1. Organization DEVELOPING A STRATEGY COPYRIGHT LISA MCNEILLEY, 2010

2. What is an organized paper? Provides a logical flow from first idea to last Follows plan indicated by introduction and thesis Avoids sections unrelated to the thesis Avoids repetition of ideas in different parts of the paper Is dictated by the material

3. Steps to organizing Gather materials (from prewriting and research) Develop a strategy based on patterns and relationships observed Write a working thesis Organize materials Eliminate digressions Write an outline

4. Steps to Organizing, contd Group related ideas Organize groups Organize ideas within groups

5. Outlines Formal Uses Roman numerals and letters Indicates relationships by indenting Follows the rule that every A must have a B Scratch Presents ideas in informal manner Uses phrases Groups ideas

6. Sample Formal Outline I. Introduction A. Story about F. Douglass B. Literacy Statistics C. Thesis: Importance of developing program II. Defining literacy A. Description of Difficulties B. Conflicting views C. Basic Reading Skills 1. 6 th grade reading 2. ability to perform daily activities 3. as required in various jobs

7. Sample Scratch Outline F. Douglass Literacy Stats Reasons for literacy program Difficulties of not reading Different defs. of illiteracy and literacy Describe reading skills 6 th grade Activities/jobs Stats on problemsby groups

8. Possible Organizing Strategies Problem-solution Cause-effect Process Comparison-contrast Narrationchronological or reverse chronological Division and Classification Most to least important Least to most important

9. Organizing Paragraphs Basic Paragraph structure: *Transition statement (at beginning or end of paragraph) Topic sentence Support (usually 2 or 3 items) *Explanation (to tie support to topic sentence or thesis) *optional

10. Final Steps Read paper Make sure paper follows plan set up in thesis or introduction Use key words in the margin to check organization