1.6 Assembling a Plan
Learning Objectives
Recognize essay organizational patterns.
Choose organizational patterns according to the essay’s purpose.
Having chosen a topic for their essays, examined the relevant facts, proffered a tentative thesis, and examined the logic of that thesis, writers typically choose an organizational patternThe structure of an essay; the order in which the essay’s parts are presented. that provides an underlying structure to the essay and suits its purpose.
The structure of an essay is much like the framework of a building. A proper framework lies invisibly beneath the masonry that makes the building interesting to contemplate. However, without the framework, the building would collapse.
Writers often avail themselves of established patterns because these patterns are familiar to readers and thus assist them in understanding writers’ ideas. The division patternAn organizational pattern in which the essay is divided into coordinate parts., comparison patternAn organizational pattern in which the essay compares two or more subjects., chronological patternAn organizational pattern in which the essay presents plot points in the order in which they occurred in time., and open formA unique organizational pattern. are described in the following list:
Division pattern. The simplest way to organize an essay is to divide it into parts. Those parts may be ways, means, methods, steps, viewpoints, or reasons. Each of these parts supports the thesis. You can present these parts according to their importance—the most important part first and the other parts following in order of importance—or you might save the most important part for last. This organization can be demonstrated in the form of an outlineA condensed version of a rhetorical work, showing the work’s main and subordinate ideas..
Table 1.1 Sample Outline: Division Essay
| I. Introduction |
| II. Body |
| A. Supporting point 1 |
| B. Supporting point 2 |
| C. Supporting point 3 |
| III. Conclusion |
Comparison pattern. In this organizational pattern, you explain the differences and/or similarities of more than one item by examining their characteristics. You might organize this examination according to either the block comparison patternA comparison essay pattern that discusses one subject exhaustively and then discusses the next subject exhaustively. or the point-by-point comparison patternA comparison essay pattern that discusses one characteristic common to each subject, then a second characteristic common to each subject, and so forth..
Block comparison pattern: In this method for comparing, you examine one item exhaustively before examining the next item exhaustively. Mark Twain’s essay “A Bewitching Scene” (http://downloads.flatworldknowledge.com/hudson/hudson_1_0-ABewitchingScene.pdf) exemplifies the block pattern. Twain compares his early, naïve impressions of the Mississippi River to his later, more educated impressions of the river. This organizational pattern assists Twain in advancing his thesis that experience gives us knowledge but not necessarily happiness.
Point-by-point comparison pattern: In this method, you compare one characteristic common to both items, then a second characteristic common to both items, and so forth. George Carlin’s “Baseball and Football,” (https://youtu.be/aIkqNiBASfI) for instance, compares baseball to football one point at a time: where the game is played, when it is played, what one wears while playing, and so on. Carlin’s choice of the point-by-point pattern creates a comical effect—flipping back and forth, keeping the reader off balance—and reinforces his thesis that we have become a more aggressive society.
In the following block comparison outline, the writer plans to discuss karate’s history, philosophy, and style, and then kung fu’s history, philosophy, and style. In the point-by-point comparison outline, the writer plans to discuss the respective histories of karate and kung fu, then their respective philosophies, and then their respective styles. These differing organizational patterns convey the same information but in a different order.
Table 1.2 Sample Outlines: Comparison Essays
| Block comparison | Point-by-point comparison |
|---|---|
| I. Introduction | I. Introduction |
| II. Body | II. Body |
| A. First item: Karate | A. First point: History |
| 1. History | 1. Karate |
| 2. Philosophy | 2. Kung fu |
| 3. Style | B. Second point: Philosophy |
| B. Second item: Kung fu | 1. Karate |
| 1. History | 2. Kung fu |
| 2. Philosophy | C. Third point: Style |
| 3. Style | 1. Karate |
| 2. Kung fu | |
| III. Conclusion | III. Conclusion |
Figure 1.7 Karate
Will you discuss karate’s history, philosophy, and style completely, and then kung fu’s?
Source: Eugene Onischenko/Shutterstock
Figure 1.8 Kung Fu
Will you discuss the history of karate and kung fu, then their respective philosophies, then their respective styles?
Source: TunedIn by Westend61/Shutterstock
Chronological pattern. In this pattern, the writer offers the elements in the order in which they occurred in time. Process essays are usually ordered chronologically: each step in the process is offered in the order in which it is performed. Narratives such as Langston Hughes’s “Salvation” (https://www.spiritwatch.org/firelangsave.htm), featured in Chapter 3, Section 7.2 “Narratives by Professionals”, also will recount incidents that compose the story—the plot pointsThe incidents that compose a story.—in chronological order. A chronological order facilitates the reader’s understanding of the story’s point. However, the plot points of some narratives, for example, Sarah Schantz’s “Caught in the Black” (“Student Essay 3.1”), are not told in chronological order to reinforce a theme—the confusion associated with grief.
Table 1.3 Sample Outlines: Chronological Essays
| Narrative | Process |
|---|---|
| I. Exposition | I. Introduction |
| II. Rising action | II. Steps |
| A. Plot point 1 | A. Step 1 |
| B. Plot point 2 | B. Step 2 |
| C. Plot point 3 | C. Step 3 |
| D. Plot point 4 | D. Step 4 |
| III. Climax | III. Conclusion |
| IV. Falling action | |
| V. Resolution |
Open form. An open form essay does not follow an established pattern.
Some essays employ multiple organizational patterns. For example, one might offer the points of comparison in chronological order. Still, considering successfully crafted essays in terms of their particular organizational patterns advances our understanding and emulation of them.
Concept Check
Discern Essay Organizational Patterns
Examine Gretel Ehrlich’s essay “About Men.” What is the essay’s organizational pattern? How does this pattern reinforce her thesis? Find the link here at http://downloads.flatworldknowledge.com/hudson/hudson_1_0-AboutMen.pdf.
Examine Mark Twain’s essay, “A Bewitching Scene.” What is the essay’s principal organizational pattern? Is there a secondary organizational pattern? If so, what is it? How do these organizational patterns reinforce Twain’s thesis? Find the link here at http://downloads.flatworldknowledge.com/hudson/hudson_1_0-ABewitchingScene.pdf.
Key Takeaways
Writers often use established organizational patterns to promote their ideas.
Familiar organizational patterns assist the reader in understanding the writer’s ideas.
Frequently used organizational patterns include the division, comparison, and chronological patterns.
The comparison pattern will usually employ either the point-by-point or the block method.
An open form essay does not follow an established pattern but is uniquely organized.
Some essays use more than one organizational pattern.