what is space order in an essay

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Spatial Order

Spatial order is best used for the following purposes:

Helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it
Evoking a scene using the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound)
Writing a descriptive essay

Spatial order means that you explain or describe objects as they are arranged around you in your space, for example in a bedroom. As the writer, you create a picture for your readers, and their perspective is the viewpoint from which you describe what is around you. The view must move in an orderly, logical progression, giving the reader clear directional signals to follow from place to place. The key to this method is to choose a specific starting point and then guide the reader to follow your eye as it moves in an orderly fashion from your starting point. Pay attention to the following student’s description and how she guides the reader through the viewing process, foot by foot.

Sample Spatial Order Paragraph

Attached to my back-bedroom wall is a small wooden rack dangling with red and turquoise necklaces that shimmer as I enter. Just to the right of the rack, billowy white curtains frame a large window with a sill that ends just six inches from the floor. The peace of such an image is a stark contrast to my desk, sitting to the right of the window, layered in textbooks, crumpled papers, coffee cups, and an overflowing ashtray. Turning my head to the right, I see a set of two bare windows that frame the trees outside the glass like a three-dimensional painting. Below the windows is an oak chest from which blankets and scarves are protruding. Against the wall opposite the billowy curtains is an antique dresser, on top of which sits a jewelry box and a few picture frames. A tall mirror attached to the dresser takes up much of the lavender wall.

The paragraph incorporates two objectives covered in this chapter: using an implied topic sentence and applying spatial order. Often in a descriptive essay, the two objectives work together.

The following are possible transition words to include when using spatial order:

Just to the left or just to the right
On the left or on the right
Across from
A little further down
To the south, to the east, and so on
A few yards away
Turning left or turning right

On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph using spatial order that describes your commute to work, school, or another location you visit often. Collaboration: Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

The way you organize your body paragraphs ensures you and your readers stay focused on and draw connections to your thesis statement.
A strong organizational pattern allows you to articulate, analyze, and clarify your thoughts.
Planning the organizational structure for your essay before you begin to search for supporting evidence helps you conduct more effective and directed research.
Chronological order is most commonly used in expository writing. It is useful for explaining the history of your subject, for telling a story, or for explaining a process.
Order of importance is most appropriate in a persuasion paper as well as for essays in which you rank things, people, or events by their significance.
Spatial order describes things as they are arranged in space and is best for helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it; it creates a dominant impression.

The information in this section comes from Successful College Composition p.24-29: Crowther, Kathryn; Curtright, Lauren; Gilbert, Nancy; Hall, Barbara; Ravita, Tracienne; and Swenson, Kirk, “Successful College Composition” (2016). Galileo: English Open Textbooks . Successful College Composition is a transformation of Writing for Success, a text adapted by The Saylor Foundation under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 License without attribution as requested by the work’s original creator or licensee. Kathryn Crowther, Lauren Curtright, Nancy Gilbert, Barbara Hall, Tracienne Ravita, and Kirk Swenson adapted this text under a grant from Affordable Learning Georgia to Georgia Perimeter College (GPC) in 2015.

Spatial Order by Cheryl McCormick; Sue Hank; and Ninna Roth is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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9.3 Organizing Your Writing

Learning objectives.

Understand how and why organizational techniques help writers and readers stay focused.
Assess how and when to use chronological order to organize an essay.
Recognize how and when to use order of importance to organize an essay.
Determine how and when to use spatial order to organize an essay.

The method of organization you choose for your essay is just as important as its content. Without a clear organizational pattern, your reader could become confused and lose interest. The way you structure your essay helps your readers draw connections between the body and the thesis, and the structure also keeps you focused as you plan and write the essay. Choosing your organizational pattern before you outline ensures that each body paragraph works to support and develop your thesis.

This section covers three ways to organize body paragraphs:

Chronological order
Order of importance
Spatial order

When you begin to draft your essay, your ideas may seem to flow from your mind in a seemingly random manner. Your readers, who bring to the table different backgrounds, viewpoints, and ideas, need you to clearly organize these ideas in order to help process and accept them.

A solid organizational pattern gives your ideas a path that you can follow as you develop your draft. Knowing how you will organize your paragraphs allows you to better express and analyze your thoughts. Planning the structure of your essay before you choose supporting evidence helps you conduct more effective and targeted research.

Chronological Order

In Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” , you learned that chronological arrangement has the following purposes:

To explain the history of an event or a topic
To tell a story or relate an experience
To explain how to do or to make something
To explain the steps in a process

Chronological order is mostly used in expository writing , which is a form of writing that narrates, describes, informs, or explains a process. When using chronological order, arrange the events in the order that they actually happened, or will happen if you are giving instructions. This method requires you to use words such as first , second , then , after that , later , and finally . These transition words guide you and your reader through the paper as you expand your thesis.

For example, if you are writing an essay about the history of the airline industry, you would begin with its conception and detail the essential timeline events up until present day. You would follow the chain of events using words such as first , then , next , and so on.

Writing at Work

At some point in your career you may have to file a complaint with your human resources department. Using chronological order is a useful tool in describing the events that led up to your filing the grievance. You would logically lay out the events in the order that they occurred using the key transition words. The more logical your complaint, the more likely you will be well received and helped.

Choose an accomplishment you have achieved in your life. The important moment could be in sports, schooling, or extracurricular activities. On your own sheet of paper, list the steps you took to reach your goal. Try to be as specific as possible with the steps you took. Pay attention to using transition words to focus your writing.

Keep in mind that chronological order is most appropriate for the following purposes:

Writing essays containing heavy research
Writing essays with the aim of listing, explaining, or narrating
Writing essays that analyze literary works such as poems, plays, or books

When using chronological order, your introduction should indicate the information you will cover and in what order, and the introduction should also establish the relevance of the information. Your body paragraphs should then provide clear divisions or steps in chronology. You can divide your paragraphs by time (such as decades, wars, or other historical events) or by the same structure of the work you are examining (such as a line-by-line explication of a poem).

On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph that describes a process you are familiar with and can do well. Assume that your reader is unfamiliar with the procedure. Remember to use the chronological key words, such as first , second , then , and finally .

Order of Importance

Recall from Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” that order of importance is best used for the following purposes:

Persuading and convincing
Ranking items by their importance, benefit, or significance
Illustrating a situation, problem, or solution

Most essays move from the least to the most important point, and the paragraphs are arranged in an effort to build the essay’s strength. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to begin with your most important supporting point, such as in an essay that contains a thesis that is highly debatable. When writing a persuasive essay, it is best to begin with the most important point because it immediately captivates your readers and compels them to continue reading.

Some key transitional words you should use with this method of organization are most importantly , almost as importantly , just as importantly , and finally .

During your career, you may be required to work on a team that devises a strategy for a specific goal of your company, such as increasing profits. When planning your strategy you should organize your steps in order of importance. This demonstrates the ability to prioritize and plan. Using the order of importance technique also shows that you can create a resolution with logical steps for accomplishing a common goal.

On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph that discusses a passion of yours. Your passion could be music, a particular sport, filmmaking, and so on. Your paragraph should be built upon the reasons why you feel so strongly. Briefly discuss your reasons in the order of least to greatest importance.

Spatial Order

As stated in Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” , spatial order is best used for the following purposes:

Helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it
Evoking a scene using the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound)
Writing a descriptive essay

Spatial order means that you explain or describe objects as they are arranged around you in your space, for example in a bedroom. As the writer, you create a picture for your reader, and their perspective is the viewpoint from which you describe what is around you.

The view must move in an orderly, logical progression, giving the reader clear directional signals to follow from place to place. The key to using this method is to choose a specific starting point and then guide the reader to follow your eye as it moves in an orderly trajectory from your starting point.

Pay attention to the following student’s description of her bedroom and how she guides the reader through the viewing process, foot by foot.

Attached to my bedroom wall is a small wooden rack dangling with red and turquoise necklaces that shimmer as you enter. Just to the right of the rack is my window, framed by billowy white curtains. The peace of such an image is a stark contrast to my desk, which sits to the right of the window, layered in textbooks, crumpled papers, coffee cups, and an overflowing ashtray. Turning my head to the right, I see a set of two bare windows that frame the trees outside the glass like a 3D painting. Below the windows is an oak chest from which blankets and scarves are protruding. Against the wall opposite the billowy curtains is an antique dresser, on top of which sits a jewelry box and a few picture frames. A tall mirror attached to the dresser takes up most of the wall, which is the color of lavender.

The paragraph incorporates two objectives you have learned in this chapter: using an implied topic sentence and applying spatial order. Often in a descriptive essay, the two work together.

The following are possible transition words to include when using spatial order:

Just to the left or just to the right
On the left or on the right
Across from
A little further down
To the south, to the east, and so on
A few yards away
Turning left or turning right

On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph using spatial order that describes your commute to work, school, or another location you visit often.

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

Key Takeaways

The way you organize your body paragraphs ensures you and your readers stay focused on and draw connections to, your thesis statement.
A strong organizational pattern allows you to articulate, analyze, and clarify your thoughts.
Planning the organizational structure for your essay before you begin to search for supporting evidence helps you conduct more effective and directed research.
Chronological order is most commonly used in expository writing. It is useful for explaining the history of your subject, for telling a story, or for explaining a process.
Order of importance is most appropriate in a persuasion paper as well as for essays in which you rank things, people, or events by their significance.
Spatial order describes things as they are arranged in space and is best for helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it; it creates a dominant impression.

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What Is Spatial Order And How To Use It In Essay?

Table of Contents

When it comes to effective writing, high school and college students typically think about aspects like good story content, convincing evidence, appropriate word choice, correct grammar, etc.

But the clear and logical organization is an essential part of effective writing, too.

There are several patterns of logical organization that can be used in writing academic essays and term papers :

Chronological order.
Compare-contrast pattern.
Order of importance.
spatial order.
Problem-solution method.
Cause-effect pattern.
Advantages-disadvantages pattern.
Topical pattern.

There are no strict rules which pattern should be used for an effective conveying of ideas. Think carefully of patterns that make sense, and would help your readers get a better understanding of the information.

Besides, paper organization principles have many variations, and very often, different methods are combined.

Let’s talk of the most commonly used patterns: the spatial order meaning and its function.

Spatial order as a principle of organization

Writing an impressive high school or college academic essay depends on the logical organization of the content. Pro essay writing websites recommend organizing your thoughts is as important as the choice of relevant facts to prove your point of view.

For example, in a description of a scene or setting, a specific logical order helps the audience visualize the scene.

… So, what is spatial order?

It is a type of logical organization pattern that is used in descriptive writing. Its main feature is that things are described as they appear when observed.

This approach makes it easier for writers to paint a vivid picture for readers.

Let’s discuss this concept in detail and begin with spatial order definition.

Spatial order definition

…How would we define spatial order?

It’s a principle of descriptive writing when items are arranged in the order of their physical location or correlation.

This structural order in descriptive paragraphs determines the readers’ perspective and how details are perceived. Focus is on location; time is ignored.

How may this organizational arrangement be used?

In fiction , it is used for descriptions of objects and places; in nonfiction – for describing physical or social phenomena.
Technical writers can use this method for explaining how a mechanism works or how parts of a machine fit together.
Food critics apply this pattern when they review a new restaurant for a description of the dining area.
Architects utilize this order to describe designs of buildings.

What is the spatial order?

…What does spatial order mean?

If talking about descriptions, this method means that the writer explains or describes objects as they are arranged in space. It creates a picture for readers, and the audience’s perspective is the viewpoint from which the writer describes what’s around.

First, the writer has to choose a specific starting point and then create an orderly logical progression by providing readers with directional signals they should follow from place to place.

If the description is complicated, you can use a simple chart or diagram to help your readers understand it quickly.

Spatial writing: the details

A spatial organization of information in paragraphs is also called descriptive writing. It is often used when a narrator wants to describe how something looks. For example, you can use this approach in descriptive essays about a person when you describe someone’s appearance, starting from the feet and moving up to the head.

Take a look at spatial order example which describes various layers of a volcano.

A volcano is a beautiful and dangerous natural phenomenon. The magma chamber, an extremely hot part which people rarely see, is under the Earth surface beneath the bed’s rock. The conduit is running from the volcano’s magma chamber to the crater which is at the top of the volcano.

Logical order of location in space can be used in some narrations, classifications, comparisons, and other forms of expository writings.

Have a look at this description paragraph.

According to annual weather patterns, there are 6 major climate regions. In the extreme northern latitudes, the climate is polar without any plant life. Next to it, there is cold tundra in the extremes of the north of Asia and North America where we can find shrubs and grasses. In the adjacent temperate regions, there are forests with a rich diversity of plants.

Don’t worry if you still have some trouble with a proper understanding of what the spatial order is. You can always count on us and order essay from experienced writers.

What are spatial order signal words?

Here is a short list of spatial order signal words which might indicate that a speaker or a writer is following a spatial organization pattern.

Many of these words are prepositions that are placed at the beginning of sentences to connect them with the ideas expressed in the preceding sentences.

On the left hand
On the right hand
Attached to
At the top of
To the side of
In front of

These words are used to build a vivid picture that the audience can grasp.

Spatial organization in writing: how to..?

The spatial pattern works well when writers want to create mental pictures of something that has various parts distinguished by physical location. You may start by describing a scene, object, or a location as a whole and then focus on specific details in the setting.

This type of organization is the best for describing a setting and scene, but writers can also utilize it for giving directions or instructions.

If you wish to apply this method of organization in your description, you need to make a series of decisions.

First of all, decide what scene you want to describe first. You should take the perspective of your readers and determine what details are the most important and relevant for them.
Then you should think about the aspects of the scene you want to include in your description and describe all the elements in a logical order, choosing a starting point. When utilizing this pattern in essays describing items, writers can start from the left and move gradually to the right or go from top to bottom, from inside to outside or from west to east.
It’s essential to use transition words and phrases to show logical relationships between the details.

Read this description of a room where all the details are described in the order of their location in space.

When you walk in the door of my bedroom, the first thing you notice is a large bed on the wall. In front of my bed, there is a grey carpet on the floor. Above the bed, there is a beautiful picture and an old clock. As you turn to the left, you will see a wardrobe and a big mirror.

This approach to the logical organization has some disadvantages as well. When a writer describes elements in such a way, all of them get equal weight.

But if you want to emphasize one specific aspect of a scene and draw particular attention to something, a spatial pattern makes it hard to achieve that goal so you’d better choose another organization method.

Without a clear organizational pattern, your readers could become confused.

A solid organizational pattern helps your audience see connections and allows them to stay focused. Spatial organization in writing a descriptive essay allows readers visualize something as the writer wants them to see it, by evoking a scene using five senses (sight, taste, smell, touch, and sound).

But you shouldn’t use spatial writing in long text because they may sound monotonous and your readers will be bored. Think about other methods of organizing your ideas.

Sometimes, it is better to use a chronological pattern or even just stream-of-consciousness method to communicate a specific idea in a clear, intelligible manner.

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Spatial Order in Composition

An Introduction to Punctuation
Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
B.A., English, State University of New York

In composition , spatial order is an organizational structure in which details are presented as they are (or were) located in space—from left to right, top to bottom, etc. Also known as order of place or space structure, spatial order describes things as they appear when observed. In descriptions of places and objects, spatial order determines the perspective from which readers observe details.

David S. Hogsette points out in Writing That Makes Sense: Critical Thinking in College Composition that " technical writers may use spatial order to explain how a mechanism works ; architects use spatial order to describe a building design; [and] food critics reviewing a new restaurant use spatial order to describe and evaluate the dining area," (Hogsette 2009).

As opposed to chronological order or other methods for data organization, spatial order ignores time and focuses primarily on location (or space, which makes this term easy to remember).

Transitions for Spatial Order

A spatial order comes with a set of transitive words and phrases that help writers and speakers navigate a spatially ordered paragraph and distinguish its parts. These include above, alongside, behind, beneath, beyond down, farther along, in back, in front, near or nearby, on top of, to the left or right of, under and up, and more.

Just as the words first, next and finally function in a chronological organization, these spatial transitions help guide a reader spatially through a paragraph, especially those used to describe scene and setting in prose and poetry.

For instance, one might start by describing a field as a whole but then focus in on individual details as they relate to one another in the setting. "The well is next to the apple tree, which is behind the barn," or, "Further down the field is a stream, beyond which lies another lush meadow with three cows grazing near a perimeter fence."

Appropriate Use of Spatial Order

The best place to use spatial organization is in descriptions of scene and setting, but it can also be utilized when giving instructions or directions. In any case, the logical progression of one thing as it relates to another in a scene or setting provides an advantage to using this type of organization.

However, this also provides the disadvantage of making all items described within a scene carry the same intrinsic weight or importance. By using spatial order to organize a description, it becomes hard for the writer to ascribe more importance to, say, a dilapidated farmhouse in a full detailing of a farm scene.

As a result, using spatial order to organize all descriptions is not advised because sometimes it is important for the writer to only point out the most important details of a scene or setting, giving emphasis to things like the bullet hole in a glass window on the front of a house instead of describing every detail of the scene in order to convey the idea that the home is not in a safe neighborhood.

Writers should, therefore, determine their intention when setting a scene or occurrence before deciding which organization method to use for it. Although the use of spatial order is quite common with scene descriptions, sometimes chronological or even just stream-of-consciousness is a better method of organization to convey a certain point.

Hogsette, David. Writing That Makes Sense: Critical Thinking in College Composition. Resource Publications, 2009.

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Ai, ethics & human agency, collaboration, information literacy, writing process, spatial order.

Spatial Order refers to the practice of organizing information (e.g., descriptions of places and objects, instructions and processes) according to their physical location.

It is commonplace in many genres (especially fiction genres but also nonfiction genres) for writers to describe a scene so that readers can imagine themselves in that setting.

At the beginning of a novel or movie, a fiction writer or screenwriter could begin with a tight focus on the central protagonist and then move out (e.g., left to right, top to bottom, circle view) to reveal that character’s setting.
A realtor uses a floorplan to organize a description of a house for sale
A geologist uses GPS coordinates to chart soil contamination around an old gas tank at a gas station.
An art critic writes a critique of a painting.
A police officer draws a map of an accident scene based on accident reports.

Sample Transitional Words for Spatial Order

Brevity - Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Flow - How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity - Inclusive Language

The Elements of Style - The DNA of Powerful Writing

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What is Spatial Organization in Writing? (Spatial Order Explained)

by Antony W

September 5, 2021

There’s more to writing an essay than just doing research, creating an outline, and developing a solid argument around a topic.

Even the logical organization of your thoughts and an accurate sequence of events are significant in coming up with a strong storyline for the topic in question.

So in addition to understanding the basic rules for writing comprehensive essays, it also helps to learn and understand the writing patterns used in essay writing.

There are about eight patterns of organization in essay writing. And the one we’re going to look in this case is the spatial organization.

In this guide, you will learn everything there is to know about spatial organization, from what it is and signal words used to its uses and how to apply it in essay writing.

Let’s get started.

What is Spatial Order in Writing?

Spatial order organization in writing is where an author looks at all the important elements of a given scenario and then orders information based on how people or objects fit together in a given physical space.

In spatial organization, you order the information in a particular order, and this can be either from top to bottom or from left to right.

If anything, spatial organization in writing works as a visual tour guide, giving your readers a clear mental image that allows them to know the exact location of objects.

It’s important to understand that spatial organization doesn’t fit in all types of essay writing. More often than not, it’s a powerful tool to use when writing descriptive essays, especially where you want to convey the relationship between an object to another.

Why is Spatial Order Organization Important?

Spatial organization in writing is important because it allows you to create scenic description, making it easy for your target audience to visualize a concept.

Since spatial organization allows you to use senses, from touch and sound to smell and taste, to make a concept look real, it becomes quite easy for a reader to find the concept more descriptive.

4 Steps to Writing a Spatial Order Essay

Start by brainstorming your topic. This part is a no brainer, so it shouldn’t take an entire afternoon.

You might want to write down your thoughts on paper or a digital notepad. It helps a lot to organize your thoughts in a series. Also, make sure the purpose of the writing is clear from the very beginning.

Research is an important part of writing a spatial essay. You still want to know what other people have written about the subject in question, even if you think you understand it very well.

Take references from previous write-ups, magazines, and articles. Check to make sure that the sources from which you get your information are credible.

College essays must have outlines. Even if you feel like your spatial order assignment is easy to pull off, your instructor expects you to use a standard outline for the assignment.

Again, it’s important to create an outline because it helps to organize your thoughts in a logical order.

Before you create an outline for your spatial order essay, determine how you’d like your information to flow. In spatial writing, you can organize your events to flow from past to present – or include a mix of flashback or surprises.

From brainstorming to research to outlining your thoughts, you now have everything you need to write your spatial organization assignment.

Simply use the information collected from your research to write your paper. Make sure the sources you use in writing are credible.

If you are not sure about the trustworthiness of a source or the accuracy of the information shared, either look into a completely different source or ignore it altogether.

How Many Parts Does a Spatial Order Essay Have?

A spatial order essay has three parts. These are the opening paragraph, the body paragraphs, and the conclusion. As you can see, the outline isn’t any different from that of regular essays. Which means that the writing approach isn’t so much different either.

The introduction should grab the attention of your reader from the get go. Follow the hook with some background information, which should clearly explain the reason for choosing the topic.

The last sentence of your introduction should be the thesis statement of the essay , which explains what the spatial order essay intends to cover.

You will have a minimum of four paragraphs in the body section of the essay. Each paragraph should describe an object in details. And just like paragraph rules in essay states, every paragraph in the body section should cover only one object.

Each paragraph should start with a topic sentence, followed by supporting ideas, and end with a closing link that easily transition to the next subsequent paragraph.

End the essay with a strong conclusion paragraph. There are at least four ways to tackle this section.

First, you can give concluding remarks about the topic without introducing new ideas. Second, you can end the essay with a quote , provided it’s relevant to the topic. Third, you can write a short summary of the whole essay. Or you can simply restate the thesis statement.

Words Used in Spatial Order Essays

There are many signal word that you can use in spatial order writing. Below are some common examples of signal words to use in spatial essay writing.

To the left
To the right
Adjacent to
Parallel to
To the side
Beyond center

This by no means exhausted list of the signal words used in spatial essay writing, but they are the most common ones that you will come across.

Let Us Help You Write Your Spatial Order Essay

Are you struggling to get your spatial order essay written? Or maybe you’re about to run out of time to submit the essay to your instructor for review? You simply have to take advantage of our essay writing service and let us help you complete the assignment in time. Also, don’t forget to contact our support team if you have any question.

About the author

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

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4.3 Organizing Your Writing

Learning objectives.

Understand how and why organizational techniques help writers and readers stay focused.
Assess how and when to use chronological order to organize an essay.
Recognize how and when to use order of importance to organize an essay.
Determine how and when to use spatial order to organize an essay.

This section covers three ways to organize body paragraphs:

Chronological order
Order of importance
Spatial order

Chronological Order

In Chapter 3: The Writing Process: Where Do I Begin? Section Overview , you learned that chronological arrangement has the following purposes:

To explain the history of an event or a topic
To tell a story or relate an experience
To explain how to do or to make something
To explain the steps in a process

Connecting the Pieces: Writing at Work

Keep in mind that chronological order is most appropriate for the following purposes:

Writing essays containing heavy research
Writing essays with the aim of listing, explaining, or narrating
Writing essays that analyze literary works such as poems, plays, or books

Order of Importance

Recall from Chapter 3: The Writing Process: Where Do I Begin? that order of importance is best used for the following purposes:

Persuading and convincing
Ranking items by their importance, benefit, or significance
Illustrating a situation, problem, or solution

Some key transitional words you should use with this method of organization are most importantly , almost as importantly , just as importantly , and finally .

Spatial Order

As stated in Chapter 3: The Writing Process: Where Do I Begin? , spatial order is best used for the following purposes:

Helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it
Evoking a scene using the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound)
Writing a descriptive essay

Pay attention to the following student’s description of her bedroom and how she guides the reader through the viewing process, foot by foot.

The paragraph incorporates two objectives you have learned in this chapter: using an implied topic sentence and applying spatial order. Often in a descriptive essay, the two work together.

The following are possible transition words to include when using spatial order:

Just to the left or just to the right
On the left or on the right
Across from
A little further down
To the south, to the east, and so on
A few yards away
Turning left or turning right

On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph using spatial order that describes your commute to work, school, or another location you visit often.

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

Key Takeaways

The way you organize your body paragraphs ensures you and your readers stay focused on and draw connections to, your thesis statement.
A strong organizational pattern allows you to articulate, analyze, and clarify your thoughts.
Planning the organizational structure for your essay before you begin to search for supporting evidence helps you conduct more effective and directed research.
Chronological order is most commonly used in expository writing. It is useful for explaining the history of your subject, for telling a story, or for explaining a process.
Order of importance is most appropriate in a persuasion paper as well as for essays in which you rank things, people, or events by their significance.
Spatial order describes things as they are arranged in space and is best for helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it; it creates a dominant impression.

Putting the Pieces Together Copyright © 2020 by Andrew Stracuzzi and André Cormier is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Organizing Your Writing

Learning objectives.

Understand how and why organizational techniques help writers and readers stay focused.
Assess how and when to use chronological order to organize an essay.
Recognize how and when to use order of importance to organize an essay.
Determine how and when to use spatial order to organize an essay.

This section covers three ways to organize body paragraphs:

Chronological order
Order of importance
Spatial order

Chronological Order

In Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?”, you learned that chronological arrangement has the following purposes:

To explain the history of an event or a topic
To tell a story or relate an experience
To explain how to do or to make something
To explain the steps in a process

Writing at Work

Keep in mind that chronological order is most appropriate for the following purposes:

Writing essays containing heavy research
Writing essays with the aim of listing, explaining, or narrating
Writing essays that analyze literary works such as poems, plays, or books

Order of Importance

Recall from Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” that order of importance is best used for the following purposes:

Persuading and convincing
Ranking items by their importance, benefit, or significance
Illustrating a situation, problem, or solution

Some key transitional words you should use with this method of organization are most importantly , almost as importantly , just as importantly , and finally .

Spatial Order

As stated in Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?”, spatial order is best used for the following purposes:

Helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it
Evoking a scene using the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound)
Writing a descriptive essay

Pay attention to the following student’s description of her bedroom and how she guides the reader through the viewing process, foot by foot.

Click Image to Enlarge

The paragraph incorporates two objectives you have learned in this chapter: using an implied topic sentence and applying spatial order. Often in a descriptive essay, the two work together.

The following are possible transition words to include when using spatial order:

Just to the left or just to the right
On the left or on the right
Across from
A little further down
To the south, to the east, and so on
A few yards away
Turning left or turning right

Key Takeaways

The way you organize your body paragraphs ensures you and your readers stay focused on and draw connections to, your thesis statement.
A strong organizational pattern allows you to articulate, analyze, and clarify your thoughts.
Planning the organizational structure for your essay before you begin to search for supporting evidence helps you conduct more effective and directed research.
Chronological order is most commonly used in expository writing. It is useful for explaining the history of your subject, for telling a story, or for explaining a process.
Order of importance is most appropriate in a persuasion paper as well as for essays in which you rank things, people, or events by their significance.
Spatial order describes things as they are arranged in space and is best for helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it; it creates a dominant impression.
Successful Writing. Authored by : Anonymous. Provided by : Anonymous. Located at : http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/successful-writing/ . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

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2.4: Organizing Your Writing

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Learning Objectives

Understand how and why organizational techniques help writers and readers stay focused.
Assess how and when to use chronological order to organize an essay.
Recognize how and when to use order of importance to organize an essay.
Determine how and when to use spatial order to organize an essay.

This section covers three ways to organize body paragraphs:

Chronological order
Order of importance
Spatial order

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

Chronological arrangement (also called “time order,”) has the following purposes:

To explain the history of an event or a topic
To tell a story or relate an experience
To explain how to do or to make something
To explain the steps in a process

Chronological order is mostly used in expository writing, which is a form of writing that narrates, describes, informs, or explains a process. When using chronological order, arrange the events in the order that they actually happened, or will happen if you are giving instructions. This method requires you to use words such as first, second, then, after that, later, and finally. These transition words guide you and your reader through the paper as you expand your thesis.

WRITING AT WORK

Exercise $\PageIndex{1}$

Keep in mind that chronological order is most appropriate for the following purposes:

Writing essays containing heavy research
Writing essays with the aim of listing, explaining, or narrating
Writing essays that analyze literary works such as poems, plays, or books

Exercise $\PageIndex{2}$

ORDER OF IMPORTANCE

Order of importance is best used for the following purposes:

Persuading and convincing
Ranking items by their importance, benefit, or significance
Illustrating a situation, problem, or solution

Some key transitional words you should use with this method of organization are most importantly, almost as importantly, just as importantly, and finally.

Exercise $\PageIndex{3}$

SPATIAL ORDER

Spatial order is best used for the following purposes:

Helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it
Evoking a scene using the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound)
Writing a descriptive essay

Pay attention to the following student’s description of her bedroom and how she guides the reader through the viewing process, foot by foot.

The paragraph incorporates two objectives you have learned in this chapter: using an implied topic sentence and applying spatial order. Often in a descriptive essay, the two work together.

The following are possible transition words to include when using spatial order:

Just to the left or just to the right
On the left or on the right
Across from
A little further down
To the south, to the east, and so on
A few yards away
Turning left or turning right

key takeaways

The way you organize your body paragraphs ensures you and your readers stay focused on and draw connections to, your thesis statement.
A strong organizational pattern allows you to articulate, analyze, and clarify your thoughts.
Planning the organizational structure for your essay before you begin to search for supporting evidence helps you conduct more effective and directed research.
Chronological order is most commonly used in expository writing. It is useful for explaining the history of your subject, for telling a story, or for explaining a process.
Order of importance is most appropriate in a persuasion paper as well as for essays in which you rank things, people, or events by their significance.
Spatial order describes things as they are arranged in space and is best for helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it; it creates a dominant impression.
This section was originally Chapter 9 from Writing for Success, found at the University of Minnesota open textbook project. Full license information: This is a derivative of Writing for Success by a publisher who has requested that they and the original author not receive attribution, originally released and is used under CC BY-NC-SA. This work, unless otherwise expressly stated, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License .

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Spatial Order Organization: What Is It and How to Use it in Essay Writing

Table of contents

According to Merriam-Webster , spatial order organization is the process of relating to space and the objects in it. In writing, it refers to a method in which ideas and elements are laid down logically according to the sequence of their location or their relationship.

Spatial order organization is like putting a disarray of elements into one specific order. It's like fitting pieces of a puzzle together to create a compelling story.

Yes, something like that.

In this article, you will learn more about what spatial order organization is and how you can use it while writing essays for high school and college.

What is Spatial Order Organization

For any kind of essay assignment, grammar, choice of words, information, and also research findings are the main characteristics that students focus on. Similarly, laying down the information in a logical order is also equally indispensable and shouldn’t be sidelined.

Unlike chronological order and other methods of writing, spatial order does not rely on time but is instead solely dependent on the location of the objects. To implement spatial order in your essays and other writing assignments, your information needs to be in an organized format and should showcase the ideas of the writer in a logical flow. It should convey the exact situation as it was observed the first time. This writing format is mostly used for descriptive essays.

Let’s take a look at a few advantages and disadvantages of spatial order organization.

Advantages of Spatial Order Organization in Writing

There might be times when you would have to describe and involve a lot of objects in your scene setting. In the absence of spatial order, this could lead to confusion for you and your professors, who would not be able to follow the sequence of your description. Spatial order results in clear writing.
A scene can be completely described using logical order. Through this logic, your professors will understand the content of your essay, no matter how complex the event or scene is.
The use of transition and signal words in spatial order essays is highly necessary as they connect all the ideas and details of the essay and enhance the readability of your paper.

Disadvantages of Spatial Order Organization in Writing

Due to the usage of sequence and order in the writing pattern of your essays, reading it can become monotonous. Hence, using it for long texts and essays should be avoided.
When the writer showcases all the elements of the spatial order essay in a particular arrangement, equal weight is distributed to all these elements. So, if the writer wants to emphasize on a specific aspect of the scene, or draw attention to a particular subject in the essay, they would not be able to frame that essay easily.

How to Effectively Use Spatial Order Organization in Writing?

‘Spatial order organization’ sounds fancy, but how do you use it appropriately while writing your essays? Here are six essential tips to help you use them correctly to enhance your writing.

1. Select an interesting topic

To write an attention-grabbing paragraph, you need to write on a subject that converges with the spatial organization. Brainstorming is an excellent method to come up with various topic ideas and figure out a basic content structure.

When you write your ideas down, you visually explore the concepts before making a final decision. Ask yourself a few questions:

What do you want to write about?
How will this be relevant to whoever reads it?
Will this topic be of interest to your readers?

2. Structure an outline

Creating an outline should be your next step, as this will make your content flow, give it direction and make it look more organized.

Don't digress from your chosen topic. Digressing will make you lose focus on your spatial structure and content, which will end up creating a negative impression of your effort.

3. Share references and examples

If you’re finding it difficult to write the content for your chosen topic, use references from the internet that will assist in forming your spatial essay.

In these types of essays, visual cues are extremely important. Since these are descriptive in nature, you would majorly be describing an event, a place, a thing, or a situation. Giving examples and references within the body will guide your readers in understanding and literally visualizing what you want to say.

Ensure that you pick a starting point and an ending point so that you can arrange all the details properly for your body paragraph.

Here’s a useful video by IELTS Liz on how to use examples in your essay

4. Construct the body paragraphs

Structuring your body paragraphs is vital. In spatial-order essays, writers have the freedom to choose any sequence, side, or process.

They can choose not to write the essay from the main character’s point of view as well as start the essay from the ending. But remember that the body paragraphs should provide clear divisions or chronological steps.

To make it easier for your readers to understand the sequence of the essay, transitional words in the body paragraphs are used to create a relationship between the full-blown information present and the concepts that are to be expanded. That gives you a high-scoring essay.

5. Use transition and signal words

The usage of transition words and signal words in spatial-order essays is very crucial. They are necessary to link the ideas of the writer and make the paragraph more coherent.

Transition words and spatial order essays go hand in hand, as they make it easier to interpret the entire scenario that the writers are trying to describe to their readers. They also help in assisting the readers in reading the essay in a spatial, logical order.

Here are some examples of transition words:

In spite of
In contrast to
At the same time

Signal words, on the other hand, are prepositions that denote the location, place, and position of the subject in view. Here are a few examples of spatial order signal words:

Across from
On the left
On the right
Attached to
At the top of
At that point

6. Personalize and make it self-explanatory

As you craft your spatial order essay, add a note of personalization to your paragraphs. Since these kinds of essays are laid down in a particular order and can get predictable, including personal tones and phrases can help your essay become relatable and more enjoyable.

For example, if you are writing about your college dorm room, you need to add a bit of your personality in your writing. Through this, the readers will latch on to your emotions and that personal touch, making it possible for them to visualize every detail from the writer’s point of view.

Thus, they could conjure up a visual description of your dorm room.

Now that you know the methods to keep in mind while creating a spatial order organization essay, here is an example of the same to get a clearer idea:

“ When you walk into my room, the first thing you’ll see is a queen-sized bed with its back against the wall. As you go further, you will notice an indigo carpet on the floor, right at the foot of the bed.

On the right-hand side of the bed, on the wall, you will see eight photographs of my family and friends and a large wall hanging beside it. When you look over to the left side of the bed, you will see a beautiful antique clock and my guitar placed right underneath it.

Facing the exit, there are two brown cupboards on your right and a full-body mirror leaning next to it. ”

In this passage, the reader can clearly visualize where all the items in the room are placed as they have been enlisted in the order of their location. Spatial order essays thus give structure to the description and paint a picture for the readers, making it easier to comprehend.

Spatial order organization is a primal factor for writing descriptive, logically sequenced essays.

There are many who don't focus on the sequence of their essay, and there are many who have never heard of spatial order.

These essential tips will help you use spatial order organization in your essay writing, giving you an edge over other students in class. The logical sequencing will enhance the quality of your essay and is sure to leave your teachers impressed.

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V. Process and Organization

5.1 Methods of Organizing Your Writing

Kathryn Crowther; Lauren Curtright; Nancy Gilbert; Barbara Hall; Tracienne Ravita; and Terri Pantuso

Now that you’ve identified your topic, it’s time to focus on how to best organize the information. Keep in mind that the method of organization for essays and paragraphs is just as important as content. When you begin to draft an essay or paragraph, your ideas may seem to flow from your mind in a seemingly random manner. However, your readers, who bring to the table different backgrounds, viewpoints, and ideas, need you to clearly organize these ideas to help them draw connections between the body and the thesis . A solid organizational pattern not only helps readers to process and accept your ideas, but also gives your ideas a path that you can follow as you develop your essay (or paragraph). Knowing how you will organize your paragraphs allows you to better express and analyze your thoughts. In addition, planning the structure of your essay before you choose supporting evidence helps you conduct more effective and targeted research. This section covers three ways to organize both essays and paragraphs: chronological order, order of importance, and spatial order.

Chronological Order

Chronological arrangement has the following purposes:

To explain the history of an event or a topic;
To tell a story or relate an experience;
To explain how to do or to make something;
To explain the steps in a process.

Chronological order is used mostly in expository writing which is a form of writing that narrates, describes, informs, or explains a process. When using chronological order, arrange the events in the order that they actually happened, or will happen if you are giving instructions. This method requires you to use words such as first , second , then , after that , later , and finally . These transitional words guide you and your reader through the paper as you expand your thesis. For example, if you are writing an essay about the history of the airline industry, you would begin with its conception and detail the essential timeline events up until present day. You would follow the chain of events using words such as first, then, next, and so on.

Keep in mind that chronological order is most appropriate for the following purposes:

Writing essays containing heavy research;
Writing essays with the aim of listing, explaining, or narrating;
Writing essays that analyze literary works such as poems, plays, or books.

When using chronological order, your introduction should indicate the information you will cover and should also establish the relevance of the information. Your body paragraphs should then provide clear divisions or steps in chronology. You can divide your paragraphs by time (such as decades, wars, or other historical events) or by the same structure of the work you are examining (such as a line-by-line explication of a poem).

Order of Importance

Order of importance is best used for the following purposes:

Persuading and convincing;
Ranking items by their importance, benefit, or significance;
Illustrating a situation, problem, or solution.

Most essays move from the least to the most important point, and the paragraphs are arranged in an effort to build the essay’s strength. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to begin with the most important supporting point, such as in an essay that contains a thesis that is highly debatable. When writing a persuasive essay, it is best to begin with the most important point because it immediately captivates your readers and compels them to continue reading.

For example, if you were supporting your thesis that homework is detrimental to the education of high school students, you would want to present your most convincing argument first, and then move on to the less important points for your case. During your career, you may be required to work on a team that devises a strategy for a specific goal of your company, such as increasing profits. When planning your strategy you should organize your steps in order of importance. This demonstrates the ability to prioritize and plan. Using the order of importance technique also shows that you can create a resolution with logical steps for accomplishing a common goal.

Spatial Order

Spatial order is best used for the following purposes:

Helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it;
Evoking a scene using the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound);
Writing a descriptive essay.

Spatial order means that you explain or describe objects as they are arranged around you in your space, for example in a bedroom. As the writer, you create a picture for your readers, and their perspective is the viewpoint from which you describe what is around you. The view must move in an orderly, logical progression, giving the reader clear directional signals to follow from place to place. The key to using this method is to choose a specific starting point and then to guide the reader to follow your eye as it moves in an orderly trajectory from your starting point.

Pay attention to the following student’s description of her bedroom and how she guides the reader through the viewing process, foot by foot.

Example of Spatial Order Organization

Attached to my back bedroom wall is a small wooden rack dangling with red and turquoise necklaces that shimmer as I enter. Just to the right of the rack, billowy white curtains frame a large window with a sill that ends just six inches from the floor. The peace of such an image is a stark contrast to my desk, sitting to the right of the window, layered in textbooks, crumpled papers, coffee cups, and an overflowing ashtray. Turning my head to the right, I see a set of two bare windows that frame the trees outside the glass like a three-dimensional painting. Below the windows is an oak chest from which blankets and scarves are protruding. Against the wall opposite the billowy curtains is an antique dresser, on top of which sits a jewelry box and a few picture frames. A tall mirror attached to the dresser takes up much of the lavender wall.

The paragraph incorporates two objectives: using an implied topic sentence and applying spatial order. Often in a descriptive essay, the two objectives work together.

The following are possible transition words to include when using spatial order.

Table 5.1.1: Spatial Order Transition Words

This section contains material from:

Crowther, Kathryn, Lauren Curtright, Nancy Gilbert, Barbara Hall, Tracienne Ravita, and Kirk Swenson. Successful College Composition . 2nd edition. Book 8. Georgia: English Open Textbooks, 2016. http://oer.galileo.usg.edu/english-textbooks/8 . Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License .

A statement, usually one sentence, that summarizes an argument that will later be explained, expanded upon, and developed in a longer essay or research paper. In undergraduate writing, a thesis statement is often found in the introductory paragraph of an essay. The plural of thesis is theses .

5.1 Methods of Organizing Your Writing Copyright © 2022 by Kathryn Crowther; Lauren Curtright; Nancy Gilbert; Barbara Hall; Tracienne Ravita; and Terri Pantuso is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

Want to create or adapt books like this? Learn more about how Pressbooks supports open publishing practices.

6.2 Organizing Ideas

This section of Ch. 6 covers the following topics:

developing a thesis
using a critical question
constructing an outline
organizing options

Prewriting helps a writer explore possible topics and figure out what to say. But to communicate ideas to someone else, those ideas have to be organized. That is the goal of a thesis statement and an outline.

Step 2: Organizing

The first step in organizing is to articulate your purpose. What are you going to say about this topic?

Thesis Statement

A thesis is a clear statement of the essay’s main idea. It is the essay topic and the writer’s position or opinion on that topic. It’s sort of like the topic sentence of a paragraph, but it’s the topic sentence for the entire essay.

Here is an example thesis:

Urban trees are key to a healthy environment for humans. (The topic is “trees in the city” and your opinion is that they are crucial to human health.)

A thesis is not just the essay’s topic; it is what you have to say about that topic, your point. Look at the following table to see the difference.

Each thesis states an opinion. It is not just a fact; it is the writer’s thoughts, feelings, or position about the topic.

The job of a thesis is to generate and govern the essay. To generate something is to cause it to be created. To govern something is to control it. A thesis statement creates and controls the essay.

Following are guidelines for a strong, clear thesis statement:

A thesis is one sentence. The subject of the thesis is the subject of your essay. Write it first. (For example: “Mail-in voting…”)
A thesis must include an opinion, the point you will make about your subject. Write it second. (For example: “…should be required in every state.”) If the thesis is simply a fact (“Americans over the age of 18 can vote.”), you have nowhere to go.
A good thesis will generate a critical question, either “How?” or “Why?” This is the question you will answer in the body of the essay. A good critical question for our example thesis is “Why?” The body paragraphs will explain why mail-in voting should be required.
A good thesis is clear and specific. Avoid vague language (“interesting,” “terrible,” “good”). In our example, “should be required” is much clearer than “would be a good idea.”
Keep the thesis short and simple: Don’t tackle two or three ideas. Our example thesis does not say mail-in voting should be “encouraged and monitored”–it picks one focus: “required.”
Express the thesis as a statement, not a question (don’t write “What should we do about…?”) or an announcement (don’t write “The subject of this paper is…”).
Be aware of your audience. Take a stand without insulting the reader. (“Only anarchists support mail-in voting” is unnecessarily offensive.) The goal of an essay is to inform and persuade, not be belligerent. If you can’t make a point without insulting people who disagree with you, you will never persuade anyone.

The thesis is usually presented in the essay’s introductory paragraph, often as the last sentence.

Using the topic you identified in Ch. 6.1, write a thesis statement for your essay. Follow the above guidelines carefully. Your goal is to explain your position on this topic clearly and succinctly.

Although you are only writing a single sentence, this will likely take you some time to do well. Creating a good, clear thesis is the first step in producing a good, clear essay.

Write your thesis in your notebook. Figure out whether you are going to answer “Why?” or “How?” in the essay, and write that word at the end of your thesis. Submit this to the instructor for approval before proceeding to the next step.

Without clear organization, your reader can become confused and lose interest. An outline is a written plan for the essay. We use the critical question generated by the thesis to create the outline. For example:

Thesis: Mail-in voting should be required in every state.

Critical question: Why?

Answer: Because it is cheaper, easier, and safer.

Those three answers become the three main points in the outline and, eventually, the topic sentences of the body paragraphs.

A short, informal “scratch” outline, where you list key ideas in the order you will present them, will help you visualize your argument and ensure the structure will be clear to a reader. Here is a basic structure for a five-paragraph essay:

Paragraph 1: introduction, thesis statement

Paragraph 2: first main point and supporting detail

Paragraph 3: next main point and supporting detail

Paragraph 4: last main point and supporting detail

Paragraph 5: conclusion

Here is an example of a scratch outline on the topic of mail-in voting:

Example of scratch outline on mail-in voting

It would be easy to turn this outline into an essay draft by simply adding explanations and details to each paragraph.

Ordering Information

Once you know what you want to say, you have to decide in what order to present the information.

There are three basic ways to organize the body of an essay: chronological order, emphatic order, and spatial order.

Chronological order is when events are arranged in the order they actually happen. Chronological order is used for the following purposes:

to explain the history of an event or a topic
to tell a story or relate an experience
to explain how to do or to make something

For example, an essay about the history of the airline industry would begin with its conception and progress through essential events up to present day. This method uses transition words such as “then,” “after that,” and “finally.”

Emphatic order is when your points start with the least important and build to the most important argument last. Emphatic order is best used for the following purposes:

persuading and convincing
ranking items by their benefit or significance
illustrating a situation, problem, or solution

For example, an essay about registering firearms could develop several answers to “Why?” Key transitions with this pattern might be “one reason is,” “just as importantly,” and “but the most important.”

The example outline above on mail-in voting is organized emphatically: it moves from a good reason, to a better one, to the best one. Emphatic order is common in persuasive essays because it allows the writer to increasingly strengthen her argument.

Spatial order means explaining or describing objects as they are arranged in space. Spatial order is less common in college writing and best used for the following purposes:

helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it
evoking a scene using the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, sound)

For example, an essay that describes a microscope or the parts of a guitar would use spatial order. You create a picture for the reader. The view must move in an orderly, logical progression, giving the reader clear directional signals (“to the left is…,” “above that…,” “on the back is…”)

These three options can be used alone or, in a long paper, they can be combined. The key for writers is to choose an organizational pattern consciously, one that will best help them achieve their purpose.

Now it’s time to create an outline for your essay. Your outline should end up looking like the scratch outline above, but it will take several steps to get there.

In your notebook, do the following:

Start with the word “Introduction” followed by your thesis. (Don’t write the actual introduction, just the word. Do write your thesis and the critical question.)
Look at the three options for an organizational pattern listed above: chronological, emphatic, or spatial. Which pattern would best help you explain your point? Pick one. The emphatic pattern is the most common for college writing, but which one you choose is driven by what your topic is. For example, if you decided to write about why the gym facilities at MHCC are great, you might explain how you learned to love the gym over time (chronological), or identify your three favorite pieces of equipment (emphatic), or describe the gym layout so the reader can see it (spatial).
If you chose a chronological pattern, identify three moments in time.
If you chose an emphatic pattern, list three examples and order them from least important to most.
If you chose a spatial pattern, list three parts of your topic following a logical progression.
If the pattern you chose isn’t working, now is the time to change it.
Add some details to each of the three points. As in the example above, don’t write full paragraphs or even full sentences, just words or phrases. This is just a plan, not the actual essay.
Write the word “Conclusion” at the end. (Don’t write the conclusion, just the word.)

This process will take you a couple of hours to do well. Your final product should look like the example scratch outline above.

This is the point when you figure out if the essay is going to work. Is your topic panning out? Is your thesis clear enough? Do you have sufficient details? If not, go back to Ch. 6.1 and do some more prewriting. Do not proceed to Ch. 6.3 until your thesis and outline have been approved by the instructor.

To review how to structure an essay, this exercise asks you to find the structure in an existing essay.

Read the student essay called “The Best Place to Study” by Pablo Medina, linked in Ch. 7.

Create a “reverse outline” for his essay. Dig into the essay to discover the structure: find his thesis, his main points, and his supporting points.

First, find the thesis statement and write it in your notebook. (Hint: It is where it should be: in the introductory paragraph.)
Briefly describe which technique Pablo uses in his introduction (check Ch. 5.3 for a list of options).
Read the first body paragraph, identify the topic sentence, and write it in your notebook. Briefly list the examples Pablo uses in that paragraph.
Do the same for paragraphs three and four.
Identify which organizing structure Pablo used (chronological, emphatic, or spatial) for the essay.
Look at the concluding paragraph. What is he doing there?

You should end up with Pablo’s outline for his essay. Notice how smoothly his essay reads and yet we can easily deconstruct it. That is because he did the work you just created before he drafted his essay. The essay is carefully and clearly built.

A thesis statement is a topic and the writer’s opinion on that topic.
An outline is a plan, a structure for the essay.
Chronological order is common in expository writing.
Emphatic order is most appropriate in a persuasive paper.
Spatial order is best for helping readers visualize something.

a brief statement of the essay's main point

express an idea fluently and coherently

according to time

based on importance

as arranged in space

a type of writing that investigates, evaluates, and explains an idea or topic

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Spatial Order definition and how to use it in Essay Writing: Ultimate guide

In order to write a successful essay, one must first grasp the concept of spatial order. Not only does it help with organization and structure of your paper but also helps you in understanding what is being said.

Understanding this definition will not only give you more success in writing essays but also make you more successful as an individual because it teaches valuable skills like critical thinking and how to think critically about something or someone’s argument which can come up at any time whether it’s at school or work.

What is spatial order?

Spatial order is a term that describes how an essay, diagram or other visual representation should be read from left to right and top to bottom.

The main goal of using spatial order, as it relates to essays, diagrams and pictures, is so that the reader will comprehend what they are seeing without becoming confused by the information on display. Spatial ordering also helps with organization because it ensures that all related pieces of information are grouped together for easy access.

One example of when spatial ordering could come into play would be if we were drawing an organizational chart. Spatial order is often used for description.

Spatial Ordering comes in when an author arranges their ideas in a way that they are logically organized on the page or space. It can be seen in many things from books to essays where they organize information according to topic, chronology, etc.

Purpose and Effect of Spatial Order

The purpose of a spatial order essay is to make sure that readers understand the idea and topic being discussed clearly- This gives an impression that you are concerned for the well-being of your readers and want them to comprehend what you have written regardless if they agree or not with your point of view.
Spatial order essays provide convenience for the eye when it comes to locating information within certain parts since this type of layout makes things more organized; as a result, the reader will feel comfortable knowing that there’s no need to jump from one paragraph to another while in the middle of reading.
Spatial order gives the reader an idea on where they should start reading depending on how many points there are in each section; be it three, five or seven (etc…) In this way, no one will get confused while understanding what you wrote because everything is nicely organized based on numbers and headings/subheadings.

Spatial ordering problem in writing

When you are writing an essay, it’s never enough to just write down what comes to mind.

What usually happens after this is that you realize how disorganized your paper looks like up until that time when you know there are some sections or parts of the whole thesis or argument which you may have forgotten about.

This kind of situation will give unnecessary stress to both parties especially if deadlines are involved. If possible avoid putting yourself into this situation as much as possible; try not to rush things so much when doing your assignment or project at work for example. Here is a good way on how to use the spatial order concept effectively in your writing.

Spatial Order Definition and how to use it in Essay Writing By definition, a spatial order essay is an aspect of writing that gives you with options on how to organize things both horizontally as well as vertically.

Spatial Ordering in Speech

Spatial ordering in speech is the process of organizing and sequencing one’s thoughts to make them clear and easy to understand.

It is often used for speech writing projects or persuasive essay writing since it makes it more organized and easier to follow. It is used in writing and speaking, but it is probably more common for speech writing since most speeches are spoken rather than written.

Spatial ordering has three main parts:

First or beginning thoughts on a subject are stated at the beginning of the speech or essay
Important supporting points that help prove your idea are grouped together. Each new thought flows into the next without any hesitation or pause, just like talking to someone. It should be clear what each point relates to without having to refer back to previous sentences.
The end of an essay or speech is where you summarize your ideas and restate your thesis statement, even though this information may have been presented earlier in the piece. This can be used to restate your views or change them as needed.

How to write a spatial order essay or composition in 4 steps

The process of writing a paper can be simplified into the following steps:

Organize your ideas

Make sure that every section includes one idea or more than that but make sure these ideas are linked together. This means that it is vital to know what information you should include for each part.

For example, if you are writing about dogs and cats; then you have sections namely “pros” and “cons”. Within these sections, there should be arguments who support your thesis.

Organize your ideas into two columns

Make sure that the headings are well and clearly explained with enough examples. This is going to serve as a reference for you when writing the rest of your paper.

Number every point under each heading or subheading

This will give readers an idea on where they should start reading depending on how many points there are in each section; be it three, five or seven (etc…) In this way, no one will get confused while understanding what you wrote because everything is nicely organized based on numbers and headings/subheadings.

Thesis statements, arguments and supporting reasons must be numbered so that the reader won’t have any difficulty finding only at a certain section and not the whole paper.

Organize list of items or arguments that are related to a given subheading in an order

This is commonly seen in most customer’s requirements when preparing their thesis statements , essays and articles. It needs to be done in a systematic fashion; put what you think will give value to your readers first then followed by points or other lists after it.

Ordering things by time ( chronological , reverse chronological, alphabetical etc..) can also be implemented if this is stated clearly as such by the client/customer who hired you for this task.

Spatial Order example sentences

Room Description

When you walk in the door to my bedroom, you’ll notice a lot of things. First is that bed which looms large on the wall before me – it’s got an old mattress with pillows and blankets piled high for maximum comfort. Next is the floor beneath your feet: grey carpet so soft and plushy underfoot, like walking through heaven! To one side are two windows where I can catch glimpses outside while daydreaming or reading; just off from them sits a cozy chair perfect for lounging around when there isn’t any other place to go chill out except maybe college dorm rooms…not every night though because sometimes getting home means sprawling across this comfy-cozy settee by yourself until sleepiness takes over.

Climate Regions

There are six major climate regions, and each has a unique plant life. In the most northern latitudes is polar climates with no plants at all; nearby there’s cold tundra that can be found in parts of Asia and North America where shrubs and grasses grow abundantly. The adjacent temperate zones have forested environments with rich diversity of flora like trees, flowers, bushes etcetera which will never go extinct because it lives under perfect conditions for their survival (which includes rainforest).

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Space Order in Descriptive Text (Sample Questions and Answers)

Definition of Spatial Order in Descriptive Essay – Description essay is a genre of essay that gives an idea of something, objects, people, etc. If you want to be able to write a good description essay, then there are numerous things you should pay attention to, and one of them is Spatial Order.

What is the Spatial Order? And how do you use it in the descriptive essay? Without any further, here’s the complete explanation of spatial order in descriptive essay.

Table of Contents

Definition of Spatial Order in Descriptive Essay

Imagine if you were standing at the door of your class. How would you describe your classroom to someone who has never seen it? Here are some possibilities:

You might start describing your classroom starting from the left side of the classroom door and explaining further clockwise to the right and ending at the class door again.
You might start describing at the front of the class first, starting from describing the blackboard, the teacher’s desk, and the area around the teacher’s desk. Then you will describe the student desk and chair in the middle of the room, then finally you will describe the wall / window on the back or side of the room.

The two examples above are Spatial Order. Below are kinds of spatial orders or signal words that you can use to write a good descriptive essay:

Top to bottom
Bottom to top
Far to near
Near to far
Right to left
Left to right
Outside to inside
Inside to outside

Topic, Controlling Idea, and Concluding Sentence in Descriptive Essay

The sentence topic usually describes the name of a person, place, or object. While controlling idea usually provides general information, such as messy , interesting , beautiful , busy , crowded , noisy , and so on.

Take a look at these sentences below :

That was an example about topic and controlling idea , whereas the concluding sentence contains an idea that is repeated in the main sentence.

For example:

To sum up, everyone doubts the old house in this village will survive one more winter.
The little children and their teacher were very relieved when they got out of the cave.

Sample Question About Spatial Order

Read the following description of a person. Then answer the questions about the organization of the paragraph that follow.

My Tall Nephew

My nephew is extremely tall-six feet, six inches tall, to be exact. He has short, light brown, and curly hair, and blue eyes. He has straight nose, and his mouth curls into a smile easily. He usually wears casual clothes, the same as typical of young people everywhere: a T-shirt and jeans. You can read the name of his school in red and blue letters on the front of his shirt. You notice that his jeans are a little too short as your eyes move down his long legs. Perhaps he can’t buy pants to fit his long legs and narrow waist, or perhaps he doesn’t care much about clothes. On his feet, he wears sneakers. His sneakers that were used to be white when they were new, now are gray with age. My nephew is not a casual person despite his casual clothes. He stands tall and straight, and you think to yourself, “This is a strong and confident young man.”

1. Analyze the topic sentence. Underline the topic with one line and the controlling idea with double line.

2. What is the nephew’s most noticeable physical feature?

__________________________________________________________________

3. Which sentence is the concluding sentence?

4. What word in the topic sentence is repeated in the concluding sentence?

5. What kind of spatial order does the writer of this paragraph use?

My nephew is extremely tall-six feet, six inches tall, to be exact.
His tall figure.
The concluding sentence is: He stands tall and straight, and you think to yourself, “This is a strong and confident young man.”
The word tall is repeated in both topic and concluding sentence.
The writer use top to bottom as the spatial order.

That was our explanation about spatial order in descriptive essay, along with sample questions and answers. We hope this article is helpful and thanks for reading!

What is Spatial Order? Description and Examples

Our topic for today is about spatial order! For this guide, I will tackle the definition of spatial order. Moreover, I will teach you how to write one and provide you examples to illustrate what I mean. Fasten your seatbelt, for the class is in session!

This is the flow of my guide:

Contents (Clickable)

What Is a Descriptive Essay?

Let’s have a short review of descriptive essays, as spatial order essays are useful in the latter. Descriptive essays, according to the Purdue OWL, are defined as a genre in which students are tasked to describe an object, experience, a person, and many more.

In a descriptive essay, you have to paint a picture of what you are trying to convey to the reader. Your reader has to have a mental image of what you are trying to describe.

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what is spatial order.

In spatial order essays, objects are arranged according to their respective positions from your perspective. You can start from the left or to the right, it’s up to you.

Let’s say that Object #1 is located to the left while Object #2 is in front of the former. See what I mean?

Your objective is to provide your reader a mental image of where the objects are located. Simply put, you have to be the visual tour guide.

List of Signal Words for Spatial Order Essays

There are various signal words that are useful in writing your spatial order essays. Here are some signal words for you:

To the left
To the right
Parallel to
Adjacent to
To the side

Although this is not a comprehensive list of signal words, these words are commonly seen in spatial order essays. Nevertheless, please take note of these signal words that signifies the location of an object.

Browse and download essay examples from the most full and up to date Free Online Essay Database at Homework Lab . All the examples of college essays have been donated by the students to boost your writing creativity.

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spatial order essay outline.

I will be creating an outline to help you in writing your spatial order essay. As always, this is only a basic outline. It is subject to change depending on your preferences.

Let us pretend that we are observing the objects you see in a dining room.

Object #1 (Ex: wall)
Object #2 (Ex: picture frames)
Object #1 (Ex: cabinet filled with porcelain)
Object #2 (Ex: large vase)

Across/Front

Object #1 (Ex: table)
Object #2 (Ex: Chairs)
Object #3 (Ex: Plates of food)

Do you see what I did there?

An outline helps if you want your thoughts to be organized, or if you want your essay to have a consistent flow.

How to Write a Spatial Order Essay?

I will be teaching you the basics of writing a spatial order essay. Yes, this tutorial is caters to beginners of spatial order writing.

1 Ask yourself!

Simply put, brainstorm! What do you want to write about? Do you like to describe your room? Or a big city in your imagination? It’s your call.

2 References

References can be your own photos or from the internet, even your own drawings!

If it’s your drawing, make sure it is related. A drawing of your own anime character is not counted, unless that character is part of a scene (Ex: City or inside a shop)

If it’s the latter, then you can write about it from that character’s perspective. Write about what he/she is seeing.

References are there to inspire you and to guide you.

Note: If you are describing your room, and you are IN your room… no need to take a picture.

Again, this is to organize your thoughts and the flow of your essay.

Stick to one location at a time. If you choose “right”, then focus on the said location first.

Have your list of signal words beside you. You will need it.

Don’t try to use sophisticated vocabulary, unless you know how to use them properly!

Don’t forget to edit if you see mistakes in your essay.

It’s time to write examples of spatial order essays. I will keep things simple just for you. Let’s start with a topic… I’ll write about the objects I see in front of my study table!

“On the far right corner of my study table, there is a five-layer drawer with a faded Mickey Mouse as its design. On its right sat my sibling’s dusty pink dollhouse. A two-foot black electric fan is placed just beside the dollhouse. My functioning black laptop is located just next to it, in a vain effort to cool off the device. My phone enclosed in a blue protective case and a black fine-toothed comb are nearby. My unzipped gray laptop is leaning on a row of books like a rag doll. Behind the aforementioned items are a row of books- textbooks, manga, fiction, and non-fiction. Their colorful spines decorated my study table with life. My bubble wrapped wooden sword is on top of the row of books. My pocket power supply decorated in white and green lays next to my wooden sword. A purple hairbrush is right next to it, followed by a stack of papers. A book about political theories and my furry frog pencil case lay on top of the papers.”

Okay, that was longer than I thought. The length does not matter unless your professor specified a word count. This is going to be our second example. I’m going to describe the objects I see in my room!

“In front of me is my wide wooden study table spanning from my window until about two feet away from the door. A faded Mickey Mouse drawer and a pink dollhouse sat on my study table. My study table is decorated with books I’ve acquired throughout the years. Above the study table is a wooden platform. The platform is adorned with a row of books. A foot above the row of books is my clock, hooked properly on the white wall. In front of the books are two plastic figures of ponies. The first figure is shorter. The color of its mane is a vibrant shade of pink, violet, and yellow. The second is taller by an inch or two. The blue and pink locks of mane are neatly tied in a braid. A row of seven picture frames are beside the tall action figure. Under the table is a huge purple container packed with old clothes. Above the cover of the container are pillows wrapped in a protective transparent cover. To my left is a three-foot dark brown cabinet containing my sibling’s activity books. An assortment of toys adorned the top of the cabinet. A glass bedroom table is right next to it. A large blue container filled with my costumes and props for cosplay sat beside it. My red-eared sliders are in an aquarium next to the container. The latter is supported with a steel platform. Below the platform is a blue electric fan, a trash can is stationed right beside it. To my right is a wooden cabinet constructed between a plastic five-layer drawer and a dressing table. A miniature plastic drawer containing keys and accessories is displayed at the left corner of the dressing table. On the other hand, an apple green chest containing a pouch and trinkets is located at the right corner. A long rectangular mirror is suspended on the wall just above the dressing table. It is situated between two Styrofoam stars.” There goes my second example!

For beginners, you can try to describe your room or your study table. If you have a picture of your favorite place, you can start with that too.

I would like to say: c ongratulations! You have reached the end of my guide.

Now you know that spatial order essays are spatial in their own way. You can describe your favorite place or your room using spatial organization. You can paint a picture using words.

I believe it takes time and practice to master this type of essay. Remember to keep learning! Learning doesn’t stop. Good luck on your assignments!

See you next time, dear readers!

Examples of Spatial Order – With Outline

Published by Boni on November 7, 2022 November 7, 2022

A spatial order is an organizational style that helps in the presentation of ideas or things as is in their locations. Most students struggle to understand the meaning of spatial order in writing and have a hard time putting ideas in the best manner possible to produce an excellent essay. Gudwriter has the best fast essay writing service with a pool of qualified experts ready to make your school life smooth by crafting quality papers that guarantee good grades.

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Example 1: A Description of My Study Desk

A description of my study desk outline.

Right

three-layer cabinet
pale orange dollhouse,
fading teddy bear
white electric fan
grey laptop
green fine-toothed brush
nonfunctional laptop
row of books
steel dagger

Adjacent to

On top of

A description of my study desk

There is a three-layer cabinet with a fading teddy bear on it in the extreme right corner of my study desk. My niece’s pale orange dollhouse is positioned on its right. Near the dollhouse is a white electric fan. I have my working grey laptop right next to the electric fan, in an attempt to keep the device’s temperature low. A green fine-toothed brush and my phone, which is protected by a black cover, are nearby. My black nonfunctional laptop is leaning against a stack of textbooks.

There is a row of books behind the aforementioned objects, including novels, comics, fantasy, and non-fiction. My study desk is adorned with vitality by the books’ colorful edges. I have my steel dagger in plastic wrap atop the row of books. The steel dagger is adjacent to my violet and indigo-decorated pocket power bank. Next to the power bank is a blue hairbrush, then a stack of old newspapers. The newspapers are on top of a book about the world’s hidden communities.

Example 2: A Description of My Bedroom

My large wooden study desk sits in front of me, and it extends from my window to the door, about one meter away. On my study desk are an orange dollhouse and a fading Mickey Mouse drawer. The desk is adorned with books that I have collected over a couple of years. It also has a wooden platform above it. A stack of books is placed along the platform. My clock is mounted perfectly on the pink wall about two feet above the stack of books. Two plastic pony figures are displayed in front of the stack of books. The first pony is smaller. Its mane is a brilliant shade of yellow, pink, and indigo. The second is about two inches taller. The mane’s pink and blue hair is tidily braided. Beside the towering action figure is a row of six image frames. A sizeable blue bucket filled with used clothing is under the table. Pillows that are protected by a transparent cover are placed above the container’s cover.

A three-foot-tall, pitch-black cabinet to my left holds my sisters’ activity books. The top of the cabinet is ornamented with a variety of toys. Close to the cabinet is a glass bedside table. Next to the table is a huge green container that contains my cosplay outfits and accessories. Adjacent to the container is an aquarium with my bright-colored slider fish. There is a wooden cabinet to my right, between a dressing table and a four-layer plastic drawer. At the right corner of the table is a tiny plastic drawer with keys and other essentials. The left corner has a sky-blue chest with a purse and various treasures. Above the dressing table is a long triangular mirror mounted on the wall. It is positioned in the middle of two Styrofoam stars.

Example 3: A Description of My New Kitchen

The color of my new kitchen is a stunning rich crimson. A large sink with a dishwashing machine on the right side is located in the center of the wall. On the left, adjacent to the dishwashing machine, is the refrigerator. The three cabinets over the sink are the most gorgeous items in my kitchen. They have lamps inside of them, which I switch on in the morning and at night. The microwave and stove are located to the right of the sink. There is an open area with a sizable dining table close to the stove. At the dining table are six chairs. I keep my tableware, unused dishes, and the dining tablecloth in four drawers that are close to the table. Two little vertically open cabinets that are just above the drawers are filled with several cups for various drinks. There are a few cupboards to the left of the drawers where the frying pots, teapots, saucepans, and griddles are kept.

Resources to Explore

How to quickly write an essay
How to write a last minute essay
How to tame a Wild Tongue – summary and response
Naturalistic observation essay example
Organizational culture essay

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Home » Home » Crafting an Essay in APA Style: A Comprehensive Guide

Crafting an Essay in APA Style: A Comprehensive Guide

By Space Coast Daily // May 22, 2024

In the realm of academic writing, mastering various styles of organization and formatting is imperative for achieving excellence. Each style brings its own unique characteristics, demanding meticulous attention to detail.

Through this guide, students will gain a deep understanding of how to effectively navigate the intricacies of writing in APA format, ensuring originality and adherence to scholarly standards.

Deciphering APA Format for Essays

The American Psychological Association (APA) introduced its distinctive style for formatting articles and academic papers, laying out its foundations in the seminal Publication Manual first published in 1929. Since then, the APA standards have evolved, culminating in the current 7th edition, which serves as the definitive guide for disciplines ranging from Psychology to Education and beyond. APA style has become ubiquitous, particularly in medical journals, educational literature, and related fields, reflecting its broad applicability and influence.

Navigating the Nuances of APA Format

The 7th edition of APA standards offers comprehensive guidance on various facets of academic writing, including:

Margin and spacing protocols
Structural organization of content
Implementation of author-date citation
Compilation of a meticulously curated reference list

Embracing the Essence of APA Style

Mastering APA format entails adhering to a set of rigorous guidelines, such as utilizing Times New Roman as the standard font, maintaining uniform one-inch margins or larger, and ensuring consistent double-spacing throughout the document. Moreover, punctilious attention to punctuation rules is paramount, necessitating continuous reference to the latest edition of the APA Manual for accurate formatting.

Demystifying APA Outline Format

A standard APA essay encompasses a multifaceted structure, comprising essential components such as:

Concluding remarks

While each element is indispensable, their content may vary depending on the subject matter, disciplinary norms, or institutional requirements, thereby fostering a dynamic and adaptable approach to academic writing.

Essential Elements of the Cover Page

The cover page serves as the gateway to the essay, encapsulating vital information including the page header, title, author’s name, and institutional affiliation. Adhering to departmental guidelines and referencing sample cover pages, if available, is instrumental in ensuring compliance with requisite standards.

Optimizing Page Header Formatting

The page header, restricted to 50 characters including spaces, should be meticulously aligned, with the page number elegantly positioned on the right-hand side of each page, thereby imbuing the document with a sense of coherence and professionalism.

Harnessing the Power of Headings and Subheadings

Headings serve as navigational signposts, facilitating the seamless segmentation of content and enhancing readability. APA essay headings are categorized into five distinct levels, each characterized by specific formatting guidelines delineated in the APA instructions, thereby fostering clarity and coherence in scholarly discourse.

Unveiling the Significance of the Abstract

The abstract constitutes a concise synopsis of the essay, encapsulating its core tenets, research methodology, and key findings within a succinct word limit, typically comprising approximately 200 words or 10% of the total word count, thereby providing readers with a succinct yet comprehensive overview of the paper’s central themes and contributions to scholarship.

Structuring the Essay Body for Optimal Impact

Adhering to APA guidelines for body paragraphs entails meticulous attention to detail, encompassing proper indentation, section headers, and pagination, thereby fostering coherence and clarity in scholarly discourse. Moreover, adherence to prescribed formatting conventions ensures that the essay exudes professionalism and rigor, thereby enhancing its credibility and scholarly appeal.

Navigating the Terrain of Tables and Figures

Tables and figures serve as invaluable aids in elucidating complex concepts and enhancing comprehension, provided they are seamlessly integrated into the text and imbued with substantive relevance. Accordingly, tables and figures should be formatted with precision and clarity, with clear numbering, titles, and relevance to the overarching narrative, thereby enhancing the essay’s efficacy as a vehicle for scholarly communication and knowledge dissemination.

Unlocking the Secrets of Successful Writing in APA Format

To optimize the efficacy and impact of the essay, consider the following tips:

Familiarize yourself with the latest edition of the APA Manual or relevant guidelines.
Craft a meticulously detailed cover page that adheres to prescribed formatting standards.
Employ hierarchical headings to delineate the structure of the essay and enhance readability.
Integrate quotations judiciously, adhering to APA formatting guidelines and ensuring seamless integration into the broader narrative.
Compile the reference list meticulously, adhering to standard conventions and arranging sources alphabetically by authors’ last names.
Proofread the entire document rigorously, correcting errors in spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting to ensure maximal clarity and professionalism.
Seek feedback from peers or mentors to identify and address any weaknesses in the content or structure of the essay, thereby fostering continuous improvement and refinement in scholarly discourse.

By embracing these strategies and guidelines, writers can navigate the intricacies of APA format with confidence and precision, thereby enhancing the efficacy and impact of their scholarly contributions. For additional support and guidance, consider utilizing resources such as Aithor, our college essay generator , to streamline the writing process and optimize scholarly output.

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Indian teen allegedly kills two while drunk driving. As punishment, he was told to write an essay

A nger is growing in India after a teenager who allegedly killed two people while drunk driving was ordered to write an essay as punishment, with many demanding a harsher penalty and accusing the judiciary of leniency.

The 17-year-old boy was allegedly speeding in a Porsche in the city of Pune on Sunday when the vehicle hit a motorcycle, killing two people, according to Maharashtra state’s deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

The minor was taken into custody and later presented to the Juvenile Justice Board, where he was released on bail and given 15 days of community service. He was also asked to write an essay about road safety, Fadnavis said.

“The outrage grew after this. According to police, the boy is 17 years and 8 months. This is a heinous crime,” he told reporters Tuesday, pointing to the 2015 changes to India’s juvenile laws, which allow children above 16 to be tried as adults if they allegedly commit a “heinous” crime.

“This was a surprising order passed (by the Juvenile Justice Board),” Fadnavis said.

CNN has attempted to contact the alleged driver’s lawyer, Prashant Patil, for comment.

Fadnavis added that Pune police are investigating the minor for alleged culpable homicide not amounting to murder. They have also asked the Juvenile Court to review its bail order, he said.

CCTV video, purportedly filmed moments before the crash, shows a white Porsche speeding down a busy main road. People can be seen rushing to the scene of the crash, which is not pictured in the video that was shared widely on social media and broadcast on local news channels.

The minor’s father has been arrested for allegedly allowing his son to drive despite being underage, according to Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar. The legal driving age in India is 18.

Three people who served the minor liquor have also been arrested, Kumar added.

“We have adopted the most stringent possible approach, and we shall do whatever is at our command to ensure that the two young lives that were lost get justice, and the accused gets duly punished,” he said.

The incident has dominated headlines in India and sparked widespread anger, with many taking to social media to condemn the boy’s bail conditions.

Suresh Koshta, whose 24-year-old daughter was killed in the crash, urged authorities to take tougher action against the alleged driver.

“It was wrong (to allow the minor to drive),” he told reporters outside his home, while fighting back tears. “One needs to know how to drive first.”

Rahul Gandhi, the leader of India’s main opposition, the Indian National Congress, questioned whether a bus or taxi driver would be given the same punishment.

“If a 16-17-year-old son of a wealthy household, driving a Porsche under the influence, is caught, he is asked to write an essay,” Gandhi said in a video posted to X. “Why aren’t essays assigned to truck drivers or bus drivers?”

This isn’t the first time a court’s verdict has been scrutinized in this manner.

In 2015, Bollywood superstar Salman Khan, who was facing a lengthy prison sentence for a fatal hit-and-run, got a reprieve when the Bombay High Court tossed out his conviction for lack of evidence, causing widespread outrage.

“On basis of evidences produced by the prosecution, the appellant cannot be convicted, no matter how differently the common man thinks,” the court said.

The hit-and-run incident took place outside a Mumbai bakery in September 2002, with prosecutors saying Khan ran over five sleeping men after losing control of his vehicle. He was returning from a bar after a night of drinking, they said.

The actor said he wasn’t the driver.

One of the victims was killed; the others injured.

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More States Are Turning Off Their Electrical Grids To Prevent Wildfires — But It’s A Delicate Operation

Utilities must learn to communicate their decisions to the public, especially those whose medical care relies on power.

The U.S. power grid is the largest and most complex machine ever built . It’s also aging and under increasing stress from climate-driven disasters such as wildfires, hurricanes and heat waves.

Over the past decade, power grids have played roles in wildfires in multiple states , including California, Hawaii, Oregon and Minnesota. When wind speeds are high and humidity is low, electrical infrastructure such as aboveground power lines can blow into vegetation or spark against other components, starting a fire that high winds then spread.

Power lines on Maui in Kaanapali. (Nathan Eagle/Civil Beat/2023)

Under extreme conditions, utilities may opt to shut off power to parts of the grid in their service areas to reduce wildfire risk. These outages, known as public safety power shutoffs, have occurred mainly in California, where wildfires have become larger and more destructive in recent decades.

On April 5-6, Colorado utility Xcel Energy carried out that state’s first public safety power shutoff , cutting power to thousands of customers ahead of an intense windstorm. Public officials and Xcel customers complained that they had not received enough warning or explanation . Gov. Jared Polis has directed state regulators to investigate the incident and propose better procedures for the future.

I am an electrical and computer engineer , and study efficient operation of power grids. I also live in Boulder County, where a wind-driven wildfire destroyed more than 1,000 homes in 2021 . These shutoffs are likely to become more common in more places as climate-driven weather extremes stress aging grid components. This makes it important to understand and evaluate utilities’ public safety shutoff plans.

An Intricate System

Shutting off power and turning it back on — in utility-speak, de-energizing and re-energizing — requires more than flipping a switch. The power grid is a complex system that maintains a balance in real time between electricity flowing in from generating plants and out to customers.

Power lines don’t have the capacity to store electricity for use later — it has to be used immediately. This makes the grid different from other critical infrastructure. Water networks can hold water in their pipes, and roadways can support cars at a standstill if traffic can’t flow.

Because the grid can’t store electricity, de-energizing and re-energizing have to happen in stages to ensure that changes in the demand side of the power grid are not too rapid for the supply side to adapt to. Power plants can’t turn on instantaneously: Some can start up within minutes, while others take hours, depending on their age, design and the type of fuel they use. And they generally can’t raise their output from 10% of their generating capacity to 90% with the flick of a switch.

When a utility restores power after an outage, it produces a large, instantaneous spike in power use as devices in many homes turn back on. The grid also needs time to adapt to that surge in demand. And utilities may visually inspect power lines to check for damage before restoring power.

The complexities of local grids can make it seem as though these outages are being implemented unevenly or arbitrarily. The distribution transformer serving power to your home may be completely electrically disconnected from the one serving your neighbor across the street, putting your block in the dark while the next block’s lights stay on.

And a utility may cut power because of a risk somewhere in its network that customers can’t see. It’s not always possible for utilities to fine-tune areas where power shutoffs happen.

A MECO warning tag marks a utility pole in the area mauka of the Lahaina Bypass where a wildfire burned near a power station Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023, in Lahaina. A large fire consumed areas of West Maui last week. Utilities have not been fully restored. (Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023)

Creating Shutdown Plans

California has been a test bed of sorts for public safety power shutoffs. The state’s public utility commission approved them in 2012 as a way to mitigate the potential impacts of utility equipment-induced wildfires, and it has issued regulations guiding when utilities can de-energize power lines. The regulations require power companies to notify customers in advance and submit detailed reports within 10 days after each planned blackout.

Millions of Californians have experienced these shutdowns over the past decade. A 2023 review by PSE Healthy Energy, an independent research institute, found that the most-affected counties, mainly in Southern California, average four to five public safety outages yearly , which on average last 48 hours.

Oregon has followed suit, adopting public safety shutdown rules in 2022 , but many other jurisdictions do not yet have formal protocols in place. Instead, these critical decisions rest with utilities. Developing sophisticated plans for public safety outages requires extensive knowledge of a utility’s territory and accurate assessments of which zones are high-risk areas.

Utilities, however, don’t always have abundant sensors in low-voltage distribution grids — the portion of the system that brings power into neighborhoods — and may lack extremely granular control over individual components. In fact, unplanned outages often must be manually reported . Many utilities are installing smart meters, some of which can automatically report outages back to the utility.

Power providers are also taking other steps to strengthen their grids against disasters, such as burying power lines . But depending on the location, this strategy can easily cost up to $1 million per mile for low-voltage distribution grids and millions of dollars per mile for high-voltage transmission lines. These projects require intricate cost-benefit calculations, and their costs ultimately will trickle down to electricity consumers.

Preparing For Public Safety Power Shutdowns

For some people, losing power is a minor inconvenience. For others, it can mean the difference between life or death if they need electricity to keep essential medicine refrigerated, charge a portable oxygen concentrator or maintain their home temperature within a safe range.

Utilities should keep in contact with customers during every step of a public safety shutoff, starting with alerting them to charge essential devices and take other preparatory steps . They also should move people who have medical conditions or other issues that require access to power out of the blackout zone.

To make that kind of cooperation possible, utilities will need better insight into the state of the distribution grid, more detailed models of their systems, and improved measurement and sensing strategies that can help them develop accurate and granular assessments of wildfire risk.

Finally, utilities will need to make their decisions more transparent. No one likes losing power, so it is essential for ratepayers to understand why and how these outages happen and what their utility is doing to provide power as safely and reliably as possible.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article .

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Covering the business and politics of space

It’s time to figure out global space traffic management

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AI-generated image showing a huge swarm of satellites orbiting Earth.

The recent acquisition of geospatial intelligence firm Orbital Insight, which has a satellite imagery search engine platform, by Privateer, the Steve Wozniak startup that came out of stealth to raise $56 million in Series A funding, may have important consequences for how we manage space traffic.. It stresses end-to-end vertical integration, cross-functionality, and newfound alignment between the Earth observation segment thanks to the two companies’ focus on imagery and analytics aggregation, space traffic management and situational awareness.

As originally reported by Reuters, this will see Orbital’s TerraScope Earth observation platform — a search engine of aggregated satellite imagery — combined with Privateer’s satellite-tracking software.

This acquisition can be seen as a case of diversification and streamlining business opportunities. But can it, even inadvertently, create greater awareness of the need for a normative order for space traffic management? Establishing one would be a prerequisite for laying down liability clauses for issues regarding orbital debris, and making it possible for companies to operate in space in a more thoughtful manner.

Space Wild West?

Privateer Space’s name conjures the autonomous spirit of footloose and intrepid navigators. The company tracks satellites and orbital space debris in real time, providing a view of satellites in orbit on its Wayfarer app. This information is crucial for collision avoidance and orbital maneuvering.

The exponential increase in satellite launches, and the modern world’s reliance on the eyes in the sky for everything from disaster management and supply chain monitoring to defense create another mounting problem: space debris.

This junk — estimates say there are more than 50,000 flying objects — pollutes the space environment and creates a high risk for other satellites. A collision would disrupt their functioning and place them out of orbit.

While there are laws in place that prohibit space weaponization, such as the 1967 Outer Space Treaty or the recent Artemis Accords that reiterates space as mankind’s common province, pinpointing infractions or laying down accountability is still a no man’s land with many unresolved questions.

Perhaps this is what Alex Fielding refers to when he says there are currently only “ stopgap” measures concerning space traffic management.

Leading space environmentalist and Privateer cofounder Moriba Jah told GeoSpatial World in 2022 that a spirit of custodianship and resource stewarding is necessary in order to circumvent a free for all Wild West in space. This can only come with transparency, accountability, trust, and most importantly robust collaboration.

“If we as a world come together to define orbital carrying capacity and identify the objects in an orbital highway, then we can pinpoint the countries responsible for those objects,” he said in the interview. “This would enable us to clearly see who is occupying most of the capacity in the orbital highway.” There are precedents for how this can be accomplished in air traffic management, road safety norms, food safety and environmental protection — which came into being through sustained efforts, multi-stakeholder collaboration, technology evolution, democratized access and recognition of risks and pitfalls.

A new order?

In his 2021 Financial Times Book of the Year “Exponential” Azheem Azhar talks about the widening gulf between innovation and our existing institutions and legal frameworks. In order to break this stalemate and progress towards a participative, inclusive and open model of space, any lead that breaks from the old status quo assumptions is a fresh start.

In our era of multipronged crisis and fragmentation in the world order, establishing the institutional governance of space in a way that’s acceptable to all may sound idealistic. But with the congestion of Low Earth orbit and the dreaded outcome of Kessler Syndrome , sooner or later, a fresh spurt of creative thinking will be needed.

Akin to international maritime laws or the stance against nuclear proliferation, a new normal of space governance will be required. And it must account for changing realities on the ground, enhanced complexity, and the multiplicity of actors over time.

While it still remains to be seen whether the new space era will expand as though we are at the ‘inflection point’ of exploration, as Deloitte Chief Futurist Mike Bechtel calls the moment before industry explosion.

Whichever way this governance heads, sustainability is an imperative. Space companies that deal in optimal launch planning, orbital maneuvering and monitoring may themselves lead to the clamor for regulations akin to emissions monitoring in the automobile industry or methane flare-up accountability for oil firms.

There’s a need to articulate wide-ranging principles that underlie the ethics of collective cosmos, and inculcate a conscientious sense of responsibility, trusteeship and kindred spirit among us shared inhabitants of the same pale blue dot. But a journey cannot start without identifying the roadmap and a shared vision of where we want to end up.

Aditya Chaturvedi is Deputy Editor at Geospatial World. He is a keen observer of the intersection of modern day technology, society, economics, pop culture and geopolitics.

Aditya Chaturvedi

Aditya Chaturvedi is Deputy Editor at Geospatial World. He is a keen observer of the intersection of modern day technology, society, economics, pop culture and geopolitics. More by Aditya Chaturvedi

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IMAGES

Essay Organization Spatial Order
What is Spatial Order & How to Use It In Essay?
What is Spatial Organization in Writing? (Spatial Order Explained)
What is Spatial Organization in Writing? (Spatial Order Explained)
Spatial order composition and the role of chronology in a piece of writing
What is Spatial Organization in Writing? (Spatial Order Explained)

VIDEO

Order of Contact between Curve and Surface
NEW SPACE ORDER demo movie
Measuring Order Flow With 3 PD Array's
New Space Order [UGSF Archives No.002]
Linear state space equations and system stability
Space Order Mine Gameplay

COMMENTS

Spatial Order
Spatial order is best used for the following purposes: Helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it. Evoking a scene using the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound) Writing a descriptive essay. Spatial order means that you explain or describe objects as they are arranged around you in your space, for example in a bedroom.
9.3 Organizing Your Writing
Exercise 3. On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph that discusses a passion of yours. Your passion could be music, a particular sport, filmmaking, and so on. Your paragraph should be built upon the reasons why you feel so strongly. Briefly discuss your reasons in the order of least to greatest importance.
What Is Spatial Order And How To Use It In Essay?
Spatial organization in writing a descriptive essay allows readers visualize something as the writer wants them to see it, by evoking a scene using five senses (sight, taste, smell, touch, and sound). But you shouldn't use spatial writing in long text because they may sound monotonous and your readers will be bored.
Spatial Order in Composition
In composition, spatial order is an organizational structure in which details are presented as they are (or were) located in space—from left to right, top to bottom, etc. Also known as order of place or space structure, spatial order describes things as they appear when observed. In descriptions of places and objects, spatial order determines the perspective from which readers observe details.
Spatial Order
Spatial Order refers to the practice of organizing information (e.g., descriptions of places and objects, instructions and processes) according to their physical location. It is commonplace in many genres (especially fiction genres but also nonfiction genres) for writers to describe a scene so that readers can imagine themselves in that setting ...
What is Spatial Organization in Writing? (Spatial Order Explained)
Spatial order organization in writing is where an author looks at all the important elements of a given scenario and then orders information based on how people or objects fit together in a given physical space. In spatial organization, you order the information in a particular order, and this can be either from top to bottom or from left to right.
4.3 Organizing Your Writing
, spatial order is best used for the following purposes: Helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it; Evoking a scene using the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound) Writing a descriptive essay; Spatial order means that you explain or describe objects as they are arranged around you in your space, for example in a ...
Organizing Your Writing
Order of importance is most appropriate in a persuasion paper as well as for essays in which you rank things, people, or events by their significance. Spatial order describes things as they are arranged in space and is best for helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it; it creates a dominant impression.
8.3 Organizing Your Writing
3. On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph that discusses a passion of yours. Your passion could be music, a particular sport, filmmaking, and so on. Your paragraph should be built upon the reasons why you feel so strongly. Briefly discuss your reasons in the order of least to greatest importance. 4.
2.4: Organizing Your Writing
Spatial order is best used for the following purposes: Helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it; Evoking a scene using the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound) Writing a descriptive essay; Spatial order means that you explain or describe objects as they are arranged around you in your space, for example in a bedroom.
Spatial Order Organization: What Is It and How to Use it in Essay Writing
According to Merriam-Webster, spatial order organization is the process of relating to space and the objects in it. In writing, it refers to a method in which ideas and elements are laid down logically according to the sequence of their location or their relationship. Spatial order organization is like putting a disarray of elements into one ...
5.1 Methods of Organizing Your Writing
Order of Importance. Order of importance is best used for the following purposes: Persuading and convincing; Ranking items by their importance, benefit, or significance; Illustrating a situation, problem, or solution. Most essays move from the least to the most important point, and the paragraphs are arranged in an effort to build the essay's ...
How to Structure an Essay
The basic structure of an essay always consists of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. But for many students, the most difficult part of structuring an essay is deciding how to organize information within the body. This article provides useful templates and tips to help you outline your essay, make decisions about your structure, and ...
PDF TCC Writing Center: Organizing Paragraphs and Essays
Order of Importance (Emphatic or Climatic Order): This structure may be used for an entire paragraph or essay or it may be used for portions of an essay. For example, one section of an essay may require sequential organization while another section requires order of importance. Or the similarities in a comparison may need to be arranged ...
PDF Strategies for Essay Writing
When you write an essay for a course you are taking, you are being asked not only to create a product (the essay) but, more importantly, to go through a process of thinking more deeply about a question or problem related to the course. By writing about a source or collection of sources, you will have the chance to wrestle with some of the
6.2 Organizing Ideas
Emphatic order is common in persuasive essays because it allows the writer to increasingly strengthen her argument. Spatial order means explaining or describing objects as they are arranged in space. Spatial order is less common in college writing and best used for the following purposes: helping readers visualize something as you want them to ...
Spatial Order Definition And How To Use It
Spatial order is often used for description. Spatial Ordering comes in when an author arranges their ideas in a way that they are logically organized on the page or space. It can be seen in many things from books to essays where they organize information according to topic, chronology, etc. Purpose and Effect of Spatial Order
Space Order in Descriptive Text (Sample Questions and Answers)
The two examples above are Spatial Order. Below are kinds of spatial orders or signal words that you can use to write a good descriptive essay: Top to bottom. Bottom to top. Far to near. Near to far. Right to left. Left to right. Outside to inside.
What is Spatial order? Description and Examples
Let's have a short review of descriptive essays, as spatial order essays are useful in the latter. Descriptive essays, according to the Purdue OWL, are defined as a genre in which students are tasked to describe an object, experience, a person, and many more. In a descriptive essay, you have to paint a picture of what you are trying to convey ...
Examples of Spatial Order
A spatial order is an organizational style that helps in the presentation of ideas or things as is in their locations. Most students struggle to understand the meaning of spatial order in writing and have a hard time putting ideas in the best manner possible to produce an excellent essay.
Setting Up the APA Reference Page
On the APA reference page, you list all the sources that you've cited in your paper. The list starts on a new page right after the body text. Follow these instructions to set up your APA reference page: Place the section label "References" in bold at the top of the page (centered). Order the references alphabetically. Double-space all text.
Crafting an Essay in APA Style: A Comprehensive Guide
APA essay headings are categorized into five distinct levels, each characterized by specific formatting guidelines delineated in the APA instructions, thereby fostering clarity and coherence in ...
Photo Essay: Adaptive Surfers Take To The Waves In Waikiki
Mahalo! You're officially signed up for our daily newsletter, the Morning Beat. A confirmation email will arrive shortly. In the meantime, we have other newsletters that you might enjoy.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Pre-order the Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Ultra Edition to receive the Macragge's Chosen DLC and play up to 4 days before release.The Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Ultra Edition includes the base game, the Ultramarines Champion DLC and the Season Pass.Embody the superhuman skill and brutality of a Space Marine and defend the Imperium in spectacular third-person action in solo or ...
Indian teen allegedly kills two while drunk driving. As ...
A nger is growing in India after a teenager who allegedly killed two people while drunk driving was ordered to write an essay as punishment, with many demanding a harsher penalty and accusing the ...
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
The Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 Ultra Edition includes the base game, the Ultramarines Champion DLC and the Season Pass. Embody the superhuman skill and brutality of a Space Marine and defend the Imperium in spectacular third-person action in solo or co-op modes.
Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
Pre-order Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2: https://store.focus-entmt.com/w/warhammer40000spacemarine2?utm_campaign=SM2_GameModeReveal&utm_medium=post&utm_so...
The Air Force Wants To Build 7 New Telescopes On Maui To Track Space
The plans for the project on Haleakala's summit drew significant opposition last week during public scoping meetings that are part of the environmental review process. The U.S. Air Force is ...
More States Are Turning Off Their Electrical Grids To Prevent Wildfires
Utilities must learn to communicate their decisions to the public, especially those whose medical care relies on power. The U.S. power grid is the largest and most complex machine ever built. It ...
It's time to figure out global space traffic management
In order to break this stalemate and progress towards a participative, inclusive and open model of space, any lead that breaks from the old status quo assumptions is a fresh start.

Spatial Order

Sample Spatial Order Paragraph

Share This Book

9.3 Organizing Your Writing

Chronological Order

Writing at Work

Order of Importance

Spatial Order

Key Takeaways

What Is Spatial Order And How To Use It In Essay?

Spatial order as a principle of organization

Spatial order definition

What is the spatial order?

Spatial writing: the details

What are spatial order signal words?

Spatial organization in writing: how to..?

How To Write A Strong Essay On Depression?

Crime As A Social Problem: How To Write An Essay?

Structuring of an argumentative essay on euthanasia

Spatial Order in Composition

Transitions for Spatial Order

Appropriate Use of Spatial Order

Table of Contents

Sample Transitional Words for Spatial Order

Brevity - Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Flow - How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity - Inclusive Language

The Elements of Style - The DNA of Powerful Writing

Suggested Edits

Other Topics:

Citation - Definition - Introduction to Citation in Academic & Professional Writing

Collaboration - What is the Role of Collaboration in Academic & Professional Writing?

Information Literacy - Discerning Quality Information from Noise

Rhetoric: Exploring Its Definition and Impact on Modern Communication

The Writing Process - Research on Composing

Writing Studies

Featured Articles

Academic Writing – How to Write for the Academic Community

Professional Writing – How to Write for the Professional World

Credibility & Authority – How to Be Credible & Authoritative in Speech & Writing

What is Spatial Organization in Writing? (Spatial Order Explained)

What is Spatial Order in Writing?

Why is Spatial Order Organization Important?

4 Steps to Writing a Spatial Order Essay

How Many Parts Does a Spatial Order Essay Have?

Words Used in Spatial Order Essays

Let Us Help You Write Your Spatial Order Essay

4.3 Organizing Your Writing

Chronological Order

Connecting the Pieces: Writing at Work

Order of Importance

Spatial Order

Key Takeaways

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Organizing Your Writing

Chronological Order

Writing at Work

Order of Importance

Spatial Order

Key Takeaways

Margin Size

2.4: Organizing Your Writing

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

WRITING AT WORK

ORDER OF IMPORTANCE

SPATIAL ORDER

Spatial Order Organization: What Is It and How to Use it in Essay Writing

What is Spatial Order Organization

Advantages of Spatial Order Organization in Writing

Disadvantages of Spatial Order Organization in Writing

How to Effectively Use Spatial Order Organization in Writing?

1. Select an interesting topic

2. Structure an outline

3. Share references and examples

Here’s a useful video by IELTS Liz on how to use examples in your essay

4. Construct the body paragraphs

5. Use transition and signal words

6. Personalize and make it self-explanatory