TECHNIQUES IN SELECTING AND ORGANIZING INFORMATION

Distinguishes between and among techniques in selecting and organizing

information (EN11/12RWS-III-2)
Distinguishes between and among techniques in selecting and organizing information (EN11/12RWS-III-2)
Introduction
As a young writer, you have to put in mind that there are various ways to select and organize information to come up with a better
writing.
Below are some methods to help you organize pieces of information efficiently and effectively.

A. BRAINSTORMING LIST
Brainstorming is a group discussion to produce ideas or solve problems. (Oxford Dictionary)
It is done mainly to collect thoughts and is most effective in group settings. When a group begins to decide what project to work on
and starts to determine which branches of information it will need to cover; it is better to have more people to work together. A
brainstorming list will allow everyone to get their ideas in, explain why, and have those ideas reviewed later once everyone has had
a turn in discussing the topic they would like to cover.
Ultimately, brainstorming is the technique used to break through the barriers of hesitation, allowing everyone to share ideas as much
as they could, and then ultimately selecting the most necessary ones.

HOW BRAINSTORMING WORKS?

1. The first step is to decide the general or primary topic.
2. Once you have decided on your primary topic and the angle you will be aiming for, it is now time to get ideas from everyone.
3. Once everyone has had the chance to present their ideas, it is time to revisit the list. By going through each idea, determine
as a group which idea would work with the overall goal that you are trying to achieve. In the process of elimination, you must
determine which ideas you want to keep or even expound on, and which ideas your group will not be covering at all.
4. Once the list has been sufficiently narrowed down to the most essential for your topic, you can divide the information among
yourselves, with this list as a guide or an outline for the final product.

B. GRAPHIC ORGANIZERS
A graphic organizer differentiates itself from the simple brainstorming list by virtue of visual emphasis. It is an excellent means
of organizing concepts and ideas, especially if the idea is to be presented to a bigger audience. It keeps the flow of
information steady and concise.
A graphic organizer starts off with one topic as the “center” or the start of the flow, and from there, branches of the topic will
be elaborated and expounded, and will connect these other ideas in the “web”.

Examples of Graphic Organizers

KWL CHART VENN DIAGRAM

 DOUBLE BUBBLE MAP CLUSTER MAP

STORYBOARD PERSUASION MAP

 REASON 1

THE MAIN GOAL REASON 2

OF THE SUMMAR
ARGUMENT Y OF
POINTS
REASON 3

HOW GRAPHIC ORGANIZER WORKS?

1. One begins with a primary assigned or selected topic. This is the starting point of your web.
2. From the center of your graphic web called nucleus, begin branching out to the subcategories that you would like to
cover.
3. From this point, every sub-branch can extend of flow down to its branch. The important thing to remember is to keep
moving down the ladder of information.
 4. Once you created a large web of information, start weeding out any subsections that you think might be irrelevant or
do not necessarily has to be covered by your research. Retain only what is related to the nucleus.
5. Starting from the top levels going down, you can now form your ideas into an outline, using the “tree” of the graphic
organizer, cluster from the major to minor ideas down to the lowest branch.

C. OUTLINES
An outline is considered as a plan for your writing project, which is usually presented in the form a list. It is divided into
headings (major topics) and subheadings (subtopics). These two are usually separated so that it would be easy to distinguish
the main points from the supporting ideas.

A thesis statement, on the other hand, is the idea that ties your entire writing project together. It is primary premise of the
research which you will then develop, support, and explain through examples and pieces of evidence.

I. TOPIC OUTLINE
A topic outline is simply a systematic arrangement of ideas, using broad topics in the form of words or simple
phrases as headers. Topic outlines are bulleted or assigned numbering levels in their headers. Most often,
they start with Roman numerals (Part I, II, III, and IV) before descending to letters (A, B, C,) and from thereon
could be bullets or numbers still, depending on the researcher’s preference.

HOW TO MAKE A TOPIC OUTLINE?

1. Determine the first level of headings.

2. Immediately beneath these headings, indent your line. Then you can begin entering subheadings falling under the major
topics.
3. Once you have completed all your subheadings with the topics that will be covered for your paper, you can begin gathering
the information necessary that will fall under those headings.
4. Remember to keep things concise and cover only the topics you need to attain your paper’s goal.
II. SENTENCE OUTLINE
 Also known as the expanded outline, instead of the single word and phrase that covers the topics,
the researcher puts in a sentence that describes the major topic and the minor topic, as well as subtopics following the
headings.
HOW TO MAKE A SENTENCE OUTLINE?
1. Begin the sentence outline with a thesis statement. This is a paragraph that discusses the topic of the outline based on a
particular subject matter or experiment. It will discuss the aim of the research paper, whether it is to answer a question or to
look for a conclusion.
2. Using declarative sentences, make the points that you need to answer in order to confirm or prove your thesis statement
adequately.
3. Start making the outline itself by putting down entries in complete sentences, starting from major points to minor points in the
framework.
4. Repeat the entire process until all your major and minor points have been exhausted.

Source: Anacay, M.E & Rivera, X.M (2016). Critical Reading and Writing Skills for the 21 st Century. The Inteligente Publishing, Inc.