Spatial Order

Use spatial order to arrange ideas so that your readers see your topic as you do. Space order works well when you are writing about what someone or something looks like. You can move from top to bottom, bottom to top, near to far, far to near, left to right, right to left, back to front, or front to back.

EXAMPLE USING SPATIAL (SPACE) ORDER

I stood watching in horror while all-powerful flames destroyed an entire building, including my apartment and everything I owned. The first few floors looked normal, except that firefighters were racing into the front entry. A couple of floors up, windows were breaking and gray, foul-smelling smoke was billowing out. I could see shadows of the firefighters moving in and out of the apartments. My eyes were drawn to the top two floors, where flames of orange and white leapt from the windows. A dog with brown and white spots barked furiously from the rooftop until it was rescued. Until you have actually witnessed a severe fire, you cannot imagine how powerful it is and how powerless you feel in its presence.