Patterns of Organization

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Patterns of Organization
The details of a
paragraph, paragraphs within an essay, events
within a short story, or sections within a
textbook often fit a pattern. If you can
recognize the pattern, you will find it easier
to remember the content.
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Relationships Patterns of Organization

• Relationships that involve addition
• Relationships that involve time
• Relationships that involve a definition and
  examples
• Relationships that involve comparison and/or
  contrast
• Relationships that involve cause and effect

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Patterns of Organization Addition or List of Items
Arrange the sentences below into a logical
paragraph. _4_A Third reaction to danger used by
opossums is to bluff their way out of a tight
spot by hissing and baring their teeth. _1_The
opossum reacts to danger in one of several
ways. 2__First, some varieties of opossum spray
unpleasant odors. _3_Opossums are very likely to
run away from danger. _5_Finally, the best-known
opossum defense is to play dead by entering
into a coma-like state brought on by fear.
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Patterns of Organization--Time-Order

Even before he meets the three witches,
Macbeth dreams of becoming King of Scotland.
Then the three witches predict he will be king.
Finally the queen convinces him to murder King
Duncan and take over the country.
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Usually, events are presented in the order in
which they happen. Arrange the following group
of sentences into an order that makes
sense. ____By 1960 the number of TV sets in the
country had risen above 50 million. ____After
eight years, there were a million TV sets in the
United States. ____Interest in television grew
rapidly when broad-casting began in 1941. ____By
1994 there were over 211 million TV sets
in American homes.
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Patterns of Organization Definition and Example
Arrange the following group of sentences into an
order that makes sense. ___You might, for
instance, sit calmly through a friends criticism
and act as if it didnt bother you. ___Apathy is
an avoidance response in which a person
acknowledges unpleasant information but pretends
he or she doesnt care. ___Another example is
responding to the loss of a job by acting
indifferent Who cares? It was a dumb job
anyway.
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Patterns of Organization Comparison and/or
Contrast Arrange the sentences below into a
logical paragraph. __In contrast, the original
Italian story is the gruesome tale of the
Princess Talia, who falls into a magical sleep in
the woods, where she is raped by a nobleman and,
later on, gives birth to twins, whom the
noblemans wife tries to have killed and cooked
for dinner. __It is often said that fairy tales,
with their heavy doses of violence, are too scary
for young children. __Consider the story of
Sleeping Beauty that todays children know, which
involves a princess who is put to sleep by a
wicked witch and then awakened by the kiss of her
true love. __But todays versions of fairy tales
are actually less frightening than the original
stories.
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Patterns of Organization Cause Effect Arrange
the scrambled sentences below into a logical
paragraph. __Also, high tuitions affect the
amount of time available for studying because
loans and scholarships are hard to get, many
students have to put in numerous hours before
school. __For one thing, it undoubtedly prevents
some students from attending college in the first
place. __Finally those who do manage to get loans
know that they must begin their careers with
large debt. The high cost of college today causes
problems for many students in more ways than
one. __It is difficult to manage money and
schooling.
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• Class Exercise
• For each of the following statements, identify
  the pattern that is suggested and write its name.
  Choose from among the following patterns
• a) Addition or Items in a List b)
  Comparison/Contrast
• c) Cause and Effect d) Definition and Example
  e)Time/Order
• Many drivers take to the roads in July and August
  when families traditionally go on a vacation.
  As a result, oil companies raise gas prices in
  the summer.
• Ive become very absent-minded. Last week, for
  instance I went to work on my day off.
• A good study space is well-lighted. In addition,
  it is free from distractions such as television
  or stereo.
• While some birds meet only to mate, others stay
• together to share child-rearing.
• 
  
  

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• Definition
• A boycott is an organized refusal by a group
• of people to deal with another person or group in
• order to achieve a specific goal. An
  illustration is the famous boycott that began in
  1955 when Mrs. Rosa Parks refused to obey local
  laws requiring African-American people to sit in
  the back of the bus.
• Mrs. Parks was arrested, and that sparked a
  boycott
• of the Montgomery bus systems by
  African-Americans. The boycott was organized by
  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Rather than continue
  to lose money, the city repealed the law.

Patterns of Organization
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• Class Exercise
• For each of the following statements, identify
  the pattern that is evident and write its name..
  Choose from among the following patterns a)
  Enumeration b) Classification
• c) Comparison/Contrast d) Cause and
  Effect.
• 1. Many drivers take to the roads in July and
  August when families traditionally go on a
  vacation. As a result, oil companies raise gas
  prices in the summer.
• Human muscles can be divided into three groups
  according to their structure and nerves that
  activate them. (Wallace, Biology The World of
  Life.)
• A good study space is well-lighted. In addition,
  it is free from distractions such as television
  or stereo.
• 4. While some birds meet only to mate, others
  stay
• together to share child-rearing.
• 
  
  

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Transitions
Transitions are words or phrases that show the
relationships between ideas. Two major types of
transitions are words that show addition and
words that show time. Pgs. 149-150
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Mixed Patterns Many
texts contain sections and passages that combine
one or more of the organizational patterns. For
instance, in listing characteristics of a newly
developed computer program, an author may
explain it by comparing it to similar existing
Programs. When reading mixed
patterns, focus on one of the Patterns and use it
to guide your reading. Choose the most obvious
or predominant pattern.
pgs.218-219
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Relationships IChapter 5, p. 149
Authors use two common methods to show
relationships and make their ideas clear.
The two methods are transitions and
patterns of organization.
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Common Organizational Patterns

• Chronological Order (time order or
• sequence of events)
• Definition
• Classification
• Comparison/Contrast
• Cause-Effect
• Enumeration

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• Patterns Relationships Among Ideas
• In this chapter you will learn
• To recognize common organizational patterns.
• To use patterns to increase your reading
  efficiency.
• To use directional words to understand
  relationships.
• The details of a paragraph, paragraphs
  within an essay, events within a short story or
  sections within a textbook often fit a pattern.
  If you can recognize the pattern, you will find
  it easier to remember the content.
  
  pgs.196-198

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Chronological Order
Items are listed in the time order in which they
occurred or in a specifically planned order in
which they must develop. In both cases, order is
important, and changing it would change the
meaning.see pgs. 199-200. Signal words
often used for chronological order first,
second, third, before, after,until, next, at
last, later, etc.see p. 201. Even before he
meets the three witches, Macbeth dreams of
becoming King of Scotland. Then the witches
predict he will be king finally, his wife
convinces him to murder King Duncan and take over
the county.
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Usually, events
are presented in the order in which they happen.
Arrange the following group of sentences
into an order that makes sense. ____By 1960 the
number of TV sets in the country had
risen above 50 million. ____After eight years,
there were a million TV sets in the
United States. ____Interest in television grew
rapidly when broad- casting began in
1941. ____By 1994 there were over 211 million TV
sets American homes.
Patterns of Organization
Chronological Order