ORGANIZATION AND STRUCTURE

ESL Students and the American Academic Audience:

Purdue Online Writing Lab-The American Audience

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/esl/eslaudience.html

Explains several general conventions of the American academic audience that should be considered by ESL writers:  linear structure, conciseness, transitions, and clear thesis statements.

Prewriting (Freewriting, Clustering, Maps, and Tips For Getting Started)

How can you begin to write?Simply put, you write. These links describe various methods that you can use in order to begin the writing process. Many of these techniques involve the association of words and concepts. During this stage of writing, the writer begins to accumulate ideas and establish connections between key concepts. Ultimately, prewriting can help you build toward a thesis, organize ideas, and begin writing your paper.

Purdue Online Writing Lab-Planning and Invention Stage

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_plan1.html

Provides numerous invention questions that will help your in the initial stages of writing a paper.

Paradigm Online Writing Assistant: Pyramid Maps

http://www.powa.org/organize/pyramid.html

Another option for hierarchical prewriting: the pyramid map.

WTS:Clusters, Idea Trees, and Freewriting

http://al.odu.edu/wts/students/process/gen.shtml

WTS' tips for getting started!

Outlining

Typically done after or in conjunction with prewriting, the outline provides a hierarchical structure that organizes your paper. Through outlines, you can logically cluster ideas and evidence under specific headings. Think of the outline as your personal, writing file cabinet; it allows you to systematically file your ideas.

WTS:Outlining

http://al.odu.edu/wts/students/process/outline.shtml

WTS' example of an outline (about outlining-aren't we innovative!) and explanation of why outlines are so useful!

Purdue Online Writing Lab-Outlining

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_outlin.html

Defines the concept, discusses outline form, and types of outlines.

Purdue Online Writing Lab-Sample Outline

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_outlinS.html

A sample outline in conjunction with Purdue's outline introduction.

Organization

Now that you have all of these ideas, what do you do with them? Well, you need to have some sort of order that your readers can comprehend. So, let's organize your thoughts!

WTS:"Flow"

http://al.odu.edu/wts/students/process/flow.shtml

Offers our logical, tonal, and structural consistency tips.

Writing Essays: Organization Tips

http://ghc.ctc.edu/HUMANITIES/DLARSON/fourtips.htm

Outlines ways of organizing your paper: chronological, logical, and spatial. Additionally, this site discusses fallacies and problems that might occur with each form of organization.

Paradigm Online Writing Assistant:Arrangement and Order

http://www.powa.org/organize/arranging.html

Explains the need for order within a paper and relates arrangement to prewriting maps.

Structure

Building a balanced essay requires a strong foundation:  the thesis. From the thesis, you build sentences and paragraphs that prove that your point with precise evidence. Yet, you need to do more than just "dump" information on your reader. Here, structure comes to the rescue! By steadily transitioning between your thoughts and paragraphs, you will build a strong paper that comfortably leads your reader from your thesis to your conclusion.

Writing Den: How to Write a Paragraph

http://www2.actden.com/writ_den/tips/paragrap/index.htm

Enumerates types of paragraphs and provides examples of introductory statements, concluding statements, and supporting details.

Writing Den:How to Combine Paragraphs into Essays

http://www2.actden.com/writ_den/tips/essay/index.htm

Takes the paragraph development page and suggests a general approach to building essays.

Purdue Online Writing Lab-Length Consistency

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_pgrph.html

Discusses the need for paragraphs of similar length.

Transitions Between Sentences and Paragraphs

WTS:Transitional Expressions

http://al.odu.edu/wts/students/process/transex.shtml

Furnishes our list of common transitional words.

Paradigm Online Writing Assistant: Links and Transitions

http://www.powa.org/organize/links.html

Relates transition maps to prewriting maps.

Thesis Construction

WTS:Thesis Statements

http://al.odu.edu/wts/students/process/thesis.shtml

Lists the functions of the thesis statement and important considerations in developing a thesis.

How To Write a Thesis Statement-Indiana University

http://www.indiana.edu/%7Ewts/wts/thesis.html

Explains how to tell a strong thesis from a weak thesis and contains thesis formulation guidelines.

Purdue Online Writing Lab-Thesis Tips

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_thesis.html

Has general tips for thesis construction and types of thesis statements (argumentative, explanatory, and analytical).

Capital Community College Paper Techniques: Thesis Statements

http://webster.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/thesis.htm

Explains the logical placement of a thesis within a larger paper and offers an exercise.