Appropriate Explanatory Strategies: Using a Variety of Strategies
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Writers typically use several different kinds of strategies to explain a concept. Patricia Lyu, for example, defines the concept of attachment, classifies children’s behavior into groups to delineate the types of attachment shown in the “strange situation,” narrates the process of the experiments Ainsworth and Harlow conducted, and shows the cause-effect relationship between fear and the need for attachment. Here are examples of sentence patterns Lyu uses to present these types of explanatory strategies:
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| DEFINITION |
He saw that “separation anxiety”—being physically apart from the caregiver or perceiving the “threat” of separation...(Kobak and Madsen 30). (par. 3) |
| CLASSIFICATION |
Ainsworth identified three basic types (“attachment styles”)...secure, anxious (or anxious/ambivalent), and avoidant (Fraley 4). (par. 4) |
| PROCESS NARRATION |
Harlow conducted a series of famous and rather disturbing experiments with infant monkeys. The infant monkeys were separated from their biological mothers and raised by a surrogate mother...made from uncovered heavy wire. (par. 8) |
| CAUSE-EFFECT REASONING |
In other experiments, he also showed that fear is a strong motivator of attachment, leading the infant monkeys to seek consolation from the surrogate. (par. 10) |
ANALYZE & WRITE
Write a paragraph or two analyzing how Hurley uses definition, classification, process narration, and cause-effect reasoning to explain fluid intelligence:
- Skim Hurley’s essay looking for and highlighting an example of each of these explanatory strategies.
- Select one strategy that you think is particularly effective and explain why you think it works so well. What does the strategy contribute to the explanation of fluid intelligence?