1. Patterns of Organization
“The details of a paragraph, paragraphs within an
essay, events within a short story, or sections
within a textbook often fit a pattern. If you can
recognize the pattern, you will find it easier to
remember the content.”

2. Patterns of Organization
Relationships:
Patterns of Organization
Relationships that involve addition
Relationships that involve time
Relationships that involve a definition and examples
Relationships that involve comparison and/or contrast
Relationships that involve cause and effect

3. Patterns of Organization Addition or List of Items
Arrange the sentences below into a logical paragraph.
_4_A Third reaction to danger used by opossums is to bluff their way out of a tight spot by hissing and baring their teeth.
_1_The opossum reacts to danger in one of several ways.
2__First, some varieties of opossum spray unpleasant odors.
_3_Opossums are very likely to run away from danger.
_5_Finally, the best-known opossum defense is to “play dead” by entering into a coma-like state brought on by fear.

4. Patterns of Organization--Time-Order
Even before he meets the three witches,
Macbeth dreams of becoming King of Scotland.
Then the three witches predict he will be king.
Finally the queen convinces him to murder
King Duncan and take over the country.

5. Usually, events are presented in the order in which they happen
Usually, events are presented in the order in which they happen. Arrange the following group of sentences into an order that makes sense.
____By 1960 the number of TV sets in the country had risen above 50 million.
____After eight years, there were a million TV sets in the United States.
____Interest in television grew rapidly when broad-casting began in 1941.
____By 1994 there were over 211 million TV sets in American homes.

6. Patterns of Organization:
Definition and Example
Arrange the following group of sentences into an order that makes sense.
___You might, for instance, sit calmly through a friend’s criticism and act as if it didn’t bother you.
___Apathy is an avoidance response in which a person acknowledges unpleasant information but pretends he or she doesn’t care.
___Another example is responding to the loss of a job by acting indifferent: “Who cares? It was a dumb job anyway.”

7. Arrange the sentences below into a logical paragraph.
Patterns of Organization: Comparison and/or Contrast
Arrange the sentences below into a logical paragraph.
__In contrast, the original Italian story is the gruesome tale of the Princess Talia, who falls into a magical sleep in the woods, where she is raped by a nobleman and, later on, gives birth to twins, whom the nobleman’s wife tries to have killed and cooked for dinner.
__It is often said that fairy tales, with their heavy doses of violence, are too scary for young children.
__Consider the story of Sleeping Beauty that today’s children know, which involves a princess who is put to sleep by a wicked witch and then awakened by the kiss of her true love.
__But today’s versions of fairy tales are actually less frightening than the original stories.

8. Arrange the scrambled sentences below into a logical paragraph.
Patterns of Organization: Cause & Effect
Arrange the scrambled sentences below
into a logical paragraph.
__Also, high tuitions affect the amount of time available for studying; because loans and scholarships are hard to get, many students have to put in numerous hours before school.
__For one thing, it undoubtedly prevents some students from attending college in the first place.
__Finally those who do manage to get loans know that they must begin their careers with large debt.
The high cost of college today causes problems for many students in more ways than one.
__It is difficult to manage money and schooling.

9. Class Exercise
For each of the following statements, identify the pattern that is suggested and write its name. Choose from among the following patterns:
a) Addition or Items in a List; b) Comparison/Contrast;
c) Cause and Effect; d) Definition and Example e)Time/Order
Many drivers take to the roads in July and August when families traditionally go on a vacation. As a result, oil companies raise gas prices in the summer.
I’ve become very absent-minded. Last week, for instance I went to work on my day off.
A good study space is well-lighted. In addition, it is free from distractions such as television or stereo.
While some birds meet only to mate, others stay
together to share child-rearing.

10. Patterns of Organization
*Definition
A boycott is an organized refusal by a group
of people to deal with another person or group in
order to achieve a specific goal. An illustration is the famous boycott that began in 1955 when Mrs. Rosa Parks refused to obey local laws requiring African-American people to sit in the back of the bus.
Mrs. Parks was arrested, and that sparked a boycott
of the Montgomery bus systems by African-Americans. The boycott was organized by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rather than continue to lose money, the city repealed the law.
Patterns of Organization

11. Class Exercise
For each of the following statements, identify the pattern that is evident and write its name.. Choose from among the following patterns: a) Enumeration; b) Classification;
c) Comparison/Contrast; d) Cause and Effect.
1. Many drivers take to the roads in July and August when families traditionally go on a vacation. As a result, oil companies raise gas prices in the summer.
“Human muscles can be divided into three groups according to their structure and nerves that activate them.” (Wallace, Biology: The World of Life.)
A good study space is well-lighted. In addition, it is free from distractions such as television or stereo.
4. While some birds meet only to mate, others stay
together to share child-rearing.

12. Transitions
Transitions are words or phrases that show the relationships between ideas. Two major types of transitions are words that show addition and words
that show time Pgs

13. Mixed Patterns
“Many texts contain sections and passages that
combine one or more of the organizational patterns.
For instance, in listing characteristics of a newly
developed computer program, an author may
explain it by comparing it to similar existing
Programs.”
“When reading mixed patterns, focus on one of the
Patterns and use it to guide your reading. Choose
the most obvious or predominant pattern.”
pgs

14. Relationships I—Chapter 5, p. 149
Authors use two common methods to show relationships and make their ideas clear. The
two methods are:
* transitions and
* patterns of organization.

15. Common Organizational Patterns
Chronological Order (time order or
sequence of events)
Definition
Classification
Comparison/Contrast
Cause-Effect
Enumeration

16. Patterns: Relationships Among Ideas
In this chapter you will learn:
To recognize common organizational patterns.
To use patterns to increase your reading efficiency.
To use directional words to understand relationships.
“The details of a paragraph, paragraphs within an essay, events within a short story or sections within a textbook often fit a pattern. If you can recognize the pattern, you will find it easier to remember the content.” pgs

17. Chronological Order
Items are listed in the time order in which they occurred or in a specifically planned order in which they must develop. In both cases, order is important, and changing it would change the meaning.—see pgs
Signal words often used for chronological order: first, second, third, before, after,until, next, at last, later, etc.—see p. 201.
Even before he meets the three witches, Macbeth dreams of becoming King of Scotland. Then the witches predict he will be king; finally, his wife convinces him to murder King Duncan and take over the county.

18. Patterns of Organization
Usually, events are presented in the order in which
they happen.
Arrange the following group of sentences into an order
that makes sense.
____By 1960 the number of TV sets in the country had
risen above 50 million.
____After eight years, there were a million TV sets
in the United States.
____Interest in television grew rapidly when broad-
casting began in 1941.
____By 1994 there were over 211 million TV sets
American homes.
Chronological Order
Patterns of Organization