Lab Activity 33: The Generalization-and-Example Pattern

Chapter 7: More Thought Patterns
Lab Activity 33: The Generalization-and-Example Pattern

Objective
To identify how example transition words relate details to the main idea or generalization.

Step 2: Read the paragraphs from college textbooks, and answer the questions that follow them.

8. Ancient philosophers and medieval physicians believed that the proportions of various fluids (called humors) in the body determine a person's temperament and personality. Cheerful, healthy people, for example, were said to have a sanguine (hopeful and self-confident) personality because their blood was their primary humor; those who had a preponderance of yellow bile were considered hot-tempered.

—Lefton and Brannon, Psychology, 8th ed. p. 419

What is the main idea of this paragraph that is supported by the example presented?

a. Ancient philosophers and medieval physicians believed that the proportions of various fluids (called humors) in the body determined a person's temperament and personality.

b. Cheerful, healthy people, for example, were said to have a sanguine (hopeful and self-confident) personality because their blood was their primary humor; those who had a preponderance of yellow bile were considered hot-tempered.

9. Peer sociability in collectivist societies takes different forms than in individualistic cultures. For example, children in India generally play in large groups that require high levels of cooperation. Much of their behavior during sociodramatic play and early games is imitative, occurs in unison, and involves close physical contact. In a game called Bhatto Bhatto, children act out a script about a trip to the market, touching each other's elbows and hands as they pretend to cut and share a tasty vegetable

—Berk, Development Through the Lifespan, 3^rd ed., p. 250.

In this paragraph, the main idea, which is underlined, is supported with

a. examples of children in India.

b. an example of a game that originated in India that encourages cooperation.

c. an example of various forms of sociodramatic play.

d. examples of games that involve no physical contact.

10. The first motion pictures were made around 1900, but the medium only came into its own after the Great War. The early films, such as the eight-minute epic The Great Train Robbery (1903), were brief, action-packed, and unpretentious. Professional actors and most educated people viewed them with amused contempt. But their success was instantaneous with recent immigrants and many other slum dwellers. In 1912 there were nearly 13,000 movie houses in the United States, more than 500 in New York City alone. Many of these places were converted stores called nickelodeons because the admission charge was only 5 cents.

—Carnes and Garraty, The American Nation, 11th ed., p. 659

Indicate the signal words for the details that support the main idea, which is underlined.

a. such as

b. but

c. in 1912

d. and