Development

There are different ways to explain an idea or build it up.  These can be called methods of development.  You may explain something by contrasting it with another thing, by dividing it into parts, by showing how it works.  In this course special attention is paid to developing by means of defining, restating, amplifying; by considering cause and result; by considering and answering opposing arguments.  Here, a few examples to remind you of what we have worked on in class will be enough.

But remember the basic rule:  An idea which is clear to you-- because it is yours-- may not be clear to the reader.  Develop it adequately and support it.

The Usefulness of Children

To understand why poor families in
agricultural societies have large fam-
ilies, it is important to consider the
social and economic role of children.                topic
Of course poor people love their children,         contrast
but that is not why they have so many.
In an agricultural society, children are               amplifies:  1st role
important, indeed necessary, to the family
economy, which relies on hands not                 cause:  why
machines.  Children are, moreover, the                 necessary
only kind of "social security" in most                amplifies:  2nd role
agricultural societies.  In such societies,
people expect to be cared for by their                defines "social
children when they grow old.  For this                   security"
reason, a peasant will hesitate to have a             result
small family.  If a peasant couple has only         restates "cared for"
one or two children, and those children do
not survive, the parents will not be provided
for in old age.  In other words, there is              restatement
security in numbers.

Overwork in Japan

Japanese work too hard.  So-called "volun-        topic
tary work" is a crucial cause of overwork.          cause
It's "service overtime" for which no wages         defines "voluntary"
are paid and it is very common in Japan.
One study by a Management and Coordin-        support:  statistic
ation Agency finds that the real working
hours in Japan are about 350/year more than
the Ministry of Labor statistics report (Kato).
This fact reflects a corporate society.  If            amplification
we don't work overtime even without wages,     cause
we are regarded as lacking in loyalty to the
corporation.  Without the loyalty, we can't         cause
hope for promotions.  The intense compe-        
tition to show loyalty and win promotions           result
results in overwork.

(source:  Kato, Tetsuo.  "Workaholism:  It's
not in the Blood."  21 Sept. 1999.
<http://members.jcom.home.ne.jp/katori/
WORKAHOLISM.HTML>

Education for the Disabled in China

Why can't the disabled get higher education         topic
in China?  Some say it is because we are             opposing
currently a developing country and don't                    opinion
have enough economy to promote higher
education for the disabled.  China must save        amplification
the limited resources for the healthy that are
needed to build the country.  While it is true       
that China is a developing country, one must
also look at the hidden idea in this thought:          answers opposing
disabled people are not the same as normal                opinion
people nor are they useful for China.  This
way of thinking is quite representative of the
average Chinese.  They never consider that       
while a person may be healthy physically, his
or her personality could be severely disabled.
On the other hand, while a person might be        contrast/
unhealthy physically, his or her mind and            restatement
character could be of the highest quality.

06/07/2002