Things that cannot be defined or compared or
classified can often be explained by analyzing—
explaining a whole by examining it piece by piece.
Although both classification and analysis
deal with separate things that somehow belong together, with classification we
begin with a group of things, divide it into parts, and then divide the parts
again as many times as necessary; or we start with one thing and put it with a
group of other things somewhat like it. With analysis, on the other hand, the
topic is divided into its separate parts so the parts can be examined piece by piece.
Usually, operational analysis explains a
process that works the same way over and over again. We use it to help
ourselves understand, and we write about it to help our readers
understand. The focus of an operational analysis is usually on the
question "how."
Main Idea Sentences for operational analysis
are easy to write. They always start with the thing being analyzed (the whole)
and they end by mentioning the parts.
"A carburetor cannot
operate unless it has a mixing chamber, an air intake, a gas intake, and a
jet."
"To wet someone, a squirt gun must have the following..."
When you want to explain not how something
works, but why something happens (or happened) the way it does (or did
), the process becomes a bit more complicated. You still begin with the thing,
the event:
The focus, of course, is on
the degree of probability that a lack of hot water can be attributed to one of
the following causes. So, a typical introductory paragraph might contain this
sentence: "A lack of hot water in a residence can usually be attributed to
one of three causes: a blown fuse or tripped circuit breaker, a malfunction in
the water heater itself, or a general power loss by the utility."
Specifics
on High Plains Drifter