10.1 Introduction to Organization
In this textbook, you will find chapters to help you organize the particular essays required in English 161 and English 162: the analysis essay, for example, or the synthesis essay. Even so, it is important to learn some general principles about organizing academic writing that you can apply to any essay that you write. Whenever you write in college, in English composition or in another class, you will need to communicate your ideas in a logical order to ensure that your readers understand your message and don’t get lost along the way.
You may already be familiar with the basic structure of academic essays. They generally begin with an introduction that engages the reader, raises the topic, and states the writer’s thesis. Then comes a series of body paragraphs that explain and support the writer’s main ideas. Finally, academic essays end with a conclusion that reiterates the most important takeaways of the paper. You should read Chapter 11: Introductions and Conclusions for advice on how to write the first and last paragraphs of your essay. This chapter focuses on what happens in the middle, in the body of your essay where you have to arrange your paragraphs in a way that presents your ideas logically and persuasively.
Like much about writing, this is easier said than done. To organize an essay, you need to pay close attention to the writing assignment that your instructor has given you. The assignment itself may require you to include specific sections of information and to organize them in a particular way. At the same time, to organize an essay effectively, you need to think carefully about the topic that you have chosen to write about and the argument that you intend to make about it. Depending on what you want to communicate to your reader, different types of organization will be more or less effective for achieving your purpose.
This chapter will help you determine the best way to organize your essay. It describes some of the common types of organization that are used in academic writing and explains how to decide which type will work best to express your ideas. Some of the strategies we offer will be most useful during your planning stage, before you begin to draft your essay. Others will help you after you have already completed a draft, when it’s time to revise and improve on what you have. Therefore, this chapter is organized into two parts: Planning for Organization and Revising for Organization.
For additional information about organizing the assignments you will complete in English 161 and English 162, read these other chapters in this textbook: Chapter 15: Writing a Summary and Response Essay, Chapter 16: Writing an Analysis Essay, Chapter 17: Writing a Synthesis Essay, Chapter 18: Writing a Literary Interpretation Essay, and Chapter 19: Writing a Researched Argument Essay. To learn more about how to organize the sentences within your paragraphs, read Chapter 9: Paragraphs, Topic Sentences, and Transitions.
Continue Reading: 10.2 Planning Your Organization
