Classification can be organized in different ways (time order, space order, or order of importance) depending on its purpose. (For more on the orders of organization, see “Arrange Your Ideas” in Chapter 3.)
| PURPOSE | LIKELY ORGANIZATION |
|---|---|
| to explain changes or events over time | time |
| to describe the arrangement of people/items in physical space | space |
| to discuss parts of an issue or problem, or types of people or things | importance |
Order of importance is used in the essay model in “Paragraphs vs. Essays in Classification.”
As you write your classification, use transitions to move your readers smoothly from one category to another.
Common Transitions in Classification
| another | for example |
| another kind | for instance |
| first, second, third, and so on | last |
| one example/another example |