The Key to Organized Writing is a Graphic Organizer

One of the greatest challenges for writers is establishing an organizational plan for their writing.  Writers of all genres and styles—fiction, poetry, essay, blog, nonfiction—tend to struggle with finding and implementing a process that will help them get their ideas on the page.  Most writers have an easy time generating ideas of what to write about.  The challenge comes in organizing those ideas so that they make sense to readers.  

---

 ​What is so important about organizing your writing? 

Organized writing is logical, it makes sense, and it is easy to read and understand.  Writers pen their ideas for an audience with the purpose of enlightening, persuading, or entertaining.  No writer intends to confuse or dissuade their readers, but that is what can happen when the writing is disorganized. 

It is important to organize your writing, no matter what you are writing, because organized, logical, clear writing makes sense to the reader.  When writing is disorganized, nonsensical, and confusing, then it can irritate, confuse, and even anger readers.  No writer wants to turn off a reader with bad form.  ​

​What is the writing process? 

The writing process is a series of steps that writers take to complete a piece of writing.  It can be used for any style or genre of writing—from poetry to research projects—the writing process is a writer’s best guarantee that a finished piece of writing will be well-received by readers.  All writers seek to communicate with an audience and using the writing process can improve reader’s response. 

The writing process can be interpreted to use three to seven steps, but the traditional writing process contains five steps: brainstorming, organizing, drafting, editing and revising, and presenting.  Once writers have a brainstorm of content for a piece, organize that information into a graphic organizer to ensure that the ideas are logically presented.  
​

​What is a graphic organizer? 

​A graphic organizer is a visual tool that writers use when planning a piece of writing. There are many  styles of graphic organizers such as: outline, 5Ws, Venn diagram, 3 column notes, visual cluster, inverted triangle, KWL (know, want to know, learn), and plot diagram. Different graphic organizers tend to appeal to different writers. For example, some writers use only the traditional outline for all of their planning needs, while others will switch between organizers depending on the writing style.
​

​How can writers use graphic organizers?

Writers use graphic organizers in the planning stage of the writing process, which is just after the brainstorming stage. Take the valuable information from the brainstorming and add it to the graphic organizer. This process allows writers to keep their important information which can be used in composing the first draft.

​What are the best graphic organizers to use?  

Honestly, different styles of graphic organizers appeal to different people.  Some writers are dead set on the traditional outline and never use anything else.  Others consider themselves to be visual thinkers and prefer the visual cluster because they can see their ideas spread out on the page.  And some writers apply their note taking skills to the writing process by using a 3-column notes organizer. 
​
In the end, it does not matter which graphic organizer that writers use.  What is important is that writers are using some form of organizer to keep themselves on track and to keep their writing structured.  Otherwise, writing ends up being a messy disaster of confused information that readers do not want.  Find the graphic organizer that works for you and use it.  It can speed up your writing process, it can clarify your writing, and it can ease your writing workload.  

Do you need a downloadable graphic organizer?  Try one of these.  

​

Graphic Organizer: Outline

If you are a person who loves being organized, thinks logically, and enjoys a hierarchical structure, the traditional outline may be the perfect graphic organizer for you. 

Use an outline for essays, blogs, note taking, research projects, and data collection.
​
​

---

Graphic Organizer: Visual Cluster

If you are a visual person who enjoys seeing your ideas laid across a page, enjoys using colors to highlight your ideas, and thinks in big pictures, the visual cluster may be the organizer for you. 

Use the visual cluster to prepare for stories, essays, research papers and projects, and lectures.

---

Graphic Organizer: Venn Diagram

If you are a person who lives for comparison and contrast (you love to see where ideas are separated into small groups and where they overlap with other ideas), the Venn diagram may be for you.

Use the Venn diagram to organize information for comparisons, contrasts, advertisements, business writing, and science writing.
​​

---

Graphic Organizer: 3-Column Notes

If you are a note taker by habit who loves to keep all of your information in one place, you used Cornell notes in school, and you enjoy finding information quickly, the 3-column notes may be for you.

Use 3-column notes for note taking, listening to lectures, watching videos, writing essays, and planning stories.
​

---

Graphic Organizer: KWL Chart

If you enjoy evaluating your research process: what you already know (K), what you want to know (W), and what information you collected and learned along the way (L), the KWL chart may be for you.

Use a KWL chart for preparing essays, research projects, and lectures.
​

---

Graphic Organizer: Inverted Triangle

If you are a blogger, an essayist, or a memoirist, you need to keep your information organized into a tidy package that allows you to see what is most and what is least important; the inverted triangle may be for you.

Use the inverted triangle to prepare essays, stories, journalism, and communications pieces.
​

---

Graphic Organizer: 5 W’s Organizer

If you collect information for current events, blog posts, or articles, you need to know what, what, when, where, and why, and you need to keep all the information straight, so the 5 W’s organizer may be for you.
​
Use the 5 W’s organizer for writing pieces on current events, history, social sciences, and journalism.

---

Graphic Organizer: Plot Diagram

If you are a fiction writer, a narrative poet, or are analyzing a piece of literature, you need to break down the elements of plot within the piece, and may find the plot diagram is for you. 

Use the plot diagram to plan for or analyze stories, novels, novellas, or narrative essays.

​

---

For all of our downloadable templates, take a look at our store on Etsy HERE
​

​Regardless of what style or genre that you are writing in and no matter what you plans are for your writing, get organized.  When you compose well-organized writing, you produce pieces that readers can read and understand quickly.  Use graphic organizers every time you write to ensure that your writing is always clean, clear, and logical.  

Related Blog Posts