3.8  Section Review: Organization

Organization refers to how well your writing shows structure and unity, including transitional elements.

• When you select a pattern for the writing, you have already organized it.
• You should decide how to organize the writing before you write it.
• Your decision about organizing pattern should be based on the purpose of the writing.
• You should plan the beginning and middle after you plan the end.

Here are the patterns again, organized by purpose.

Purpose: Organizing Pattern: Informational    To give information about a topic    explain or give directions    tell what happened   topic-aspect   how-to   true narrative Critical    To persuade, recommend an action    analyze, make a case, prove a point   opinion-reason   thesis-proof Literary    To teach and/or entertain   fictional narrative

You can use these transitional devices to make your writing more unified and easier to follow:

• a preview in your first paragraph or pattern part.
  
  
• a bridge to link one paragraph or pattern part to another.
  
  
• a review at the beginning of your last paragraph or pattern part.

Writer's Terms

Structure: the structure of a writing is its shape or organizing pattern, such as how-to, narrative, or opinion-reason.

Transition: a writing technique that links one part (sentences, paragraphs, ideas) to another or others.

Unify: bring together and make seem as one thing

Preview: a transition in the introduction that lists the ideas to come as proofs, reasons, steps, or other supporting details

Bridge: a link between paragraphs or pattern parts

Review: a transition in the conclusion that sums up the ideas given as proofs, reasons, steps, or other supporting details

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