1. How Authors Structure Their Writing
Get Organized!
How Authors Structure Their Writing
TEKS
7.12 (I) Analyze ways authors organize and present ideas such as through cause/effect, compare/contrast, inductively, deductively, or chronologically.

2. Ordering Your Thoughts
Have you ever thought about the way a story is put together?
Think about something your class read recently. What kind of order did it follow?
What about your own writing? Do you ever have trouble organizing your thoughts?

3. Ways Authors Organize Cause/Effect Compare/Contrast Inductively
Deductively
Chronologically
TEKS
7.12 (I) Analyze ways authors organize and present ideas such as through cause/effect, compare/contrast, inductively, deductively, or chronologically.

4. Cause and Effect
Cause and Effect organization structures information by causes and their effects.
A cause is what makes something else happen.
An effect is what happens as a result of the cause.
Writers often organize using Cause and Effect when trying to explain or convince their readers of something.
Can you think of an example of a Cause/Effect relationship?
Some Examples of Cause/Effect relationship:
Cause: The girl woke up late this morning.
Effect: She missed the school bus.
Cause: The boy kicked the ball.
Effect: The ball rolled.
Cause: James trained every day for the marathon.
Effect: He finished the race in good time.
TEKS
7.12 (I) Analyze ways authors organize and present ideas such as through cause/effect, compare/contrast, inductively, deductively, or chronologically.

5. Compare and Contrast
Compare and Contrast organization orders things by similarities and differences.
To compare, look for ways that your topics are similar.
To contrast, look for ways that your topics are different from each other.
TEKS
7.12 (I) Analyze ways authors organize and present ideas such as through cause/effect, compare/contrast, inductively, deductively, or chronologically.

6. Inductive Organization
Inductive organization starts by presenting evidence that leads to a conclusion.
Many persuasive essays are organized inductively.
Conclusion/
Thesis
Inductive organization is a good tool to use when you are trying to convince your audience of something because it lays out the evidence before any conclusions are reached. This allows the reader to come to the same conclusion before or as you present it.
TEKS
7.12 (I) Analyze ways authors organize and present ideas such as through cause/effect, compare/contrast, inductively, deductively, or chronologically.
Specific Details

7. Deductive Organization
Deductive organization starts with a premise or thesis and then supports this assumption with details and evidence.
Most American academic writing uses deductive organization. Think about the last essay you wrote for class. How was it organized?
Scientific writing, unlike other academic writing, is usually inductive. Scientists generally present all their evidence and then make conclusions about their research.
TEKS
7.12 (I) Analyze ways authors organize and present ideas such as through cause/effect, compare/contrast, inductively, deductively, or chronologically.
Main Idea / Thesis
Specific Evidence

8. Chronological Organization
Chronological organization orders things by their sequence in time.
Historical writing is often organized chronologically. “
TEKS
7.12 (I) Analyze ways authors organize and present ideas such as through cause/effect, compare/contrast, inductively, deductively, or chronologically.
First, I went to the store. ”
Then I watched a movie with Julie.

9. Organization is Important!
Read the next two paragraphs that show how organization is important.
Paragraph 1:
Then we saw a huge dog! It was a cheerful, sunny day, so we decided to go to the park. Suddenly, the dog jumped into the water and drenched us all! We watched some ducks swim in the pond while a woman fed them. The big dog was not on a leash. My friend and I had lots of fun eating ice cream on a bench by the pond.
Ask the students:
Have you ever read something that was difficult to understand because the line of thought wasn’t clear? This was probably due to poor organization!
TEKS
7.12 (I) Analyze ways authors organize and present ideas such as through cause/effect, compare/contrast, inductively, deductively, or chronologically.

10. Organization is Important!
Paragraph 2:
It was a cheerful, sunny day, so we decided to the park. My friend and I had lots of fun eating ice cream on a bench by the pond. We watched some ducks swim in the pond while a woman fed them. Then we saw a huge dog! The big dog was not on a leash. Suddenly, the dog jumped into the water and drenched us all!
Answer: Paragraph 2. Chronological organization.
TEKS
7.12 (I) Analyze ways authors organize and present ideas such as through cause/effect, compare/contrast, inductively, deductively, or chronologically.
Which one of these paragraphs was better organized? What kind of organization does the better one use?