Developing Essays by Classification and Division

When you classify, you organize things, people, or ideas into types or categories according to a basis of classification. Perhaps you could classify the clothing in your closet according to how often you wear each item; you could classify your friends according to what types of activities you enjoy together; and you could classify each piece of mail in the big pile on your desk according to its purpose (a bill, a personal letter, or an advertisement).

Directions: Read each part of the following classification essay. Answer the questions that correspond with each paragraph.

TITLE AND INTRODUCTORY PARAGRAPH

Are Stay-at-Home Mothers Happier than Mothers Who Work Outside the Home?

(1)In the past forty years, the percentage of working mothers in the United States has increased. (2)While some people might say that this increase suggests improved gender equality in the workplace, others say that working mothers constantly feel pressure from both home and work. (3)Some research suggests that stay-at-home mothers feel pressure to work. (4)Many women wonder what option will lead to the greatest level of satisfaction. (5)A recent study by the Pew Research Center divides mothers in the United States into three categories in order to assess their overall happiness: working mothers with a partner, stay-at-home mothers with a partner, and single mothers. (6)By recognizing why some mothers are happier than others, women who have children can better understand their own levels of happiness.

Which is the thesis statement of the essay?

Sentence 1

Sentence 2

Sentence 6

According to the introduction, this essay will do which of the following?

Categorize working mothers based on their level of job satisfaction

Classify mothers according to their overall happiness

Classify women according to whether they are mothers

BODY PARAGRAPH 1

(7) The first and largest group consists of working moms with a partner who are employed either full- or part-time. (8) Most working mothers say they often feel rushed in their daily lives. (9) This fact may suggest that working mothers would experience a low level of overall satisfaction in life. (10) However, 85% of working moms say they are "very happy" or "pretty happy." (11) Of this group, 14% say they are "not happy." (12) Despite the pressures of balancing home and work responsibilities, working mothers report a high level of overall happiness in their lives.

Sentence 7 is the topic sentence of this paragraph. According to sentence 7, what is the purpose of this paragraph?

To classify working mothers based on whether they work part-time or full-time

To discuss the first category of classification: working moms with a partner

To convince the reader that women should not work outside the home

BODY PARAGRAPH 2

(13)The second group consists of the moms with a partner who do not work outside the home. (14)According to statistical data, women who stay at home are far less likely to feel stressed out than women who work outside the home. (15)Interestingly, the happiness statistics of stay-at-home moms are almost exactly the same as those of working moms. (16)About 80% of stay-at-home mothers report they are "very happy" or "pretty happy." (17)Approximately 14% of these women say they are "not too happy." (18)While small differences exist, research shows that mothers who stay at home experience a level of happiness similar to that of their counterparts who work outside the home.

This paragraph discusses the second category of classification: stay-at-home mothers. Which of the following statements accurately restates the information in this paragraph about the happiness of stay-at-home mothers?

Stay-at-home mothers report the same happiness as working mothers.

Stay-at-home mothers are happier than working mothers.

Stay-at-home mothers are not as happy as working mothers.

BODY PARAGRAPH 3

(19)The final group of women consists of single moms. (20)Whether they work outside the home or not, single mothers report the lowest level of happiness compared with the other mothers surveyed. (21)About 27% of these women report that they are "very happy" and 43% report that they are "pretty happy."(22)Twenty-three percent of single mothers indicate that they are "not too happy." (23)It seems that while working mothers and stay-at-home mothers with a partner feel different pressures, single mothers of either category experience the most difficulty in maintaining happiness, perhaps because they lack the support of another adult in the household.

Which is the topic sentence in this paragraph?

Sentence 21

Sentence 19

Sentence 20

According to this paragraph, which of the following is correct about the third category of classification?

Most working, single mothers report that they are "very happy."

Almost a quarter of single mothers report feeling "not too happy."

"Pretty happy" women are always single mothers.

CONCLUDING PARAGRAPH

(24) The Pew Research Study on the happiness of mothers in the United States seems to suggest that the level of happiness between mothers who work outside the home and those who stay at home is not very different.(25) However, single mothers experience a different set of pressures and may have more difficulty achieving happiness. (26) Despite the "freedoms" of the feminist movement, which gave women the options to either work or stay at home, all American mothers experience stress and pressure. (27) Regardless, the majority of mothers report they are happy people.

With which final thought does the concluding paragraph leave the reader?

Mothers are underpaid and overworked, and they deserve a better life.

The feminist movement did nothing for women in the United States.

Most mothers, working or stay-at-home, married or single, report they are happy.