Jody Heyman’s essay “We Can Afford to Give Parents a Break” holds multiple patterns that hold it together like peanut butter does for a peanut butter sandwich. She uses exemplification as well as comparing & contrasting, she uses this the most, she has a lot of facts & they help the reader understand the way the United States system works compared to all other competitors. She also compares the benefits a mother gets between the benefits a father gets, & while the mother would need more days to care for her kids, the father gets more. With all her cold hard facts & what not she makes it clear to the reader what her point is.