Organization of Details and Examples

When a paragraph contains several details and examples, it is necessary to consider the order of their presentation. Unlike narratives, whose sentences are logically ordered chronologically, and descriptions, whose sentences are logically organized on a spatial principle, the sentences of the paragraph follow no prescribed or set pattern of organization. The ordering depends on the subject and often on the author's logic. There are, however, some common patterns that might be considered guidelines.

Order of Importance: Saving the best for last. Often you are developing a topic sentence with details and examples; one of the examples is more impressive than the others. Since readers generally remember what they read last, and since it is a good idea to leave a good impression on the reader, it is wise to place the most impressive example at the end of the paragraph.

Order of Familiarity: From the more familiar to the less familiar. When the details in the expository paragraph are mostly factual, it is common to begin with the most obvious or familiar detail and move toward the less obvious or less familiar detail.

Order of Time: From the past to the present. When the details and examples in a paragraph are taken from history or are events that have taken place in the past, it is often a good idea to order the examples according to chronology.

"To cohere" means "to stick together"; "to be connected naturally or logically, by a common principle; to be consistent"; and "to become or stay united in action; to be in accord." Effective English writing is coherent; that is, the sentences follow each other smoothly and logically. In addition, the relationships between the ideas in the composition are clear to the reader. For example, the reader is able to locate the main ideas and sort out the examples. The time relationships and other forms of chronological order (steps, stages) are also clear. Old ideas link with new ideas, and pronouns are used correctly. Vocabulary, moreover, is well chosen to aid in the development of the content at every level.

(http://papyr.com/hypertextbooks/comp1/coherent.htm)

Task 3.Analyze extracts from different texts from the point of view of coherence: Order of Importance, Order of Familiarity, and Order of Time.

1. Divisions of geological time. The rocks of the accessible part of the earth are divided into five major divisions or eras, which are in the order of decreasing age, Archeozoic, Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. Superposition is the criterion of age. Each rock is considered younger than the one on which it rests, provided there is no structural evidence to the contrary, such as overturning or thrust faulting. As one looks at a tall building there is no doubt in the mind of the observer that the top story was erected after the one on which it rests and is younger than it in order of time. So it is in stratigraphy in which strata are arranged in an orderly sequence based upon their relative positions. Certainly the igneous and metamorphic rocks at the bottom of the Grand Canyon are the oldest rocks exposed along the Colorado River in Arizona and each successively higher formation is relatively younger than the one beneath it.

2. Weathering and soil. The work of weathering is carried on mainly by the atmosphere, which affects rocks physically and chemically. Disintegration of rocks into fragments having the same chemical composition as the main mass is a physical change. The chief agents of disintegration are frost, temperature change, organ-isms, wind, rain, and lightning. Almost every rock contains some cracks or pore space, and moisture entering the openings freezes when the temperature is below 32F. The change of water to ice is accompanied by an increase of volume of one tenth and by a pressure of several tons to the square foot. Repeated freezing and expansion followed by thawing break rocks into chips or blocks, which accumulate on the surface to form mantle rock. Wide variation in daily temperature combined with other weathering agents causes exfoliation or scaling off of thin slabs of rocks. Since rocks are poor conductors of heat, rays from the sun penetrate only a slight distance into the rock, causing this outer heated part to expand. In the night it cools and contracts. Repeated expansion and contraction weaken the outer layer, but whether the scaling off is due to this or to moisture is debatable. The effect is greatly increased when a shower of rain falls suddenly on the heated rock, for many of us have observed that when water is poured on hot rocks around a campfire they often break open with great violence. Talus is composed of rock fragments broken from cliffs or steep Slopes by frost action or temperature change, and is moved by gravity down the slope until its surface approaches the angle of repose of loose materials. Organisms of various kinds are active instruments of disintegration. Plants extend a network of roots into the cracks which penetrate the rocks in all directions. These roots enlarge during growth and act as wedges to force the rocks apart. This wedging force not only lifts blocks of sidewalk and breaks pavements in a few years but also disrupts natural exposures on a grand scale. Wind blows sand grains against the surface of rocks with such force that pits of varying sizes are formed. The Sphinx and pyramids of Egypt are deeply pitted by sand blown over northern Africa. Particles of loosened rock, removed by the next gust of wind, become the tools for further abrasion. Sand-blasting is a commercially practical method of polishing and cleaning rocks, including the hard surface of granite. In nature fantastic forms are sculptured by wind abrasion, especially where materials of different degrees of resistance are in contact. In this way balanced rocks are formed where drifting sand wears away the softer, less consolidated materials at the base of a well-cemented layer. Likewise mushroom rocks are carved out of sandy rocks be-cause the rock material of the stem yields more readily to the impact of sand grains than that of the top. Rain and lightning are less effective than the other mechanical agents but contribute their share to the process of reducing a mass of solid rock at the surface to fragments.

3. American medical technology. American medical technology is the best on earth, but its health-care system is the most wasteful. Americans spend roughly twice as much on doctors, drugs and snazzy brain scanners as Europeans, but live no longer. In contrast to the all-inclusiveness of other countries' socialized medical services, 40m Americans have no coverage at all. Chinese children are more likely to be vaccinated against disease than Americans, despite the fact that health spending per head in the United States is about 150 times higher. The government, many Americans agree, should do something. Sadly, most of their politicians have misdiagnosed the ailment and are proposing a battery of quack remedies. AMERICAN medical technology is the best on earth, but its health-care system is the most wasteful. Americans spend roughly twice as much on doctors, drugs and snazzy brain scanners as Europeans, but live no longer. In contrast to the all-inclusiveness of other countries' socialized medical services, 40m Americans have no coverage at all. Chinese children are more likely to be vaccinated against disease than Americans, despite the fact that health spending per head in the United States is about 150 times higher. The government, many Americans agree, should do something. Sadly, most of their politicians have misdiagnosed the ailment and are proposing a battery of quack remedies.

4. Blood Type. Blood Type, in medicine, is the classification of red blood cells by the presence of specific substances on their surface. Typing of red blood cells is a prerequisite for blood transfusion. In the early part of the 20th century, physicians discovered that blood transfusions often failed because the blood type of the recipient was not compatible with that of the donor. In 1901 the Austrian pathologist Karl Landsteiner classified blood types and discovered that they were transmitted by Mendelian heredity. The four blood types are known as A, B, AB, and O. Blood type A contains red blood cells that have a substance A on their surface. This type of blood also contains an antibody directed against substance B, found on the red cells of persons with blood type B. Type B blood contains the reverse combination. Serum of blood type AB contains neither antibody, but red cells in this type of blood contain both A and B substances. In type O blood, neither substance is present on the red cells, but the individual is capable of forming antibodies directed against red cells containing substance A or B. If blood type A is transfused into a person with B type blood, anti-A antibodies in the recipient will destroy the transfused A red cells. Because O type blood has neither substance on its red cells, it can be given successfully to almost any person. Persons with blood type AB have no antibodies and can receive any of the four types of blood; thus blood types O and AB are called universal donors and universal recipients, respectively. Other hereditary blood-group systems have subsequently been discovered. The hereditary blood constituent called Rh factor is of great importance in obstetrics and blood transfusions because it creates reactions that can threaten the life of newborn infants. Blood types M and N have importance in legal cases involving proof of paternity.

Task 4. Re-organise the notes below to achieve the best structure.