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What Is a Classification Essay? Definition of Classification Academic Papers
To achieve academic success, each student should be aware of what a classification essay is. It is essential to know all the principles of structuring the essay as well as be well versed in proper essay development. A thesis statement is an essential constituent of a classification essay. Normally, it should highlight the topic and the main idea of the essay and include the topic classification, particularly the categories that are included. The template may look as follows: [topic] … [classification] … [category 1] [category 2] [category 3] etc. For example, Children of this age group can enjoy such sports activities: football, cycling, swimming, and running.
You need to know not only what a classification essay is but also how to write a successful classification essay. What is a classification essay? Check out the following tips:
- Identify the categories you intend to focus on. Make sure you discuss the categories starting from the most important one. Focus on 3-4 categories. Five categories can be appropriate only when the essay is long. Make sure you do not overlook the most important category. For example, if you provide a classification of sports, start with the one that is the most important among a certain category of children.
- Provide a classification based on one principle. You cannot discuss things that belong to different categories. Make sure they fit into one classification and categorize them accordingly. Keep in mind that no new principle or category should be introduced in the middle of the paper. You need to provide a logical and coherent discussion.
- Provide an equal discussion of each category. Make sure that each category is discussed in detail and supported by sufficient examples. If you have three categories and you devote three body paragraphs in total for their discussion, make sure that the paragraphs are equal in length.
How to Choose a Topic, Use Examples, Format and Structure Your Essay!
How to Write a Classification Essay
Classification essays are quite specific in that they deal with organizing classifications and identifying logical links to the classifications. Anyone writing an essay of this type is expected to sort or organize the main points or arguments of their work into categories. It is important to note that categories should be aligned to the topic of the essay.
How a Classification Essay Should be Written
If the essay is to be well organized and professional, there are three important pieces of advice to bear in mind. Firstly, all the categories should fully reflect the essay’s theme and should therefore be useful to the classification topic. Despite the categories being separated, each one should adhere to one logical organizing principle. Additionally, examples should be provided to support each category.
Create an Outline for Your Classification Essay
An outline is, essentially, a condensed version of the final essay. It is simply a rough description or list of the main points and facts, which will be used for creating the final product. It is advisable to practice writing classification essays in order to become as good as you possibly can be at this task.
How to Structure Your Classification Essay Properly:
If you want to achieve success in writing a classification essay, make sure you learn the principles of structure and organization in depth. We recommend a standard five-paragraph structure but you modify the essay on your own and add some more paragraphs if needed.
Check out this type of essay organization:
- Introduction. This opening paragraph is the starting point of your writing. Here you need to provide background information on the topic, introduce the subject, identify what you will discuss, explain the significance of categorizing and also explain which principle is used for categorizing. Your readers should be well aware why you categorize specific topics, concepts or phenomena.
- The main body. The body of the essay comprises of paragraphs (normally there are three or five of them). Each paragraph should focus on a specific category. You need to provide a comprehensive discussion of each category in the body paragraphs. You may as well pinpoint to the strengths and weaknesses of each category or group. Examples should be also provided. When switching between the paragraphs or ideas, make sure you have clear transitions.
- Conclusive paragraph. This is the final paragraph where you summarize the ideas and re-emphasize the most important ones. Here you may reiterate the thesis statement and once again briefly summarize each category.
The recommended structure for this type of essay is to align its construction in the manner your categories are built.
Introductory Paragraph
The thesis statement is the main part or foundation stone of the introductory paragraph. How good your thesis statement is depends on how accurately it describes your topic and related classifications. It needs to justify the particular categories the writer has chosen for their classification.
The structure of the thesis statement should have a very sound logic i.e. the theme, its particular classification, and the categories you have chosen, which it is suggested you limit to three so as not to obscure the classification.
Here is an example: “Foreign students can enjoy three main benefits, which are education, experience, and a broadening of cultural knowledge.
Main Body Paragraphs
- List your first (least important) category
- List your second (second least important) category
- List your third (most important) category along with your best examples.
If your classification essay is to be worthwhile, it should be based on one main organizational principle. Then it will be possible to organize your categories on the basis of the different sets of arguments you devise.
Concluding Paragraph
Your concluding paragraph should reiterate your thesis statement and summarize the categories you analyzed in your essay.
The Format of a Classification Essay
Like other types of essays, a classification essay may be formatted in any of the popular styles, e.g., AMA, APA, Chicago, MLA, or Turabian. Everything depends on the essay’s topic, your discipline, and the requirements of the assignment. Just please remember to be consistent with whatever style you use. Make sure that titles, fonts, headings, line spacing, paragraphs, emphasis, justification, footnotes, endnotes, lists of references, and so on are consistent in their appearance.
