Patterns of Organization Karen Silvestri, Instructor Reading 90

Transitions Make logical relationships between ideas clear. Serve as a bridge between ideas Can appear at the beginning, the middle, or the end of a paragraph.

Types of Transitions Addition Examples or Illustrations Cause-Effect connections Chronology (Time) Contrasts

Listing Lists facts and/or details Each supporting sentence presents factual evidence to support the main idea the following, several, for example, for instance, one, another, also, too, in other words, first, second, numerals (1., 2.), letters (a., b.), most important, the largest, the least, finally

Listing TOPIC OR MAIN IDEA Fact 1 Fact 2 Fact 3

Time Order (Chronological) Used frequently in academic writing Follows events in time Example: This happened, then this happened, then that happened, etc. First, second, later, before, next, as soon as, after, then, finally, meanwhile, following, last, during, in, on, when, until

For example, for instance, that is, to illustrate, thus Examples Gives specific examples to support the main topic. For example, for instance, that is, to illustrate, thus

Cause and Effect Offers the cause of something and its effects Answers the question “Why?” Structure: A cause followed by an effect(s) Cause(s) Effect(s) Causes: because, because of, for, since, stems from, one cause is, one reason is, leads to, causes, creates, yields, produces, due to, breeds, for this reason Effects: consequently, results in, one result is, therefore, thus, as a result, hence

First, second, next, then, following, after that, last, finally Process Shows a series of steps in a specific order Has two primary purposes: (1) to show how to do something, (2) to show how something occurred First, second, next, then, following, after that, last, finally

Compare and Contrast Contrast: shows how two things are different Compare: shows how two things are the same Similarities: both, also similarly, like, likewise, too, as well as, resembles, correspondingly, in the same way, to compare, in comparison, share Differences: unlike, differs from, in contrast, on the other hand, instead, despite, nevertheless, however, in spite of, whereas, as opposed to

Comparison ITEM A ITEM B Similarity 1 Similarity 2 Similarity 3

Contrast ITEM A ITEM B Difference 1 Difference 2 Difference 3

Compare & Contrast ITEM A ITEM B Similarities Differences

Defines a thing or a concept Definition Defines a thing or a concept is, refers to, can be defined as, means, consists of, involves, is a term that, is called, is characterized by, occurs when, are those that, entails, corresponds to, is literally

Definition Pattern TERM COMEDIAN General Group Entertainer Tells jokes Distinguishing feature Makes others laugh Distinguishing feature Distinguishing feature or Example of term Chevy Chase

Practice Psychogenic amnesia—a severe and often permanent memory loss—results in disorientation and the inability to draw on past experiences. Several statistical procedures are used to track the changes in the divorce rate. Think of the hardware in a computer system as the kitchen in a short-order restaurant: It’s equipped to produce whatever output a customer (user) requests, but sits idle until an order (command) is placed.

Practice Pattern: cause and effect definition Psychogenic amnesia—a severe and often permanent memory loss—results in disorientation and the inability to draw on past experiences. Pattern: cause and effect definition

Practice Pattern: Process Or Listing 2. Several statistical procedures are used to track the changes in the divorce rate. Pattern: Process Or Listing

Practice Pattern: Compare and Contrast 3. Think of the hardware in a computer system as the kitchen in a short-order restaurant: It’s equipped to produce whatever output a customer (user) requests, but sits idle until an order (command) is placed. Pattern: Compare and Contrast

Resources McWhorter, Kathleen T. Reading Across the Disciplines, 2nd edition Anker, Susan. Real Writing, 4th Edition Silvestri, Karen. Miscellaneous lesson plans.