organization methods essay

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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.

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.

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.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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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.

Organization

“organization” is a catch-all term referring to the patterns used to present information in writing., what is "organization" in writing.

Organization includes everything—from an entire volume of writing down the a single sentence. You may want to consider working with the big picture. To save stress later on, do your organization in the early stages of the writing process, working with an outline or a bulleted list. But be willing to reorganize your thoughts and ideas later on.

How do I get started?

As a principle of writing, "organization" can be overwhelming to writers—there are numerous ways to organize your thoughts, your data, your images, your narratives, and your references. How do you choose the "best" approach? Different disciplines follow different models, and different audiences have varying—and often contradictory—expectations.

So where do you start?

Key note: always remember the architectural maxim "form follows function."

In other words, the form of your essay (the genre, the approach, the model, etc.) should always adhere to the function of your essay (the purpose, the goal, the thesis, etc.)

The General Principle

Think about organization as your paper's delivery message, a tool rather than a rule. Rather than simply filling words on a page, each segment of your paper should have a purpose within a larger whole. As a thought experiment, imagine the different parts of your writing (introduction, conclusion, body paragraphs, headings, footnotes, works cited, etc.) as the organs in your body. You don’t need a degree in etymology to know that “organ” and “organization” come from the same root. So, if every organ in your body has a purpose and a task, every part of your writing should also have a specific purpose in the broader context of delivering your essay's message.

When organizing your paper, always remember that "many roads lead to Dublin." In other words, while there are common methods of formatting a paper, choose the method that works best for you, your audience, and your discipline.

Literature Review

Writing in the sciences: imrd, source-based persuasive paper, the 5-paragraph essay.

Many developing writers are familiar with the 5-paragraph model of organizing an essay. In its most basic sense, a 5-paragraph essay

• Tells readers what arguments you're going to present (the intro)
• Presents those arguments (the body paragraphs)
• Reminds readers what arguments the essay just presented (conclusion).

This organizational method is popular for many reasons, mostly because it's accessible and straightforward. Also, it's easy to test and easy to read.

However, as writers develop more experience with organizational models, they quickly become aware of the 5-paragraph's limitations—should, for example, every argument limit itself to three key points (the 3 body paragraphs)? Does the 5-paragraph model allow for counter arguments?

Key note: while many writers use the 5-paragraph model for short-answer essays, make sure it works for the task at-hand. The old architectural maxim that "form follows function" applies to writing as well: let your form (your style or organizational method) follow your function (your purpose or goal).

The Pattern of 5-paragraph Essays

A typical pattern of the introduction in a five paragraph essay is to engage the reader and inform them of the basic context of the essay, culminating in a concise but adequate thesis.

For this specific genre of writing, a top-down narrowing approach leads your reader in from the larger context and toward your specific points or claims. It may be helpful to think of the introduction of a five paragraph essay as a funnel or a triangle pointed downward. An effectively organized introduction in this genre begins with broader, more applicable language—addressing the context and establishing the tone—and it ends with a narrow thesis that is uniquely yours.

• Example : "Using fear tactics in the classroom may encourage students to withdraw socially, promote feelings of anger and frustration, and cause students to mistrust the educational process in general."

The Body Paragraphs

It’s common for body paragraphs to each have their own internal organization, structured around clear and effective topic sentences. By having every other sentence in a body paragraph addressing or tying back to the topic sentence, just as every topic sentence should tie back to your thesis, you can help make clear connections about the relationship between your evidence and the points you’re making.

• Example : "Education is a catalyst for economic growth and development. Nations that prioritize education often witness improved productivity, innovation, and a highly skilled workforce. Education equips individuals with the knowledge and skills needed for various industries, boosting employability and facilitating economic mobility. It fosters entrepreneurship and empowers individuals to create opportunities for themselves and others. Moreover, education reduces poverty by breaking the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage, enabling individuals to access better job prospects and higher incomes. A well-educated population contributes to a thriving economy and sustainable development."

The Conclusion

Some writers organize the conclusion to look, in many ways, like an inverted introduction. If the introduction is a triangle pointed downward, the conclusion is a triangle pointed upward—expanding outward to address the larger implications of your topic.

• Example : "Education is the key to unlocking human potential and driving societal progress. It empowers individuals, fuels economic growth, fosters social progress, and enhances global competitiveness. As we embrace the transformative power of education, it is crucial to ensure equal access to quality education for all individuals, regardless of their socio-economic background or geographical location. By investing in education, we invest in a brighter future for individuals, communities, and our world as a whole."

What to chat with one of our consultants about the organization of your paper? Here are some questions to help.

• Is my paper "clearly" organized?
• Where does my organization break down?
• Where could my paper be more clear?
• Does my organization match the assignment's expectations?

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• Knowledge Base

Organizational tips for academic essays

Published on November 10, 2014 by Shane Bryson . Revised on July 23, 2023.

This article presents some tips to help you figure out how best to structure your essay .

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Table of contents

Four tips for organization, other interesting articles.

In general, the purpose of the essay should dictate the organization of the essay—ask yourself what claims you need to establish in order for your reader to believe that your main claim is right. The claims that help establish your main claim are called “supporting claims.”

In many cases, each supporting claim will get a paragraph. When you’re outlining, try to phrase these supporting claims as rough topic sentences . In some cases, these supporting claims will also require some argument in order for your reader to believe them. If this happens, consider adding an additional argument or two in separate paragraphs to help establish your supporting claim.

Once you get a sense of the supporting claims that will form the basis of your paragraphs , consider the following tips:

Arguments usually proceed from the simplest claim to the most complex

In other words, the body of a good argumentative essay often begins with the more simple and widely accepted claims, and then moves to the more complex and contentious ones. There are a couple of reasons for this:

• Often, a reader must understand the more basic claims before she can understand the more complex claims.
• If you begin with a point your readers agree on without much trouble, you can build on this agreement to convince them of something more contentious.

Give the background early

If you have so much background information that it cannot be given precisely enough in the introduction , this information will usually lead the body of the essay , or the section that it is relevant to.

Define terms as needed

Technical language should be defined as or before it’s used—never wait very long to define a term you’ve used:

• If you can, define your terms as you use them.
• If you have so much technical language that defining terms as you use them is too interruptive, take a paragraph or so to define the terms and show how they relate to each other.

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• Ad hominem fallacy
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• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
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Patterns of Organization and Methods of Development

Patterns of organization can help your readers follow the ideas within your essay and your paragraphs, but they can also work as methods of development to help you recognize and further develop ideas and relationships in your writing. Here are some strategies that can help you with both organization and development in your essays.

Major Patterns of Organization

Read the following sentences:

• Now take the pie out of the oven and let it cool on the stovetop.
• Mix the dry ingredients with the liquid ingredients.
• Set the pie crust aside while you make the filling.

How did it feel to read the above list? A bit confusing, I would guess. That’s because the steps for making a pie were not well organized, and the steps don’t include enough detail for us to know exactly what we should do. (Like what are the dry and liquid ingredients?) We all know that starting instructions from the beginning and giving each detailed step in the order it should happen is vital to having a good outcome, in this case a yummy pie! But it’s not always so simple to know how to organize or develop ideas, and sometimes there’s more than one way, which complicates things even further.

First, let’s take a look at a couple of ways to think about organization.

General to Specific or Specific to General

It might be useful to think about organizing your topic like a triangle:

The first triangle represents starting with the most general, big picture information first, moving then to more detailed and often more personal information later in the paper. The second triangle represents an organizational structure that starts with the specific, small scale information first and then moves to the more global, big picture stuff.

For example, if your topic is air pollution in Portland, Oregon, an essay that uses the general-to-specific organizational structure might begin this way:

Many people consider Portland, Oregon, to be an environmentally friendly, pollution-free place to live. They would be shocked to know how many pollutants are in the air causing a multitude of health problems in Portland’s citizens.

An essay that uses the specific-to-general structure might start like this:

When Nancy moved to Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two kids, she expected to find a clean, pollution-free city. She was shocked and angered when her daughter was diagnosed with asthma caused by air pollution.

What’s the difference between these two introductions? And how might they appeal to the intended audience for this essay (Portland voters) in different ways? The first introduction is looking at the big picture of the problem and mentions pollution’s impact on all citizens in Portland, while the second introduction focuses on one specific family. The first helps readers see how vast the problem really is, and the second helps connect readers to a real family, making an emotional appeal from the very beginning. Neither introduction is necessarily better. You’ll choose one over the other based on the kind of tone you’d like to create and how you’d like to affect your audience. It’s completely up to you to make this decision.

Does the Triangle Mean the Essay Keeps Getting More Specific or More Broad until the Very End?

The triangle is kind of a general guide, meaning you’re allowed to move around within it all you want. For example, it’s possible that each of your paragraphs will be its own triangle, starting with the general or specific and moving out or in. However, if you begin very broadly, it might be effective to end your essay in a more specific, personal way. And if you begin with a personal story, consider ending your essay by touching on the global impact and importance of your topic.

Are There Other Ways to Think about Organizing My Ideas?

Yes! Rather than thinking about which of your ideas are most specific or personal or which are more broad or universal, you might consider one of the following ways of organizing your ideas:

• Most important information first (consider what you want readers to focus on first)
• Chronological order (the order in time that events take place)
• Compare and contrast (ideas are organized together because of their relationship to each other)

The section on Methods of Development, below, offers more detail about some of these organizational patterns, along with some others.

Choose one of the following topics, and practice writing a few opening sentences like we did above, once using the general-to-specific format and once using the specific-to-general. Which do you like better? What audience would be attracted to which one? Share with peers to see how others tackled this challenge. How would you rewrite their sentences? Why? Discuss your changes and listen to how your peers have revised your sentences. Taking in other people’s ideas will help you see new ways to approach your own writing and thinking.

• Facing fears
• Safety in sports
• Community policing
• Educating prisoners
• Sex education
• A book or movie that impacted you
• One thing you would change about your community
• Beauty standards
• Toxic masculinity
• How the media affects identity formation
• Gender roles
• Race in America
• The value of art in society
• Travel as part of a well-rounded education
• Drugs and alcohol
• Advice to new parents
• Advice to teachers
• The value of making mistakes
• How you’d spend a million dollars
• What a tough day at work taught you about yourself or others.

Methods of Development

The methods of development covered here are best used as ways to look at what’s already happening in your draft and to consider how you might emphasize or expand on any existing patterns. You might already be familiar with some of these patterns because teachers will sometimes assign them as the purpose for writing an essay. For example, you might have been asked to write a cause-and-effect essay or a comparison-and-contrast essay.

It’s important to emphasize here that patterns of organization or methods of developing content usually happen naturally as a consequence of the way the writer engages with and organizes information while writing. That is to say, most writers don’t sit down and say, “I think I’ll write a cause-and-effect essay today.”  Instead, a writer might be more likely to be interested in a topic, say, the state of drinking water in the local community, and as the writer begins to explore the topic, certain cause-and-effect relationships between environmental pollutants and the community water supply may begin to emerge.

So if these patterns just occur naturally in writing, what’s the use in knowing about them?  Well, sometimes you might be revising a draft and notice that some of your paragraphs are a bit underdeveloped. Maybe they lack a clear topic, or maybe they lack support. In either case, you can look to these common methods of development to find ways to sharpen those vague topics or to add support where needed. Do you have a clear cause statement somewhere but you haven’t explored the effects?  Are you lacking detail somewhere where a narrative story or historical chronology can help build reader interest and add support?  Are you struggling to define an idea that might benefit from some comparison or contrast?  Read on to consider some of the ways that these strategies can help you in revision. And if you want to learn more, check out what the New York Times has to say in their learning blog article, “ Compare-Contrast, Cause-Effect, Problem Solution: Common ‘Text Types’ in The Times .”

Cause and Effect (or Effect and Cause)

Do you see a potential cause-and-effect relationship developing in your draft?  The cause-and-effect pattern may be used to identify one or more causes followed by one or more effects or results. Or you may reverse this sequence and describe effects first and then the cause or causes. For example, the causes of water pollution might be followed by its effects on both humans and animals. You may use obvious transitions to clarify cause and effect, such as “What are the results? Here are some of them…” or you might simply use the words cause , effect , and result , to cue the reader about your about the relationships that you’re establishing.

Here’s an example article from the New York times, “ Rough Times Take Bloom Off a New Year’s Rite, the Rose Parade ,” that explores the cause and effect relationship (from 2011) between Pasadena’s budgetary challenges and the ability of their Rose Parade floats to deck themselves out in full bloom.

Problem-Solution

At some point does your essay explore a problem or suggest a solution? The problem-solution pattern is commonly used in identifying something that’s wrong and in contemplating what might be done to remedy the situation. There are probably more ways to organize a problem-solution approach, but but here are three possibilities:

• Describe the problem, followed by the solution.
• Propose the solution first and then describe the problems that motivated it.
• Or a problem may be followed by several solutions, one of which is selected as the best.

When the solution is stated at the end of the paper, the pattern is sometimes called the delayed proposal. For a hostile audience, it may be effective to describe the problem, show why other solutions do not work, and finally suggest the favored solution. You can emphasize the words problem and solution to signal these sections of your paper for your reader.

Here’s an example article from the New York times, “ Monks Embrace Web to Reach Recruits ,” that highlights an unexpected approach by a group of Benedictine monks in Rhode Island; they’ve turned to social media to grow their dwindling membership. Monks on Facebook?  Who knew?

Chronology or Narrative

Do you need to develop support for a topic where telling a story can illustrate some important concept for your readers? Material arranged chronologically is explained as it occurs in time. A chronological or narrative method of development might help you find a way to add both interest and content to your essay. Material arranged chronologically is explained as it occurs in time. This pattern may be used to establish what has happened. Chronology or narrative can be a great way to introduce your essay by providing a background or history behind your topic. Or you may want to tell a story to develop one or more points in the body of your essay. You can use transitional words like then , next , and finally to make the parts of the chronology clear.

Here’s an example article from the Center for Media Literacy (originally published in the journal Media & Values ): “ From Savers to Spenders: How Children Became a Consumer Market .” To encourage his readers to think about why and how children are being marketed to by advertisers, the author uses a historical chronology of how the spending habits of children changed over a number of decades.

Comparison and Contrast

Are you trying to define something? Do you need your readers to understand what something is and what it is not? The comparison-and-contrast method of development is particularly useful in extending a definition, or anywhere you need to show how a subject is like or unlike another subject. For example, the statement is often made that drug abuse is a medical problem instead of a criminal justice issue. An author might attempt to prove this point by comparing drug addiction to AIDS, cancer, or heart disease to redefine the term “addiction” as a medical problem. A statement in opposition to this idea could just as easily establish contrast by explaining all the ways that addiction is different from what we traditionally understand as an illness. In seeking to establish comparison or contrast in your writing, some words or terms that might be useful are by contrast , in comparison , while , some , and others .

Here’s an example article from the New York times: “ Who Wants to Shop in a Big Box Store, Anyway? ” The author explores some interesting differences between the average American and average Indian consumer to contemplate the potential success of big box stores in India and also to contemplate why these giant big box corporations, like Walmart or Target, might have to rethink their business model.

These four methods of development—cause and effect, problem-solution, chronology or narrative, and comparison and contrast—are just a few ways to organize and develop ideas and content in your essays. It’s important to note that they should not be a starting point for writers who want to write something authentic—something that they care deeply about. Instead, they can be a great way to help you look for what’s already happening with your topic or in a draft, to help you to write more, or to help you reorganize some parts of an essay that seem to lack connection or feel disjointed. Look for organizational patterns when you’re reading work by professional writers. Notice where they combine strategies (e.g a problem-solution pattern that uses cause-and-effect organization, or a comparison-contrast pattern that uses narrative or chronology to develop similarities or differences). Pay attention to how different writers emphasize and develop their main ideas, and use what you find to inspire you in your own writing. Better yet, work on developing  completely new patterns of your own.

The Word on College Reading and Writing Copyright © by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Module 6: The Writing Process

Essay organization, learning objectives.

• Examine the basic organization of traditional essays

What are some ways that you can organize your essays in college. One standard structure for expository essays is to offer the main idea or assertion early in the essay, and then offer categories of support.

One way to think about this standard structure is to compare it to a courtroom argument in a television drama. The lawyer asserts, “My client is not guilty.” Then the lawyer provides different reasons for lack of guilt: no physical evidence placing the client at the crime scene, client had no motive for the crime, and more.

In writing terms, the assertion is the  thesis sentence , and the different reasons are the  topic sentences . Consider this following example:

• Topic Sentence (reason) #1:  Workers need to learn how to deal with change.
• Topic Sentence (reason) #2:  Because of dealing with such a rapidly changing work environment, 21st-century workers need to learn how to learn.
• Topic Sentence (reason) #3:  Most of all, in order to negotiate rapid change and learning, workers in the 21st century need good communication skills.

As you can see, the supporting ideas in an essay develop out of the main assertion or argument in the thesis sentence.

The structural organization of an essay will vary, depending on the type of writing task you’ve been assigned, but they generally follow this basic structure: The thesis and the topic sentences are all concerned with workers and what they need for the workforce.

Introduction

The introduction provides the reader with context about your topic. You may be familiar with the cliché about how first impressions are important. This is true in writing as well, and you can think of your introduction as that first impression. The goal is to engage the readers, so they want to read on. Sometimes this involves giving an example, telling a story or narrative, asking a question, or building up the situation. The introduction should almost always include the thesis statement.

Body Paragraphs

The body of the essay is separated into paragraphs. Each paragraph usually covers a single claim or argues a single point, expanding on what was introduced in the thesis statement. For example, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, the two main causes of schizophrenia are genetic and environmental. Thus, if you were writing about the causes of schizophrenia, then you would have a body paragraph on genetic causes of schizophrenia and a body paragraph on the environmental causes.

A body paragraph usually includes the following:

• Topic sentence that identifies the topic for the paragraph
• Several sentences that describe and support the topic sentence

Figure 1 . College instructors require more than just “the end” at the close of a paper. Take the time to revisit your thesis statement, bringing all of your claims and evidences together in your conclusion.

• Remember that information from outside sources should be placed in the middle of the paragraph and not at the beginning or the end of the paragraph so that you have time to introduce and explain the outside content
• Quotation marks placed around any information taken verbatim (word for word) from the source
• Summary sentence(s) that draws conclusions from the evidence
• Transitions or bridge sentences between paragraphs.

If you began with a story, draw final conclusions from that story in your conclusion. If you began with a question, refer back to the question and be sure to provide the answer.

A concluding paragraph:

• summarizes final conclusions from the key points
• provides a brief comment on the evidence provided in the paper
• ties in the introduction

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Many types of writing follow some version of the basic shape described above. This shape is most obvious in the form of the traditional five-paragraph essay: a model for college writing in which the writer argues his or her viewpoint (thesis) on a topic and uses three reasons or subtopics to support that position. In the five-paragraph model, as illustrated below, the introductory paragraph mentions the three main points or subtopics, and each body paragraph begins with a topic sentence dealing with one of those main points.

SAMPLE ESSAY USING THE FIVE-PARAGRAPH MODEL

Remember, this is a very simplistic model. It presents a basic idea of essay organization and may certainly be helpful in learning to structure an argument, but it should not be followed religiously as an ideal form.

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This chapter is about the importance of organizing a draft with a clear outline. This step is sometimes combined with the previous step in the writing process—developing a thesis statement. Some writers find it helpful to first jot down their main ideas in outline form, and then use that visual to help develop an overarching thesis statement. Ultimately, moving from thesis statement to outline is dynamic: writers often develop an initial hunch, work out the kinds through an outline, and then revise the thesis each point becomes more obviously structured. This chapter, “Organize,” will stress the importance of planning and structure in the writing process.

The Importance of Organization

Your prewriting activities and readings have helped you gather information for your assignment. The more you sort through the pieces of information you found, the more you will begin to see the connections between them. Patterns and gaps may begin to stand out. But only when you start to organize your ideas will you be able to translate your raw insights into a form that will communicate meaning to your audience.

When you write, you need to organize your ideas in an order that makes sense. The writing you complete in all your courses exposes how analytically and critically your mind works. In some courses, the only direct contact you may have with your instructor is through the assignments you write for the course. You can make a good impression by spending time ordering your ideas.

Order refers to your choice of what to present first, second, third, and so on in your writing. The order you pick closely relates to your purpose for writing that particular assignment. For example, when telling a story, it may be important to first describe the background for the action. Or you may need to first describe a 3-D movie projector or a television studio to help readers visualize the setting and scene. You may want to group your support effectively to convince readers that your point of view on an issue is well reasoned and worthy of belief.

In longer pieces of writing, you may organize different parts in different ways so that your purpose stands out clearly and all parts of the paper work together to consistently develop your main point.

Methods of Organizing Writing

The three common methods of organizing writing are  chronological order ,  spatial order , and  order of importance . You need to keep these methods of organization in mind as you plan how to arrange the information you have gathered in an outline. An outline is a written plan that serves as a skeleton for the paragraphs you write. Later, when you draft paragraphs in the next stage of the writing process, you will add support to create “flesh” and “muscle” for your assignment.

When you write, your goal is not only to complete an assignment but also to write for a specific purpose—perhaps to inform, to explain, to persuade, or for a combination of these purposes. Your purpose for writing should always be in the back of your mind, because it will help you decide which pieces of information belong together and how you will order them. In other words, choose the order that will most effectively fit your purpose and support your main point.

Table “Order versus Purpose” shows the connection between order and purpose.

For an essay question on a test or a brief oral presentation in class, all you may need to prepare is a short, informal outline in which you jot down key ideas in the order you will present them. This kind of outline reminds you to stay focused in a stressful situation and to include all the good ideas that help you explain or prove your point.

For a longer assignment, like an essay or a research paper, many college instructors require students to submit a  formal outline  before writing a major paper as a way to be sure you are on the right track and are working in an organized manner. A formal outline is a detailed guide that shows how all your supporting ideas relate to each other. It helps you distinguish between ideas that are of equal importance and ones that are of lesser importance. You build your paper based on the framework created by the outline.

Instructors may also require you to submit an outline with your final draft to check the direction of the assignment and the logic of your final draft. If you are required to submit an outline with the final draft of a paper, remember to revise the outline to reflect any changes you made while writing the paper.

Topic and sentence outlines

There are two types of formal outlines: the topic outline and the sentence outline. You format both types of formal outlines in the same way.

• Place your introduction and thesis statement at the beginning, under roman numeral I.
• Use roman numerals (II, III, IV, V, etc.) to identify main points that develop the thesis statement.
• Use capital letters (A, B, C, D, etc.) to divide your main points into parts.
• Use arabic numerals (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.) if you need to subdivide any As, Bs, or Cs into smaller parts.
• End with the final roman numeral expressing your idea for your conclusion.

Here is what the skeleton of a traditional formal outline looks like. The indention helps clarify how the ideas are related.

Introduction

Thesis statement

Main point 1 →  becomes the topic sentence of body paragraph 1

Main point 2 →  becomes the topic sentence of body paragraph 2

Main point 3 →  becomes the topic sentence of body paragraph 3

In an outline, any supporting detail can be developed with subpoints. For simplicity, the model shows them only under the first main point.

Formal outlines are often quite rigid in their organization. As many instructors will specify, you cannot subdivide one point if it is only one part. For example, for every roman numeral I, there must be a For every A, there must be a B. For every arabic numeral 1, there must be a 2. See for yourself on the sample outlines that follow.

Topic outlines

A topic outline is the same as a sentence outline except you use words or phrases instead of complete sentences. Words and phrases keep the outline short and easier to comprehend. All the headings, however, must be written in parallel structure.

Here is the topic outline that Mariah constructed for the essay she is developing. Her purpose is to inform, and her audience is a general audience of her fellow college students. Notice how Mariah begins with her thesis statement. She then arranges her main points and supporting details in outline form using short phrases in parallel grammatical structure.

Writing an Effective Topic Outline

This checklist can help you write an effective topic outline for your assignment. It will also help you discover where you may need to do additional reading or prewriting.

• Do I have a controlling idea that guides the development of the entire piece of writing?
• Do I have three or more main points that I want to make in this piece of writing? Does each main point connect to my controlling idea?
• Is my outline in the best order—chronological order, spatial order, or order of importance—for me to present my main points? Will this order help me get my main point across?
• Do I have supporting details that will help me inform, explain, or prove my main points?
• Do I need to add more support? If so, where?
• Do I need to make any adjustments in my working thesis statement before I consider it the final version?

Writing at Work

Word processing programs generally have an automatic numbering feature that can be used to prepare outlines. This feature automatically sets indents and lets you use the tab key to arrange information just as you would in an outline. Although in business this style might be acceptable, in college your instructor might have different requirements. Teach yourself how to customize the levels of outline numbering in your word-processing program to fit your instructor’s preferences.

Exercise 4.1

Using the working thesis statement you wrote in the previous chapter, “Thesis Statements,” and the results of your brainstorming from “Generating Ideas,” construct a topic outline for your essay. Be sure to observe correct outline form, including correct indentions and the use of Roman and arabic numerals and capital letters.

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your outline. Point out areas of interest from their outline and what you would like to learn more about.

Sentence Outlines

A sentence outline is the same as a topic outline except you use complete sentences instead of words or phrases. Complete sentences create clarity and can advance you one step closer to a draft in the writing process.

Here is the sentence outline that Mariah constructed for the essay she is developing.

The information compiled under each roman numeral will become a paragraph in your final paper. In the previous example, the outline follows the standard five-paragraph essay arrangement, but longer essays will require more paragraphs and thus more roman numerals. If you think that a paragraph might become too long or stringy, add an additional paragraph to your outline, renumbering the main points appropriately.

PowerPoint presentations, used both in schools and in the workplace, are organized in a way very similar to formal outlines. PowerPoint presentations often contain information in the form of talking points that the presenter develops with more details and examples than are contained on the PowerPoint slide.

Exercise 4.2

Expand the topic outline you prepared in the previous execise to make it a sentence outline. In this outline, be sure to include multiple supporting points for your main topic even if your topic outline does not contain them. Be sure to observe correct outline form, including correct indentations and the use of Roman and arabic numerals and capital letters.

Key Takeaways

• Writers must put their ideas in order so the assignment makes sense. The most common orders are chronological order, spatial order, and order of importance.
• After gathering and evaluating the information you found for your essay, the next step is to write a working, or preliminary, thesis statement.
• The working thesis statement expresses the main idea that you want to develop in the entire piece of writing. It can be modified as you continue the writing process.
• Effective writers prepare a formal outline to organize their main ideas and supporting details in the order they will be presented.
• A topic outline uses words and phrases to express the ideas.
• A sentence outline uses complete sentences to express the ideas.
• The writer’s thesis statement begins the outline, and the outline ends with suggestions for the concluding paragraph.

Write What Matters Copyright © 2020 by Liza Long; Amy Minervini; and Joel Gladd is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Organizing Your Argument

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This page summarizes three historical methods for argumentation, providing structural templates for each.

How can I effectively present my argument?

In order for your argument to be persuasive, it must use an organizational structure that the audience perceives as both logical and easy to parse. Three argumentative methods —the  Toulmin Method , Classical Method , and Rogerian Method — give guidance for how to organize the points in an argument.

Note that these are only three of the most popular models for organizing an argument. Alternatives exist. Be sure to consult your instructor and/or defer to your assignment’s directions if you’re unsure which to use (if any).

Toulmin Method

The  Toulmin Method  is a formula that allows writers to build a sturdy logical foundation for their arguments. First proposed by author Stephen Toulmin in  The Uses of Argument (1958), the Toulmin Method emphasizes building a thorough support structure for each of an argument's key claims.

The basic format for the Toulmin Method  is as follows:

Claim:  In this section, you explain your overall thesis on the subject. In other words, you make your main argument.

Data (Grounds):  You should use evidence to support the claim. In other words, provide the reader with facts that prove your argument is strong.

Warrant (Bridge):  In this section, you explain why or how your data supports the claim. As a result, the underlying assumption that you build your argument on is grounded in reason.

Backing (Foundation):  Here, you provide any additional logic or reasoning that may be necessary to support the warrant.

Counterclaim:  You should anticipate a counterclaim that negates the main points in your argument. Don't avoid arguments that oppose your own. Instead, become familiar with the opposing perspective.   If you respond to counterclaims, you appear unbiased (and, therefore, you earn the respect of your readers). You may even want to include several counterclaims to show that you have thoroughly researched the topic.

Rebuttal:  In this section, you incorporate your own evidence that disagrees with the counterclaim. It is essential to include a thorough warrant or bridge to strengthen your essay’s argument. If you present data to your audience without explaining how it supports your thesis, your readers may not make a connection between the two, or they may draw different conclusions.

Example of the Toulmin Method:

Claim:  Hybrid cars are an effective strategy to fight pollution.

Data1:  Driving a private car is a typical citizen's most air-polluting activity.

Warrant 1:  Due to the fact that cars are the largest source of private (as opposed to industrial) air pollution, switching to hybrid cars should have an impact on fighting pollution.

Data 2:  Each vehicle produced is going to stay on the road for roughly 12 to 15 years.

Warrant 2:  Cars generally have a long lifespan, meaning that the decision to switch to a hybrid car will make a long-term impact on pollution levels.

Data 3:  Hybrid cars combine a gasoline engine with a battery-powered electric motor.

Warrant 3:  The combination of these technologies produces less pollution.

Counterclaim:  Instead of focusing on cars, which still encourages an inefficient culture of driving even as it cuts down on pollution, the nation should focus on building and encouraging the use of mass transit systems.

Rebuttal:  While mass transit is an idea that should be encouraged, it is not feasible in many rural and suburban areas, or for people who must commute to work. Thus, hybrid cars are a better solution for much of the nation's population.

Rogerian Method

The Rogerian Method  (named for, but not developed by, influential American psychotherapist Carl R. Rogers) is a popular method for controversial issues. This strategy seeks to find a common ground between parties by making the audience understand perspectives that stretch beyond (or even run counter to) the writer’s position. Moreso than other methods, it places an emphasis on reiterating an opponent's argument to his or her satisfaction. The persuasive power of the Rogerian Method lies in its ability to define the terms of the argument in such a way that:

• your position seems like a reasonable compromise.
• you seem compassionate and empathetic.

The basic format of the Rogerian Method  is as follows:

Introduction:  Introduce the issue to the audience, striving to remain as objective as possible.

Opposing View : Explain the other side’s position in an unbiased way. When you discuss the counterargument without judgement, the opposing side can see how you do not directly dismiss perspectives which conflict with your stance.

Statement of Validity (Understanding):  This section discusses how you acknowledge how the other side’s points can be valid under certain circumstances. You identify how and why their perspective makes sense in a specific context, but still present your own argument.

Statement of Your Position:  By this point, you have demonstrated that you understand the other side’s viewpoint. In this section, you explain your own stance.

Statement of Contexts : Explore scenarios in which your position has merit. When you explain how your argument is most appropriate for certain contexts, the reader can recognize that you acknowledge the multiple ways to view the complex issue.

Statement of Benefits:  You should conclude by explaining to the opposing side why they would benefit from accepting your position. By explaining the advantages of your argument, you close on a positive note without completely dismissing the other side’s perspective.

Example of the Rogerian Method:

Introduction:  The issue of whether children should wear school uniforms is subject to some debate.

Opposing View:  Some parents think that requiring children to wear uniforms is best.

Statement of Validity (Understanding):  Those parents who support uniforms argue that, when all students wear the same uniform, the students can develop a unified sense of school pride and inclusiveness.

Statement of Your Position : Students should not be required to wear school uniforms. Mandatory uniforms would forbid choices that allow students to be creative and express themselves through clothing.

Statement of Contexts:  However, even if uniforms might hypothetically promote inclusivity, in most real-life contexts, administrators can use uniform policies to enforce conformity. Students should have the option to explore their identity through clothing without the fear of being ostracized.

Statement of Benefits:  Though both sides seek to promote students' best interests, students should not be required to wear school uniforms. By giving students freedom over their choice, students can explore their self-identity by choosing how to present themselves to their peers.

Classical Method

The Classical Method of structuring an argument is another common way to organize your points. Originally devised by the Greek philosopher Aristotle (and then later developed by Roman thinkers like Cicero and Quintilian), classical arguments tend to focus on issues of definition and the careful application of evidence. Thus, the underlying assumption of classical argumentation is that, when all parties understand the issue perfectly, the correct course of action will be clear.

The basic format of the Classical Method  is as follows:

Introduction (Exordium): Introduce the issue and explain its significance. You should also establish your credibility and the topic’s legitimacy.

Statement of Background (Narratio): Present vital contextual or historical information to the audience to further their understanding of the issue. By doing so, you provide the reader with a working knowledge about the topic independent of your own stance.

Proposition (Propositio): After you provide the reader with contextual knowledge, you are ready to state your claims which relate to the information you have provided previously. This section outlines your major points for the reader.

Proof (Confirmatio): You should explain your reasons and evidence to the reader. Be sure to thoroughly justify your reasons. In this section, if necessary, you can provide supplementary evidence and subpoints.

Refutation (Refuatio): In this section, you address anticipated counterarguments that disagree with your thesis. Though you acknowledge the other side’s perspective, it is important to prove why your stance is more logical.  

Conclusion (Peroratio): You should summarize your main points. The conclusion also caters to the reader’s emotions and values. The use of pathos here makes the reader more inclined to consider your argument.  

Example of the Classical Method:  

Introduction (Exordium): Millions of workers are paid a set hourly wage nationwide. The federal minimum wage is standardized to protect workers from being paid too little. Research points to many viewpoints on how much to pay these workers. Some families cannot afford to support their households on the current wages provided for performing a minimum wage job .

Statement of Background (Narratio): Currently, millions of American workers struggle to make ends meet on a minimum wage. This puts a strain on workers’ personal and professional lives. Some work multiple jobs to provide for their families.

Proposition (Propositio): The current federal minimum wage should be increased to better accommodate millions of overworked Americans. By raising the minimum wage, workers can spend more time cultivating their livelihoods.

Proof (Confirmatio): According to the United States Department of Labor, 80.4 million Americans work for an hourly wage, but nearly 1.3 million receive wages less than the federal minimum. The pay raise will alleviate the stress of these workers. Their lives would benefit from this raise because it affects multiple areas of their lives.

Refutation (Refuatio): There is some evidence that raising the federal wage might increase the cost of living. However, other evidence contradicts this or suggests that the increase would not be great. Additionally,   worries about a cost of living increase must be balanced with the benefits of providing necessary funds to millions of hardworking Americans.

Conclusion (Peroratio): If the federal minimum wage was raised, many workers could alleviate some of their financial burdens. As a result, their emotional wellbeing would improve overall. Though some argue that the cost of living could increase, the benefits outweigh the potential drawbacks.

Most Common Book or Essay Organization Patterns

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To improve your ability to understand a difficult book or passage, you might start by finding the organization pattern. This may sound more difficult than it is. There are a few ways that writers can choose to organize their work , and the organization depends very much on the topic.

If you were writing a description of your bedroom, for example, you would most likely use a spatial organization pattern. In other words, you would most likely start by describing one "space" and move on to another space, and keep going until you've covered the entire room.

Spatial organization would be a suitable type of pattern for real estate professionals to use when describing a property. 

Then again, if you were required to describe the events that led up to a certain event in history, your most likely organization pattern would be chronological . Chronological refers to the order that things happen in time. You might describe the legislation that set the stage for a particular event, followed by the public response to that legislation, and followed again by social conditions that changed because of the previous events.

So, one of the first things you should do when trying to understand a difficult text is to figure out the particular organization pattern. This helps you frame the entire work in your brain or on paper, as when you're writing an outline.

Chronological Organization

A chronological organization is used by writers when they want to describe what happened or happens in a particular order. Your entire history book is most likely written in a chronological patter. Some of the types of work that might follow this patter include the following. You can see that this type of organization is best when describing things that happen over time.

• History chapters
• Biographies
• Summer vacation essays
• Legal case studies

Logical Organization

A logical organization might be used in many ways. Logical organization refers to works that express a point or position using evidence.

• Argument essays
• Comparison essays

Functional Organization

A functional organization system is used to explain how or why things work. The following types of writing might use this organization pattern most effectively.

• How-to essays
• Step-by-step essays
• Instruction manuals 

Spatial Organization

Spatial organization is used in essays that describe or give direction concerning a physical location.

• Descriptions
• Anatomy essay
• Descriptions in fiction

The purpose of developing and understanding organization patters is to help our brains set the stage and know what to expect. These patterns help us to build a framework in our minds and place information in the correct "places" on that framework. Once you determine the overall organization of any text, you'll be better equipped to process information as you read.

When writing your essays and chapters, you should keep your intended organizational pattern in mind as you work, to provide your readers with a clear message that is easily processed.

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Task2gather

Essay organization.

Any work, be it a thesis, an article in an academic journal, or a review, has a clear structure. Let’s admit it: it’s much easier for all of us to perceive the text when it’s coherent and logical. The organization is critical to one of the most popular types of student assignments: an essay. Why?

Unlike other kinds of papers, essays have a certain “creative freedom.” However, the more freedom we get, the more responsibility we have to take, as one must think over the organization of essay themselves. Of course, the structure largely depends on the essay’s final goal.

Nevertheless, it usually remains within the standard requirements. The main thing is to take a piece of paper and sketch out a rough plan. It will be a “skeleton” of the future text.

How to Organize an Essay

In an essay, authors are free to express themselves as they want. But there’s a requirement they need to address: each thesis must be supported by arguments.

These can be well-known and scientifically proven facts, events, examples from history, phenomena, and references to books. An average essay begins with a problem statement (thesis), proceeds with two or three arguments with examples, and ends with a conclusion. Here is one of the most popular ways to organize an essay.

• Introduction (draw the reader’s attention with a plot twist, a hook, a quote, or extraordinary event, set the background, and then state your thesis);

Supporting idea (argument) 1 with its evidence and examples;

Supporting idea (argument) 2 with its evidence and examples;

Supporting idea (argument) 3 with its evidence and examples;

• Conclusion (summarize those viewpoints the reader should definitely remember).

Before you start organizing the structure, read the assignment carefully to understand what the professor expects from you. Requirements usually include the topic and purpose, tone of voice, and volume. Of course, to make sure you’ll write a well organized essay, study the theme. Once you are well versed in it, look through the literature – references will be extra handy while working on the thesis and arguments.

A thesis statement will be the leitmotif of your entire work. It is usually a controversial point of view that needs to be proved. When formulating such a statement, remember that it must be specific. For instance:

• Beauty is treated as immoral in The Picture of Dorian Gray ;
• Basil and Lord Henry represent God and the Devil in The Picture of Dorian Gray .

During the organization phase, brainstorming is a good exercise. Think about the topic and write whatever comes to mind. These can be associations, examples from life, or your personal attitude to the issue. Try this technique for ten minutes straight – one of the ideas will probably be helpful for more organized writing.

Later, back up your main ideas with two types of evidence: arguments and facts. For example, if your essay is connected to a certain book, facts can include specific quotes. In case you want to discuss the character of Sir Henry, quote his words and describe him in detail.

As for the arguments, they are based on your logic and reasoning. Think: why did Sir Henry become like this? What should be noted in his manner of speaking? Explain your point of view to enhance the organization essay. Its convincing arguments and strong evidence will certainly impress the reader.

Essay Organization Types

There are different types of essay organization, but first and foremost, let’s structure your thoughts. The first practical exercise is “thematic blocks” or “circles.” Such a scheme is essential if you’ve generated a lot of ideas and don’t know where to start. This will help you move from general to specific.

Take a blank piece of paper and write your topic in the center, then circle it. Let’s say your theme is The Picture of Dorian Gray . Circle this phrase and write what interests you the most around the circle. It might be “Dorian’s acquaintance with Lord Henry,” “Sybil’s death,” or “Destruction of the portrait.”

Next, write more specific questions or comments around each idea. Start looking for connections. Bridge the circles with lines where you see something corresponding – organizing an essay will be much quicker then.

One of the most well-known types of essay organization is the five-paragraph format. Include at least three various points of view in your essay to prove the main claim. The other two paragraphs will be the introduction (which describes the problem) and the ending (where you summarize the arguments).

The third option to improve your organization in writing is to think about the questions that need to be answered. Many students complain that they don’t know what to say on a specific topic. Learn to ask yourself questions:

• How? (How is Sybil’s death represented? How do other characters react to it? How should the reader feel?)
• Why? (Why did the author intend Sybil to die? Why would the novel be completely different without her death?)

If a low-tech organization is not your cup of tea, why not use the outline view function in Microsoft Word? First, collect your thoughts as you would on a normal piece of paper. Then, turn to the outline view – it will arrange your ideas in hierarchical order.

Wondering if there are other methods to present your views? Read on to find out about four types of essay organization.

Essay Organization Methods

Chronological order.

There is no doubt that it’s the most widespread method of essay organization when it comes to narrative ones. The sequence plays a key role if you are to tell a story. Here, events and their details are represented exactly as they appear in time. For example:

• It was a cold, gloomy winter morning. Despite the awful weather, the girl didn’t give up on her promise to run every morning. Jogging in the park, she noticed a tall, dark figure standing behind a tree. “You’re Elizabeth, right?” – the stranger asked.

If you choose this type over other methods of organization, divide the story into significant stages: an initiating episode, the following happenings, culmination, and the ending.

A chronological (narrative) method is perfect for writers who aim at

• making the content more intriguing;
• relating to an experience;
• explaining the process step-by-step.

By the way, this type of organizing an essay works for autobiographies, memoirs, fairy-tales, sci-fi, and so on.

Cause and Effect Order

This option greatly deals with logical methods of organization in writing. It highlights close connections between situations and things. Use this organization to explain how events occur and what their causes and results are. For example:

• We are exposed to germs. → We don’t wash our hands properly. → We get sick.
• Mobile phones distract school students. → Mobile phones aren’t allowed in the classroom.

Comparison and Contrast

This method is the third on the list of ways to organize an essay. It’s related to listing ideas to analyze their differences and similarities. You may compare anything, from poems of the same author to playwriters who lived in the same epoch. Before you start the organization of essay, decide what is more important to you – likeness or contrast? Basically, if there are more similarities, it’s more interesting to concentrate on differences.

Organizing by Significance

It’s hard to imagine the organization of an essay without an order of importance. Here, thoughts or objects are listed according to how meaningful they are. Building on your paper’s strength step-by-step, arrange the paragraphs so that the most significant one comes last. On the other hand, you may turn to reverse order and let the least important part be the last. Don’t forget to use such words as worst , best , least , most , <next , last , etc.

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A Growth Strategy that Creates and Protects Value

• David A. Hofmann
• John J. Sumanth

Four steps to build a continuous value creation cycle.

For organizations to truly innovate and grow, leaders in every role and at every organizational level must be attuned to how they are creating new value while simultaneously protecting existing value. Just as a soccer coach must simultaneously pursue both scoring and defending, leaders must constantly focus their attention on opportunities to create value — through innovation, risk-taking, and experimentation — and to protect value — by preserving and defending key aspects of their responsibilities. Because both approaches are essential to success, organizational leaders must proactively and continually encourage their teams to adopt both a creating value and protecting value mindset when tackling their day-to-day responsibilities. But how can leaders do this? More specifically: Where and how do leaders deploy these two approaches, and how do these approaches change over time? In this article, the authors offer four steps leaders can take to ensure that they’re on the right path for growth.

Ask any leader what comes to mind when they hear the word “innovation” and you’ll quickly hear examples of a new, user-centric product design, or an R&D team pursuing a new mission, or their company’s exploration of a new market opportunity to drive additional revenue. But what if this relatively narrow view captures only a slice of the potential innovation that resides within your organization? What if your organization could unlock non-traditional avenues and areas for innovation, experimentation, and value creation?

• David A. Hofmann is the Hugh L. McColl, Jr. Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Organizational Behavior and Senior Associate Dean of UNC Executive Development at the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
• John J. Sumanth is the James Farr Fellow & Associate Professor of Management at the Wake Forest University School of Business.

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5.2: Methods of Organizing Your Writing

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• Kathryn Crowther, Lauren Curtright, Nancy Gilbert, Barbara Hall, & Tracienne Ravita
• Texas A&M Univesrity

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.

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The original version of this chapter contained H5P content. You may want to remove or replace this element.

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 .

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Essay on Organisation and Method | Techniques | Public Administration

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Here is a compilation of essays on the ‘Organisation and Method’ for class 9, 10, 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and short essays on the ‘Organisation and Method’ especially written for school and college students.

Essay on Organisation and Method

Essay Contents:

• Essay on the Staffing of Organisation and Method Units

Essay # 1. Meaning of Organisation and Method:

The term O and M is used in two senses. In the broader sense, it means organisation and management. As such, it includes the study of the entire process of management, viz., planning, organizing, coordinating, motivating, directing, and controlling. L.D.

White defined “O & M as the improvement of all aspects of transacting business with special emphasis upon proce­dures and relationship”. In American phraseology, O & M is used in this sense.

In the restricted sense, it means Organisation and Methods. In this sense, it deals with the organisation of public bodies and their office procedures in order to effect efficiency and im­provement in both. The efficiency in the context of O and M work signifies elimination of duplication, waste and delay by reshaping the organization and by simplification and accelera­tion of procedures.

In the words of Milward, “the usual functions of O and M are the examina­tion of the structure of the organization under review and the studying of administrative and clerical methods, office mechanization and equipment, office layout and working conditions.” In UK and India, the preceding meaning is attributed to O and M.

No doubt one of the most important tasks of O and M work is to conduct reviews of an organisation for streamlining it. However, O and M is concerned only with the improvement of the internal structure of the unit concerned.

Traditionally reorganization of the structure at a higher level does not fall within the purview of the O and M unit. Such work is entrusted to high-powered bodies, viz., Government Organization Committee in U.K., the Hoover Commis­sion in the U.S.A. and one-man Ayyangar Committee in India.

M.P. Sharma writes, “O & M work means reviewing the internal organisation and proce­dures of any administrative agency with a view to suggest improvements so as to ensure greater efficiency in its working.”

In the words of S.B. Bopat, the founder of O & M in India, “In simple terms it means paying intelligent and critical attention not only to what is done but also to how it is done and at what cost, in what time, labour and money, paying attention to the design of the machine and its working processes and not merely to its end product” ‘O’ analyses organisation and ‘M’ analyses techniques.

The aim is to improve the efficiency of an adminis­trative unit for which restructuring of the unit may be called for but more important is the review of its methods and techniques. O & M is an efficiency and cost conscious study.

Regarding ‘Methods’, the ‘O and M’ units deal with the review of procedures and systems of transacting work in order to improve them. In this limited sense, O and M falls in the cat­egory of techniques like work study, operations research and Automation aiming at improve­ment of administration.

Such a narrow interpretation of the term ‘O and M’ is not justified. The term is often used for ‘management improvement’. As such, it ceases to be a mere technique and becomes a function for improving administration.

In the words of Milward, “It exists not only as a management tool—as an agent of top management—but also as service for managers, auditors, or others who use it because they have not themselves the time or the necessary expertise.” Professor Appleby while recommending O and M unit for the Government of India clearly stated its meaning in broader sense.

He said, “I recommend that the Government of India give consideration to the establishment of a Central Office charged with responsibility for giving both extensive and intensive leadership in respect to structure, management and procedures. At one level of highly technical and scientific sort, it would give attention to work measurement, work flow, office management, filing systems, space arrangements and the like; at another level, it would be charged with general governmental structural studies and proposals.”

Essay # 2. Nature of Organisation and Method:

(a) O and M is not a substitute for all-round management. O and M unit alone is not responsible for effecting improvement in administration. Its work is only a part of the entire governmental effort at improvement.

Prof Appleby rightly opined, “Efficiency specialists have an important place in government but no efficiency engineer will ever solve the principal prob­lems of government. Other specialists can make important contributions to the general improve­ment of government but those specialists will be social scientists and efficiency engineers. The principal problems of government are to be solved relatively and progressively, by the com­bined efforts of scholars, specialists, administrators, politicians and the public.”

(b) The O and M functions should be construed as a service to governmental ministries and offices and not as an imposition from above. According to a report, O and M is a service function.

As such “its duty is to provide better facts to secretaries for decision-making on organisational and administrative issues. Whenever the secretaries feel the need for more ad­equate and objective facts, they can call upon the O and M staff, internal or external, to make available trained personnel for analysis…It should be the endeavor of the O and M group to increase its ability, to provide the service that it may be called upon to perform.”

(c) The O and M units have to play advisory role. They have to play staff and not line agency. As such, it strives to establish a relationship with departmental heads so that they achieve their purposes. In no case, it is to force an issue or impose an improvement on a department against its will.

(d) The O and M work should be considered as a work improvement study and not a fault finding mission. The O and M man should therefore be a friend and an ally always prepared to help solving the problems and not a critic or a fault finder. A successful O and M man always wins the confidence of operating head.

(e) O and M function should neither seem too technical nor too mysterious beyond the comprehension of a layman. O and M function is to be taken for a common human endeavor to discern better ways of doing things. O and M activity is in feet, “organised common sense”. Since common sense is generally uncommon, efficiency expert will come in the picture to organize it.

Essay # 3. Need of Organisation and Method:

O & M seeks to improve the efficiency of an organization. For this purpose it studies its structure and functioning. Its objective is to get the best organisation and the best methods of work by reducing cost.

It employs scientific techniques to simplifying processes and work to eliminate all unnecessary work and avoidable delay. The activities of the government keep on constantly expanding and changing with changes in the economic and social structure.

The line agencies are all the time engaged in performing day-to-day activities relating to administration. They do not have the time nor expertise to study the new arising problems and suggest methods and techniques to get these problems solved.

Therefore, there is always a need for a separate entity like the O & M to suggest better methods and techniques to stimulate the various func­tionaries and increase their work efficiency.

Essay # 4. Evolution of Organisation and Method:

The origin of O and M technique may be traced back to the 18th century. It had its beginnings mainly in the field of industry and business so as to ensure greater production and profit. They entered the field of governmental administration much later in the closing decade of the 19th century.

The first protagonists of the technique were the camera lists—a group of economists and administrators mainly from Germany and Austria, who flourished during the 1700s. The most distinguished scholar among the group was George Zincke. His famous work ‘Camera list Theory’ is a fine and voluminous treatise on the principles and procedures of political economy, fiscal science and public administration.

The word ‘Camera lists’ means those who possess fundamental and special knowledge about all or some particular part of those things which are necessary in order that they may assist the state in maintaining good management.

For a long time O and M work remained confined to the field of industry and business while governmental administration used to be run according to certain traditional notions and common sense. The change in this respect was initiated by the scientific management movement inspired by Taylor and others in the beginning of the twentieth century.

Taylor believed the elements of scientific management to be three—study every step in a particular process; select and train employees by the best approved scientific methods; and develop an intimate, friendly cooperation between management and men.

The best known technique of scientific management is Time and Motion study. The scientific management movement was a revolutionary step in the field of industrial production.

The increasing entry of the government into business and the example of the comparatively greater efficiency of private business and industry along with the failure of the government administration to improve the administrative system induced the government to import the concept of O and M into the administrative system in the second decade of the twentieth century.

In the United Kingdom O and M was introduced after the First World War while in the U.S.A. the Federal Government set up a Bureau of Efficiency in 1913 for doing O and M work. In India the Central Government set up O and M division in 1954 consequent to the recommendations of A.D. Gorwala and Paul H. Appleby.

Essay # 5. Techniques of Organization and Method:

A number of analytical techniques have been devised by O and M technologists to simplify procedures, measure work performance and render assistance to management in various other ways.

They are as follows:

(i) Survey:

Survey is the most important technique by which O and M analyst discharges his basic responsibilities for improving organisation, procedures and methods. According to Seckler Hudson, “A Management survey is a systematic examination and analysis of one or more related organisations, functions and or procedures. It is initiated for the purpose of identi­fying problems, determining their causes and developing solutions.”

Management surveys are of the varied types:

(a) Reconnaissance Survey:

It is a preliminary survey and helps in fixing the targets and scope of study.

(b) Overall Survey:

It comprises ‘a complete analysis of policies, organisation struc­tures, controls, staffing procedures and physical facilities and arrangements.’

(c) Organisation Survey:

It is concerned with organisational problems like levels of authority, span of control, division of functions.

(d) Functional Survey:

It means an examination of a single function like stores, ac­counts, personnel and purchasing;

(e) Procedural Survey:

It means an analysis of procedures, systems and methods.

(f) Performance Audit:

It means an appraisal of the manner in which work in an organisation is being performed.

(g) Follow-Up Survey:

It is undertaken when management decides to implement the rec­ommendations of the survey report. It is aimed at seeing whether the changes being introduced are yielding the desired or pre-determined effect. On the basis of the findings of the follow-up survey, the O and M analyst can commence feed-back activities to make modifications in the reforms plan in the light of experience thus gained.

(h) Attitude Survey:

Through Attitude surveys, the sampling techniques and behavioral research have enabled the administrative analyst to survey the perceptions, values, attitudes and motivation in public administration. The statistical techniques of sampling, content analysis, psychological and psycho-analytical inventions are put to use for the purpose.

Such surveys are instrumental in determining the suitability of personnel policies, the appropriateness of organisational arrangements, the effectiveness of supervision and the requisites for better perfor­mance.

(ii) Inspections:

Management Inspection constitutes an important function of an O and M unit. In certain countries like U.K., inspection and O and M functions are combined in same hands. For example, in the London County Council, both are concentrated in the same hands and O and M officer of the Council is also an Inspecting Officer.

O and M officers use this technique as a staffing function. In other words, it helps the operating heads to find out where they have erred and how best they can improve upon their past performance. Through periodical inspections, undertaken in collaboration with the operat­ing heads, the O and M analyst can assist in work performance and enforcing work standards.

However, he should not strive to usurp the authority of the administrators. In certain State Governments of India, Inspection and O and M work have been combined.

There are two types of Inspections—internal and external—carried out by the O and M Division of Government of India. Internal Inspections are carried out in the Department itself whereas External Inspections are conducted by the Deputy Director, O and M Division.

(iii) Forms Control:

By controlling the forms, O and M persons can help management in improving internal communications and simplifying procedures. The O and M Division in the British Treasury has laid down useful guideline, for evolving a design for forms and O and M analysts undertake periodical revision of the forms in different Universities and Departments.

The forms play a vital role for the effective management of an agency. They furnish infor­mation for formulating policy, controlling and improving information’s and evaluating perfor­mance. They serve as guides to movement of materials, the performance of services, the autho­rization for expenditures and the payment of money. They constitute a basis of clerical and executive actions.

Forms have been defined as ‘printed or typed documents with blank spaces for the inser­tion of information’. According to another authority, a form signifies “a piece of paper or card on which entries are to be made bearing pointed or otherwise marked headings, captions or descriptive matter intended to define entries.”

Broadly speaking, forms comprise all pieces of paper designed to facilitate the work of an organisation. They are used to procure, convey or record information necessary to its operations.

In order to fulfill its functions adequately, a Forms Control programme should be devised with the following broad objectives:

(i) Elimination of needless forms;

(ii) Improvement in the design of needed forms;

(iii) Economy of the production, distribution and use of forms;

(iv) Analysis of forms in their relationship to procedure and method.

(iv) File Operations:

Filing system means methods of arranging records in systematic sequence. Such systems are necessary for the easy location of any particular record in a file. Files enable the ready location of the records. In fact, proper working of a department depends upon the effectiveness of its filing system.

The speed and efficiency of day-to-day operations depend on the management of files. Inadequate filing hampers decision making and hinders operations.

The problems involved in file operations are:

Classification, Initial Training, Issuing and Controlling, Retention and Disposal which may be studied by O and M personnel.

(v) Work Simplification:

Work simplification method means tackling the procedural prob­lems of large organisation by making first line supervisors skillful enough to analyze and improve the procedures. In fact it is a blend of different techniques, viz., Work Distribution Chart and Process Chart.

The work distribution chart presents clearly all the activities in a work unit doing clerical tasks and the contribution of each employee to those activities. The major activities are enumer­ated on the side of the chart, the names of the employees are individually mentioned across the top and the tasks and time spent on each task are filled in the boxes.

The Process Chart furnishes a detailed record of the successive steps in a particular proce­dure of task. Symbols are used to represent the sequence of tasks. For instance, a wide circle (O) indicates the operation, a smaller circle (O) represents transportation, a triangle (A) repre­sents shortage, a small box (□) represents inspection.

A thin line is used to connect each symbol. Other symbols also can be used to signify the different steps in a work process. How­ever, these symbols should represent the same thing in all governmental organizations and all the officers and the staff in the organization should clearly understand them.

A Process Chart should answer six questions clearly, viz.:

(i) What is being done?

(ii) Why is this step neces­sary?

(iii) Where should this step be done?

(iv) When should this step be done?

(v) Who should do this step?

(vi) How should this step be done? A chart answering these questions effectively is an effective instrument of efficiency as it encourages self-inquiry and a desire to see whether the procedures can be simplified.

(vi) Work Measurement:

It is a method which sets up standards between work produced by an operating unit and the manpower used in the process. According to a study team it means “the application of techniques designed to accomplish the work content of a specific task by determining the time required for carrying it out at a defined standard of performance by a qualified worker.”

However, it requires two conditions, viz., the precise definition of the work operation to be measured and to record the number of man-hours spent for performing the defined work operation.

Work measurement is a sound technique of improving work method. Through it, manage­ment measures the volume of work and establishes equitable relationship between work output and manpower. Such a technique can easily be applied to mechanical and clerical activities which are of a repetitive type.

It can be fruitfully used for other administrative activities as well. This technique can, however, be applied if exact data of work-load and man-hours are main­tained and reported. With the availability of these data, it is easier to calculate a work perfor­mance rate per unit of man-power used.

The division of the number of papers processed in a clerical unit by the number of man-hours expanded, one can discover the number of cases processed per each man-hour of work. Thus production rate for every given operation is known.

Its Techniques:

Three main methods of measuring the work unit are specified.

(a) Trial and error method;

(b) Statistical method;

(c) Time study.

(a) Trial and Error Method:

This is the oldest method. Though more exact methods have been discovered, yet this ancient method is not yet obsolete. It is being increasingly felt that the combined judgment of supervisors, operators, and analysts based on experience and continuous observation is more accurate than the detached scientific analysis.

However, there is no denying the fact that a standard fixed on the basis of a rough judgment is likely to cause misgivings between the employees and supervisors as subjective element plays a predominant part in such a case.

(b) Statistical Method:

This method is termed as Work or Activity sampling as well since a sample of the work is taken according to standard statistical methods and thereafter the sampled work or activity is observed to see as to how the total work effort is distributed among different work activities and what is proportion of non-productive effort to the productive.

With the applicability of scientific techniques of sampling and analysis, more reliable stan­dards of work measurement can be obtained. Hence this method is in vogue for office work measurement. The system is, however, costly and beyond the comprehension of workers.

More­over, statistical analysis alone may not yield correct results. It is, therefore, advisable to combine this method with the concerted judgment of the supervisors and intelligence of the co­operative workers.

(c) Time Study (Stop-Watch Method):

This method is applicable to repetitive and me­chanical activities involving large production operations. The total work activity is measured by stop-watch. After the collection of a large amount of data, an average of the man-hour of activ­ity is taken. Thus, the standard of measurement of that activity is known.

Its Advantages:

Which of these techniques is more useful, is immaterial. Work Measure­ment is undoubtedly an important tool of management.

Firstly, it helps management to adjust work-load among different operating units and workers within the units and offices.

Secondly, it helps in estimating personnel needs, and thus is helpful in budgeting.

Thirdly, it lays the foundation of work simplification and supplies useful data for preparing long-term forecasts.

The Staff Inspection Unit in the Ministry of Finance has successfully utilized the tools of work measurement and work simplification in the study of problems like high cost personnel being used for ordinary jobs, papers being passed through a large number of stages, the large number of steps taken to reach decision in comparison with the needs of the situation, too many statistical reports being compiled where fewer ones would meet the objective, too much drafting and typing being done for processes which are so repetitive that a suitable standard form would meet the requirements, and structural arrangements not economical with the objec­tives and load carried by the units under study.

(vii) Automation:

It means the use of mechanical processes in office and paper work. Mechanization is being put to use in accounting, filing, tabulating, punching, sorting, stamping and varied types of computation work. Mechanization of the routine and repetitive work is economical both from money and man-power point of view. It also eliminates possibilities of human error in computation and such other work.

The International Business Machine (I.B.M.) has developed electronic data processing machines and electronic computers which are put at the disposal of private as well as public agencies on annual rental basis.

These machines can do all the office work except arriving at decision on discretionary matters. If initial decision is given by the authority concerned, a computer can do the rest. It can even inspect the results and make a choice, write an answer and check its accuracy.

First, it has saved money and labour in the office work. Second, it has helped management to introduce effective supervision and co-ordination in work. Third, it has caused the elimination of monotony and increase of productivity.

Disadvantages:

It may lead to widespread unemployment. In countries like India where unemployment is already rampant, its introduction may further worsen the situation. No doubt, in developing democracies, its introduction will pose a big problem till alternatives for the unemployed are provided.

Hence it is suggested that its introduction may not be conceived in isolation. It shall be part and parcel of total economic plan of the country and should be intro­duced by stages.

Essay # 6 . Functions of Organisation and Method:

The O and M office stands for assisting line officials for effecting improvement in the management.

Following are its main functions:

a. Research:

O and M office (central) stands for developing and considering new ideas for administrative systems.

Such ideas relate to organizing, staffing, budgeting, accounting, del­egation, co-ordination, supervision, etc.; use of techniques like work management, work simpli­fication, statistical method and quality control and the improvement of office management by making use of office machines, sound record management, better layout, good system of stan­dards, measurement and cost control.

b. Investigation:

The Central Office is concerned with the carrying out of investigations necessitating a broader and more specialized knowledge than can be provided locally. Through such investigations, procedures and methods of the various administrative agencies are thor­oughly analyzed.

c. Training:

O and M central imparts training to O and M men. Such a qualified well-trained staff feeds the O and M units. Besides, training helps in promoting interest in O and M programmes. It tones up the administrative organisation.

d. Information:

It serves as a clearing house of information regarding the O and M work transacted at all levels of government. It collects relevant information, builds up a library and makes available information to those who require it.

e. Publication:

It publishes guides, manuals, research material, hand books, bulletins, periodicals, and literature concerning both the theory and practice of O and M.

f. Co-ordination:

In order to prevent overlapping, avoid conflicts and remove contra­dictions, O and M central plays the role of a coordinator. It stimulates interest in the programme and assists line officials in planning and implementing their O and M efforts.

The functions of a central O and M unit can be summed up as comprehensive reviews of departments; research in O and M techniques; training of O and M officials; co-ordination; investigating and helping solve particular problems; analyzing organisation methods and proce­dures; publishing guide-lines for the supervisors and managers; and serving as reservoir of information regarding O and M work.

E. D. Melrose has very well summed up the role of O and M in these words, “…the O and M man is to get the best organisation and the best method and O and M is the technique which obtains a desired and necessary end with the minimum of outlay and effort.”

It may again be emphasized that the role of O and M units is essentially advisory. It is a staff function. It is to be seen as a service to ministries/departments/offices. It is primarily a service rendering service that it may be called upon to perform.

If a particular department avoids taking its advice or does not abide by it, the O & M unit is not to force the issue. Further, O and M is not a substitute for all-round management improvement. Its work is but a part of the entire government effort at improvement. The problems of Government are to be solved by the combined efforts of specialists, administrators, politicians and the public.

Essay # 7 . Advantages of Organisation and Method:

The main advantages of O and M are the following:

(a) A Device to Improve Administration:

O and M provides machinery to improve the administration, as it critically reviews the organisation of its various branches and methods of work followed therein. Such a review is of dire necessity even in the best organised offices.

(b) Structure of Government Office and its Procedure made Adaptable:

Since it makes a provision for a machinery to review government organisation and method, it keeps the structure of government office and procedure adopted by it up-to-date. Government organisation can hardly remain static for a long time. It must adjust itself with the changing times for the sake of its own survival. Such adjustments are often piecemeal.

They are responsible for unplanned development both of the organisation and the methods of work. It necessitates a complete over­haul. However, there is a great time lag between a change in the outward circumstances and a corresponding planned change in the government organisation and methods. Though O and M may not completely eliminate this time lag, yet it can help in overcoming it to some extent.

However, the number of people employed for O and M work is manifold, even complete elimi­nation of time lag is possible. With the elimination or at least reduction of time lag, and the adaptability of governmental machinery to the changing circumstances, its functioning becomes smooth and efficiency is effected.

(c) Reservoir of Experience:

As the ‘O and M’ units function as centres of management research, experience is accumulated. This wealth of experience proves conducive to offices and institutions with regard to problems pertaining to organization and methods. Moreover, it proves useful for devising plans for new organisation undertaking fresh activities.

Essay # 8 . Disadvantages of Organisation and Method:

O and M though is of immense use yet it is not safe from the perennial shafts of the critics.

Following are its disadvantages:

(a) O and M becomes a Fault Finder:

It is contended that the system degenerates into a sort of internal policing. If the O and M experts behave as critics and fault finders, instead of acting as staff agencies to the line agency, the very purpose of the organisation stands defeated. The O and M officers are not the inspectors. Theirs is a very tactful role. If they fail to play it well, they are apt to invite ridicule.

They have to find out flaws in the organisation but not as inspectors or policemen. They are supposed to win the confidence of the head of the department and with his help and assistance, elicit the co-operation of all officers and employees in the organisation. If they fail to do so, they will not be able to function effectively as the organisation concerned will develop a sort of resistance complex.

(b) Usurpers of Line Functions:

The O and M out step their role of advisers. They en­croach upon the powers of administrators and managers. Instead of winning confidence of the head of the department, they pose as his potential rival. They try to impose an idea upon opera­tional heads. They fail to convince the operational head regarding the justifiability of their view­point.

(c) Aura of Technicality not Avoided:

The O and M men do not avoid aura of technical­ity. The more technical their work becomes, the farther they drift from the operational heads. The farther they go away from the management and supervision, the less useful they remain in actual practice.

Conclusion:

If the O and M successfully avoids these pitfalls it can prove an asset for administration. It brings in tune the administrative machinery to its changing needs and require­ments and is instrumental in maintaining and improving administrative machinery.

Essay # 9 . Qualities of Organisation and Method:

(a) He should keep in in the necessity for the correct approach desirable in any officer, but essential for O and man.

(b) He must carefully claim that his suggestion will effect financial financial savings.

(c) He should not equate staff exactly. He must study the varying capabilities and oddities of people dispassionately.

(d) He should consider administration as means to an end and not an end in itself. Department differ. So does their mode of work. If the department in general is efficient, such an atmosphere would be respected and preserved.

Essay # 10 . Location of Organisation and Method Agency:

Since the O and M performs important functions and comes into contact with different departments, therefore, the ruling consideration is that it should be located in some ministry or other organisation which can command ready influence and respect with the various departments and offices.

Consistently with this requirement, there are three kinds of alternative arrangements adopted by various countries. In the USA and UK it is located in the Bureau of the Budget and Treasury respectively. The prevailing view is that Finance Department is something of a super-department and exercises considerable influence and control over other departments.

The sec­ond alternative is to place the O and M activity and connected research under the Public Service Commission or similar other agency. This is the case in Canada and Australia. The third variant is to place the O and M work in a high administrative or staff agency close to the chief executive.

Thus in India, the O and M division earlier located in the Cabinet Secretariat is now a part of the Department of Personnel, Training and Administrative Reforms.

Essay # 11. Staffing of Organisation and Method Units:

The staffing problem involves two questions what should be the qualification of the O and M personnel and secondly, wherefrom they should be drafted to service. The qualities an O and M officer should possess are different from the qualities of any other executive officer or man in the line agency.

Anybody cannot be a good O and M man. He has to win confidence and enthusiastic cooperation from all ranks. He is not a fault-finder. He should be temperamentally capable of dealing with people in the organisation. He should be a man of initiative and good judgment.

He should be capable to direct and coordinate the efforts of O and M taskforces, working groups, committees etc. In short, he must be a person with more than average intelligence, imagination and ability.

In view of the importance of personal qualities of O and M officer, the educational and age qualification are not of much significance for selecting people for this work. Knowledge of the governmental organization and office work seems to be more important. However, the re­cruit is to learn the O and M work after joining the O and M unit. This training in O and M work is more important than educational qualifications.

The staffing pattern of O and M personnel differs from country to century. In the U.S.A. three different patterns are followed:

(i) Transfer of full-time personnel from the operating agency,

(ii) Recruitment of experienced personnel from outside the agency, and

(iii) Temporary detail of personnel from the operating elements.

In Great Britain staff for a departmental O and M branch is normally found from within by transfer from ordinary department work. The central O and M division draws its staff from other Departments but partly from within the Civil Service Department itself In Sweden, the O and M personnel is drawn from among the experts serving elsewhere.

They are economists, senior civil servants, military officers or big executives of private sector. Canada first tried the experiment of recruiting O and M personnel through a competitive examination, but later adopted the U.S. practice.

In India, the Central O and M division is manned by personnel drawn from the civil service—the Central Secretariat Services and the Central Field Services. Some persons belong­ing to the I.A.S. have also been taken into the Staff Inspection Unit.

The O and M cells in the individual ministries are under the charge of an officer generally of the rank of the Deputy Secretary designated as O and M officer. This officer looks after the O and M in addition to his other responsibilities. Thus O and M work is a part-time job at the level of the ministries.

It is recognized that training is the principal means of preparing suitable O and M person­nel. In India, the Ministry of Personnel, Training and Administrative Reforms is responsible to organize training programmes in O and M and allied techniques of administrative improvement.

Related Articles:

• Departmental System of Organisation: 3 Advantages | Public Administration
• O and M Unit in Various Countries | Techniques | Public Administration
• 2 Main Types of Organisation | Public Administration
• Organisation of a Department: 4 Principles | Public Administration

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• Using Common Features for HCM

Organization Payment Methods Overview

Organization payment methods (OPM) control how you pay payroll payments to your employees and third parties. OPMs interact with payroll definitions, payment sources, payment rules, prenotifications, and link the personal payment methods (PPMs) with your organization payment sources.

After setting up the banks, bank branches, and bank accounts that you use, you can define payment methods for your organization. OPMs include key information, such as payment type, currency, and company bank information.

You must create one organization payment method for each combination of legislative data group, payment type, and currency that you use to disburse wages and other compensation. You can also create rules to determine the distribution of payments from a specific bank account for a specific group of payees. Use the Organization Payment Methods page to view, create and edit.

Payment Types

When you create an organization payment method, select a payment type.

These are the most common payment types and the name of the corresponding payment processes:

Currency is typically defined as the same currency as your company's source bank account. Define currency in the OPM for payment transfers, such as EFT files.

The prepayment process supports currency conversions but it's important to make sure your localization and bank support multi-currency payments, to include the format of the payment file that supports international payments. For example, your output currency for your elements is defined as USD. All payroll calculations use your element currency, to include net payment amounts. When you define an international transfer OPM with GBP currency and associate it to an employee's personal payment method, the prepayments process converts the payment amount from USD to GBP for the employee. And, the payment process payment file contains the converted amounts in GBP to send the payment in the employee's currency.

Payment Information

Use the payment information region to capture details for your payments. For example, you can specify a maximum limit for each payment made using the organization payment method. You also have an option to define a maximum limit for the total payment transaction.

The exact content of this region can vary based on the selected payment type and your localization.

Prenotifications

Prenotifications or prenotes are typically 0 amount electronic entries you send to a bank to verify the routing number and account number of the receiving bank. Use the Organization Payment Methods task, to configure following prenotification rules for direct deposit payment types.

If you prenote bank accounts in your legacy system, you may choose to skip the prenote process when you implement payroll. To do this use the Payroll Bank Account Prenote Status Update data loader.

Payment Sources

Payment sources identify your company bank accounts debited for payroll payments. You must associate at least one payment source to an organization payment method.

This validation occurs to ensure the bank account on the payment source are available for payroll payments:

Must be associated to a Payroll Statutory Unit (PSU). You must either assign a PSU legal entity to the bank account or assign a legal employer with a parent PSU to the bank account.

Must be enabled for payroll payments. You must select Payroll in the Account Use option for the bank account.

Must have active bank account. You must assign a bank account that's active at the time of the payroll payment.

You can use the same bank account in different payment sources in more than one organization payment method, as in this example.

Payment Method Rules

Payment method rules define the appropriate payment source to be used for payment to a specific group of payees. If you define multiple payment sources for an organization payment method, you must set up payment method rules.

You can define standard payment method rules based on the tax reporting unit (TRU) of an employee. You can also use the payment criteria feature to set up payment method rules to derive payment sources within a single TRU, such as rules based on department, job or location.

This example shows payment method rules based on the TRU of the payee. The organization payment method has three different payment sources.

The first payment source that you add is the default payment source, but you can select another payment source as the default, or not have a default payment source.

To understand the effect of a default payment source, consider these examples that describe what happens when a TRU changes, and causes an invalid payment rule.

International Transfer Payment

The international transfer payment type supports payment methods for electronic funds transfer (EFT) payments to a country different from the originating payment source.

In order for you to use this functionality, you must be able to support payments to international bank accounts. For example, the US supports a file format called IAT NACHA, which supports making payments from the US to bank accounts which reside outside of the US. Attach the file format to the 'International EFT' report category.

Related Topics

• Payment Sources in Organization Payment Methods Setup Examples
• Configure Payment Method Preferences
• How do I import organization data?
• Payment Method Rules Setup Examples
• Example of Skipping Prenotes