Effective illustration essays support a generalization, explain, and clarify by providing examples that maintain readers’ interest and achieve the author’s purpose. Because a good illustration essay is more than a list of examples, a well-thought-out organization is essential.

Examples are an effective way to support a generalization — a broad statement about a topic. Thesis statements often contain a generalization, and the body of an illustration essay contains examples that support it.

The following statements are generalizations because they make assertions about an entire group or category.

To explain and support any of these generalizations, you could provide specific examples, along with other types of evidence (facts, statistics, expert opinions), to show how or why the statement is accurate. For instance, in addition to providing relevant facts and statistics, you could also support the first generalization by providing examples of several college students who demonstrate energy and ambition.

Examples are useful when you need to explain an unfamiliar topic, a difficult concept, or an abstract term.

Unfamiliar topics. Use examples to help readers understand a topic about which they know little or nothing. An instructor of abnormal psychology, for example, might provide case studies of patients with schizophrenia and other disorders to help make the characteristics of each disorder easier to understand and remember.

Difficult concepts. Many concepts are difficult to grasp by definition alone. For instance, a reader might guess that the term urbanization, a key concept in sociology, has something to do with cities. Defining the concept as “the process by which an area becomes part of a city” gives readers a place to begin. Providing examples of formerly suburban areas that have become urban makes the concept even more understandable.

Abstract terms. Abstract terms refer to ideas rather than to concrete things you can see and touch. Terms such as truth and justice are abstract. Because abstractions are difficult to understand, examples help clarify them. In many cases, however, abstract terms mean different things to different people. By providing examples, you can clarify what you mean by an abstract term. Suppose you use the term unfair to describe your employer’s treatment of workers. Readers might have different ideas of fairness. Providing examples of the employer’s unfair treatment would make your meaning clear.

The number of examples a writer should include depends on his or her purpose and audience. For example, in an essay arguing that one car is a better buy than another, a series of examples explaining the various models, years, and options available to potential car buyers might be most persuasive. But if you are writing an essay for an audience of high school students about the consequences of dropping out of school, a single poignant example might be more compelling.

A careful analysis of your audience should play a key role in deciding what types of examples to include in your essay. For an expert audience, technical examples might be more appropriate; for novice readers, personal or everyday examples might be more effective. For instance, suppose you want to persuade readers that the Food and Drug Administration should approve a new cancer drug. If your audience is composed of doctors, your examples would likely include the results of scientific studies regarding the drug’s effectiveness. But if your audience is the general public, your examples might focus on personal anecdotes about lives being saved.

It can be useful to provide examples that represent different aspects of or viewpoints on your topic. In writing about the new drug, for instance, you might include expert opinion from researchers as well as the opinions of doctors, patients, and a representative of the company that manufactures the drug.

Examples must be relevant, representative, accurate, and striking.

Striking and dramatic examples make a strong, lasting impression on readers. For example, in an essay about identity theft, a writer might relate shocking incidents of how victims’ lives are drastically changed with the swipe of a credit card.

Sometimes it is necessary to conduct research to find examples outside your knowledge and experience. For the essay on preschool programs, you would need to do research to obtain statistical information. You might also interview a preschool administrator or teacher to gather firsthand anecdotes and opinions or visit a preschool classroom to observe the program in action.

When providing examples that are broad general categories, you will often find it helpful to include subexamples — specific examples that help explain the general examples. Suppose you are writing an essay about the problems that new immigrants to America face and you use three examples: problems with the language, with the culture, and with technology. For the broad culture example, you might give subexamples of how some immigrants do not understand certain American holidays, ways of socializing, and methods of doing business.

When supporting a thesis with examples, organize the examples and the details that accompany them so readers can follow them easily. Often one of the methods of organization discussed in Chapter 7 will be useful:

For example, in an essay explaining why people wear unconventional dress, you might arrange the examples spatially, starting with outlandish footwear and continuing upward to headgear. For other writing assignments, you may want to organize your examples according to another pattern of development, such as comparison and contrast or cause and effect. For example, to support the thesis that a local department store needs to improve its customer service, you might begin by contrasting the department store with several other retailers that provide better service, offering examples of the services that each provides.

The following readings demonstrate the techniques for writing effective illustration essays. The first is annotated to point out how Frans de Waal uses these techniques to help readers understand animal intelligence. As you read the second essay, try to identify how the writer uses the techniques of illustration to help readers understand road rage.