Organizational Patterns - Text Structure
Thesis Seminar: Reasoning PatternsThesis Seminar: Reasoning Patterns - Notes
💡 At the thesis statement level, choose the one organizational pattern that best suits your overall argument. At the section and paragraph levels, it’s common to consider a combination of organizational patterns.
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Order of Importance (thesis statement, section level, and paragraph level)
- When organizing your thesis statement into sections that express reasons or ways, organize them in order of importance: least important to most important or vice versa.
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Topical (thesis statement, section level, and paragraph level)
- Organizing your main sections of your literature review by topic is also a logical option based on the topic and claim of the thesis statement.
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Sequence or process (thesis statement, section level, and paragraph level)
- Sequencing your sections of your literature review is an option if certain ways or reasons follow a logical thought process.
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Cause & Effect (section or paragraph level)
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Spatial (section or paragraph level)
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Compare & Contrast (paragraph level)
- Comparing and contrasting can occur at the section level, paragraph level, and the sentence level.
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Problem & Solution (paragraph level)
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Chronological (paragraph level)
Avoid Certain Text Structures
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Sections with only definitions
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General to the special or theoretical to the practical at the thesis statement level.