Once you have come up with ideas or gathered information that you would like to include in your paper, it is important to consider how this information would make the most sense to your reader. Most U.S. academic writers organize their papers according to four principles—space, time, logic, and association (St. Martin’s Handbook 64).
The following links can help you understand different organizational strategies so that you can decide how to best organize your text:
Some Useful Handouts
Understanding Writing Assignments, from the Purdue OWL This link will take you to the section on understanding writing assignments of Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab. This hand out “describes some steps you can take to better understand the requirements of your writing assignments.”
Some Useful Web Resources
Outlining
This article, by David Kornhaber for the Writing Center at Harvard University (2000), provides a clear, efficient explanation of the benefits and the elements of outlines.
Beginning the Academic Essay
This article, by Patricia Kain for the Writing Center at Harvard University (1999), provides clear, practical advice on figuring out a good opening for your essay, figuring out how long it should be, how it should be organized, and other common concerns.
The Assignment Calculator, from the University of Minnesota
As described on the University of Minnesota Center for Writing website: “Students can use this tool to break down any assignment for any course into manageable steps. After entering a due date and the academic department in which their course is being offered, users are given a series of suggested stages and deadlines to follow as they complete the assignment—the newest version of this tool will even provide email reminders if students request it. This tool was developed by the University of Minnesota Libraries in collaboration with the Center for Writing and the Center for Teaching and Learning Services.”
Drafting Legal Documents
This resource, presented by the Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration, covers the following topics: Arrangement, Headings, Purpose Clause, Definitions, Ambiguity, Principles of Clear Writing, Cross References, Punctuation, Capitalization, Typography and Spelling, and Formatting Requirements for Regulatory Documents.
How to Give PowerPoint Presentations
This link will take you to an article by Jeff Wuorio of the Microsoft Small Business Center. The article contains ten easy-to-follow tips for good Power Point presentations. Two other excellent resources on organizing and designing PowerPoint presentations are: Designing Presentation Slides: Re-thinking the Design of Presentation Slides, Michael Alley’s work from Virginia Tech, and Design of Scientific Posters.
Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students
From the website: “These guidelines for engineering writing and scientific writing are designed to help students communicate their technical work. To that end, these guidelines contain advice, models, and exercises for common writing and speaking assignments in engineering and science.” The website covers Audience, Format, Style, and other subjects. Contributors are Virginia Tech, the University of Illinois, the University of Texas, and Georgia Tech.
How to Organize Your Thesis, by John W. Chinneck of Carleton University (Ottawa)
As described on the University of Minnesota Center for Writing website: “This advice from Carleton University (Ottawa) computer science professor John W. Chinneck is widely generalizable across the disciplines. Not only does Chinneck offer a clear basic outline for a dissertation, but he helps writers conceptualize the project of a dissertation in the first place (see section entitled ‘What Graduate Research Is All About’).”
Writing Websites for a Global Audience
In addition to offering advice, this resource offers links to related resources for planning and organizing websites.
