A generalization is a broad statement or an idea that is applied to a group of people or things. Most often, generalizations are not entirely true, because usually, the pattern they see in the relationship of a certain group of individuals or situations does not apply. In our example, where Elisa, Sandy, and Jared got sick and were absent from school for two days straight, within the 3 week period, we can make the following generalizations patterns:
1) There is an outbreak of sickness in the school for 3 consecutive weeks.
2) The said sickness lasts for two days.