People asked me to suggest ways to organize the information contained in articles, books, lead magnets, and other content. Here are 9 of the most popular proven organizational schemes makes content pieces easier to read as well as easier to write.
Order of location
Table of Contents
An article on the planets of the solar system might begin with Mercury (the planet nearest the sun) and end with Pluto (the planetoid farthest out).
Order of increasing difficulty
Operations manuals often start with the easiest material and then move on to more complex tasks.
Alphabetical order
A logical way to arrange a booklet on vitamins (A,B,B1, and so on ) or a directory of company employees.
Chronological
Presents the facts in the order in which they happened; e.g. case histories.
Problem/solution
The problem/solution format begins with “Here’s what the problem was” and ends with “Here’s how we solved it.”
Inverted pyramid
The newspaper style of news reporting where the lead paragraph summarizes the story, and subsequent paragraphs present the facts in order of decreasing importance.
Deductive order
Start with a generalization, and then support it with particulars.
Inductive order
Begin with specific instances, and then lead the reader to the ideas or general principles the instances suggest, prove, or support.
List
You can write your piece as a numbered series of points or tips.
Tip: A good approach is to let the material dictate the way you organize and present your information; e.g. see #1 and #3 above.
By the way, do you happen to use an organizational outline for your content that’s missing from my list?
Alex Lim
Alex Lim is a certified book reviewer and editor with over 10 years of experience in the publishing industry. He has reviewed hundreds of books for reputable magazines and websites, such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and Goodreads. Alex has a master’s degree in comparative literature from Harvard University and a PhD in literary criticism from Oxford University. He is also the author of several acclaimed books on literary theory and analysis, such as The Art of Reading and How to Write a Book Review. Alex lives in London, England with his wife and two children. You can contact him at [email protected] or follow him on Website | Twitter | Facebook
