Division

Imagine a pie with a top crust, freshly-baked. When removed from the oven, it is one, solid, uncut object—one unit. Only when you cut it into pieces and remove it from the pan are you able to see what is inside the pie—what the pie consists of.

This is analogous to the process of division. In division, you want to focus on one single "thing," but divide it into its constituent parts. Each part of the thing you are dividing is an individual, unique element. After the whole is divided, f you look at one element, element A, it does not whole. If you look at element B, it does not reflect the whole either. Each element is only one piece of the whole, but when all the pieces are observed, they will again represent the whole.

This can be illustrated by exploring the pie concept.  Imagine you have made a strawberry-rhubarb pie.  You serve it to a friend, and she loves the taste so much, she asks you what is in the pie that makes it taste so good.  For her to understand why the pie tastes as good as it does, you must not only share the ingredients with her, but also tell her what makes each ingredient so unique.  You share the following with your friend, further divided by type of ingredient:

Dry ingredients:

1 cup plus 2 teaspoons of pure cane sugar
1/3 cup organic flour
¼ teaspoon powdered sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly-ground Peruvian cinnamon

Fruit:

2 ½ cups sliced home garden-grown rhubarb
2 ½ cups hulled organic strawberries

2 teaspoons fresh, organic lemon juice

Liquid ingredients:

1 teaspoon French vanilla extract
1 tablespoon Alpenrose milk

Butter:

2 tablespoons unsalted Tillamook butter

By emphasizing the importance of each specific ingredient, you friend can truly understand just how each impacts the whole pie.  By looking at the individual parts of the whole pie, the pie itself becomes better understood.

How to Create a Division Paper

First, you must choose your Principle of Analysis. This is the focus you will take or the rule you will observe that will constantly guide your division.

For example, if your subject is a statue, you may want to divide it based on its physical characteristics. You must then focus on all the physical characteristics you can: material / texture / dimension / style / inscription / location / orientation / etcetera, and perhaps most importantly, the meaning behind all the physical choices—why these factors exist the way they do and what this means to you and others because of it. Try not to leave out a discussion of reaction, if appropriate, as this is what may best connect your thoughts and feelings with your readers’. You must strive to consider all the elements within a discussion of the statue's physical characteristics, so that the division is complete, as well as strive for consistency in the application of your principle.

Next, you must provide faithfully represented evidence (concrete detail, facts, data) within each element, so that your reader can grasp your subject accurately.

Lastly, focus on the significance of your subject. Ask yourself why you are writing about this subject and what you personally find interesting about it.

Remember: If you can focus on these elements as you write, in order to create and offer a unique portrait of your subject to your reader, your division will succeed.

Here is Brooke Dojny's Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie recipe from The New England Cookbook:

INGREDIENTS

(Crust for a double-crust pie)
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons sugar or succanat
1/3 cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 ½ cups sliced rhubarb (about 1 ¼ pounds)
2 ½ cups hulled strawberries, halved and quartered if large
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in several pieces
1 tablespoon milk

1. Roll half of the dough out on a lightly floured surface to a 12-inch circle. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate. Roll out the second disc of dough and slip onto a rimless cookie sheet. Refrigerate while making the filling.

2. Whisk together the sugar, flour, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add the rhubarb, strawberries, lemon juice, and vanilla and toss until the fruit is well coated with the sugar mixture. Set aside for 10 minutes until the fruit softens slightly.

3. Preheat the oven to 425F. Position an oven rack in the lower third of the oven.

4. Spoon the rhubarb mixture into the pie shell and distribute the butter over the fruit. Cover with the top crust and trim the overhanging dough to ¾ inch all the way around. Turn the edges under, flush with the rim of the pie plate, and crimp or flute to seal. Use a sharp knife to cut several steam vents. (Or you could cut 1-inch strips and weave a lattice crust, crimping the edges). Brush the top crust with milk and sprinkle with the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar.

5. Bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 and bake until the crust is a rich golden brown, the fruit is tender, and juices bubble through the vents, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool on a wire rack at least 1 hour.

6. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 1 9-inch pie.

Work Cited

Dojny, Brooke.  “Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie.”  The New England Cookbook.  Cambridge : Harvard

        Common Press, 1999.