Organizing texts
A well-organized text is easy to follow, but a disorganized one can be confusing for readers. Organization questions test your ability to follow developing ideas. To answer them, pay attention to:
- Transition words and phrases
- Chronological and sequential order
- Pronoun reference
- Adding and placing sentences
Transitions
Transitions help us determine the relationship between one thing and another. In passages, they help us identify the relationships between sentences.
To answer a transition question, determine the relationship between what comes before the transition word or phrase and what comes after it. Here are four common relationships and the words that often signal them:
| Relationship | Signal words |
|---|---|
| Contrast | however, in contrast, on the other hand |
| Cause and effect | therefore, as a result, consequently |
| Addition | furthermore, besides, also |
| Example | for example, for instance |
Examples:
Sylvia already knew how to read when she started first grade. As a result, she was promoted to second grade.
As a result signals cause and effect: knowing how to read caused the promotion.
Practice question
Elijah’s essay about the meaning of justice was due at eight o’clock on Tuesday evening. At 5:30, he was still at baseball practice, _____, and had not even begun thinking about what to write.
a. however
b. for example
c. therefore
d. besides
e. furthermore
Correct answer:
The correct answer is a. however.
a. is correct. However establishes a direct contrast between the deadline and Elijah’s lack of preparedness.
b. is incorrect because for example signals an illustration, but Elijah being at practice is not an example of the deadline.
c. is incorrect because it suggests a cause-and-effect relationship.
d. is incorrect because besides means in addition to or other than, neither of which fits the sentence.
e. is incorrect because furthermore signals addition, not the contrast the sentence calls for.
Chronological and sequential order
Many passages use chronological order or sequencing as an organizing strategy.
Example:
She planted seeds, watered and weeded them, and enjoyed watching them grow.
Mixing up the order of these events would not make sense, just as it would not make sense for a biographical passage to discuss adolescence before childhood.
To track chronological order, pay attention to dates, months, seasons, times, numbers, and signal words such as the following:
| first | second | next | then | finally |
| last | lastly | after | afterwards | before |
| previously | later | until |
Practice question
The first step in planting a garden is to mark off the area where you plan to dig. Turn the soil, and shake as much dirt off the weeds and grass you displace as you can. Throw any earthworms you find back into the patch as well because they are good for the soil. _____, break up the clumps of soil with a shovel, rake, or hoe. Finally, smooth the soil out. Now you are ready to plant!
a. First
b. Second
c. Next
d. After
e. Finally
Correct answer:
The correct answer is c. next.
c. is correct because next works naturally when listing steps that are not consistently labeled first, second, third, and so on.
a. is incorrect because the passage already identifies the first step.
b. is incorrect because turning the soil is already the implied second step.
d. is incorrect because after cannot stand alone. It must be part of a phrase such as after that.
e. is incorrect because the next sentence already uses finally.
Pronouns and antecedents
Since writers often use pronouns to refer to nouns that have already been mentioned, tracking backward from a pronoun to find its antecedent can help you determine the correct organization of a passage.
If you are uncertain about which noun is the antecedent, replace the pronoun with each possible noun to determine which one makes sense. On the test, if a pronoun could point to more than one noun, the best revision usually replaces it with the noun itself. In the passage below, However, the act was actually the result of… is clearer than However, it was….
Practice question
The near extinction of the bald eagle, that iconic American symbol, is often cited as the origin of the 1973 Endangered Species Act. However, it was actually the result of long-running concern over the decline of North America’s native species as a result of human expansion across the continent, deforestation, and overhunting.
To which noun does it refer?
a. extinction
b. bald eagle
c. origin
d. Endangered Species Act
e. concern
Correct answer:
The correct answer is d. Endangered Species Act.
d. is correct. The Endangered Species Act is the antecedent of it.
a. is incorrect because saying the extinction was actually the result of long-running concern over the decline of North America’s native species makes no sense—an extinction isn’t something that concern results in.
b. is incorrect because saying The bald eagle was actually the result of long-running concern… makes no sense.
c. is incorrect because the origin itself was not the result being discussed.
e. is incorrect because the concern is part of what led to the Act, so concern cannot be the thing that resulted from itself.
Adding and placing sentences
Just as modifiers must appear close to the words they modify, examples generally appear near the claims they support. A sentence belongs in a passage only if it supports the paragraph’s main idea; one that drifts off topic or repeats an earlier point should be cut. Place it where its pronouns have a clear antecedent before it and its transition fits what comes just before it, and check that the sentence after the insertion point still connects logically to it.
Practice question
(1) English teachers often despair when they are forced to realize how few of their students read for pleasure. (2) As kids spend more time on screens and less with paper books, they become accustomed to short texts and blurbs that change frequently and avoid long blocks of text with only paragraph indentations to provide visual variety. (3) However, there is hope! (4) Novels written in verse can grasp reluctant readers by their imaginations in ways their teachers won’t expect. (5) For example, Kwame Alexander’s The Crossover is a coming-of-age story about twin brothers who are middle school basketball stars, and Kelly Bingham’s Shark Girl is a beautiful tale of loss and acceptance that resonates with many teens.
What is the best placement of the italicized sentence?
a. Where it is now.
b. Before sentence 1
c. Before sentence 2
d. Before sentence 3
e. Before sentence 4
Correct answer:
The correct answer is a. Where it is now.
a. is correct because the examples of The Crossover and Shark Girl support the claim in sentence 4 that novels written in verse can engage reluctant readers, and For example needs that claim right before it.
b. is incorrect because the examples would open the passage before any claim exists for them to support.
c. is incorrect because For example would follow a sentence about students who do not read, and the books are not an example of that.
d. is incorrect because the books would come before the claim about novels in verse, and they would interrupt the link between the problem in sentence 2 and the turn to hope in sentence 3.
e. is incorrect because the examples would come before sentence 4 introduces novels in verse, the claim they illustrate.
Word choice and tone
Revision questions also ask whether a passage’s words and tone fit its purpose, even though, like wordiness, these are not organizing techniques.
Choose the precise word. Replace a vague word (good, bad, thing, nice, a lot of) with the specific word that says exactly what you mean. Words with nearly the same meaning can carry different feelings: frugal praises, and stingy criticizes.
VAGUE: The storm did bad things to the old barn.
PRECISE: The storm flattened the old barn.
Keep the style and tone consistent. Hold the level of formality and the point of view steady throughout a passage. Slang in a formal passage, a sudden jump to a casual or dramatic tone, or a switch among I, you, and one all break consistency. Judge a word against the rest of the passage: a casual phrase that suits a friendly note is out of place in a formal report.
INCONSISTENT: The committee reviewed each proposal carefully. Honestly, a couple of them were total garbage, so the members voted to reject them.
CONSISTENT: The committee reviewed each proposal carefully. Several were poorly researched, so the members voted to reject them.
Wordiness
Although reducing wordiness is not an organizing technique, wordiness can make writing harder to edit and understand.
When editing for wordiness, delete repetitive and unnecessary words while preserving the sentence’s meaning and emphasis.
Examples:
WORDY: Marcy ironed each and every one of her shirts.
CONCISE: Marcy ironed all her shirts.
TOO CONCISE: Marcy ironed her shirts.
The third sentence is too concise because it removes the emphasis that she ironed every shirt she owned.
Passive verbs also create wordiness.
ACTIVE: Sue threw the ball.
PASSIVE: The ball was thrown by Sue.
Practice question
Sara had a daily workout routine that she did every day of the week.
Select the best version of the sentence.
a. NO CHANGE
b. Sara had a workout routine that she did every day of the week.
c. Sara completed a daily workout every day of the week.
d. Sara stuck to a daily workout routine.
e. Sara’s workout routine was one she did every day.
Correct answer:
The correct answer is d. Sara stuck to a daily workout routine.
d. is correct because every day of the week is unnecessary. The word daily already conveys that meaning.
a. is incorrect because daily and every day of the week are repetitive.
b. is incorrect because every day of the week is wordier than daily.
c. is incorrect because daily and every day of the week repeat the same idea.
e. is incorrect because it is unnecessarily wordy.