Extended Definition of Classification and Division

How do you write an essay, a book, or an article? Do you divide it into sections and group the information by category, or do you just ramble, hoping that it all makes sense to the reader in the end? This is what classification and division is all about. Taking the information that you will write about and grouping it into categories that relate to each other, and then dividing those classifications into smaller groups as necessary. This process helps the reader to make sense of the information and connect with the author.

An example of this process is found in the article “Teaching Songs to Young Children: What Do Music-Teacher Educators Say?” by Diane Parsellin. She begins by introducing different factors that “can affect the vocal accuracy of young children”, and the different studies that have been done on those subjects. All of this information is contained in one area – the introduction. 

Parsellin then points out one area that has not been researched long-term – singing with or for children when teaching them. This is her main focus, and leads into the body of her paper, which is divided into sections, or classifications.

1-                   Different studies of teaching methods that lacked the singing with or for information.

2-                   Smaller studies that addressed her focus yet differed in their conclusions.

3-                   The method she used to determine the preference of educators on the subject.

4-                   The results found from the study. (Which was further subdivided, breaking down the results.)

She then pulls everything together in her conclusion, which is contained at the end of her paper.

The information presented in the article was clearly grouped into different categories by their specific characteristics.

A-   The introduction - what she was going to discuss and why.

B-   The body of the paper – examples, the process of discovery, and the results.

C-    The conclusion – the summary of her findings and what the implications were.

This is the process of classification and division. In order for Parsellin’s readers to follow her paper and gain understanding, she classified and divided the information into groups that had similar characteristics. This process keeps specific information together to help the reader to have a greater understanding of what is happening or being addressed.