Style Analysis: ORGANIZATION

1. Style Analysis: ORGANIZATION

2. 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.)

3. What to watch for… • The beginning or ending of the passage • A particular sequence that is important • A noticeable chronology • Any literary techniques that stand out • An emphasis on any one part • A shift in tone from one section to the next

4. 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).

5. 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].

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. 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”

10. Independent Practice:Frederick Douglass passage • Refer back to your tone thesis for this passage. • Divide the passage into three sections– beginning, middle, and end • Write a THREE-CHUNK paragraph that analyzes the way Douglass has organized (or structured) this particular passage • Blue/black ink, preferably typed.