chronological order thesis

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9.3 Organizing Your Writing

Learning objectives.

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

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

This section covers three ways to organize body paragraphs:

Chronological order
Order of importance
Spatial order

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

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

Chronological Order

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

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

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

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

Writing at Work

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

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

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

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

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

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

Order of Importance

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

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

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

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

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

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

Spatial Order

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

Key Takeaways

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

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V. Process and Organization

5.2 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 5.2.1: Spatial Order Transition Words

Practice Activity

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 . Archival link: https://web.archive.org/web/20230711203012/https://oer.galileo.usg.edu/english-textbooks/8/

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 .

5.2 Methods of Organizing Your Writing Copyright © 2023 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.

Organizing Your Writing

Writing for Success

Learning Objectives

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

This section covers three ways to organize body paragraphs:

Chronological order
Order of importance
Spatial order

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER

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

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

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

WRITING AT WORK

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

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

ORDER OF IMPORTANCE

Order of importance is best used for the following purposes:

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

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

SPATIAL ORDER

Spatial order is best used for the following purposes:

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

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

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

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

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

Key Takeaways

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

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Chronological

One important aspect that is often overlooked in the writing process is the structure and order that ideas will appear in the paper. Depending on what you will be writing, there are different organizational structures that may strengthen or weaken your writing based on which you select. This handout is designed to give more information on chronological organization patterns , but you can find more information about other organization patterns from our General Organizational Strategies Guide , which will direct you to other handouts that will address other categories of organization patterns.

Sometimes, you will have a topic that needs to be organized in chronological order. If you’re writing a biography of a person, detailing a historical event, or reviewing a period of time, you likely should write about those things from their earliest point to their latest point in time as demonstrated in the example below.

Joanne Rowling was born July 31, 1965 and grew up with her family in Gloucestershire. When she was six years old, she wrote her very first book featuring the adventures of a rabbit, and ever since then, she wanted to become an author.

This desire didn’t come to fruition until 1990. During a train delay from Manchester to London, the idea of Harry Potter first came to her head, and she continued to plan and develop the magical world of Hogwarts over the next five years. Although she initially struggled to find a publisher to accept Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone , it was eventually published by Bloomsbury in 1997. The series gained international acclaim and widespread popularity. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows broke world records for the fastest selling book ever—2.65 million copies in twenty-four hours.

Since the completion of the Harry Potter series, Rowling continues to live in Edinburgh with her three children and husband. Writing continues to be a large part of Rowling’s life, and she has started other writing projects like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and The Cuckoo’s Calling series.

Information about Rowling was collected from the following websites:

“Biography.” J.K Rowling , 2012, http://www.jkrowling.com/en_GB/#/about-jk-rowling

“Biography.” Harry Potter , Bloomsbury, 2012, http://www.harrypotter.bloomsbury.com/uk/jk-rowling-biography/

When discussing order of events, you can organize your paragraphs by decade or by theme. In this case, Rowling’s biography is divided into paragraphs about her early life, the time before and after publishing her first book, and her current life and recent projects. Though it is missing many events, the biography does highlight important aspects concerning her early career. As a writer, you have to pick which events and ideas need to be featured. Notice how the author uses transitional phrases and time markers like “when she was six years old…,” “during a train delay…,” and “since the completion of the Harry Potter series…,” to help keep the biography organized.

Narrative Writing

With narrative writing, events are most often told chronologically with a clear beginning, middle, and end and often feature a combination of description and dialogue. Although main events may be told in chronological order, there may be references to the past and mentions of past events. Without clearly noting when events are occurring and differentiating between what occurred in the past and what is currently happening, the narrative could become very confusing. Use transitional phrases to indicate these “dips” into the past. Below, we have an example of a narrative that makes these occasional journeys into the past. As you’ll read, this narrative contains a combination of dialogue and description of events. Descriptions become more detailed at more important parts of the story. Note that the transitional phrases and paragraph separations help keep the reader on track and note the transition of time:

When I was old enough to get a driver’s permit, my mom made her role during my driving education very clear: “It’s your Dad’s turn.” She taught my older sister how to drive two years ago, and it seemed that was more than enough for her. Dad laughed it off, claiming that when he was through with me, I’d be the best driver in the family. He had so much faith in me, he let me drive his Lexus rather than the beat up Grand Prix during my first driving lesson. He drove me to an abandoned baseball stadium parking lot and pulled the car next to a giant pile of snow.

As I got out of the passenger seat to take my Dad’s place, I slipped on some ice, landing on the ground and soaking my pants. I should’ve taken this as a sign of things to come. The car door was left open for me, and I slid inside. The seat was so far back, my feet didn’t even touch the pedals. I tried to scoot forward to reach them, and my dad just laughed. I fidgeted in the seat, trying to get comfortable without changing any of the settings. When I was younger, we used to take road trips, and Dad would always get angry whenever Mom altered any of his car settings like the air conditioning or even the mirrors. As I shifted and tried to get comfortable, I was hyper conscious that one wrong setting alteration could make him angry. He let me carry on a few more minutes before he said, “Now, how do you expect to drive like that? Just move the seat.”

Once adjusted, I sat there, staring at the “road” ahead of me. Most of the parking lot had been plowed clean, but there were several icy patches and snow drifts that towered over our tiny car. There were light poles and numbered sections arranged in neat rows. I hoped I wouldn’t crash into one. He then gave me two instructions, “Now, just drive. Don’t hit a snow drift.”

At first, I was too scared to drive more than five miles an hour, but after ten minutes of aimlessly driving around, I got brave. Seven, eight, nine, ten, I felt like I was flying; if I were driving on a real road with real cars, I’d surely get pulled over for speeding. My dad shook his head, “You can go faster than that.”

At fifteen miles an hour, when I tried to turn around a pole, the car slid into a snow drift. The yelling started immediately. I was so desperate to get out, I almost ran out of the car without putting the car in park. The yelling grew louder, and I felt like a small child. Once the car was parked, I bolted out of the car and waited for my dad to circle the car. After determining the car was relatively unharmed, we both went into the car, trading seats to release me from my first driving lesson. When we got home, Dad said that Mom could suck it up and teach me how to drive from now on.

If you look closely at the example above, you will note that the author uses phrases like “two years ago” and “when I was younger” to signal to the audience that she is going even further back in time. The author is sure to differentiate between what is currently happening in the story and what happened in the past. It is important to be clear with your audience about the timeline when writing in chronological order.

IMAGES

Example of a Thesis Timeline for Organized and On-Track Writing
Chronological Order in Essay Writing
Chronological Order in Essay Writing
Literature Review Outline: Writing Approaches With Examples
Types of Essay
Chronological order process essays

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COMMENTS

How to Write a Chronological Essay
Example of chronological order: ... A thesis statement that summarizes the main message of your chronological essays should be restructured and repeated several times during writing. This technique is used by writers to express the main idea of the essay in the introduction and throughout the text. The thesis proposal should be catchy and ...
9.3 Organizing Your Writing
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.
PDF Writing Academic English
3. Following are the three keys to success in writing a chronological order essay: Group the steps or events into paragraphs where natural breaks occur. Write a thesis statement that indicates chronological order. Use chronological order signal words and phrases to show the sequence of steps (in a process) or events (in a narration). gaping ...
Chronological Order
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. ... For example, if you were supporting your thesis that ...
5.2 Methods of Organizing Your Writing
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. ... For example, if you were supporting your thesis that ...
Organizing Your Writing
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. ... For example, if you were supporting your thesis that ...
How to Write a Chronological Essay: A Detailed Writing Guide
Chronological Order vs. Sequential Order. While sequence and chronological order may seem synonymous, they have distinct differences. Sequential order focuses on the order of steps taken and the relative occurrence of events. On the other hand, chronological order pertains to the sequence of actions in a temporal context, making it ideal for ...
Chronological Order Thesis
Chronological order can be used to support the thesis, by adding a topic sentence on how once teenagers reach a certain age group, they become seemingly interested in carrying on adult activities. That would serve as a form of introduction in the beginning of my essay.
Chronological
One important aspect that is often overlooked in the writing process is the structure and order that ideas will appear in the paper. Depending on what you will be writing, there are different organizational structures that may strengthen or weaken your writing based on which you select. This handout is designed to give more information on chronological organization patterns, but you can find ...
How to Structure an Essay
Chronological structure. The chronological approach (sometimes called the cause-and-effect approach) is probably the simplest way to structure an essay. It just means discussing events in the order in which they occurred, discussing how they are related (i.e. the cause and effect involved) as you go.