Chapter Eight
Organization

Plan Your Writing

As a child, you probably spent some time with wooden blocks. You pushed them around. You stacked them up. After a while, you began to experiment with various arrangements and designs to see which were likely to stand and which were likely to fall.

As you grew older, maybe your parents or teachers gave you blocks in different sizes and colors—even blocks made of plastic that could be snapped together—and you attempted new, more intricate designs. But your basic activity remained the same: fitting individual pieces into some type of coherent whole.

Like block building, writing is a matter of arrangement. It involves combining letters into words, words into sentences, sentences into paragraphs, and paragraphs into documents or finished pieces. It helps, of course, if you have some good words—or cool-looking blocks—to work with, but how you arrange your words is what sets you apart from other writers and other constructionists—or deconstructionists, as the case may be.

Think in paragraphs.

Imagine reading something that contained no sentence or paragraph divisions. What would it be like to make your way through a report, a story, or a book whose entire text was run together in an unbroken string of sentences? Imagine reading this chapter if it weren’t divided into paragraphs.

Reading text written without breaks would be like living in a world without pauses. It would be like working an eight-hour day without getting up from your desk, or like trying to swim across a 100-meter pool without lifting your face out of the water. You probably wouldn’t make it, and if you did, you would arrive desperate for air.

A world without paragraphs would be a daunting and confusing place. Your reader needs to know how things are organized, grouped, and connected. In the words of William Zinsser, “Writing is the logical arrangement of thought.” Paragraphs are the building blocks that give your reader a sense of that arrangement.

Paragraphs range from tightly structured to loosely structured. Any scheme will do as long as the paragraph holds together. Many paragraphs begin with a topic sentence or generalization, followed by a clarifying or limiting statement and one or more sentences of explanation or development. Some conclude with a resolution statement. Others delay the topic sentence until the end. Others have no topic sentence at all. Each paragraph should be designed to achieve its particular purpose.

The most tightly structured paragraphs, common in on-the-job writing (where paragraphs tend to be shorter—usually two to four sentences), follow a three-step approach: topic, development, resolution. These paragraphs state a topic, develop it with explanations and examples, and offer a conclusion. A paragraph beginning with “I recommend we change our policy for three reasons,” for example, might then enumerate the reasons (“First … Second … Third …”), and then conclude with a statement of benefits.

A second standard structure, common in persuasive writing, is to follow the three steps of a syllogism, a basic pattern in deductive thinking: major premise, minor premise, conclusion. A paragraph using this deductive approach might offer as a major premise, “Every company needs to offer quality products at a competitive cost,” then as a minor premise, “Our company, however, is offering substandard products at noncompetitive costs,” and then as a conclusion, “Therefore, I recommend that we improve our quality control and cut our costs of production, distribution, and advertising.”

Whatever form it takes, a good paragraph has three attributes: unity, coherence, and development. Unity involves linking the subordinate ideas to the main idea so that the paragraph has a single main purpose. Coherence results from connecting the sentences and arranging them in a logical pattern. And development has to do with supporting the main idea with sufficient examples and adequate detail.

Writing is rarely easy. Usually it’s hard. But don’t make it harder than it needs to be. Write in sentences, and think in paragraphs. Take it one step at a time.

Choose your method of development.

As I discussed in chapter six, there are four primary modes of discourse: description, narration, exposition, and persuasion. The third mode, exposition or expository writing, includes six basic methods of development: example, process analysis, division and classification, comparison and analogy, cause and effect, and definition.

1. Example

Use example to clarify, illustrate, and support your points. As I will discuss in more detail in chapter nine, your evidence will have its greatest impact on your reader when it is specific, detailed, colorful, relevant, and adequate. Anecdotes, analogy, metaphor, and direct quotes are all means of illustrating your points.

2. Process analysis

Process analysis is a step-by-step explanation of how something works or how to do something. Incorporating an element of narration into exposition, process analysis is the method of development you would use to explain a procedure from beginning to end, whether that procedure is auditing a branch office or assembling a hang glider. By its nature, process analysis is methodical and demanding. As Kim and Michael Flachmann point out in The Prose Reader, “No other thinking pattern will force you to slow down as much as process analysis, because the process you are explaining probably won’t make any sense if you leave out even the slightest detail.” To skip or fail to explain a step clearly could have serious repercussions for an auditor or a hang glider alike.

The main disadvantage of process analysis is that it tends to become monotonous. (Imagine your state of mind when reading step eighty-five in a one hundred-step process.) Its main advantage is that it is easy to follow—provided the steps are presented in a consistent format and parallel structure is maintained throughout. A good way to check for parallel structure is to read the first few words of every item in the series. If some items begin with verbs and others with nouns, or if some items are complete sentences and others are fragments, the format is nonparallel. Consider the following two examples:

Assess compliance of our Tennessee operation on the following points:

1. Are collection efforts delayed?
2. Petty cash policy
3. Is on-site concurrent review performed?
4. Incomplete provider contract files

Assess compliance of our Tennessee operation on the following points:

1. Are collection efforts delayed?
2. Is there a policy for handling petty cash?
3. Is on-site concurrent review performed?
4. Are provider contract files complete?

Which list is nonparallel? Which is easier to read and understand?

3. Division and classification

Division and classification are methods of dividing and grouping. In a sense, they move in opposite directions. Division is the separation of something into its component parts; classification is the grouping of those parts into related categories. For example, you might divide workers in an automobile assembly plant according to their technical skills (division), or you might group them according to which part of the car they work on (classification). Your choice would depend on your purpose. Use division to identify differences, classification to emphasize similarities.

4. Comparison and analogy

Comparison and analogy are useful ways to clarify your meaning, particularly when the subject is complex and the reader’s knowledge is relatively limited. The most effective comparisons and analogies often link what is unfamiliar and complex to what is familiar and simple, as when a scientist likens the formation of the galaxies to rivulets forming streams after a rain shower. As I discussed in chapter five, this type of exposition, which includes metaphor and simile, also provides you with an important means of conveying your personality and originality.

Comparisons and analogies that are more than brief references require an organizational structure. That structure can be whole by whole or part by part. The whole-by-whole approach addresses all relevant characteristics of one thing before addressing the other thing; the part-by-part approach compares all relevant features one by one. Whole-by-whole comparisons generally are easier for the reader to follow because they require less switching back and forth. Part-by-part comparisons, though more likely to become tedious, generally are more useful in determining a precise inventory of advantages and disadvantages, strengths and weaknesses, or similarities and differences. If your intent is to offer an overview of similarities and differences between gasoline-powered and natural gas-powered vehicles, for example, you might choose the whole-by-whole approach. And if your intent is to produce a point-by-point comparison of maintenance and costs, you might choose the part-by-part approach.

5. Cause and effect

Cause and effect involves analyzing connections. The most common problem in this type of writing is making false connections. Unlike process analysis, which addresses how something happens, causal analysis discusses why it happened and what the result was. You would use process analysis, for example, to explain how to tie the lacing on a pair of snowshoes, whereas you would use cause and effect to discuss the features that make longer snowshoes more suitable for use in the Arctic tundra and shorter snowshoes more suitable for use in the North Woods of Minnesota.

6. Definition

Definition involves limiting the frame of reference for the purpose of achieving precise and efficient communication. A definition can take the form of a phrase, sentence, or paragraph. An extended definition might include elements of all six types of exposition as well as description. For example, in defining swing dance, you might use process analysis to demonstrate how the various moves all depend on the same basic step, division and classification to identify its distinguishing features, and cause and effect to explain the reasons for its resurgence as a popular form of dancing.

Make an outline.

Outlining isn’t exactly the most exciting, exhilarating, satisfying thing you might do in a day’s work. For many writers, outlining is a sensible but bothersome form of preparation. It’s like reviewing the minutes of the last meeting before attending the next one. You know you should do it, but you’re tempted to wing it instead.

You may be less prone to skip this important stage in writing, however, if you think of outlining as formulating a plan of action for achieving your goals. It’s an opportunity to gather your thoughts and organize your thinking before beginning that sometimes arduous task of producing text—of searching for the most precise language to convey your meaning. Outlining not only can make your document more effective, it can also prevent false starts and hours of rewriting later on.

Here’s some advice on outlining, presented in outline format:

When to outline

1. When the subject is complex
2. When the material is lengthy or involves multiple components
3. Whenever you feel the need to gather and organize your thoughts

The advantages of outlining

1. Helps clarify your thinking about purpose, audience, and material
2. Provides a structure (at its most basic, a beginning, a middle, and an end)
3. Makes it easier to deal with large, complex subjects by breaking them into smaller, more manageable parts
4. Helps you identify key points and decide how much emphasis to give them
5. Promotes coherent development by helping you see how your various points relate to one another and to your central argument
6. Helps you detect errors in logic and organization
7. Makes it easier to rearrange and experiment with different structures
8. Helps you decide what to include and what to exclude
9. Helps you check for completeness
10. Helps you write with more focus and precision

Rules of outlining

1. Present all items in parallel structure.

Not this:	But this:
a. Advantages of Outlining	a. Advantages of Outlining
b. Know When You Should Outline	b. When to Outline
c. Rules of Outlining	c. Rules of Outlining
d. There Are Three Steps in the Outline Process	d. Steps in the Outlining Process

2. When dividing categories into subcategories, divide each unit into at least two subunits.

Not this:	But this:
a. First category 1) First subcategory b. Second category 1) First subcategory 2) Second subcategory	a. First category 1) First subcategory 2) Second subcategory b. Second category 1) First subcategory 2) Second subcategory

3. In formal outlines, use this hierarchy of labeling:

4. Use Roman numerals correctly; the first twenty are I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX.

Steps in outlining

1. Identify your primary purpose (write your thesis or purpose statement in a simple declarative sentence).
2. Identify any secondary objectives (make a list).
3. Devise a working title (make it descriptive or functional rather than creative, such as “The advantages of ecosystem-based management in protecting northern hardwood-coniferous forests” rather than “Healthy forests: Taking the broader view”).
4. Determine broad categories to use in classifying your information and material.
5. Arrange your categories according to hierarchy (vertical method) or sequence (horizontal method).
6. Evaluate your outline for logic, order, extraneous elements, and completeness.
7. Once you begin writing, modify and depart from your outline as you think appropriate.

In Persuasive Writing, Arrange Material to Your Advantage

Effective writing is, to some extent, a matter of presenting your thoughts in the right order. Consider, for example, the following premise of persuasive writing.

If you think your reader is sympathetic to your ideas, be direct: Offer your conclusion first, then present your evidence. If you think your reader is unsympathetic or hostile to your ideas, be indirect: Present your evidence first (and perhaps rebut the opposing point of view), then offer your conclusion. The rationale behind this premise is that a sympathetic reader is more likely to accept your conclusion on face value. An unsympathetic reader, on the other hand, wants to hear your reasoning and evidence before considering your conclusion.

When writing to a sympathetic audience, take a direct approach.

A direct approach can be used to determine both the order of the paragraphs in an argument and the order of the sentences in a single paragraph. A paragraph taking a direct approach might look like this:

Note the order: The paragraph opens with an assertion or a conclusion (One of the best ways to improve your writing …), supports that assertion with a second assertion (It is only by close attention …), offers some examples (options ranging from …), recognizes an opposing point of view (Although some would argue …), and closes with a rebuttal (you will find …).

When writing to an unsympathetic or hostile audience, take an indirect approach.

A paragraph presenting essentially the same arguments to an unsympathetic audience, on the other hand, might look like this:

Taking an indirect approach, the paragraph opens with an opposing statement (Some would argue …), presents a rebuttal (In practice, however …), offers some examples (Furthermore …), and then closes with a broader assertion or conclusion (For these reasons …).

When delivering bad news, take an indirect approach.

As a rule, you should be clear, concise, and to the point in your writing. When writing a message, for example, you might follow this commonly used three-step formula: purpose, background, proposed action. But sometimes, for the sake of tact and diplomacy, you can’t say straight out what’s on your mind. Consider, for example, a message delivered this way: “You’re fired. Despite your thirty-five years of exemplary service to our company, we no longer need your services. Please pack up and clear out by three o’clock this afternoon.” That message is clear, concise, and brutally direct.

When you are delivering bad news or writing about a delicate topic, rather than using the conventional three-step approach—purpose, background, proposed action—to organize your message, consider opening and closing with a goodwill statement. The bad news in the heartlessly written message above, for example, could be softened somewhat by opening with an expression of appreciation for the employee’s good service or an explanation of the circumstances that led to the decision to terminate employment. This less direct approach, sometimes referred to as opening with a “buffer,” helps prepare your reader for the bad news that follows. Concluding with a goodwill statement also is good practice because it enables you to end on a positive note.

Adapt the standard five-part argument to your purpose and audience.

The following five-part approach represents a standard way to organize an argument. You can use it to take a direct approach in presenting an argument to a sympathetic audience or, by reversing steps three and four, to take an indirect approach in presenting an argument to an unsympathetic audience.

Opening

• Announces the topic or purpose and—depending on the author’s strategy—the conclusion
• Prepares the reader intellectually and emotionally for the argument that follows
• Establishes the author’s credentials as someone who is knowledgeable, reasonable, and fair-minded

Background and context

• Presents the relevant background and history to make the topic understandable
• Explains the significance and broader implications of the topic or recommendation

Presentation of argument

• Presents the thesis (an assertion or proposition) as a debatable or argumentative statement
• Offers specific points of proof or examples supporting the thesis
• Optional indirect approach: Presents the proof first, then the thesis when the reader is likely to be skeptical or to disagree

Refutation/Rebuttal

• Acknowledges the opposing view
• Points out the weaknesses of the opposing view
• Optional indirect approach: Presents the refutation before the presentation of argument

Closing

• Restates the main assertion in terms slightly different from the original statement
• States the recommendation or recommendations

The order in which you present your argument depends on your assessment of your reader’s openness to your point of view. For example, you would likely present argument before refutation if you were recommending Wheaties over Frosted Flakes to parents of hyperactive children, but you would likely present refutation before argument if you were talking to a five-year-old child (“I know Frosted Flakes tastes good, but cereals coated with sugar …”). As is usually the case, your rhetorical strategy depends as much on your reader as your material.

Strengthen your argument by acknowledging the opposition.

Whatever your assessment of your audience’s receptivity to your argument, a good persuasive strategy is to acknowledge the reader’s point of view before presenting your own. In a letter to a store manager, for example, your complaint about poor service will carry more weight if you first acknowledge the other side of the argument:

When you recognize another person’s perspective, you indicate you have considered the issue from both sides, and this approach makes you seem reasonable and fair-minded.

In persuasive correspondence, recognize your reader
and offer to take the next step.

The secret to accomplishing your goal in persuasive correspondence is to leave nothing to chance. Unfortunately, when you’re trying to get—and keep—the attention of a hurried reader, the odds are against you.

Chances are (a) your reader won’t read your message or letter carefully; (b) your reader won’t read your message or letter at all; or (c) your reader, even if persuaded by your argument, won’t get around to taking the action you desire. How can you beat these less-than-favorable odds?

Here’s what I’ve taught M.B.A. students in the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management and graduate students in the Management of Technology program: Use every component of a message to your advantage. If you’re not thinking strategically, you’re not thinking clearly.

When I assign and grade persuasive messages, for example, I emphasize the following points:

Opening

• Make your subject line informative. Your subject line is the title of your story. Use it to capture your reader’s attention. Make it descriptive, specific, and succinct. A busy manager is less likely to read a message titled “Morale problem” than one titled “High employee turnover is damaging our quality control.”
• State your purpose clearly. Tell your reader why you are writing. Briefly summarize sufficient background detail to explain the situation. Convey a sense of urgency, if warranted.
• Recognize your reader’s interests and concerns. Use the “you approach.” Talk directly to your reader. Refer explicitly to something your reader has said or done (“As you requested, I am …”; “Knowing your commitment to quality control, I want to …”). If you haven’t addressed the reader as an individual, you haven’t used the “you approach.”
• Explain your organization. Provide a road map. Even in a one-page message, it’s good practice to tell the reader where you’re going: “After examining the causes of this dramatic increase in employee turnover, I will demonstrate how turnover is damaging our quality control and explain what we can do about it.” Offer your organizational statement as the last sentence of your opening.

Body

• Present your main points in informative, descriptive headings. Word your headings so that a busy reader can see your key points at a glance. Rather than generic headings such as Background, Consequences, Solution, provide headings that emphasize your principal points: Low wages are hurting employee morale. High turnover is damaging quality control. New employee incentives are needed.
• Present a well-organized, logically developed, carefully supported argument. Organize your material into tightly structured paragraphs. Support your main points with specific detail (sufficient data, examples, and illustrations). Rebut opposing arguments.

Closing

• State your recommendation(s) and action request explicitly. Be clear and direct. If you are presenting multiple recommendations, number them in a vertical list.
• Explain how the reader will benefit. As in your opening, recognize your reader’s interests and concerns.
• Give and justify a deadline. Like a department store advertising a thirteen-hour sale, give the reader a reason for acting now. Explain why prompt action is necessary. Otherwise, you might convince your reader of the validity of your argument but fail to persuade him or her to take action.
• Offer to take the next step. Take the initiative to follow up: “I’ll call you Monday to see what you think”; “With your permission, I’d like to present my proposal at Friday’s staff meeting.” If you don’t conclude with the ball in your court, you might have won the point but lost the game.

In addition to these structural points, I encourage my students to:

• Use tone and language appropriate for the audience.
• Write in a style that is direct, assertive, energetic, and concise (prefer active, personal voice over passive voice; prefer action verbs to weak verbs linked to general nouns; avoid wordiness).
• Use highlighting (bullets, boldface, italics, underlining) to engage the reader and reinforce your main points.
• Proofread to eliminate errors in spelling, usage, grammar, and punctuation.

The attributes of effective writing—persuasive or otherwise—cannot be entirely accounted for by measuring them against items on a checklist. But a checklist can be useful. It’s good for clarifying expectations, removing some of the guesswork from writing, and identifying relative strengths and weaknesses in a writer’s style and approach.

Concentrate on Beginnings and Endings

As I discussed in chapter four, the first and last words in your sentences count more than the words in the middle. The same principle applies to paragraphs and entire documents. Beginnings and endings count more than middles.

Write a good introduction.

Your most important paragraph is your first. It introduces the subject, sometimes directly (“The purpose of this manual is to explain our company’s procedures for responding to complaints from customers”), sometimes indirectly (“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen”). The introductory paragraph typically ends with a statement of purpose. For more complex documents, the introductory paragraph also includes an organizational statement, typically appearing after the thesis statement.

In narrative and certain types of expressive writing, the opening paragraph (or paragraphs) introduces not only the subject (the theme or central concern) but also the setting (the time and place) and one or more of the central characters. For more expressive types of writing (including articles, stories, and novels), the introductory paragraph usually opens with a lead intended to engage the reader’s interest.

Use your lead to engage your reader.

In expository writing, a good lead (or lede) provides the information and context the reader needs to understand the subject or purpose. In persuasive writing, a good lead prepares the reader intellectually and emotionally to accept the writer’s point of view. In sales letters and sales proposals, for example, a lead might offer dramatic savings for a purchase or appeal to the customer’s needs or desires. In narrative writing, a good lead invites the reader into the story by offering an intriguing scene or introducing an interesting character. The purpose of your lead is to convince your reader that the text that follows is worth the time it will take to read it.

As an illustration of the importance of a good lead, consider the following examples. Which lead arouses your curiosity in a way that makes you want to read the story?

My guess is you chose the second example, the lead to a brochure providing information about programs at the YWCA. Its sharp visual image and playful tone make it engaging. The first example, from a company newsletter, opens with a nondescript statement. Note that it would be improved if the first sentence were simply omitted.

Consider two more examples, both from Update, a newsletter of the University of Minnesota:

The first, which uses a scene-setting technique, is evocative because the description appeals effectively to the senses. (The scene is described in a way that makes you want to be there.) The second is engaging because it focuses on individual characters.

Use the first sentence of your paragraph to announce your topic
or create a transition.

As I pointed out previously, paragraphs come in all shapes and sizes. It is common practice, however, to open a paragraph with a topic or transitional sentence. If you think of your paragraphs as units of development or stages in your argument, think of the first sentence of each paragraph as an opportunity to signal your reader that a new stage has been reached. Note, for example, that I began this paragraph with a transitional sentence (one that points backward), followed by a topic sentence (one that points forward).

Transitions may be announced by phrases, such as As I pointed out above, or by connecting words, such as nevertheless, therefore, consequently, indeed, then, accordingly, however, moreover, and also. Your choice of a phrase or a word is based on a number of factors, including how fast or slow you want your pace to be (long transitions set a slower pace; short transitions set a faster pace), distance traveled (if you are referring to a thought expressed in a previous chapter, you are more likely to use a phrase; if you are referring to a thought expressed in the previous paragraph, you are more likely to use a word), complexity of material (longer transitions give your reader a false sense of security), and sophistication of your reader (knowledgeable readers require less assistance and are less prone to anxiety attacks).

As I discuss in chapter ten, the key to creating coherence is using transitional language to connect your sentences and paragraphs. Writers who make these connections tend to be easy to follow; writers who fail to make them tend to leave their readers feeling momentarily lost or confused by the direction their discussion has taken. To avoid losing your reader as you progress through the stages of your development, connect your paragraphs.

Use the last sentence of a paragraph for special effect.

Because the last sentence in a paragraph is followed by a pause created by a break in the text, it has particular emphasis. Use that sentence to resolve the point you have developed in the paragraph. A short, punchy sentence works especially well in this position. For particular emphasis, you can break this sentence from the paragraph and present it as a one-sentence paragraph.

Likewise, a witty comment or a lighthearted statement will seem funnier if it is delivered as the last sentence rather than buried somewhere in the middle of a paragraph. In On Writing Well, William Zinsser describes the opportunity offered at the end of a paragraph:

To illustrate skillful use of concluding sentences, I once read aloud the first few paragraphs of Barton Sutter’s article “The Next Best Thing to Nobody” (which appeared in the winter 1996 issue of The Boundary Waters Journal) to students in an essay-writing class. Each time the students laughed, I noted, was in response to the final sentence of a paragraph. Note the structure of Sutter’s lead paragraph:

A few paragraphs later Sutter explains how a friend at first declined, then accepted Sutter’s invitation to be his canoeing partner:

With the concluding sentence of that paragraph, the author offers not only a funny line but an explanation of the title. Later, in a paragraph in which he describes the silence of the Boundary Waters, Sutter presents us with the most carefully crafted sentence of the piece—and, again, it comes at the end of a paragraph:

Note, too, how Sutter inverts the structure of the last sentence, a technique I discussed in chapter four.

Conclude conclusively.

Your last paragraph should leave the reader with a sense of completion or resolution, particularly in narration and persuasion. In narration, your story can end at any point in the chronology of events as long as the last paragraph seems appropriate to the theme or characters. A good ending to a story is simply one that feels right. Although it may not resolve all issues, it invites the audience to consider the significance of what has transpired by placing everything that preceded it in a new light. The questions “Why did it end here?” and “What does it mean?” are closely linked.

In persuasion, your concluding paragraph is a restatement of your argument. Often it includes a call to action. The wording is usually similar—but should not be identical—to the language in the introduction and the presentation of the argument. In all types of writing your conclusion carries special emphasis, but in persuasion it is the most important paragraph of the text. It represents your best opportunity to drive home your point and to make it memorable to your audience. As a conclusion to an essay on school funding, for example, a student in one of my classes wrote, “Because of the shift in funding, the city schools received less money for children’s education. And we wonder why Johnny or Sally can’t read.”

As this student did so successfully, conclude conclusively. Conclude with flourish. Conclude with style.