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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.

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Writing a Paper: Revising for Effective Organization

Revising for effective organization, whole-essay organization:.

These strategies will help you identify paragraphs with information or ideas that need to be rearranged or adjusted.

• Read each paragraph. On note paper, write the central idea for each paragraph, forming an outline of your paper.
• Does each central idea help you support the thesis of your paper? If not, then you have gone off-topic. Identify which paragraph does not relate to your assignment, and revise it.
• Do your ideas progress logically? If not, then you have presented them out of order. Identify which paragraphs to present earlier or later in your paper, and rearrange them.

Individual-Paragraph Organization:

These strategies will help you identify sentences that need to be added to your paragraphs. Additionally, click this link for more details about organization on the Writing Center website.

• Main point: The first sentence of each paragraph should present its main idea.
• Evidence: The next line should support for your topic with cited sources.
• Analysis: The next lines should explain the evidence and connect it to your topic.
• Lead out: The last line of each paragraph should help readers shift smoothly to the new idea in the next paragraph.
• If you find any paragraphs that do not follow the MEAL plan, identify which element is missing (main point, evidence, analysis, or lead out) and revise your paragraph to include this material.

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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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Organizing an Essay

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Some basic guidelines

The best time to think about how to organize your paper is during the pre-writing stage, not the writing or revising stage. A well-thought-out plan can save you from having to do a lot of reorganizing when the first draft is completed. Moreover, it allows you to pay more attention to sentence-level issues when you sit down to write your paper.

When you begin planning, ask the following questions: What type of essay am I going to be writing? Does it belong to a specific genre? In university, you may be asked to write, say, a book review, a lab report, a document study, or a compare-and-contrast essay. Knowing the patterns of reasoning associated with a genre can help you to structure your essay.

For example, book reviews typically begin with a summary of the book you’re reviewing. They then often move on to a critical discussion of the book’s strengths and weaknesses. They may conclude with an overall assessment of the value of the book. These typical features of a book review lead you to consider dividing your outline into three parts: (1) summary; (2) discussion of strengths and weaknesses; (3) overall evaluation. The second and most substantial part will likely break down into two sub-parts. It is up to you to decide the order of the two subparts—whether to analyze strengths or weaknesses first. And of course it will be up to you to come up with actual strengths and weaknesses.

Be aware that genres are not fixed. Different professors will define the features of a genre differently. Read the assignment question carefully for guidance.

Understanding genre can take you only so far. Most university essays are argumentative, and there is no set pattern for the shape of an argumentative essay. The simple three-point essay taught in high school is far too restrictive for the complexities of most university assignments. You must be ready to come up with whatever essay structure helps you to convince your reader of the validity of your position. In other words, you must be flexible, and you must rely on your wits. Each essay presents a fresh problem.

Avoiding a common pitfall

Though there are no easy formulas for generating an outline, you can avoid one of the most common pitfalls in student papers by remembering this simple principle: the structure of an essay should not be determined by the structure of its source material. For example, an essay on an historical period should not necessarily follow the chronology of events from that period. Similarly, a well-constructed essay about a literary work does not usually progress in parallel with the plot. Your obligation is to advance your argument, not to reproduce the plot.

If your essay is not well structured, then its overall weaknesses will show through in the individual paragraphs. Consider the following two paragraphs from two different English essays, both arguing that despite Hamlet’s highly developed moral nature he becomes morally compromised in the course of the play:

(a) In Act 3, Scene 4, Polonius hides behind an arras in Gertrude’s chamber in order to spy on Hamlet at the bidding of the king. Detecting something stirring, Hamlet draws his sword and kills Polonius, thinking he has killed Claudius. Gertrude exclaims, “O, what a rash and bloody deed is this!” (28), and her words mark the turning point in Hamlet’s moral decline. Now Hamlet has blood on his hands, and the blood of the wrong person. But rather than engage in self-criticism, Hamlet immediately turns his mother’s words against her: “A bloody deed — almost as bad, good Mother, as kill a king, and marry with his brother” (29-30). One of Hamlet’s most serious shortcomings is his unfair treatment of women. He often accuses them of sins they could not have committed. It is doubtful that Gertrude even knows Claudius killed her previous husband. Hamlet goes on to ask Gertrude to compare the image of the two kings, old Hamlet and Claudius. In Hamlet’s words, old Hamlet has “Hyperion’s curls,” the front of Jove,” and “an eye like Mars” (57-58). Despite Hamlet’s unfair treatment of women, he is motivated by one of his better qualities: his idealism. (b) One of Hamlet’s most serious moral shortcomings is his unfair treatment of women. In Act 3, Scene 1, he denies to Ophelia ever having expressed his love for her, using his feigned madness as cover for his cruelty. Though his rantings may be an act, they cannot hide his obsessive anger at one particular woman: his mother. He counsels Ophelia to “marry a fool, for wise men know well enough what monsters you make of them” (139-41), thus blaming her in advance for the sin of adultery. The logic is plain: if Hamlet’s mother made a cuckold out of Hamlet’s father, then all women are capable of doing the same and therefore share the blame. The fact that Gertrude’s hasty remarriage does not actually constitute adultery only underscores Hamlet’s tendency to find in women faults that do not exist. In Act 3, Scene 4, he goes as far as to suggest that Gertrude shared responsibility in the murder of Hamlet’s father (29-30). By condemning women for actions they did not commit, Hamlet is doing just what he accuses Guildenstern of doing to him: he is plucking out the “heart” of their “mystery” (3.2.372-74).

The second of these two paragraphs is much stronger, largely because it is not plot-driven. It makes a well-defined point about Hamlet’s moral nature and sticks to that point throughout the paragraph. Notice that the paragraph jumps from one scene to another as is necessary, but the logic of the argument moves along a steady path. At any given point in your essays, you will want to leave yourself free to go wherever you need to in your source material. Your only obligation is to further your argument. Paragraph (a) sticks closely to the narrative thread of Act 3, Scene 4, and as a result the paragraph makes several different points with no clear focus.

What does an essay outline look like?

Most essay outlines will never be handed in. They are meant to serve you and no one else. Occasionally, your professor will ask you to hand in an outline weeks prior to handing in your paper. Usually, the point is to ensure that you are on the right track. Nevertheless, when you produce your outline, you should follow certain basic principles. Here is an example of an outline for an essay on Hamlet :

This is an example of a sentence outline. Another kind of outline is the topic outline. It consists of fragments rather than full sentences. Topic outlines are more open-ended than sentence outlines: they leave much of the working out of the argument for the writing stage.

When should I begin putting together a plan?

The earlier you begin planning, the better. It is usually a mistake to do all of your research and note-taking before beginning to draw up an outline. Of course, you will have to do some reading and weighing of evidence before you start to plan. But as a potential argument begins to take shape in your mind, you may start to formalize your thoughts in the form of a tentative plan. You will be much more efficient in your reading and your research if you have some idea of where your argument is headed. You can then search for evidence for the points in your tentative plan while you are reading and researching. As you gather evidence, those points that still lack evidence should guide you in your research. Remember, though, that your plan may need to be modified as you critically evaluate your evidence.

How can I construct a usable plan?

Here are two methods for constructing a plan. The first works best on the computer. The second method works well for those who think visually. It is often the method of choice for those who prefer to do some of their thinking with pen and paper, though it can easily be transposed to a word processor or your graphic software of choice.

method 1: hierarchical outline

This method usually begins by taking notes. Start by collecting potential points, as well as useful quotations and paraphrases of quotations, consecutively. As you accumulate notes, identify key points and start to arrange those key points into an outline. To build your outline, take advantage of outline view in Word or numbered lists in Google Docs. Or consider one of the specialized apps designed to help organize ideas: Scrivener, Microsoft OneNote, Workflowy, among others. All these tools make it easy for you to arrange your points hierarchically and to move those points around as you refine your plan.You may, at least initially, keep your notes and your outline separate. But there is no reason for you not to integrate your notes into the plan. Your notes—minor points, quotations, and paraphrases—can all be interwoven into the plan, just below the main points they support. Some of your notes may not find a place in your outline. If so, either modify the plan or leave those points out.

method 2: the circle method

This method is designed to get your key ideas onto a single page, where you can see them all at once. When you have an idea, write it down, and draw a circle around it. When you have an idea that supports another idea, do the same, but connect the two circles with a line. Supporting source material can be represented concisely by a page reference inside a circle. The advantage of the circle method is that you can see at a glance how things tie together; the disadvantage is that there is a limit to how much material you can cram onto a page.

Here is part of a circle diagram

Once you are content with your diagram, you have the option of turning it into an essay outline.

What is a reverse outline?

When you have completed your first draft, and you think your paper can be better organized, consider using a reverse outline. Reverse outlines are simple to create. Just read through your essay, and every time you make a new point, summarize it in the margin. If the essay is reasonably well-organized, you should have one point in the margin for each paragraph, and your points read out in order should form a coherent argument. You might, however, discover that some of your points are repeated at various places in your essay. Other points may be out of place, and still other key points may not appear at all. Think of all these points as the ingredients of an improved outline which you now must create. Use this new outline to cut and paste the sentences into a revised version of your essay, consolidating points that appear in several parts of your essay while eliminating repetition and creating smooth transitions where necessary.

You can improve even the most carefully planned essay by creating a reverse outline after completing your first draft. The process of revision should be as much about organization as it is about style.

How much of my time should I put into planning?

It is self-evident that a well-planned paper is going to be better organized than a paper that was not planned out. Thinking carefully about how you are going to argue your paper and preparing an outline can only add to the quality of your final product. Nevertheless, some people find it more helpful than others to plan. Those who are good at coming up with ideas but find writing difficult often benefit from planning. By contrast, those who have trouble generating ideas but find writing easy may benefit from starting to write early. Putting pen to paper (or typing away at the keyboard) may be just what is needed to get the ideas to flow.

You have to find out for yourself what works best for you, though it is fair to say that at least some planning is always a good idea. Think about whether your current practices are serving you well. You know you’re planning too little if the first draft of your essays is always a disorganized mess, and you have to spend a disproportionate amount of time creating reverse outlines and cutting and pasting material. You know you’re planning too much if you always find yourself writing your paper a day before it’s due after spending weeks doing research and devising elaborate plans.

Be aware of the implications of planning too little or too much.

Planning  provides the following  advantages :

• helps you to produce a  logical  and  orderly  argument that your readers can follow
• helps you to produce an  economical  paper by allowing you to spot repetition
• helps you to produce a  thorough  paper by making it easier for you to notice whether you have left anything out
• makes drafting the paper easier by allowing you to concentrate on writing issues such as grammar, word choice, and clarity

Overplanning  poses the following  risks :

• doesn’t leave you enough time to write and revise
• leads you to produce papers that try to cover too much ground at the expense of analytic depth
• can result in a writing style that lacks spontaneity and ease
• does not provide enough opportunity to discover new ideas in the process of writing

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• How to write an essay outline | Guidelines & examples

How to Write an Essay Outline | Guidelines & Examples

Published on August 14, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

An essay outline is a way of planning the structure of your essay before you start writing. It involves writing quick summary sentences or phrases for every point you will cover in each paragraph , giving you a picture of how your argument will unfold.

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Table of contents

Organizing your material, presentation of the outline, examples of essay outlines, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about essay outlines.

At the stage where you’re writing an essay outline, your ideas are probably still not fully formed. You should know your topic  and have already done some preliminary research to find relevant sources , but now you need to shape your ideas into a structured argument.

Creating categories

Look over any information, quotes and ideas you’ve noted down from your research and consider the central point you want to make in the essay—this will be the basis of your thesis statement . Once you have an idea of your overall argument, you can begin to organize your material in a way that serves that argument.

Try to arrange your material into categories related to different aspects of your argument. If you’re writing about a literary text, you might group your ideas into themes; in a history essay, it might be several key trends or turning points from the period you’re discussing.

Three main themes or subjects is a common structure for essays. Depending on the length of the essay, you could split the themes into three body paragraphs, or three longer sections with several paragraphs covering each theme.

As you create the outline, look critically at your categories and points: Are any of them irrelevant or redundant? Make sure every topic you cover is clearly related to your thesis statement.

Order of information

When you have your material organized into several categories, consider what order they should appear in.

Your essay will always begin and end with an introduction and conclusion , but the organization of the body is up to you.

Consider these questions to order your material:

• Is there an obvious starting point for your argument?
• Is there one subject that provides an easy transition into another?
• Do some points need to be set up by discussing other points first?

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Within each paragraph, you’ll discuss a single idea related to your overall topic or argument, using several points of evidence or analysis to do so.

In your outline, you present these points as a few short numbered sentences or phrases.They can be split into sub-points when more detail is needed.

The template below shows how you might structure an outline for a five-paragraph essay.

• Thesis statement
• First piece of evidence
• Second piece of evidence
• Summary/synthesis
• Importance of topic
• Strong closing statement

You can choose whether to write your outline in full sentences or short phrases. Be consistent in your choice; don’t randomly write some points as full sentences and others as short phrases.

Examples of outlines for different types of essays are presented below: an argumentative, expository, and literary analysis essay.

Argumentative essay outline

This outline is for a short argumentative essay evaluating the internet’s impact on education. It uses short phrases to summarize each point.

Its body is split into three paragraphs, each presenting arguments about a different aspect of the internet’s effects on education.

• Importance of the internet
• Concerns about internet use
• Thesis statement: Internet use a net positive
• Data exploring this effect
• Analysis indicating it is overstated
• Students’ reading levels over time
• Why this data is questionable
• Video media
• Interactive media
• Speed and simplicity of online research
• Questions about reliability (transitioning into next topic)
• Evidence indicating its ubiquity
• Claims that it discourages engagement with academic writing
• Evidence that Wikipedia warns students not to cite it
• Argument that it introduces students to citation
• Summary of key points
• Value of digital education for students
• Need for optimism to embrace advantages of the internet

Expository essay outline

This is the outline for an expository essay describing how the invention of the printing press affected life and politics in Europe.

The paragraphs are still summarized in short phrases here, but individual points are described with full sentences.

• Claim that the printing press marks the end of the Middle Ages.
• Provide background on the low levels of literacy before the printing press.
• Present the thesis statement: The invention of the printing press increased circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation.
• Discuss the very high levels of illiteracy in medieval Europe.
• Describe how literacy and thus knowledge and education were mainly the domain of religious and political elites.
• Indicate how this discouraged political and religious change.
• Describe the invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg.
• Show the implications of the new technology for book production.
• Describe the rapid spread of the technology and the printing of the Gutenberg Bible.
• Link to the Reformation.
• Discuss the trend for translating the Bible into vernacular languages during the years following the printing press’s invention.
• Describe Luther’s own translation of the Bible during the Reformation.
• Sketch out the large-scale effects the Reformation would have on religion and politics.
• Summarize the history described.
• Stress the significance of the printing press to the events of this period.

Literary analysis essay outline

The literary analysis essay outlined below discusses the role of theater in Jane Austen’s novel Mansfield Park .

The body of the essay is divided into three different themes, each of which is explored through examples from the book.

• Describe the theatricality of Austen’s works
• Outline the role theater plays in Mansfield Park
• Introduce the research question : How does Austen use theater to express the characters’ morality in Mansfield Park ?
• Discuss Austen’s depiction of the performance at the end of the first volume
• Discuss how Sir Bertram reacts to the acting scheme
• Introduce Austen’s use of stage direction–like details during dialogue
• Explore how these are deployed to show the characters’ self-absorption
• Discuss Austen’s description of Maria and Julia’s relationship as polite but affectionless
• Compare Mrs. Norris’s self-conceit as charitable despite her idleness
• Summarize the three themes: The acting scheme, stage directions, and the performance of morals
• Answer the research question
• Indicate areas for further study

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You will sometimes be asked to hand in an essay outline before you start writing your essay . Your supervisor wants to see that you have a clear idea of your structure so that writing will go smoothly.

Even when you do not have to hand it in, writing an essay outline is an important part of the writing process . It’s a good idea to write one (as informally as you like) to clarify your structure for yourself whenever you are working on an essay.

If you have to hand in your essay outline , you may be given specific guidelines stating whether you have to use full sentences. If you’re not sure, ask your supervisor.

When writing an essay outline for yourself, the choice is yours. Some students find it helpful to write out their ideas in full sentences, while others prefer to summarize them in short phrases.

You should try to follow your outline as you write your essay . However, if your ideas change or it becomes clear that your structure could be better, it’s okay to depart from your essay outline . Just make sure you know why you’re doing so.

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Writing is a process that everyone does differently, but an outline will help you with development of ideas.

I.  Choice of introduction and linking sentences

A.  Catching opener

B.  Linking Sentences

C.  Thesis

II.  Topic Sentence One with Transition, Link to Thesis, and Topic of paragraph mentioned

            A.  Transition, and mention of first subtopic

•  Example, quote, illustration of subtopic
• Explanation of the example, quote, or illustration of subtopic
• If there is only one subtopic, the paragraph will need an additional example(s), quote(s), or illustration(s) and additional explanation(s)

            B.  Transition, and other subtopic, if applicable

• Example, quote, illustration of subtopic

III.  Topic Sentence Two with Transition, Link to Thesis, and Topic of paragraph mentioned

A.  Transition, and mention of first subtopic

IV.  And so on for as many body paragraphs as needed

V. Conclusion

            A.  Restate idea

            B.  Sum up main points of all main ideas within

            C.  Clincher

• Graphic Organizer For those who are more visual, this is a downloadable PDF of a graphic organizer for the essay outline.
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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Paragraph Organization & Flow

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

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This vidcast talks about major components of paragraph-level writing such as unity, coherence, and development. Solid, clear paragraphs that are well-connected create a foundation for an argument and contribute to what writers often call "flow." The handouts on patterns of paragraph organization, flow in scholarly writing, and transition words examine various aspects of a document that contribute to a sense of flow and share detailed information about patterns of paragraph organization. They should be used in conjunction with this vidcast. 

Note: Closed-captioning and a full transcript are available for this vidcast. 

Patterns of Paragraph Organization

There is no one perfect way to organize your paragraphs. However, depending on the genre and size of the document you're working on, there are a number of logical ways to organize your text. Here you'll find a number of possible options. Note that while this resource talks specifically about writing a rhetorical analysis, the information is applicable beyond this genre. 

Flow in Scholarly Writing (PDF)

Flow in writing refers to how easily readers move past the text itself and into a reading experience where they are connecting with the ideas presented within the text. This handout talks about the notion of flow and explains what well-flowing writing looks like at the sentence, paragraph, and textual levels.  

Transition Words & Devices

Good transitions can connect paragraphs and turn disconnected writing into a unified whole. Instead of treating paragraphs as separate ideas, transitions can help readers understand how paragraphs work together, reference one another, and build to a larger point. The key to producing good transitions is highlighting connections between corresponding paragraphs. This resource offers  a list of some common transitional devices.

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.

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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
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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.

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• 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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Blog Graphs and Charts Organizational Chart: Definition, Examples & Templates

Organizational Chart: Definition, Examples & Templates

Written by: Jeilan Devanesan Jul 06, 2023

When you think of organizational charts, what often comes to your mind is probably the top-down, pyramid-like organizational chart of large companies.

I’m sure you’ve seen something like this before:

Of course, this is just one type of business organizational chart that exists today for organizations big and small.

Ever wondered how those organizational charts speak volumes about a company’s vibe and values? Well, that’s what I’ll help you figure out today.

I’m going to break down what business organizational charts are, share plenty of neat examples and show you how to design your own using an Organizational Chart Maker or awesome organizational chart templates .

Click to jump ahead:

What is an organizational chart?

16 organizational chart examples.

• 4 types of organizational charts

How to create an organizational chart in Venngage

An organizational chart is a visual representation of a company’s internal structure . Also known as organograms or org charts, these assets show how teams and departments are organized, showcase relationships across an organization and each individual’s role and responsibilities.

Here’s an example of an organizational chart:

Just so you know, some of our templates are free to use and some require a small monthly fee. Sign up is always free, as is access to Venngage’s online drag-and-drop editor.

What is the purpose of an organizational chart?

An up-to-date organizational chart serves several key purposes:

Transparency and trust: It showcases the leadership team and their experience, which helps investors and stakeholders feel confident about the company’s direction.

Clarity and efficiency: It clarifies the chain of command, decision-making processes and how different roles fit together, improving workflow for employees.

Smoother onboarding: A clear organizational chart is almost necessary for every employee onboarding process . It helps new hires understand the company structure, departments, and colleagues, leading to a faster integration.

Adaptability and transparency: It reflects changes in leadership, teams, and reporting structures, keeping everyone informed during organizational shifts. More importantly, they can better understand how their own role fits into the current organizational structure .

Communicating values: The design of the chart itself can convey a company’s values on hierarchy, collaboration, and inclusivity.

Now, let’s take a look at some organizational chart examples you can use your business.

The majority of these examples feature hierarchical org charts, but you can add or delete branches to create other types of org charts as well.

Vertical smart organization chart example

This vertical corporate structure chart uses dynamic colors to differentiate the teams and their reports.

This extreme vertical format works well for smaller corporate structures or for departments within a larger organization.

Note : An organizational chart such as the one above can be easily customized in the Venngage editor. Click on the sections you want to add and the items will be duplicated so you can make edits. When you more text, the shape automatically resizes to fit. You can also apply formatting from one shape to another or all the branches with the ‘Formatting’ button in the menu. Sign up is free!

Corporate vertical organizational chart example

This vertical organizational chart helps employees understand who they report to, who their peers report to and the responsibilities everyone has.

Although the layout itself is minimal, the shapes and colors bring life to the design.

It looks professional, incorporates branded design and provides something more engaging to employees.

You can also use icons to differentiate between departments in organizational chart designs. This will especially help new hires understand right away what they’re looking at.

Simple vertical organizational chart example

For a more modern look and feel, check out this alternate take on a healthcare organizational chart.

It incorporates a digitized background design and a flat color palette.

Bold vertical organization chart example

When designing your own organizational chart, it’s important to group employees together who report to the same manager/executive.  

It’s up to you how you visualize those connections.

One method is to use lines and nodes for a typical layout.

Or, as in this vertical organizational chart example, you can use a legend and a varied color palette to indicate the reporting structure.

Modern vertical organizational chart example

An organizational chart can also be more than a breakdown of reporting relationships.

This organizational chart includes contact information for individual staff. This is especially helpful for new employees or when communicating across departments.

This is a memorable way to show the connections between departments and team members and it makes a statement.

Learn more: Venngage for Healthcare Organizations

Vibrant functional smart organizational chart example

If choosing a design style for your organizational chart feels challenging, consider your organization’s brand guidelines .

It can provide you the style and color inspiration you need to get started.

Marketing organizational structure example

In this example, the organizational chart is broken down by function and it’s clear the chief marketing officer oversees the marketing department.

Blue functional organizational chart example

Another option is to apply a unique color for each department or function.

This will help whoever is reading the organizational chart find exactly what they’re looking for. Otherwise, you’ll many tables that look exactly the same and it take more time to understand.

Generally, a traditional marketing organizational structure is broken down by departments.

You have teams entirely dedicated to areas like branding, communications and digital. It’s also important to identify teams that marketing relies on – like customer success and developers .

With the use of a vibrant color palette, you can clearly identify each department and who belongs in each. It’s easier to scan and follow over angular lines, especially in more complex organizational structures.

This blue functional organizational chart example is broken down in a similar way. The layout is just set to landscape and reads from left to right.

Notice how this organizational chart design makes use of employee headshots?

That’s especially helpful to new employees.

With the rise of remote work and remote employee onboarding , you may not always share an office or break room with fellow co-workers so headshots in a organizational chart is a simple way to help folks get acquainted.

Vertical organizational chart example

A vertical organizational chart, or hierarchical chart, is the traditional org chart you see in many organizations.

The layout positions the CEO at the top, with those report directly below and so on.

The goal of a vertical organizational chart is to present reporting relationships between employees.

Here’s an example vertical corporate structure chart for Apple. You can see it’s a very typical hierarchical chart with lots of layers of leadership.

It’s clear who reports to whom in upper-management at a glance.

Companies like Apple also have unique roles such as the Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives executive, or the Apple University Dean.

Plotting these types of roles in a business organizational chart is essential as it indicates where these roles fall in terms of hierarchy, who they answer to and what their responsibilities are.

Another aspect of a vertical organizational chart are the organizational functions. This is often referred to as a functional organizational chart .

Inbound marketing organizational structure example

In a presentation by Hubspot on creating agile teams, they shared a breakdown of how their (powerhouse) marketing department is structured.

The breakdown is by specific functions/objectives, channels and relevant metrics.

You’ll also notice that there is no clear reporting structure because the objective of this chart design is to highlight how the marketing team operates.

This is what a functional organizational chart can look like within a department.

The functions are defined as teams and channels. Your own organizational chart design will probably look different since it depends on the types of channels your marketing team is divided into.

Vertical divisional organizational chart example

This divisional organizational chart is broken down into its separate business areas of focus.

This type of organizational structure applies to larger organizations with divisions that are geographical, product-focused, industry-focused, market-focused or anything along those lines.

You’ll see that each division has its own marketing team, sales team and services team and they operate independently of one another and have all the same functions.

Simple horizontal organization chart example

Flat organizational structures can share the same layout as vertical organizational structures, but there are fewer executive and managerial levels.

The horizontal organizational chart example above also uses a landscape orientation.

This helps to emphasize the lack of hierarchical tiers and the extended role of management. While it is just a design choice, it communicates how the organization is structured at a glance.

Valve, the popular video-game developer, is proud of the flat organizational structure they’ve built.

Here’s how they visualize their organizational structure in their employee handbook. They include a few quips as well.

This is a fun way to understand Valve’s views on hierarchy, structure and collaboration. It’s clear there is a level of camaraderie and togetherness they aspire for.

It’s also a great example of presenting an organization’s brand and culture through documentation.

Rather than just a flat organizational structure with minimal hierarchy, Valve aspires for a completely collaborative organization with no hierarchy at all.

Within a horizontal organizational structure, managers will have a higher set of responsibilities and more direct reports than a typical manager.

This means a marketing manager may have designers, product people, support staff and others who don’t necessarily fall into “marketing” as reports, too.

Lean marketing organizational structure example

Github has a lean marketing organizational structure.

The VP oversees many areas, but they are not layered with upper and middle management. Instead, the teams are small and collaborative.

It’s always helpful to mimic your organizational structure in the design of your organizational chart. Reduce the number of tiers and group teams together in the way that makes the most sense.

In Github’s lean marketing structure, you can see where responsibilities overlap, those teams share a color code.

These color palettes can carry over into project sprints and tasks that get tracked in applications like Trello and Asana! It’s a great way to maintain consistency in all your corporate communications.

Matrix organizational structure examples

The matrix organizational chart combines traditional organizational structures.

A matrix organizational chart ties in project planning needs by pairing project managers with interdisciplinary teams.

That means the chart needs to highlight departmental or functional managers and their direct reports, as well as project managers and their reports. 

Here’s a detailed look at the layout and reporting structure of a matrix organizational chart:

There is a clear vertical functional structure with functional managers lining the top row. 

But project managers work with employees from each function and so form a parallel column to the employees in each function.

In this layout, the tiny squares highlight which employee in each function reports to a project manager.

The simplest way to indicate reporting relationships here is through the use of arrows or lines and aligning the correct staff vertically with their managers and horizontally with their project managers.

The matrix organizational structure is necessary for large organizations that have multiple projects going on and need collaboration across departments.

Nike’s organizational structure gets a lot of praise and it happens to be a matrix organizational structure.

Creative organizational chart examples

Many organizations experiment with the structure of their company.

Whether it’s a desire for faster decision-making, smarter experimentation, clear channels of communication, improved accountability or something else, how your organization is structured makes the difference.

Startups and major corporations alike often adopt creative organizational structures that achieve a goal.

Let’s take a look at some of these types of organizational charts.

Spotify’s organizational chart example: Tribes, squads and guilds

Spotify, the well-known audio-streaming service, is known for its unique tribe organizational structure.

Due to its growth and success, many startups have tried to adopt the same organizational structure, or some variation of it and make it work for them.

At a glance, it may seem strange and overly complex. But the organizational structure facilitates the communication and collaboration Spotify needed (and still needs) to grow quickly and reliably.

It starts with a tribe and its tribe leads.

They lead the squads that oversee different areas of the product. Across the squads, in each tribe, you have chapters that facilitate communication between the squads and chapter leads.

Of course, there are numerous tribes across the organization.

They work fairly independently of one another on a wide range of things that may or may not overlap.

As these individuals learn from new experiences, problems, outcomes and so on, they need to share information, tools, code and best practices.

These folks form guilds which include members across tribes. People can also belong to multiple guilds.

Spotify’s tribal organizational structure is meant to cut down on bureaucracy, which naturally builds as a company grows to hundreds or thousands of staff.

This way Spotify can still collaborate effectively as an organization, deliver projects sooner, implement changes faster, grow better and behave in a far more responsive manner.

You can also see from the way the organizational charts are arranged, there is an emphasis on fluidity within the structure, rather than rigidity.

Zappos organizational chart example: Holacratic organizational structure

Zappos is an online shoe and clothing retailer. They’re also known for having a unique culture and organizational structure.

They share insights on their approach to structure on Zappos Insights . This includes the fact that they are a holacracy.

A holacracy has a decentralized leadership, rather than one concentrated in an individual or handful of people.

It aims to distribute power typically reserved to executives across an organization to all employees.

It rejects the notion of hierarchy completely. The benefit is that it enables regular staffers to put forth ideas, collaborate with other employees and work with minimal restrictions.

Here’s an example of what a holacratic organizational chart looks like:

You can see right away there aren’t any lines, columns or rows like in the previous organizational chart examples.

Employees belong in a space that is shared, brought together in areas of specific functions and tasks.

A complete holacratic organizational chart would be a cluster of super-circles representing departments or functions, with smaller groups of circles for specific areas.

What are the 4 different types of organizational charts? 

To best visualize org structure and communicate your company’s chain of command, you can create an organizational chart for any of these four types of organizational structures : vertical (or hierarchical), horizontal (or flat), matrix and creative .

Let’s take a closer look at each one:

Vertical organizational chart (hierarchical organizational chart)

This is the most common type of organizational chart.

A vertical — or hierarchical — organizational chart has the person with the most power at the top and those with less power underneath and when combined, it forms a pyramid shape.

Here’s an example of a hierarchical organizational chart:

Horizontal organizational chart (flat organizational chart)

The horizontal org chart (or flat org chart) visualizes an organizational structure with little or no level of middle management.

This means it contains only two levels: the top administrators and the workers.

Here’s an example of a flat organizational chart:

Matrix organizational chart

The matrix organizational chart combines vertical and horizontal organizational structures.

It integrates a top-down vertical organizational structure that highlights reporting relationships with the flexibility of a flat organizational structure where cross-department teams report to project managers.

Here’s an example of a matrix organizational chart:

Creative organizational chart

The creative organizational chart applies to organizations with unconventional structures like Spotify (tribes, squads, guides) or Zappos (Holacratic organizational structure).

As an online visual communication tool, creating any type of organizational chart can be done in minutes. 

First, go ahead and set yourself up with a free Venngage account . This will let you access organizational chart templates and use our editor.

It’s not a trial and doesn’t require any payment info.

Next, head over to our organizational chart templates and choose a template that looks appealing to you.

Then, in the editor, access neat features to customize your organizational chart design.

Apply your branding, add organizational sections and levels, upload employee headshots and include a range of icons for an engaging design.

With Venngage’s Smart diagrams, you can edit, add and duplicate sections of your organizational chart with the click of a button.

You can also change the formatting to your brand colors and apply the same to any or all shapes in the diagram.

When choosing color palettes or fonts, keep accessible design  principles in mind.

You want an organizational chart that anyone can read and comprehend with ease.

Get started with Venngage for Business

Creating an organizational chart may just be the latest in your visual communication needs. To align and organize your teams through visuals more effectively, check out Venngage for Business .

• Easily design organizational charts, infographics, presentations, data visuals and so much more
• Apply consistent, professional branding to your designs with My Brand Kit
• Collaborate on designs with your team members
• Receive design consultations from expert in-house designers
• Get 24-hour priority support as a business member and more!

Frequently asked questions

Do small businesses need organizational charts.

The short answer is yes, absolutely. When organizations are just getting started, or fairly small, there is a tendency to share the load across team members. However, it can lead to a lack of clarity about who owns what areas, what everyone’s individual responsibilities are and how to measure individual performance.

In small organizations, a defined corporate structure chart highlights everyone’s key responsibilities, holds them accountable and allows them to manage their workload without burning out.

For additional resources for planning and organizing your teams or even company, check out these blog posts:

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• How to Use Visual communication: Definition, Examples, Templates

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Organization Chart

What is an organization chart.

Description

Every organization has both a formal and an informal organizational structure.

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Examples of organizational structures are:

Hierarchical structure (typical for the small, entrepreneurial organization)

• Line-staff structure
• Functional or Departmental structure (based on function, products/service, customer type, geographic region)
• Matrix structure (dual reporting lines) These formal structures of organizations can be represented in the form of an organization chart. Sometimes also referred to as organizational chart, organigram, organogram, or org chart.

It graphically shows the hierarchical authority, roles and responsibilities, functions and relations within an organization. For a new employee, the organization chart helps to understand what should happen within the firm. (The informal structure represents what is actually occurring within the organization. ) Many people have pointed out weaknesses and limitations of org charts. Others have coined a dizzying array of buzzwords to categorize organizations, including networked organizations, transnational organizations, front-back organizations, boundaryless organizations, learning organizations, virtual organizations and social networks.

Nevertheless organizational design continues to be one of an important and challenging demand on top management, because it influences and interconnects the business and corporate strategy, marketing, decision-making, communication, finance and investing, and leadership within any organization. And organization charts will continue to play a major role in this process, although they may look quite differently from the traditional tree-like forms of the past. Simply because people can more quickly absorb information when it is shown in a graphical way.

Origin of the Organizational Chart.

It is not unlikely that the ancient Egyptians already had documented their methods of organizing the division of labor for their massive public works projects in one way or the other. However the first real organization chart was probably created in 1854 by Daniel McCallum, superintendent of the New York and Erie railroad company. McCallum was responsible for creating a line for nearly 500 miles stretching from Jersey city through Pennsylvania and New York to the shores of the Great Lakes.

McCallum noted that “other things being equal, a long road should be operated for a less cost per mile than a short one”. But things were not equal. The essential functions of a railroad company – coordinating the delivery of freight and people, repairing cars and track, monitoring the positions of trains – were vastly more complicated over 500 miles than over 50 miles. Without effective organization, additional miles of track made railroads more costly to operate. McCallum developed the organization chart, which according to writer Henry Varnum Poor resembled a tree.

Its roots represented the president and the board of directors. Its branches were the five operating divisions and the passenger and freight departments. Its leaves indicated the various local ticket and freight agents, crews and foremen, and so on. Historically, the organization chart is a symbol of the evolution of Western industry from being fundamentally personal in nature to enterprises in which the creation of organizational capabilities became a prerequisite for survival.

Usage of the Organization Chart

• Applications
• Defining the roles and responsibilities of all personnel within the organization.
• Establishing a hierarchical structure of authority, power and, hence, decision-making.
• Establish communication channels and information flows, incorporating a chain of command with specific rules and regulations relating to reporting procedures and accountability methods.
• Establishing control mechanisms, such as the degree of centralization and the span of control. Compare: Centralization and Decentralization. Establishing strategies for co-ordination of work practices.
• Establishing decision-making processes.
• Establishing specific operational functions and tasks.

Creating an Organizational Chart

• Robert Simons (Levers of Organization Design, 2005) suggests that there are four main tensions or levers underlying any organization design:
• Strategy (structure follows strategy) versus Structure (organization design influences future strategies)
• Accountability (for today’s goals) versus Adaptability (to future changes)
• Ladders (vertical hierarchies) versus Rings (horizontal networks)
• Self-Interest (individual) versus Mission Success (department, business unit, corporation).

Compare also: Greiner, Growth Phases and Simons, Levers of Control .

Strengths of the Organization Chart

Transparent and predictable. Helps to understand what should happen within the firm.

Provides a quick snapshot about the formal hierarchy in an organization.

Who is in charge of what. Who reports to who.

Limitations of Organizational Charts

Disadvantages

Static and inflexible. Organizations change and go through Growth Phases.

Does not help much to understand what actually happens within the informal organization. In reality, organization often behave quite chaotic and follow complex guesswork and amplification mechanisms (Core Group Theory).

Traditional org charts can not cope with changing boundaries of firms due to Outsourcing, Information Technology, Strategic Alliances, and the Network Economy.

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