ENGLISH 365

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Chapter 7 Overview:
Organizing Your Information

• Understanding three principles for organizing technical information
• Understanding conventional organizational patterns

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Understand three principles for
organizing technical information:

• Analyze your audience and purpose.
• Use conventional patterns of organization.
• Display your organizational pattern prominently in the document.

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Ask four questions when you
study documents from other cultures:

• Does the document follow expected organizational patterns?
• Do the introduction and conclusion present the kind of information you would expect?
• Does the document appear to be organized linearly?
• Does the document use headings? If so, does it use more than one level?

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Display your organizational

pattern prominently:

• Create a detailed table of contents.
• Use headings liberally.
• Use topic sentences at the beginnings of your paragraphs.

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

• chronological
• spatial
• general to specific
• more important to less important
• comparison and contrast

• classification or partition
• problem-methods-solution
• cause and effect

Understand eight typical
patterns of organization:

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Follow these three guidelines for
organizing information chronologically:

• Provide signposts.
• Consider using graphics to complement the text.
• Analyze events where appropriate.

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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A graphic example of information organized chronologically

Source: University of Washington www.washington.edu/2y2d/about-2y2d/timeline/. Reprinted by permission.

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Follow these three guidelines for
organizing information spatially:

• Provide signposts.
• Consider using graphics to complement the text.
• Analyze events where appropriate.

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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A graphic example of
information organized spatially

Source: EnergyStar, 2014: http://www.energystar.gov/?c=home_sealing.hm_improvement_insulation_table.

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Follow these two guidelines for organizing information from general to specific:

• Provide signposts.
• Consider using graphics to complement the text.

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Follow these three guidelines for organizing information from more important to less important:

• Provide signposts.
• Explain why one point is more important than another.
• Consider using graphics to complement the text.

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Follow these four guidelines for organizing information by comparison and contrast:

• Establish criteria for the comparison and contrast.
• Evaluate each item according to the criteria you have established.
• Organize the discussion.
• Consider using graphics to complement the text.

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Follow a graphic example of information organized by comparison and contrast

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, 2014: http://www.census.gov/how/infographics/acs_infographic_eeo.html.

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Follow these six guidelines for organizing information by classification or partition:

• Choose a basis of classification or partition that fits your audience and purpose.
• Use only one basis of classification or partition at a time.
• Avoid overlap.

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Follow these six guidelines for organizing information by classification or partition (cont.):

• Be inclusive.
• Arrange the categories in a logical sequence.
• Consider using graphics to complement the text.

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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A graphic example of information organized by classification

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2012 Explanation of EF-scale ratings: www.srh.noaa.gov/hun/?n=efscale_explanation

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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A graphic example of
information organized by partition

Source: U.S. Department of Energy, 2013:

http://www2.eere.energy.gov/wind/

printable_versions/inside_a_wind_

turbine.html.

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Follow these five guidelines for organizing information by problem-methods-solution:

• In describing the problem, be clear and specific.
• In describing your methods, help your readers understand what you did and why you did it that way.
• In describing the solution, don’t overstate.
• Choose a logical sequence.
• Consider using graphics to complement the text.

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Chapter 7. Organizing Your Information © 2015 by Bedford/St. Martin's

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Follow these four guidelines for
organizing information by cause and effect:

• Explain your reasoning.
• Avoid overstating your argument.
• Avoid logical fallacies.
• Consider using graphics to complement the text.