Lannon, Chapter 12

CHAPTER 12- ORGANIZING FOR USERS

Try to make it so that your readers can follow your thought process, organize you work in such a way that they can understand. ask simple questions to help you create a good flow for your work.

Partitioning and Classifying
     partition- dealing with only one thing
    classifying- similar things
the choice between these two separations of information, depends mostly on what you want to get out of your writing- your goal.

Outlining
This is you organizing the facts, figures, and information based on importance and classification. You need to place the most important things to get across in such a way that the reader can follow and can pick out. Make sure it makes sense and it flows. Do not go jumping from one subject to another all willy-nilly like-- it confuses people and maybe even yourself. Start with the basics: intro, body, conclusion. Start with a list of your main topics, add subtopics and side notes so that when you begin to write, you write on each subject as it comes up-- makes writing easier and more organized then just typing as you go. The finished outline is not done until the final version of the paper and works as the table of contents. ALSO note that organization method you use may change when you want to cross over cultures.

Storyboarding
this is a "sketch" of the finished document- more visual then just the basic outline. This allows you to map out your paper subject by subject and allows for easy movement and revision of material. Good to use when working with a group, so that everyone can see where the project is heading and submit suggestions.

Paragraphing 
Paragraphs allow for a pause in reading- shows a change in subject. Long works look daunting for readers, the use of paragraphs help to cut down the information into bite sized chunks. This allows the reader pauses during reading to process and better understand the information being presented. Support paragraphs help to support your main idea by presenting different reasons and information that will further your claims and ideas. Topic sentences give the reader of what is coming up, helps them prepare and get in the mindset needed for reading about the topic-- the one sentence that tells you everything, but not in detail. Paragraph Unity makes it so that all of one topic is together, it belongs together and supports the topic statement. Paragraph Coherence MAKE IT FLOW, should read like on continuous thought and is easy to follow.
1-- topic sentence
2-3-- first reason given then explained
4-5-- second reason given explained
6-8-- third (major) reason given explained
9-- conclusion (emphasis on main point)
Paragraph Length depends on the purpose and the capacity of the reader to understand.

Sequencing
Keep you work logical and easy to follow for others. Spatial sequence start at one point (top left) and work your way down (bottom right) in you description of an object. Chronological sequence follow the sequence of events as they happened. Effect-to-Cause identify the problem then follow it to the causes. Cause-to-Effect follow action to results. Emphatic sequence makes important things stand out. Problem-causes-solutions sequence description of problem to the causes and proposes a solution. Comparison-contrast sequence comparing two or more items through similarities and differences.

Chunking
Breaking down information into easy to "digest" pieces that are appealing to the reader and can be followed easily.

Creating an Overview
Give an immediate preview of the contents of your work- what is it about, why is it important, what kind of information will be presented.