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Organization

Organization questions require you to assess the logic and coherence of a Writing & Language passage. These questions differ in scope; you might be asked to organize the writing at the level of the sentence, the paragraph, or even the entire passage.

There are two kinds of Organization questions:

1. Logical Sequence

• These questions ask you to reorder the sentences in a paragraph or paragraphs in a passage to ensure that information and ideas are logically conveyed.
• When rearranging sentences or paragraphs, begin by determining which sentence or ­paragraph most logically introduces the paragraph or the passage, respectively.

2. Introductions, Conclusions, and Transitions

• These questions task you with improving the beginning or ending of a passage or paragraph, making sure that the transition words, phrases, or sentences are being used effectively not only to connect information and ideas but also to maintain logical structure.
• While introductions and conclusions focus on the beginning and ending of a passage or paragraph, respectively, transitions are a bit more complicated. It’s important to identify what two ideas the transition is linking and how it is doing so. Common types and examples of transitions are listed in the following chart.

Contrast Transitions	Cause-and-Effect Transitions	Continuation Transitions
although but despite even though however in contrast nonetheless on the other hand rather than though unlike while yet	as a result because consequently since so therefore thus	Providing an example for example for instance
		Showing emphasis certainly in fact indeed that is
		Showing a parallel relationship also furthermore in addition and moreover

Remember

Organization questions require you not only to improve grammar and style but also to ensure that these elements accurately express the author’s logic and reasoning.

Let’s look at the following Writing & Language passage and questions. After the passage, there are two columns. The left column contains test-like questions. The column on the right features the strategic thinking a test expert employs when approaching the passage and questions presented.

Passages & Questions	Strategic Thinking
Product Warnings As if malpractice suits and unnecessary bankruptcies were not enough of a problem, lawyers have chosen to increase the burden that they place on society by engineering an excess of increasingly ridiculous product warnings. Why else would a box of sleeping pills be marketed with the cautionary note that consumers may experience drowsiness? Or a cup of coffee be emblazoned with a notice that “THIS PRODUCT MAY BE HOT”? Anyone with common sense will not need to be warned about these possibilities, and anyone WITHOUT common sense is probably not going to be stopped by a warning label from undertaking a foolish course of action anyway. So honestly, in the long run, the only ones who benefit from these warnings are the lawyers who are paid hundreds of dollars an hour to compose them. Which choice most effectively establishes the main topic of the paragraph? NO CHANGE Each year, effective product warning labels help countless people avoid serious injuries resulting from their use of consumer products. In recent years, a coalition of lawyers and consumer safety advocates has successfully campaigned to require companies to include safety warnings on product labels. Product safety warnings are necessary to protect consumers who thoughtlessly use products without first thinking about the possible risks involved.	Step 1: Read the passage and identify the issue The underlined segment contains the introductory sentence, which introduces the passage’s topic of the ridiculousness of product warnings. The author concludes that lawyers are the only people who benefit from product warnings because they are paid to write them. Step 2: Eliminate answer choices that do not address the issue Eliminate B because the author does not believe the product warnings are “effective.” Eliminate C because the author mentions the lawyers only in a negative light. Eliminate D because the author does not believe product safety warnings are “necessary.” Step 3: Plug in the remaining answer choices and select the most correct, concise, and relevant one Choice (A) is correct.
Public Schools [1] It is amazing how little the structure of the American public school system has changed since its inception. [2] Students still change classes according to bells, even though the bell system originated during the days of factories. [3] School is still not in session during the summer, although most students will not use that time to work on farms. [4] Although class and school sizes have varied widely and the curriculum has certainly become varied, the actual system remains surprisingly similar to the way it once was. [5] Despite these idiosyncrasies, however, the American public school system continues to educate the children of this country in a fair and equitable fashion. [6] Without the established structure, the chaotic nature of school would severely inhibit learning. To make this paragraph most logical, sentence 4 should be placed where it is now. before sentence 1. after sentence 1. after sentence 6.	Step 1: Read the passage and identify the issue Sentence 4 is about the fact that even though there have been educational changes over the years, the school system itself has actually not changed that much. It is not properly placed within the paragraph. Step 2: Eliminate answer choices that do not address the issue Eliminate A because sentence 4’s location is incorrect as is. Eliminate B because sentence 4 is not an appropriate introduction to the paragraph. Eliminate D because sentence 4 is not an appropriate conclusion to the paragraph. Step 3: Plug in the remaining answer choices and select the most correct, concise, and relevant one Choice (C) is correct.
First Snowfall I still remember the magic of walking home under the cold, brittle blue sky, watching the sun strike the glittering blanket laid down by that first snowfall. The world dripped with frosting, and everything was pure and silent. I breathed deeply, enjoying the sting of the icy air in my nostrils, and set off through the trees, listening to the muffled crunch of my footsteps and the chirps of the waking birds. Later, the cars and schoolchildren and mundane lives would turn the wonderland back into dingy slush; the hush would be interrupted by horns and shouts. Indeed for now, the sparkling, cloistered world was mine alone. I smiled, and for a moment, my mind was still. NO CHANGE But Consequently In fact	Step 1: Read the passage and identify the issue The underlined word is a continuation transition showing emphasis. It is incorrect as written because the sentence preceding it discusses what will happen to the snow while this sentence discusses what the snow is like now. A contrast transition would be more appropriate in this context. Step 2: Eliminate answer choices that do not address the issue Eliminate C and D because they are not contrast transitions. Step 3: Plug in the remaining answer choices and select the most correct, concise, and relevant one Choice (B) is correct.