Basic ABC and ABCD Paragraph Structure
BASIC ABCD PARAGRAPH
Let's look at how our student does this when arguing that widgets were more important than the whuzzits that came before them. The primary author examined in the paragraph is a scholar named McClain, who believed that widgets were cheap and simply enough to help the general population do work, whereas whuzzits were too complicated and too expensive for everyone to use.
[A.1] Upon their introduction in 1885, low-cost widgets quickly displaced the whuzzit in factory operations and became central to to American industrial growth. [B1] In his study of the history of the widget, McClain concentrated on class differences when he argued that "whuzzits had been important to the rich elite of the country, but they never felt that their factory workers could understand its complexities, thus keeping their sales numbers low, which, in turn kept their prices high" (22). [C1] Scholars who have looked at the use of whuzzits by workers concluded that few even tried to use them in their jobs since the tool's high price kept them out of local hardware stores, ensuring that workers had little exposure to their potential benefits. [B2] When widgets were introduced by distributors, they were immediately stocked by hardware stores because their wholesale price ($.05 vs. $25 for a whuzzit) ensured that the product was both profitable for the store and affordable to their clientele. [C2.1] Once purchased, workers could practice with it, understand how to use it, and adopt it to their jobs without the elite's input. [C2.2] This adoption helped it gain widespread acceptance as a useful and productive tool. [D] Within five years, the whuzzit disappeared from wholesalers' catalogs and soon thereafter became just a footnote in manufacturing history.
In our conclusion, [D], notice that the author does not override or restate the [A] sentences. There is new factual data (the disappearance of the whuzzit), but no new evaluative information. In other words, it doesn't change or add to the paragraph's overall argument since the [A] sentence already states that the whuzzit was displaced after five years of 1885 (thus, it acts almost as an "evidence" sentence to the [A] sentence).
Let's look at another example:
In this report, discuss how the histories, religion, culture, personal social habits, family lives, and interpersonal relationship "rules" could influence the way a businessperson from your country would need to act toward a businessperson from the country of your choice*. I would suggest using each paragraph in the report to discuss each of the points required by this assignment.
In this report, discuss how the...
What is important for an American businessperson to know if they are going to do business in Krackasia?
History - Krackasian history is 1,000 years of unbroken familial rule by the same emperor
religion - not very important to Krackasians
Culture - Men don't care about other men very much
Personal Social Habits - Krackasians like solid contracts with other people
Family Life - The woman rules the household and makes all the rules
Interpersonal "Rules" - _If you're dealing with another man, make sure his wife approves of the contract_
When doing business in Krackasia, it is best to understand that the relationships between men and women are the most important aspect of Krackasian culture, so it would be best to understand how men and women relate to each other and how Krackasians view business contracts. While men may rule the business environment, the contract and their wives rule their personal lives. Krackasian business contracts, although made between men, are actually made between a businessman and his wife. Indeed, while a Krackasian businessman might appear to be interested in your business proposal, he's most concerned about how other women will view the outcome. In this sense, Krackasian business is truly unique; however, while it might be unique, it is firmly rooted in both past and present. Krackasia has been ruled by an unbroken dynasty for the last 1,000 years, so your business associate will have strong ties to his sense of history. On the other hand, Krackasians rarely proclaim themselves to be religious, so don't expect this to be a part of your negotiations. Proper preparation before dealing with Krackasian businesspeople will go a long way in avoiding cultural misunderstandings.
So here's an ABCD paragraph that takes all of that into account:
[A] Relationships between men and women are vitally important to the Krackasian culture, because men need to do what women say and anyone conducting business there should understand this. [B] Women are the decision makers and they are responsible for approving contracts, even if women are not directly involved in the negotiation process. [C] According to Cosmo, although the majority of businesspeople in Krackasia are men, their wives base their respect for their husbands on the soundness of the contracts they sign at work. [B1] In Krackasian culture, women are also bad gossipers and will spread inconvenient rumors about a business deal if it does not meet with their approval. [B2] Such inconvenient rumors have led further potential business deals to fail as well. [C] For example, the Krackasian state oil company's merger with Exxon in 2012 failed due to a rumor started by Krackasian business woman, Krak Shesaan, who did not believe her husband's contract was worthy of her self-proclaimed status amongst other women in her community (source, year). [D] Businesspersons failing to understand the examples set by Shesaan and Exxon will most likely fail to understand why they can make no headway i Krackasia's very non-Western corporate environment.
It's just like a paint-by-numbers project, except your painting with information and not with acrylic or oils.
- [A] What the _entire_ paragraph is about and what you're trying to argue within that paragraph.
- [B] Evidence sentence detailing the evidence to prove the paragraph's argument.
- [C] An analysis of that evidence. [B,C,B,C if you so need] or vice-versa as [B] and [C] are flip-able in the paragraph. You can first analyze your evidence with a [B] sentence and then provide the evidence with a [C] sentence.
- [D] A narrative wrap-up to the entire paragraph, without adding any new evaluative information. This sentence can be used to lead into the next ABCD paragraph so as long as it doesn't steal the next [A]'s thunder.
At the undergraduate level I often require students NOT to have a [D] sentence because most undergraduates (most people) summarize the entire paragraph in the [D] sentence, which is what they should have done in the [A] sentence to begin with.
Let's look at how our student does this when arguing that widgets were more important than the whuzzits that came before them. The primary author examined in the paragraph is a scholar named McClain, who believed that widgets were cheap and simply enough to help the general population do work, whereas whuzzits were too complicated and too expensive for everyone to use.
[A.1] Upon their introduction in 1885, low-cost widgets quickly displaced the whuzzit in factory operations and became central to to American industrial growth. [B1] In his study of the history of the widget, McClain concentrated on class differences when he argued that "whuzzits had been important to the rich elite of the country, but they never felt that their factory workers could understand its complexities, thus keeping their sales numbers low, which, in turn kept their prices high" (22). [C1] Scholars who have looked at the use of whuzzits by workers concluded that few even tried to use them in their jobs since the tool's high price kept them out of local hardware stores, ensuring that workers had little exposure to their potential benefits. [B2] When widgets were introduced by distributors, they were immediately stocked by hardware stores because their wholesale price ($.05 vs. $25 for a whuzzit) ensured that the product was both profitable for the store and affordable to their clientele. [C2.1] Once purchased, workers could practice with it, understand how to use it, and adopt it to their jobs without the elite's input. [C2.2] This adoption helped it gain widespread acceptance as a useful and productive tool. [D] Within five years, the whuzzit disappeared from wholesalers' catalogs and soon thereafter became just a footnote in manufacturing history.
In our conclusion, [D], notice that the author does not override or restate the [A] sentences. There is new factual data (the disappearance of the whuzzit), but no new evaluative information. In other words, it doesn't change or add to the paragraph's overall argument since the [A] sentence already states that the whuzzit was displaced after five years of 1885 (thus, it acts almost as an "evidence" sentence to the [A] sentence).
Let's look at another example:
In this report, discuss how the histories, religion, culture, personal social habits, family lives, and interpersonal relationship "rules" could influence the way a businessperson from your country would need to act toward a businessperson from the country of your choice*. I would suggest using each paragraph in the report to discuss each of the points required by this assignment.
In this report, discuss how the...
- histories
- religion
- personal social habits,
- culture
- family life
- interpersonal relationship "rules"
What is important for an American businessperson to know if they are going to do business in Krackasia?
History - Krackasian history is 1,000 years of unbroken familial rule by the same emperor
religion - not very important to Krackasians
Culture - Men don't care about other men very much
Personal Social Habits - Krackasians like solid contracts with other people
Family Life - The woman rules the household and makes all the rules
Interpersonal "Rules" - _If you're dealing with another man, make sure his wife approves of the contract_
When doing business in Krackasia, it is best to understand that the relationships between men and women are the most important aspect of Krackasian culture, so it would be best to understand how men and women relate to each other and how Krackasians view business contracts. While men may rule the business environment, the contract and their wives rule their personal lives. Krackasian business contracts, although made between men, are actually made between a businessman and his wife. Indeed, while a Krackasian businessman might appear to be interested in your business proposal, he's most concerned about how other women will view the outcome. In this sense, Krackasian business is truly unique; however, while it might be unique, it is firmly rooted in both past and present. Krackasia has been ruled by an unbroken dynasty for the last 1,000 years, so your business associate will have strong ties to his sense of history. On the other hand, Krackasians rarely proclaim themselves to be religious, so don't expect this to be a part of your negotiations. Proper preparation before dealing with Krackasian businesspeople will go a long way in avoiding cultural misunderstandings.
So here's an ABCD paragraph that takes all of that into account:
[A] Relationships between men and women are vitally important to the Krackasian culture, because men need to do what women say and anyone conducting business there should understand this. [B] Women are the decision makers and they are responsible for approving contracts, even if women are not directly involved in the negotiation process. [C] According to Cosmo, although the majority of businesspeople in Krackasia are men, their wives base their respect for their husbands on the soundness of the contracts they sign at work. [B1] In Krackasian culture, women are also bad gossipers and will spread inconvenient rumors about a business deal if it does not meet with their approval. [B2] Such inconvenient rumors have led further potential business deals to fail as well. [C] For example, the Krackasian state oil company's merger with Exxon in 2012 failed due to a rumor started by Krackasian business woman, Krak Shesaan, who did not believe her husband's contract was worthy of her self-proclaimed status amongst other women in her community (source, year). [D] Businesspersons failing to understand the examples set by Shesaan and Exxon will most likely fail to understand why they can make no headway i Krackasia's very non-Western corporate environment.
It's just like a paint-by-numbers project, except your painting with information and not with acrylic or oils.