7f Conventional patterns and formats

7f
Conventional patterns and formats

To produce effective writing in a discipline, you need to know the field’s generally accepted formats for organizing and presenting evidence. Although these formats can vary widely from discipline to discipline and even from instructor to instructor, common patterns do emerge. A typical laboratory report, for instance, follows a fairly standard organizational framework and usually has a certain look. A case study in sociology or education or anthropology likewise follows a typical organizational plan. Ask your instructor to recommend good examples of the kind of writing you will do in the course; then analyze these examples in terms of format, design, and organization. You might also look at major scholarly journals in the field to see what types of formats seem most common and how each is organized.