Chapter 9: Writing Essays

Organizing Your Ideas

The three common methods of organizing writing are chronological order, spatial order, and order of importance. You need to keep these methods of organization in mind as you plan how to arrange the information you have gathered in an outline. An outline is a written plan that serves as a skeleton for the paragraphs you write. Later, when you draft paragraphs in the next stage of the writing process, you will add support to create “flesh” and “muscle” for your assignment.

When you write, your goal is not only to complete an assignment but also to write for a specific purpose—perhaps to inform, to explain, to persuade, or a combination of these purposes. Your purpose for writing should always be in the back of your mind, because it will help you decide which pieces of information belong together and how you will order them. In other words, choose the order that will most effectively fit your purpose and support your main point.

Table 5.2: Order versus Purpose shows the connection between order and purpose.

Table 5.2 Order versus Purpose
Order Purpose
Chronological Order
  • To explain the history of an event or a topic
  • To tell a story or relate an experience
  • To explain how to do or make something
  • To explain the steps in a process
Spatial Order
  • To help readers visualize something as you want them to see it
  • To create a main impression using the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound)
Order of Importance
  • To persuade or convince
  • To rank items by their importance, benefit, or significance

Chronological Order

Chronological arrangement has the following purposes:

  • To explain the history of an event or a topic
  • To tell a story or relate an experience
  • To explain how to do or to make something
  • To explain the steps in a process.

Chronological order is mostly used in expository writing, which is a form of writing that narrates, describes, informs, or explains a process. When using chronological order, arrange the events in the order that they actually happened, or will happen if you are giving instructions. This method requires you to use words such as first, second, then, after that, later, and finally. These transitional words guide you and your reader through the paper as you expand your thesis.

For example, if you are writing an essay about the history of the airline industry, you would begin with its conception and detail the essential timeline events up until present day. You would follow the chain of events using words such as first, then, next, and so on.

Writing at Work

At some point in your career you may have to prepare an incident report, submit case notes, or file a complaint with your human resources department. Using chronological order is a useful tool in describing the events. You would logically lay out the events in the order that they occurred using the key transitional words. In these instances, your professionalism is determined by how logical and organized your writing is.

Keep in mind that chronological order is most appropriate for the following purposes:

  • Writing essays containing heavy research
  • Writing essays with the aim of listing, explaining, or narrating
  • Writing essays that analyze literary works such as poems, plays, or books
Tip: When using chronological order, your introduction should indicate the information you will cover and in what order, and establish the relevance of the information. Your body paragraphs should then provide clear divisions or steps in chronology. You can divide your paragraphs by time (such as decades, wars, or other historical events) or by the same structure of the work you are examining (such as a line-by-line explication of a poem).

Self-Practice Exercise 9.12

H5P: Chronological Order

Put the statements in the correct chronological order. Remember: when using chronological order, arrange the events in the order that they actually happened, or will happen if you are giving instructions. This method requires you to use words such as first, second, then, after that, later, and finally. These transitional words guide you and your reader through the paper as you expand your thesis.

  1. Every morning I make my coffee in the same way for maximum flavour.
  2. When I have the shot pulled, I use a milk steamer to steam one cup of milk.
  3. Finally, I slowly pour the steamed milk into my espresso.
  4. Next, I use an espresso machine to pull an espresso shot directly into my coffee cup.
  5. First, I freshly grind my espresso beans.
  6. And that’s how I start my day with my perfect latte!

Answer Key

A, E, D, B, C, F

Order of Importance

Order of importance is best used for the following purposes:

  • Persuading and convincing
  • Ranking items by their importance, benefit, or significance
  • Illustrating a situation, problem, or solution

Most essays move from the least to the most important point, and the paragraphs are arranged in an effort to build the essay’s strength. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to begin with your most important supporting point, such as in an essay that contains a thesis that is highly debatable. When writing a persuasive essay, it is best to begin with the most important point because it immediately captivates your readers and compels them to continue reading.

For example, if you were supporting your thesis that homework is detrimental to the education of high school students, you would want to present your most convincing argument first, and then move on to the less important points for your case.

Some key transitional words you should use with this method of organization are most importantly, almost as importantly, just as importantly, and finally.

Self-Practice Exercise 9.13

H5P: Order of Importance

Put the statements in the correct order of importance. Some key transitional words that offer clues to this method of organization are most importantly, almost as importantly, just as importantly, and finally.

  1. Most importantly, it prevents unexpected harm from coming to the dog or to the people and animals he encounters.
  2. And finally, dogs love the sense of achievement they feel when they master simple tasks.
  3. Adequate training is critical to the success of a relationship between a person and their dog.
  4. Almost as important, though, is the bond that it helps create between the dog and his caretaker.
  5. For all of these reasons, proper dog training is important and should not be overlooked.

Answer Key

C, A, D, B, E

Spatial Order

Spatial order is best used for the following purposes:

  • Helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it
  • Evoking a scene using the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound)
  • Writing a descriptive essay

Spatial order means that you explain or describe objects as they are arranged around you in your space, for example in a bedroom. As the writer, you create a picture for your reader, whose perspective is the viewpoint from which you describe what is around you.

The view must move in an orderly, logical progression, giving the reader clear directional signals to follow from place to place. The key to using this method is to choose a specific starting point and then guide the reader to follow your eye as it moves in an orderly trajectory from your starting point.

Pay attention to the following student’s description of her bedroom and how she guides the reader through the viewing process, foot by foot.

Attached to my bedroom wall is a small wooden rack dangling with red and turquoise necklaces that shimmer as you enter. Just to the right of the rack is my window, framed by billowy white curtains. The peace of such an image is a stark contrast to my desk, which sits to the right of the window, layered in textbooks, crumpled papers, coffee cups, and an overflowing ashtray. Turning my head to the right, I see a set of two bare windows that frame the trees outside the glass like a 3D painting. Below the windows is an oak chest from which blankets and scarves are protruding. Against the wall opposite the billowy curtains is an antique dresser, on top of which sits a jewelry box and a few picture frames. A tall mirror attached to the dresser takes up most of the wall, which is the colour of lavender.

The paragraph incorporates two objectives you have learned in this chapter: using an implied topic sentence and applying spatial order. Often in a descriptive essay, the two work together.

The following are possible transitional words and phrases to include when using spatial order:

  • Just to the left or just to the right
  • Behind
  • Between
  • On the left or on the right
  • Across from
  • A little further down
  • To the south, to the east, and so on
  • A few yards away
  • Turning left or turning right

Self-Practice Exercise 9.14

H5P: Spatial Order

Put the statements in the correct spatial order. The view must move in an orderly, logical progression, giving the reader clear directional signals to follow from place to place. The key to using this method is to choose a specific starting point and then guide the reader to follow your eye as it moves in an orderly trajectory from your starting point.

  1. When you first enter the property through the farm gate, there is a red barn to the right.
  2. To the immediate left of the red barn is a pig pen and a chicken coup.
  3. The rest of the area within the gate is a meadow of clover and flowers.
  4. Reflecting on this space reminds me that nice to have somewhere to go that is so calm and soothing.
  5. The farmyard is a peaceful and familiar space.
  6. Across the farmyard from the animals is the farm house, which has a duck pond in the backyard.

Answer Key

E, A, B, F, C, D

 

Writing an Outline

For an essay question on a test or a brief oral presentation in class, all you may need to prepare is a short, informal outline in which you jot down key ideas in the order you will present them. This kind of outline reminds you to stay focused in a stressful situation and to include all the good ideas that help you explain or prove your point. For a longer assignment, like an essay or a research paper, many instructors will require you to submit a formal outline before writing a major paper as a way of making sure you are on the right track and are working in an organized manner. The expectation is you will build your paper based on the framework created by the outline.

When creating outlines, writers generally go through three stages: a scratch outline, an informal or topic outline, and a formal or sentence outline. The scratch outline is basically generated by taking what you have come up with in your freewriting process and organizing the information into a structure that is easy for you to understand and follow (for example, a mind map or hierarchical outline). An informal outline goes a step further and adds topic sentences, a thesis, and some preliminary information you have found through research. A formal outline is a detailed guide that shows how all your supporting ideas relate to each other. It helps you distinguish between ideas that are of equal importance and ones that are of lesser importance. If your instructor asks you to submit an outline for approval, you will want to hand in one that is more formal and structured. The more information you provide for your instructor, the better he or she will be able to see the direction in which you plan to go for your discussion and give you better feedback.

There are two types of formal outlines: the topic outline and the sentence outline. You format both types of formal outlines in the same way.

  • Place your introduction and thesis statement at the beginning, under Roman numeral I.
  • Use Roman numerals (II, III, IV, V, etc.) to identify main points that develop the thesis statement.
  • Use capital letters (A, B, C, D, etc.) to divide your main points into parts.
  • Use Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) if you need to subdivide any As, Bs, or Cs into smaller parts.
  • End with the final Roman numeral expressing your idea for your conclusion.

Here is what the skeleton of a traditional formal outline looks like. The indention helps clarify how the ideas are related.

  1. Introduction → Thesis statement
  2. Main point 1 → becomes the topic sentence of body paragraph 1
    • Supporting detail →becomes a support sentence of body paragraph 1
      • Subpoint
      • Subpoint
    • Supporting detail
      • Subpoint
      • Subpoint
    • Supporting detail
      • Subpoint
      • Subpoint
  3. Main point 2 → becomes the topic sentence of body paragraph 2 [same use of subpoints as with Main point 1]
    • Supporting detail
    • Supporting detail
    • Supporting detail
  4. Main point 3 → becomes the topic sentence of body paragraph 3[same use of subpoints as with Main points 1&2]
    • Supporting detail
    • Supporting detail
    • Supporting detail
  5. Conclusion
Tip: In an outline, any supporting detail can be developed with subpoints. For simplicity, the model shows subpoints only under the first main point.
Tip: Formal outlines are often quite rigid in their organization. As many instructors will specify, you cannot subdivide one point if it is only one part. For example, for every Roman numeral I, there needs to be an A. For every A, there must be a B. For every Arabic numeral 1, there must be a 2. See for yourself on the sample outlines that follow.

Constructing Informal or Topic Outlines An informal topic outline is the same as a sentence outline except you use words or phrases instead of complete sentences. Words and phrases keep the outline short and easier to comprehend. All the headings, however, must be written in parallel structure.

Here is the informal topic outline. The purpose is to inform, and the audience is a general audience of college students. It begins with the thesis statement. The main points and supporting details  are included in outline form using short phrases in parallel grammatical structure.

  1. Introduction
    • Thesis statement: Everyone wants the newest and the best digital technology, but the choices are many, and the specifications are often confusing.
  2. E-book readers and the way that people read
    1. Books easy to access and carry around
      1. Electronic downloads
      2. Storage in memory for hundreds of books
    2. An expanding market
      1. E-book readers from booksellers
      2. E-book readers from electronics and computer companies
    3. Limitations of current e-book readers
      1. Incompatible features from one brand to the next
      2. Borrowing and sharing e-books
  3. Film cameras replaced by digital cameras
    1. Three types of digital cameras
      1. Compact digital cameras
      2. Single lens reflex cameras, or SLRs
      3. Cameras that combine the best features of both
    2. The confusing “megapixel wars”
    3. The zoom lens battle
  4. The confusing choice among televisions
    1. 1080p vs. 768p
    2. Plasma screens vs. LCDs
    3. Home media centres
  5. Conclusion
    • How to be a wise consumer

 

Self-Practice Exercise 9.18

H5P: Creating a Topic Outline

The purpose of an outline for your essay is to collect your ideas and organize them in a logical order. For many people, this doesn’t need to be a formal process to be helpful. However, some instructors will require a more traditionally structured outline, so we will practice that skill today.

Take a moment to review the structure outlined in Mariah’s outline so that you can understand the structure that is expected. Feel free to use her outline as a model for your own work.

The first thing to consider is how you will organize your essay. Chronological order — where points follow the passage of time — is best for explaining how to undertake something. Spatial order — where points follow movement through space — is best for descriptive, sensory writing. And order of importance — where you decide the order based on significance — is good for persuasive writing. Which type of structure makes the most sense for your essay?

Following the model above, take a first run at outlining your essay. We will have lots of time to revise this work over the next few exercises, so just do your best to be clear and logical in the development of your ideas.

This checklist can help you write an effective topic outline for your assignment. It will also help you discover where you may need to do additional reading or prewriting.

Outlining Checklist

  1. Do I have a controlling idea that guides the development of the entire piece of writing?
  2. Do I have three or more main points that I want to make in this piece of writing? Does each main point connect to my controlling idea?
  3. Is my outline in the best order—chronological order, spatial order, or order of importance—for me to present my main points? Will this order help me get my main point across?
  4. Do I have supporting details that will help me inform, explain, or prove my main points?
  5. Do I need to add more support? If so, where?
  6. Do I need to make any adjustments in my working thesis statement before I consider it the final version?

Self-Practice Exercise 9.19

H5P: Supporting Details

Review your outline and decide what your three strongest points are. They should be specific and directly, clearly related to the thesis statement. Make note of those points below.

These points will become topic sentences for the body paragraphs of your essay. Take a run at writing those topic sentences now. Remember that nothing is set in stone, and you will be able to revise your work again in the next exercise.

Constructing Formal or Sentence Outlines

A sentence outline is the same as a topic outline except you use complete sentences instead of words or phrases. Complete sentences create clarity and can advance you one step closer to a draft in the writing process.

Here is the sample formal sentence outline.

  1. Introduction
    • Thesis statement: Everyone wants the newest and the best digital technology, but the choices are many, and the specifications are often confusing.
  2. E-book readers and the way that people read.
    1. E-book readers make books easy to access and to carry
      1. Books can be downloaded electronically.
      2. Devices can store hundreds of books in memory.
    2. The market expands as a variety of companies enter it.
      1. Booksellers sell their own e-book readers.
      2. Electronics and computer companies also sell e-book readers.
    3. Current e-book readers have significant limitations.
      1. The devices are owned by different brands and may not be compatible.
      2. Few programs have been made to fit the other way Americans read: by borrowing books from libraries.
  3. Digital cameras have almost totally replaced by film cameras.
    1. The first major choice is the type of digital camera.
      1. Compactible digital cameras are light by have fewer megapixels.
      2. Single lens reflex cameras, or SLRs, may be large and heavy but can be sued for many functions.
      3. Some cameras combine the best features of compacts an SLRs.
    2. Choosing the camera type involves the confusing “megapixel wars.”
    3. The zoom lens battle also determines the camera you will buy.
  4. Nothing is more confusing to me than choosing among televisions
    1. In the resolution wars, what are the benefits of 1080p and 768p?
    2. In the screen-size war, what do plasma screens and LCD screens offer?
    3. Does every home really need a media centre?
  5. Conclusion
    • The solution for many people should be to avoid buying on impulse. Consumers should think about what they really need, not what is advertised.
Tip: The information compiled under each Roman numeral will become a paragraph in your final paper. This outline follows the standard five-paragraph essay arrangement, but longer essays will require more paragraphs and thus more Roman numerals. If you think that a paragraph might become too long, add an additional paragraph to your outline, renumbering the main points appropriately.

Re-evaluate Your Working Thesis

A careful analysis of your notes will help you re-evaluate your working thesis and determine whether you need to revise it. Remember that your working thesis was the starting point—not necessarily the end point—of your research. You should revise your working thesis if your ideas changed based on what you read. Even if your sources generally confirmed your preliminary thinking on the topic, it is still a good idea to rewrite your thesis to incorporate the specific details you learned from research.

Tip: Avoid forming a thesis based on a negative claim. For example, “The hourly minimum wage is not high enough for the average worker to live on.” This is probably a true statement, but persuasive arguments should make a positive case. That is, the thesis statement should focus on how the hourly minimum wage is low or insufficient.

Synthesizing and Organizing Information

By now, your thinking on your topic is taking shape. You have a sense of what major ideas to address in your paper, what points you can easily support, and what questions or subtopics might need a little more thought. In short, you have begun the process of synthesizing information—that is, of putting the pieces together into a coherent whole.

It is normal to find this part of the process a little difficult. Some questions or concepts may still be unclear to you. You may not yet know how you will tie all of your research together. Synthesizing information is a complex, demanding mental task, and even experienced researchers struggle with it at times. A little uncertainty is often a good sign! It means you are challenging yourself to work thoughtfully with your topic instead of simply restating the same information.

Synthesizing Information

You have already considered how your notes fit with your working thesis. Now, take your synthesis a step further. Organize your notes with headings that correspond to points and subpoints you came up with. As you proceed, you might identify some more important subtopics that were not part of your original plan, or you might decide that some points are not relevant to your paper.

Categorize information carefully and continue to think critically about the material. Ask yourself whether the sources are reliable and whether the connections between ideas are clear.

Remember, your ideas and conclusions will shape the paper. As you work, begin jotting down the big ideas you will use to connect the dots for your reader. (If you are not sure where to begin, try answering your major research question and subquestions.) You might record these big ideas on sticky notes or type and highlight them within an electronic document.

See the below example of a rough outline of an essay.

Topic: Low-carbohydrate diets

Main question: Are low carbohydrate diets as effective as they have been portrayed to be by media sources?

Thesis: Although following a low-carbohydrate diet can benefit some people, these diets are not necessarily the best option for everyone who wants to lose weight or improve their health.

Main points:

  • How do low-carb diets work?
    • Low carb diets cause weight loss by lowering insulin levels, causing the body to burn stored fat.
  • When did low-carb diets become a “hot” topic in the media?
    • The Atkins diet was created in 1972 by Richard Atkins, but it didn’t gain wide-scale attention until 2003. The South Beach diet and other low-carb diets became popular around the same time, and led to a low-carb craze in America from 2003 to 2004.
  • What are the supposed advantages to following a low-carbohydrate diet?
    • They are said to help you lose weight faster than other diets and allow people to continue to eat protein and fats while dieting.
  • What are some of the negative effects of a low-carb diet?
    • Eating foods high in saturated fats can increase your cholesterol levels and lead to heart disease. Incomplete fat breakdown can lead to a condition called ketosis, which puts a strain on the liver and can be fatal.

You may be wondering how your ideas are supposed to shape the paper, especially since you are writing a research paper based on your research. Integrating your ideas and your information from research is a complex process, and sometimes it can be difficult to separate the two.

Some paragraphs in your paper will consist mostly of details from your research. That is fine, as long as you explain what those details mean or how they are linked. You should also include sentences and transitions that show the relationship between different facts from your research by grouping related ideas or pointing out connections or contrasts. The result is that you are not simply presenting information; you are synthesizing, analyzing, and interpreting it.

Plan How to Organize Your Paper

The final step to complete before beginning your draft is to choose an organizational structure. For some assignments, this may be determined by the instructor’s requirements. For instance, if you are asked to explore the impact of a new communications device, a cause-and-effect structure is obviously appropriate. In other cases, you will need to determine the structure based on what suits your topic and purpose.

The purpose of this paper is primarily to persuade. With that in mind, we can plan the following outline.

  1. Introduction
    1. Background
    2. Thesis
  2. Purported Benefits of Low-Carbohydrate Diets
    1. United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) nutrition guidelines
    2. Potential flaws in USDA nutrition guidelines
      1. Effects of carbohydrates on blood sugar, insulin
      2. Relationship to metabolism and obesity
  3. Research on Low-Carbohydrate Diets and Weight Loss
    1. Short-term effectiveness for weight-loss
    2. Long-term effectiveness not established
  4. Other Long-Term Health Outcomes
    1. Cholesterol and heart disease
    2. Blood pressure
    3. Diabetes
  5. Conclusion

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