65 3. Classification Sample 1
Types of Studying Students
It was about 1 a.m. when I returned home from work and prepared to do some final-minute studying for tomorrow’s math exam. When I opened the door to the dorm, I discovered, that all of my roommates were also involved in preparations for their upcoming tests. As I watched my friends over the next hour, I discovered three distinct types of studying students: the obnoxious study student, the pretend study student and the depressed study student.
I found the obnoxious student sitting at the dining room table as I walked toward the kitchen for a late-night snack. He was screaming for help from no one in particular until he happened to spot me.
“Hello, Gary, ol’ bud,” he said with an over-exaggerated smile, as he grabbed my arm and pulled me closer to him.
Obnoxious study students are the type who live to be the center of attention. They will hem and haw over every concept in their study notes and yell like banshees to get some recognition, even if the recognition is negative. This particular student turned my stomach with his forceful efforts, so I freed myself from his grasp and moved on toward a quieter end of the room where I met with the pretend study student.
He was posed with his feet crossed and one arm casually propped against the wall, a textbook held loosely in his left hand. I expected him to fall without the wall for support, and my guess was correct. When his hand left the wall to shake mine, he stumbled over his twisted feet and spilled his beer down his shirt front.
“Excuse me,” he slowly mumbled, “I’ve been studying so hard that I’m loopy now. I’ve been studying since mid-afternoon, but I am no where near finished.”
The denying study student will ramble on and on about how much he can cover in one setting drink and how many times he mastered the topic from it. He studies, he says, to have a good time but denies that too much reading might confuse him I propped this teetering soul back up against the wall and quickly escaped to join a quiet girl sitting in the corner.
“Why are you sitting alone?” I asked. “Are you OK?”
“Oh,” she sniffed, “I’m just wonderful.”
“What’s wrong?” I inquired.
“Oh, it’s my dumb boyfriend,” she moaned, sloshing down the remainder of her warm beer.
I should have thought twice before striking up a conversation with this depressed study student. She put down her notebook and began to tell me all her problems, from age twelve to the present. She was the typical depressed study student, a perfect example of the type who talks for hours on end about nothing but her pitiful self and has no real time for studying. I was stuck playing the Dear Abby role with her for the remainder of the evening.
As a result of this experience, I have come to the conclusion that taking time to study requires a solitary location. Otherwise, you will get caught up in the study habits of those around you, and your own needs for studying material may just go to waste.
As you can see, this essay follows a narrative approach- it has a clear “classification” opening, with a thesis statement included. It also includes an “essay map” that identifies the three categories the writer will discuss. Then it uses all the components of narrative writing you practiced with earlier. You don’t have to use narrative writing for a classification. I just wanted you to see a little different format.