Illustrative Example: The Four Discourse Types (River and City)

What This Page Shows

A short teaching example that isolates each of the four discourse forms the CSS essay paper requires — Narration, Description, Exposition, and Argument — so each technique can be studied clearly on its own, one at a time.
Important caveat: this example prioritizes making each concept stand out over exam compliance. It uses "we/our" pronouns, bullet points, and short, simple sentences on purpose — none of that belongs in an actual CSS answer sheet (see Exam Mechanics: Format, Presentation & Time Management for why). For a version that blends all four discourse types formally, in exam-ready style, see the Sample Essay pages (Global Warming, Politics vs. Economy, Terrorism in Pakistan).

Introduction

Water shapes the world. Rivers carve mountains and fill valleys, and human settlements have always grown up beside them. This piece explores the bond between rivers and cities using four writing styles:

Narration: telling a story about a specific river
Description: painting a picture with words
Exposition: explaining facts and history
Argument: defending an idea about the future

Narration: The Journey of the Old Water

The old river starts high in the cold mountains. Snow melts in the spring. Tiny drops join together and form a small stream.

The stream runs fast over gray stones, cutting through the green forest, singing a loud song.

The water rushes past pine trees.
It catches the bright morning sun.
It carries brown leaves and small twigs.

After many miles, the stream slows down and enters a wide, flat valley. The water turns muddy and deep. A small fishing village sits on the left bank. Fifty years ago, the villagers fished from wooden boats, drank the cold water, and thanked the river for their food.

Then the city arrived. Men came with loud machines, cut down the trees on the bank, poured gray cement, and built tall walls of stone right at the water's edge.

The river tried to move, but the stone walls blocked its path. The water turned gray, carrying plastic bottles instead of leaves. The old song of the river faded into a quiet, heavy murmur beneath the noise of heavy traffic.

Description: The Sights and Sounds of the Altered Edge

Look closely at the water today. It is not blue or green — it is the color of a wet slate roof.

The surface looks oily. A thin rainbow film dances on top of the ripples. When the wind blows, it smells of old iron and warm mud, not of rain or pine anymore.

The Banks: covered in cracked concrete and old tires
The Air: heavy with exhaust fumes from the bridge above
The Light: reflects in hard, bright flashes off empty soda cans trapped in the reeds

A lone white bird stands on a broken pipe, very still, its legs like dry twigs. It watches the dark water for a fish and waits a long time. Nothing moves beneath the surface. The bird spreads its wings and flies away to a cleaner place.

The bridge above shakes as cars pass every second, making a deep, roaring sound. The water absorbs the sound and shivers in small, nervous circles.

Exposition: How Cities Change Waterways

Exposition means explaining how things work. Throughout history, cities grew near rivers for clear reasons:

Transportation: boats carried food and tools easily
Agriculture: river mud grew healthy crops
Power: flowing water turned mill wheels to make energy

However, growth brought problems. In the past, people did not understand nature and treated rivers like open sewers, and factories dumped chemical waste directly into the current.

The Industrial Era: factories used river water to clean machines, then returned the dirty water to the river
Flood Control: engineers built concrete channels, stopping the river from spreading out naturally
Urban Sprawl: roofs and roads replaced soil, so rainwater now rushes straight into the river too fast

This fast rush of water causes sudden floods. Concrete traps do not absorb rain, so water levels rise within minutes. Cities now spend billions of dollars fixing damage caused by these poor old designs. Science points to a better way.

Argument: We Must Set the River Free

Cities must change how they treat urban rivers. Concrete channels destroy nature and create danger for cities.

First, concrete does not stop floods — it makes them worse. When rain falls on soil, the earth absorbs it. When rain falls on concrete, it slides off like grease on a hot pan, and all that water hits the river at the exact same time, causing it to overflow its high walls.

Natural banks slow water down: plants, reeds, and soil act like a sponge
Wetlands hold extra rain: they store water safely away from homes
Green spaces clean the air: trees cool down hot city streets

Second, people need nature for their wellbeing. A dead, gray canal breeds despair; a living river brings joy, giving people a place to walk and children a chance to watch ducks and dragonflies.

It could be argued that tearing up concrete costs too much money. This is a weak objection: doing nothing costs more. Every year, cities pay huge sums to repair broken stone walls, and every year, pollution makes people sick.

The concrete must be broken, grass and trees replanted along the banks, and the water allowed to breathe again. A healthy river protects the city and brings life back to its streets.

Conclusion

The story of the river is the story of the city. Settlements began near clean water and built great towers beside it, trying to master the river with stone and iron.

The lesson learned was a hard one: water cannot be conquered, only lived with in peace.

By listening to the science, seeing the truth of the damage done, telling the story of renewal, and pursuing green change, the land can heal. The river will sing again, and the city will thrive beside it.

Key Takeaways for the CSS Exam

Narration = a sequence of events (a story or case study) used to support the argument, not to entertain for its own sake
Description = vivid, sensory detail that makes a scene or consequence concrete and memorable
Exposition = facts, history, and mechanisms explained in a neutral, informative way
Argument = a stated position defended with logic, evidence, and a counter-argument/rebuttal
In an actual CSS essay, all four are woven together inside one continuous, formal, third-person essay — they are never written as four separate labeled mini-essays the way this teaching example does it