Read the following paragraph and answer the questions after the paragraph.

Question

But at some life juncture, roughly one out of every eight people becomes so timid that encounters with others turn into a source of overwhelming dread. The heart races, palms sweat, mouth goes dry, words vanish, thoughts become cluttered, and an urge to escape takes over. This is the face of social phobia, the third most common mental disorder in the United States, behind depression and alcoholism. Like Woody Allen in the film Annie Hall, some social phobics can barely utter a sentence without obsessing over the impression they are making. Others refuse to use public restrooms or talk on the telephone. Sometimes they go mute in front of the boss or a member of the opposite sex. At the extreme, they build a hermetic life, avoiding contact with others.
—Joannie Schrof and Stacey Schultz
1. What is this paragraph defining?
2. Do Schrof and Schultz rely on a synonym, a category, or a negation to start off the paragraph?
3. List two examples the authors use to develop the definition.
4. How do the authors organize the examples?

Answer 1

1. A disorder called “social phobia”
2. A category
3. Answers will vary.
4. From one extreme to another—least to most severe