose their strength if they lack the support of relevant exemplification.
Identification
Identification is defined as the learning technique that relates a perception of something new to knowledge already possessed. Identification means the recognition of something as identical, analogous, similar, akin, or interchangeable to something else:
- Synonyms
- Comparison: It is the relation of resemblance between two entities, one of which is used to summon the other.
- Simile
- Metaphor
Contrast and Identification
Contrast and identification are closely connected, as they are both used in daily life to distinguish what a thing is from what it is not. The term contrast in this case refers to a strong difference, or a striking dissimilarity, between entities or objects that are set in opposition in order to show or emphasize their differences when being compared, for example, the contrast between country life and city life or between northern and southern speech patterns. The technique of contrast can be achieved by means of several linguistic devices, all of which have the goal of capturing the addressee’s attention and calling for refreshing thought:
- Antonymy
- Antithesis
Contrast
The term contrast in this case refers to a strong difference, or a striking dissimilarity, between entities or objects that are set in opposition in order to show or emphasize their differences when being compared, for example, the contrast between country life and city life.
Paradox has been defined as “contradiction in terms”. It is an apparently inconsistent statement containing a truth that reconciles the contradiction. One of the clauses of the statement denies, or goes against, what is asserted in the other, in order to create perplexity and uncertainty in the addressee.
Oxymoron is a figure of speech consisting of two contradictory lexical units, usually an adjective and a noun (e.g., sweet death). Oxymoron can be considered a “condensed paradox” because of the contradiction it contains.
Classification and Division
Classification and division are grouped together because they seem like movements complementary to one another on a vertical axis, classification being an upward movement, and division a downward movement. In this case, an ‘upward movement’ means to go from the particular to the more general because it tries to identify the class to which a particular sample belongs. Classification is probably the most prominent condition of systematic thought as, by means of classification, order can be reached and a unified layout accomplished.
Cause and Effect
Cause and effect are also conceived as being complementary to one another in the same way as classification and division, but this time the movement goes backward and forward on a horizontal axis. Cause is a backward movement and effect is a forward movement. Process analysis tries to answer the question how?. It makes use of several devices, such as enumeration, especially of the steps or activities making up a total process.
Exposition, Persuasion, and Argument in Expository Discourse
Examples of expository discourse are political propaganda, advertising, and religious preaching. Some specialists think that this modality of discourse is just a mere variation of expository discourse for, at least, two reasons:
- In order to construct a convincing and logically ordered argument, persuasion also employs the techniques of illustration of expository discourse used by professionals of communication, the preacher, or the teacher.
- Both expository discourse and persuasive discourse have the same general goal: they set forth reasonable sound information to appeal to the understanding or the mind of the receiver or decoder of the message. In other words, both exploit the ‘logical and systematic organization of discourse’.
In this last case, this modality of discourse may also have to rouse the feelings of the receiver in order to act. Persuasion has been defined as the process of inducing a voluntary change in someone’s attitudes, beliefs, or behavior through the transmission of a message. The general goals of exposition are the same: to explain and to clarify. However, persuasion and argument attempt to clarify in order to convince; in the case of persuasion for further reflection, in the case of argument, to influence the receiver’s action or behavior.
Another problem is how to distinguish argumentation from persuasion, for if argumentation appeals to reason and persuasion to emotions, it is seldom the case that (a) each strategy is used separately, for most messages try to combine reason with emotion, and (b) a text recognizes that it appeals to emotions and not to reason.