Students are exposed to examples of a variety of organizational strategies in this unit, which helps them to further develop their understanding of expository writing. These insights are further developed and every organizational strategy is improved through class discussion and group work. Students are going to:
- Review definitions for expository writing, audience, and purpose.
- Study the different organizational strategies in small groups and as a class.
- Utilize their understanding of organizational strategies to their own topics and supporting details.
- Modify topic and detail material for graphic organizers
 

- To what extent does the writing process influence writing quality?
- How can we become proficient writers?
- How does writing function in our daily lives?

- Expository Writing: A piece of writing meant to explain, inform, clarify, instruct, or define. 
- Topic: The subject the writer chooses to address in his or her writing. 
- Purpose: The intent of the writing is to inform or teach someone about something, to entertain people, or to persuade or convince the audience to do or not do something. 
- Audience: The intended readers of a particular piece of writing. 
- Compare/Contrast: An organizational strategy that uncovers differences and similarities between two subjects. 
- Problem/Solution: An organizational strategy that addresses a specific problem/issue and progresses to investigate possible solutions and/or outcomes. 
- Process Analysis or Sequence: An organizational strategy that uses sequence and order of action to explain or relate a process or series of events. 
- Cause/Effect: An organizational strategy that discusses a particular cause, or series of causes, and then relates effects to the causes to show their relationship.

- computer, Internet connection, and media projector
- “Did You Know” by Karl Fisch. TeacherTube video (6:06 min.) http://www.teachertube.com/video/did-you-know-by-karl-fisch-118 
- samples of student writing demonstrating problem/solution and process analysis (sequence) organizational strategies. You may use previous student work or samples from Stanford’s “Information about Expository Writing” Web site http://www.stanford.edu/%7Earnetha/expowrite/info.html 
- essay excerpts (L-C-4-2_Cause Effect Excerpt and L-C-4-2_Compare Contrast Excerpt)
- copies of graphic organizer handouts, also overhead transparencies of each. You may use your own, those from Stanford’s “Information about Expository Writing” Web site found at http://www.stanford.edu/%7Earnetha/expowrite/info.html or those in the Resources folder (L-C-4-2_Problem Solution Graphic, L-C-4-2_Cause Effect Graphic, L-C-4-2_Compare Contrast Graphic, and/or L-C-4-2_Process Analysis Graphic)
- copies of Finding a New Apartment (L-C-4-2_Finding a New Apartment)
- copies of Organizational Strategies Definitions (L-C-4-2_Organizational Strategies Definitions)
- overhead projector
- a board or large screen to put up examples, student responses, and class notes
- copies of the Lesson 2 Exit Ticket (L-C-4-2_Exit Ticket)

- As you explain organizational strategies, keep an eye out for any misunderstandings and clarify terms as necessary. You can also add more examples to help clarify things. 
- Identify the different comprehension levels of students by moving around during peer inquiry and small-group brainstorming. 
- Help struggling students learn important vocabulary or improve their organizational techniques so they can participate in class discussions or work in small groups. Concentrate on a single method or brainstorm at a time. Reiterate the fact that writing is an ongoing process. "One step at a time."

Modeling, explicit instruction, scaffolding, and active engagement
W: After being introduced to the organizational techniques of expository writing, students are given the chance to explore the different forms of the topic, audience, and purpose of their writing. Students will use one of these formats in conjunction with supporting details that act as proof in their expository essay. 
H: During class discussion and in small groups, students will read, hear, and watch informative articles in a range of media and debate their usefulness with peers. In turn, they will hear from their classmates as well. After that, they have time to revise their expository writing in response to feedback. 
E: While the students are writing or working in small groups, you should move around the room to assess and help them. Gather and offer feedback on the prewriting and drafting tasks, encompassing the topics, supporting details, and final drafts. 
R: Students have the chance to edit and expand on their writing as well as develop and discuss their organizational strategies in small groups and during class discussions. Self-reflection is essential to improving their work. 
E: Students gain more understanding from receiving feedback and further assess themselves when collaborating with others in small groups. Encouraging students to revise and brainstorm their writing is a great way to improve their writing skills and support their ability to edit themselves. 
T: Students discuss as a group, but they can recognize and write down their ideas. Those students who might struggle can collaborate with others and learn what makes their writing effective and ineffective. They write both collaboratively and individually. 
O: After establishing the topic, audience, and purpose, the lesson will move on to acquiring more supporting information and determining the best organizational scheme for the students' content. Using examples and class discussion, the various forms will be further defined. To help students better understand their assignments, pertinent vocabulary, and techniques will also be covered at different points throughout the unit. All students will have the chance to apply newly learned material via group work, and further hone the topic they have selected for their expository essay throughout the revision. 

Main Question: Which organizational techniques apply to expository writing?

Part 1

Start the class by going over the topic, audience, purpose, and informational writing. After watching Karl Fisch's "Did You Know" video, assign students to have a partner discussion about the topic, goal, and target audience of this educational video.
Ask each pair to share their ideas about the topic, aim, and target audience of this piece after the partner discussion. Subsequently, request that students assess the efficiency of the information being presented through this medium (a video uploaded to a website).
After that, teach your students about the various expository writing organization techniques. Students must have this comprehension to apply what they have learned to their coursework and to decide how best to structure their written work. Students will deepen their understanding of the writing process by discussing both their writing and the models used in class.

Give students copies of the organizational strategies definitions sheet (L-C-4-2_Organizational Strategies Definitions) and display it on the overhead projector. Students must select one of these four options for how to organize their information piece for this unit:
Compare/Contrast: An organizational strategy for identifying differences and similarities between two subjects
Problem/Solution: An organizational strategy that begins with a specific problem or issue and progresses to investigate potential solutions and/or outcomes.
Process Analysis (Sequence): An organizational strategy that employs sequence and order of action to explain or relate a process or series of events.
Cause/Effect: An organizational strategy that discusses a specific cause, or series of causes, and then relates effects to the causes to demonstrate their relationship.

Tell the students: "There are several ways to organize expository writing, depending on the subject and the writer's goals. These are a few of the most typical organizational designs. How do you choose which design to employ? The response relates to your objective and topic. Assume that downloading music was your topic. Your organizational pattern would be Process Analysis if you were to describe how to download music. On the other hand, I could decide to contrast and compare various music download services, or I could evaluate costs, websites, and user experiences." 
"Therefore, I would have to think about how each organizational technique alters the direction of my writing if my topic were looking to rent an apartment. I'll go over each to help you understand this:

Compare and contrast: I could write about my most recent apartment and my previous one to see where they are similar and different, as well as the advantages and disadvantages.
Problem/solution: What comes to mind first when using this strategy is writing about how certain apartment buildings lack communication, which detracts from the sense of community that exists there. I could think of events that might happen, ways to encourage more interaction, or just basic gestures.
Process Analysis (Sequence): In this instance, an idea strikes me immediately. I will describe the entire application process for an apartment, from locating the opening in the newspaper to getting in touch with the property manager and signing a contract.
Cause/Effect: Since I've lived in both the country and the city, I might write about how relocating to a city and residing there has altered my personal experiences and viewpoints."

"Students, you have identified a topic that you are passionate about. The topic has been honed, and you understand the readership and intent of your work. This is the time to consider the best way to arrange your information. You can choose HOW to present your information by using your organizational strategy. When two things are being compared, for example, a back-and-forth element aids in determining the organization of the writing if my organizational strategy is compare/contrast."

"Selecting an organizational strategy from this list is going to be one of the most significant decisions you make when writing an expository essay. I'm going to distribute an example of an explanatory writing excerpt now. Next, we'll talk about the organizational strategy implemented and why it works for the given subject and goal." 

Put a copy of an example of writing a problem or solution on the overhead for future reference. Copy an example of a problem-solution essay and distribute it. You can use a writing sample from Stanford's "Information about Expository Writing" website (http://www.stanford.edu/~arnetha/expowrite/chrtprobsolution.html) or one you submitted for a previous class.

"Could someone please volunteer to read the problem/solution excerpt?" ask. Select a student to read aloud and give the other students instructions on how to follow. Point the students to your overhead copy when they're done. "The most important component of problem/solution writing is a clearly stated problem. What is the writer's stated issue in this excerpt? " Ask students to identify the thesis statement after determining the important component of a problem. As you respond to the excerpt, make sure to encourage the use of particular terminology and critical discourse. During the conversation, emphasize or underline important passages from the writing sample. It's important for students to start recognizing expository writing components and to feel at ease doing so to assess how well their writing is done.

Assign students graphic organizers for the problem and solution; you can use the one in the Resources folder for this unit (L-C-4-2_Problem Solution Graphic), one from the Stanford website, or one of your own. "Let's talk about how we can use this model by looking at this writing sample." To identify issues, solicit student responses during class discussions. After that, ask the students to identify the solutions and outcomes. To help students understand the reasoning and structure employed, it is important to walk them through the process of writing an essay. During the discussion, emphasize or underline key points in the essay. Social issues, current affairs, ongoing debates, etc. can all be effectively addressed with this organizational strategy.

Next, distribute a process analysis (sequence) graphic organizer. You can use the one in this unit's Resources folder (L-C-4-2_Process Analysis Graphic), one from the Stanford website, or one of your own. Post an example of your work on the overhead. It can be from a previous class or it can be found on Stanford's "Information about Expository Writing" website (http://www.stanford.edu/~arnetha/expowrite/chrtsequence.html). Ask a volunteer student to read it aloud to the class.

"What elements am I looking for if I want to know if this writing is using the process analysis or sequence organizational strategy?" poses the question to the students. Seek for an answer along the lines of "It employs sequence to demonstrate how one event leads to another" or "It will tell a series of events." Ask students to identify the thesis statement after you've determined the main details of the events. Take note of the excerpt's progression from a single event to the next and understand why this is good for the writing. During the conversation, underline or highlight key points in the essay. As they finish this writing sample, have them finish their graphic organizer. When used with historical writing, action stages, linear processes, biographies, etc., this organizational technique performs admirably.
Divide the class into groups of four. Assign each group to read and debate the following excerpts from papers (L-C-4-2_Cause Effect Excerpt and L-C-4-2_Compare Contrast Excerpt) that employ cause-and-effect and compare-and-contrast strategies in their introductions. Ask them to record the subject, target audience, and goal of each introduction. After completing a graphic organizer for each strategy (L-C-4-2_Cause Effect Graphic and L-C-4-2_Compare Contrast Graphic), have students discuss what additional supporting information should be added to the samples. Go around the room offering assistance to groups that are unsure about the writing or are having trouble identifying certain parts. Once the students have finished this assignment, ask a representative from each group to present the results to the class. For the topic, purpose, and audience, ask students to justify the effectiveness of each strategy.

See if the students can relate the organization to the subject, the target audience and goal, and the use of illustrative details. If they're struggling, use the chance to relate the subjects they've discovered to the ways the organizing strategy enhances expository writing.

Part 2

Demonstrate how selecting a topic, goal, and audience affects the choice of organizational strategy when writing an explanatory essay. You have two options for your sample essay: use the one from the previous student or the one titled "Finding a New Apartment" (L-C-4-2_Finding a New Apartment). Distribute a suitable graphic organizer and the student writing sample (for example, the Process Analysis organizer for the essay "Finding a New Apartment").
An example script to use with the "Finding a New Apartment" writing sample:

"I will now present my idea for my topic, which is looking for a new apartment. I chose to use process analysis after considering a variety of organizational strategies. I plan to write about the procedures and series of events involved in moving into a new apartment. I made a list of the essential information I should include, such as helpful websites for looking for an apartment, meeting with property managers, investigating buildings and neighborhoods, checking the apartment, asking the building's maintenance staff questions, and how to proceed with signing a lease. 'Does the process analysis organization still work with these details?' I then asked myself. Since it involves a series of events, I would answer "yes." Right now, I'm prepared to enter my data into the process analysis organization. I understand that problem/solution isn't appropriate because what I'm talking about is a process rather than a problem. Cause and effect also wouldn't work because the process is what's interesting rather than the original cause. This relates to the steps and events. How about comparison/contrast? Certainly not. No apartment is compared to another. It focuses on the sequence of events and procedures involved in locating a new apartment."

Give each student a sample of their writing to read. For this student sample, have every student finish a graphic organizer. Ask students to discuss the sample and the decisions they made regarding the topic, purpose, audience, and organizational strategy after they have finished the assignment.

"It's time to examine your topic and any supporting information to decide which organizational strategy to employ. Take a look at the handouts for the Graphic Organizer. All four organizational strategies are illustrated for you. Please review your topic and any supporting information, then use the data to conduct a few "tests." To see HOW the writing might be shaped, try to "plug" your information into each of the organizational strategies. Please take notes and fill in as many pages as necessary. After you're done, go over the pages and select the organizational strategy you think is most effective." Before the class ends, have students complete and turn in the L-C-4-2_Exit Ticket for this lesson.

Extention:
L-C-4-2_Cause Effect Excerpt and L-C-4-2_Compare Contrast Excerpt are two excerpts from this lesson that students can choose to expand upon for more practice composing an explanatory essay.