Patterns of Essay Organization

Organizing an essay is essentially the same as organizing a paragraph; the only difference is that instead of working with single sentences, you are working with paragraphs. You can use the same patterns (or combination of patterns) for essays as you use for paragraphs. You simply decide what information belongs in each paragraph, and then in what order you should arrange the' paragraphs. You already know three patterns of organization in English: chronological order, logical division/order of importance, and comparison / contrast as ways of sequencing ideas. So far. however, you have studied these different orders only within a paragraph.

Chronological Order

            As you already know, chronological order is order by time. 1t is used in almost all academic fields. One of its primary uses is to explain processes such as how to plan a community meeting, how to perform a physics experiment, or how to playa game. Even when giving directions for someone to come to your house or when you write a recipe, you use chronological order: First, preheat the oven to 350°£ Next. mix together. .•. In addition to explaining processes, chronological order is also used to describe events over a period of time. Biography. autobiography, history, and narrative ("story") writing all use chronological order.

MODEL

Chronological Order Essay

Understanding Chemobyl

Clouds of radioactive steam shoot into the sky. Fires bum unstoppably. sending radioactive smoke and particles into the atmosphere. Men dressed in protective clothing work feverishly to extinguish the fires and contain the contamination. Hundreds of residents hastily grab their possessions and flee their homes. Roadblocks are erected to keep strangers away. This was the scene at the Chemobyl nuclear power plant in the former U.S.S.R. in April 198$.The plant's nuclear reactor had exploded. spreading radioactive contamination over an area that stretched as far away as Norway and Sweden. This catastrophic accident renewed fears about the safety of nuclear reactors around the world. Are such fears justified? In order to understand how the accident at Chernobyl happened. it is necessary to understand how a nuclear power plant is constructed and how one operates. A nuclear power plant contains a nuclear reactor that uses controlled nuclear fissions to produce electricity. The reactor consists of ruel rods alternating with control rods inside a very large container called the reactor core. The fuel rods IS contain radioactive ruel such as uranium-235 and the control rods contain neutron absorbing substances such as boron and cadmium. By varying the depth of the control rods within the core. one can increase or decrease the absorption of neutrons. thereby speeding up or slowing down the fission process. If necessary, these rods can be dropped all the way into the core to stop the reaction completely. A high-pressure water bath surrounds the rods. The water acts as a coolant by slowing down the neutrons. In some reactors, graphite is added to the water because graphite also slows down neutrons. A confinement shell usually surrounds the parts containing radioactive material so that radioactivity cannot escape. How do nuclear reactors produce electricity? First. a series of nuclear fissions u are produced by bombarding the nuclei' of uranium-235 with neutrons. When a neutron strikes a nucleus. the nucleus splits releasing energy. The released energy then heats the water surrounding the rods. After that. the hot water is pumped to a heat exchanger, where steam is produced. Finally, the steam passes to a turbine that drives a generator to produce electricity. How did the accident at Chernobyl happen It happened because on the day of the accident. the safety system on the reactor had been disabled while operators performed an experimental test. During the test. a. reactor cooled excessively and threatened to shut down. If this happened. the operators would not be able to restart the reactor for a long period of time. To avoid such a situation. they removed most of the control rods, which was against all safety rules. Soon. the reactor began to overheat. When the reactor overheated. the fuel rods melted and spilled their radioactive contents into the superheated water, which then flashed into steam. Next. the increased pressure from the steam blew the top off the reactor. and because there was no confinement shell around the reactor, radioactive material blew into the sky. At the same time, hot steam reacted with the zirconium shells of the fuel rods and with the graphite in the coolant water to produce hydrogen gas, which then ignited. The graphite bumed for a long time, spreading even more radioactivity into the atmosphere . .In the end. the cost of the Chemobyl accident was enormous. Thirty-one people died. and several hundred were hospitalized. Thousands had to be evacuated and resettled. The soil around Chernobyl will remain contaminated for years. The lesson from Chemobyl is this: A well-designed nuclear power plant using normal fuel is not dangerous as long as proper safety procedures are followed. However, poor design and or disregard for safety regulations can lead to catastrophe.

            The organization of the model essay follows a typical plan for a chronological process type of essay. The first paragraph is, of course. the introduction. It captures the reader's interest and names the topic. The first paragraph of the body describes the tools, equipment, or ingredients needed for the process, and the remaining body paragraphs explain the steps in the process. The final paragraph concludes the essay by mentioning the process result and making a final comment. You could follow this same plan to write up a lab experiment for a science class or even to write cooking instructions for your favorite recipe.

Transition Signals for Chronological Order

The transition signals used in chronological order essays are the same as those used in time order paragraphs. They also contain time phrases (such as before the earthquake, while stirring . the soup. and before adding the liquid. etc.).

Review the chart of transition signals on page 59. Then competethe chart on page 125 with expressions from the model essay "Understanding Chemobyl" showing order in time.

Dramatic Introductory Paragraphs

Perhaps you noticed that the essay about Chernobyl did not have a "funnel" introductory paragraph. Instead. it used a dramatic description of the scene around Chernobyl minutes and days after the accident. This type of introduction is called a dramatic introductory paragraph. The thesis statement is in its normal position at the end of the paragraph, and the words "how the accident at Chernobyl happened" and "how one operates" both point to chronological development.

This type of introduction is effective because it captures the reader's interest and attention. If you wish, you could narrate a dramatic story instead of describing a dramatic scene. For example, in an essay about a social problem such as youth gangs. your introduction could be a dramatic introductory paragraph telling the story of a young person's violent encounter with a gang.

Thesis Statements for Chronological Order

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A thesis statement for a chronological order essay should do two things: (1) it should name the topic, and (2) it should indicate that the essay will be organized in chronological order. Words such as the process of, the procedure of, the development of, the evolution of, five stages. two steps, several phases. etc. indicate that chronological order will be used. Here are some examples:

The field of genetic engineering has developed rapidly in the past ten years.

My passion for physics evolved slowly during my high school years,

The process of taking inventory in a small retail business has become much easier since the development of bar coding technology.

The process of heating water by using the sun's rays is a simple process.

Sometimes, the number of steps in a process or procedure is mentioned:

The process of heating water by using the sun's rays involves three main steps.

The thesis statement may even name the steps: The main steps in the process of heating water by using the sun's rays are (I) trapping the sun's energy. (2) heating and storing the hot water, and (3) distributing the hot water to its points of use.

STEP 1 With a partner or small group, orally brainstorm dramatic introductions to essays on all six of the topics below. STEP 2 For the three chronological order topics only, write out dramatic introductory paragraphs, including thesis statements.

General Topics Chronological Order Topics

Automobile safety How to travel safely Corruption in politics Saving a life: How to administer CPR Intercultural marriages Earthquake survival

Choose one of the three chronological order topics given above and write an essay using chronological order as a method of organization. Follow these steps to success:

I. Brainstorm by free writing. Listing or clustering all the steps in the process that

you are going to explain. :1. Draw a simple diagram or flowchart that shows the steps.

1.      Develop an outline from your flowchart.

2.      Write your first draft.

•                     Write a funnel or a dramatic introduction paragraph, as you prefer.

•                     Be sure to use chronological transition signals.

•                     Revise your first draft as you have learned. Ask a classmate to review your essay, using the Peer Editing Checklist on page 120.

Alternate Topic Suggestions

How to make ___

How to overcome a fear

How to repair a broken heart or any other interesting How'to learn a foreign language object     that involves a several step 'process)

How to cook a special dish from your culture

How a special holiday is celebrated in your culture

How to get a driver's license