在作文中，发展（也称为精化）是在段落或文章中添加信息性和说明性细节以支持主要观点的过程。段落和文章可以用许多不同的方式发展。在传统的作文课程中，以下阐述模式通常作为阐述性写作的标准发展方法：

关于发展的意见

"[The] methods of development aren't empty jugs to pour full of any old, dull words. Neither are they straitjackets woven by fiendish English teachers to pin your writing arm to your side and keep you from expressing yourself naturally. The methods are tools for achieving your purpose in writing, whatever that purpose may be. They can help you discover what you know, what you need to know, how to think critically about your subject, and how to shape your writing."—From "The Bedford Reader" by X.J. and Dorothy M. Kennedy

提供支持性细节的重要性

"Possibly the most serious—and most common—weakness of all essays by novice writers is the lack of effectively developed body paragraphs. The information in each paragraph must adequately explain, exemplify, define, or in some other way support your topic sentence. Therefore, you must include enough supporting information or evidence in each paragraph to make your readers understand your topic sentence. Moreover, you must make the information in the paragraph clear and specific enough for the readers to accept your ideas."—From "Steps to Writing Well" by Jean Wyrick

健身

"What the opening of an essay promises, the body of the essay must deliver. This is known as 'developing your ideas,' but I like to use a body-building metaphor because it implies adding not just bulk to a framework, but musculature. In other words, good essay development strengthens, not merely fills out. . . . "What is the best way to reinforce the main idea of your essay? You can do some by making good use of any combination of the following six methods of development:

• 统计
• 比较
• 分类和划分
• 举例说明
• 引用
• 人物塑造、对话

"By using these bodybuilding elements, you are telling your readers, 'I don't expect you to take my word for these claims; I want you to see for yourself!"—From "LifeWriting: Drawing from Personal Experience to Create Features You Can Publish" by Fred D. White

多种发展模式

"Although most short papers may employ one primary pattern with other patterns woven throughout, longer papers may have two or more primary patterns of development. For example, if you are writing a paper on the causes and effects of child abuse in the foster care system, you might, after the causal analysis, shift the primary focus of the essay to prevention, thus continuing the essay with a process analysis of what the state might do to prevent child abuse. Then you might end the essay by addressing the objections from those defending the system, shifting the focus of the essay to argumentation. "Your decision to include other primary patterns depends on your purpose and audience. Your thesis makes your purpose clear to your reader. Then as you develop your essay, you may integrate other patterns into your paragraphs."—From "Bridges to Better Writing" by Luis Nazario, Deborah Borchers, and William Lewis

进一步资源

• 类比
• 因果
• 分类和划分
• 对比
• 当代传统修辞学
• 例子
• 扩展定义
• 构图模型
• 过程分析

来源

• 肯尼迪，X.J。；《贝德福德读者》，第七版。贝德福德/圣马丁，2000年
• 《生活写作：从个人经验中汲取灵感，创造出可以出版的特征》，2004年《羽毛笔驱动书》
• 纳扎里奥，路易斯；波切、底波拉；刘易斯，威廉；《通向更好写作的桥梁》，沃兹沃斯，2010年