Monday 10-31-11

MONDAY

Patterns of organization refer to the way in which writers put together the supporting details in a passage or in a paragraph.

·        Sometimes writers compare and contrast the qualities of two or more things. This is what we call comparison and contrast.

·        Sometimes writers concentrate on the order in which a series of events happened. This is what we call time sequence or chronological order.

·        If the writer focuses on the reasons why something happened and its consequences, then we call this pattern cause and effect.

·        Of course, this doesn’t mean that writers use only one pattern; oftentimes, the patterns are mixed. By recognizing the patterns, you will be better able to make sense of what you read.

There are five basic patterns of organization:

·        Chronological order

·        Comparison and/or Contrast

·        Cause and Effect

·        List of items

·        Definition and example

Knowing which pattern is being used helps you to:

1.      Locate information in the text

2.      Differentiate between what is important and unimportant

3.      Mentally sequence the main ideas in a logical order

4.      Synthesize ideas that appear in different locations in the text

Pattern                                                           Transitions used

Chronological order                                  Words that show time (first, then, next,                                                                                          when, after, during, finally)

Comparison and contrast                                    Words that show comparison or contrast                                                                                     (like, alike, also, similar, similarities,

                                                                        same,             in contrast, on the other hand,

                                                                        unlike, differs from, but)

Cause and Effect                                        Words that show cause and effect

                                                                        (because, causes, reasons, so, results,

                                                                        therefore, lead to)    

List of items                                                             Words that show addition (also, another,                                                                                     one, first, second, in addition, next, finally)

Definition and example                             Words that show illustration (for example,                                                                                               to illustrate, for instance, such as)