Writing · Writing: Planning, Drafting, Revising and Publishing

Organizing Ideas and Reviewing Content: Patterns, Outlines and the Relevance Check

1.4 1.5About 70 minutes

Learning goals

I can identify main ideas and sort supporting details under them.
I can choose an organizational pattern that suits my content and purpose, including block and point-by-point comparison.
I can order ideas deliberately, for example by order of importance.
I can review my plan to check that it is relevant, accurate, complete and meets the task.

Words to know

main idea
A big point that supports the thesis; often one body paragraph or section.

supporting detail
A specific fact, example, quotation or explanation that backs up a main idea.

organizational pattern
A way of ordering ideas, such as chronological, spatial, or problem and solution.

block method
Comparing two things by discussing all of one, then all of the other.

point-by-point method
Comparing two things on one point at a time.

order of importance
Arranging ideas from least to most important, or the reverse.

parking lot
A place to store interesting ideas that do not belong in the current piece.

A pile of good bricks is not a house

After generating ideas and doing research, you have a pile of material: notes, quotations, examples, maybe a few great sentences. It is tempting to start writing at the top of the pile and keep going. The result is usually a wandering draft where the reader cannot see how the ideas connect.

Organizing turns the pile into a structure. In this lesson you will identify your main ideas, sort the supporting details under them, order them using a pattern that fits your purpose, and then review your content to make sure it is relevant, accurate and complete before you draft.

Remember from Grade 9

In Grade 9 you classified ideas, wrote thesis statements, chose organizational patterns and built formal outlines, using a parking lot for interesting ideas that did not fit. This lesson asks you to choose patterns more deliberately and to use a review checklist before drafting.

Step 1: Identify main ideas and sort details

Read through all your notes and ask: What are the 3 or 4 big ideas here? Each big idea will become a section or body paragraph. Then sort every detail under one main idea.

Useful sorting tools:

Sticky notes or index cards, one idea per card, moved into piles on a table.
Colour coding: highlight every note about main idea 1 in one colour, main idea 2 in another.
Graphic organizers: a T-chart for two sides, a Venn diagram for comparisons, a flowchart for causes and effects, a timeline for events in order.

A detail that fits nowhere goes to the parking lot. It might be interesting, but it does not belong in this piece.

Step 2: Choose an organizational pattern

The pattern should match your content and your purpose.

Pattern	How it orders ideas	Good for
Chronological	In time order	Narratives, news reports, history, processes
Spatial	By location (left to right, top to bottom, near to far)	Descriptions of places or objects
Order of importance	Least to most important (or most to least)	Persuasive writing; reports for busy readers (most important first)
Compare and contrast	Block method or point-by-point	Comparing two texts, characters, options or products
Cause and effect	Causes, then effects (or the reverse)	Explaining why something happened or what it will lead to
Problem and solution	Describe a problem, then propose and defend solutions	Proposals, letters to decision-makers, opinion pieces
General to specific	Big idea first, then details and examples	Introductions, explanations, informational writing

Common organizational patterns. Longer pieces often combine them (for example, a problem-and-solution essay whose solutions are in order of importance).

Two ways to compare a new outdoor rink with a new splash pad for a town park. The block method finishes one option before starting the other; the point-by-point method compares both options on each point.

Which compare-and-contrast method should you use? The block method is simpler and works for short pieces, but the reader has to remember everything about the first option while reading about the second. Point-by-point keeps the two options side by side, so it usually produces deeper comparison in longer essays. Many Grade 10 literary essays comparing two texts use point-by-point.

In persuasive writing, ending on your strongest reason leaves the biggest impression. In a report for a busy reader, you might reverse the order and put the most important point first.

Step 3: Review your content before drafting

Expectation 1.5 asks you to check that your ideas and information are relevant, accurate and complete, and that they meet the requirements of the task. Use this checklist on your outline:

Relevant: Does every detail support its main idea, and does every main idea support the thesis? Cross out what does not.
Accurate: Did you check facts, numbers, names, dates and quotations against reliable sources? Are quotations copied exactly?
Complete: Does every main idea have enough support (usually at least two specific details)? Are there gaps where you need more research? Have you answered every part of the prompt?
Meets the task: Go back to your decoded prompt from Lesson 1. Does your plan include every requirement (form, length, number of sources, counter-argument...)?

Worked example

Let's sort, order and review a set of notes

Thesis: Our town should build an outdoor rink in Elm Park instead of a splash pad, because a rink serves more people for more of the year. Notes (invented for practice): (a) splash pads run June to September; (b) volunteers in a nearby town flood their rink each winter; (c) a rink can host free skating, shinny and school trips; (d) my cousin loves splash pads; (e) a rink costs less to build than a splash pad, according to a parks department estimate; (f) winters are getting warmer in parts of Ontario; (g) the town's population is 12 000.

Identify main ideas that support the thesis: Cost, Who it serves, Season and reliability.
Sort: Cost ← (e). Who it serves ← (c), (b) (volunteers show community involvement). Season and reliability ← (a), (f).
Parking lot: (d) is personal and not relevant to the argument. (g) is accurate background but does not support a point yet; keep it only if a point needs it.
Review for accuracy: (e) comes from an estimate, so name the source and check the date. (f) is a broad claim; find a reliable source for it.
Review for completeness: note (f) is actually a counter-argument: warmer winters may shorten the rink season. Persuasive tasks usually expect a counter-argument (check your decoded prompt), so the plan should respond to it (for example, with a cooled rink option or evidence about the local season length).
Order of importance: Season and reliability (with the counter-argument), then Cost, then Who it serves last, because serving more people is the strongest reason and it matches the thesis.

A three-part outline in order of importance, two notes moved to the parking lot, two facts flagged for checking, and a gap (the counter-argument) found before drafting rather than after.

Hands-on activity

Card-sort an argument

You need: 10 to 12 index cards or scraps of paper, a pen and a table.

Pick a household debate (for example, Should we get a dog? or Where should we go for a weekend trip?).
Write one fact, reason or example on each card. Ask family members to add some.
Sort the cards into 3 piles of main ideas. Put any card that does not fit in a parking lot pile.
Order the piles using a pattern that suits your purpose (order of importance, problem and solution, or point-by-point comparison). Explain your choice aloud.
Run the review checklist: is anything inaccurate, irrelevant or missing? Add a card for one gap you notice.

What to look for: piles with clear labels, a pattern chosen for a reason, and at least one card honestly moved to the parking lot.

Just for fun

The parking lot is the only place where ideas can wait without getting a ticket.

Your turn

Which pattern fits a news report about a storm that knocked out power?

Which compare-and-contrast method discusses both items for each point?

Name a graphic organizer that suits a cause-and-effect essay.

Why might you put your strongest reason last in a persuasive essay?

What are the four questions in the content review checklist?

What goes in the parking lot?

More practice: warm-up

What pattern orders ideas by location?

Which pattern would suit a letter to council about potholes?

True or false: every detail in an essay should support its main idea.

Name one tool for sorting notes.

What is the block method?

More practice: on your own

Choose a pattern for each task and explain: (a) instructions for planting a tree; (b) a description of your school's front entrance; (c) an essay on why a river flooded.

An outline for an essay on the benefits of school gardens has three main ideas: healthy eating, science learning, and the history of gardening in ancient Rome. Review it.

A body paragraph about Canadian winter sports has one detail: Hockey is popular. What does the review checklist say?

Turn this block outline into a point-by-point outline with three points: Book: plot, characters, ending. Film: plot, characters, ending.

Your prompt asks for at least three credible sources, and your outline uses two. What should you do, and when?

Challenge

Write a complete outline (thesis, three main ideas in order of importance, two details each, and a counter-argument) for: Should Ontario high schools require students to take a cooking and nutrition course?

Explain how a writer might combine two organizational patterns in one essay, with an example.

A classmate's outline is relevant and complete, but one key statistic came from a social media post with no source. Using the review checklist, explain what they should do and why it matters.

Check your understanding

Quiz

Which pattern suits a description of a hockey arena for someone who has never been there?

In the point-by-point method, each body paragraph:

A detail that is interesting but does not support your thesis should go:

Which question checks for completeness?

Which pattern fits a letter asking the city to fix a dangerous crosswalk?

Why review content before drafting?

For parents and teachers

Big idea: Expectations 1.4 and 1.5 ask students to identify, sort and order main ideas and supporting details using patterns that suit the content and purpose, and then to check that their information is relevant, accurate, complete and meets the task.

How to help: ask your teen to show you their outline before they draft. Ask: Which part is your strongest point? Why is it in that position? Where did this number come from? The card-sort activity works well as a family discussion.

Common difficulties:

Skipping the outline and organizing while drafting.
Keeping irrelevant facts because they took effort to find.
Comparing two things in separate halves with no links.
Discovering missing requirements (sources, counter-argument) only after the draft is written.