Style Analysis:

ORGANIZATION
Part V: ORGANIZATION

 Organization:
– Seeing what the author does
STRUCTURALLY (larger structure rather
than close analysis of smaller units like
diction, detail, and p.o.v.)
What to watch for…

a. The beginning or ending of the passage

b. A particular sequence that is important
c. A noticeable chronology
d. Any literary techniques that stand out
e. An emphasis on any one part
f. A shift in tone from one section to the
next
Group Practice:
 Read “The Rattler” (again )
 Look for places to break the piece into a beginning,
middle, and end.
 There is no “right place” to do this– you can divide
a passage in the middle of a paragraph or even in
the middle of a sentence– as long as you can
SUPPORT YOUR CLAIM.
 HINT: Look for SHIFTS (in tone, in syntax, etc. I
like to look for transition words to help me out, if
any are provided. Think about how you know a
counterargument is coming, for example).
Organization Paragraph:
Topic Sentence
 The organization moves from ______ to
_______ and finally to________.

EXAMPLE:
 The organization of the piece moves from
calm to violence and finally to reflection.

[Notice how each section– beginning, middle,

and end– has its own tone word].
Organization Paragraph:
Concrete Detail Sentence
 NO QUOTATIONS ARE USED FOR A
DISCUSSION OF THE WRITER’S
ORGANIZATION!
 Summarize or paraphrase each section
in your example sentences.
EXAMPLE:
 In the beginning, the man encounters
a snake unexpectedly in a tableau-like
scene.
 Organization Paragraph:
Commentary Sentences
 The commentary analyzes the significance of
the summary (CD) and discusses why the
author chose this organization.
EXAMPLE:
 In the beginning, the man encounters a snake
unexpectedly in a tableau-like scene. His
accidental confrontation juxtaposes present
serenity with future slaughter. The author uses
this random meeting to emphasize the conflict
between nature and encroaching civilization.
 Sample Organization Paragraph (handout)
The organization of the piece moves from calm to
violence and finally to reflection. In the beginning, the
man encounters a snake unexpectedly in a tableau-like scene.
His accidental confrontation juxtaposes present serenity with
future slaughter. The author uses this random meeting to
emphasize the conflict between nature and encroaching
civilization. In the middle, the man takes action against the
snake. Moving from being a passive onlooker to an active
participant in a conflict between respect for life and uncivilized
instinct, he must disregard his own personal code in order to
fulfill his responsibility to protect the village. The author
emphasizes both the consciousness of the man’s decision and
the bloody ramifications of the snake’s death to underscore
the man’s bittersweet victory. In the end, the man achieves
his goal, and the snake dies. The man refuses to regard his
kill as a triumph of sport and instead contemplates his loss.
The author reestablishes the equilibrium between nature and
humanity and returns to a scene of motionless symbiosis. As
the day comes to a close, the man reaffirms his respect for
the hierarchy of life in a moment of silent remorse.
 Paired Practice:
excerpt from “A White Heron”
by Sarah Orne Jewett

1. Read the passage

2. Write an introductory paragraph for the passage,
including a tone thesis
3. Divide the passage into three parts: beginning,
middle, end
4. Write points of summary or paraphrases in the
margins of the passage (these paraphrases will
become your CDs)
5. Work on organization chart for “A White Heron”
Independent Practice:
Frederick Douglass passage
1. Refer back to your tone thesis for
this passage.
2. Divide the passage into three
sections– beginning, middle, and end
3. Write a THREE-CHUNK paragraph
that analyzes the way Douglass has
organized (or structured) this
particular passage
4. Blue/black ink, preferably typed.