Expository writing simplicity
Alphabetical arrangement jogs memory

One of the first methods of organizing expository writing that children encounter is alphabetical order.

I'm sure you have come across children's books in which collections of facts on a topic are organized alphabetically by a key word in each item. Such "dictionary books" are a kiddie lit staple.

Writers decide on the alphabetical pattern first and then add information that fits that expository pattern. If a writer decides to write about animals using an alphabetical organization, the only criteria for including information is the first letter of the animal's name.

An alpha-order arrangement has some drawbacks for writers, as I found when I used it in my pamphlet The A,B,C's of Best Practices in Teaching Writing. (If you don't have a copy, you can get when you sign up for a free subscription to my ezine Writing Points.)

A writer has to come up with 26 points, which is hard enough, and then force them into the A-B-C format. It is easier to do when the topic is animals (yak and zebra are so convenient) than when the topic is the national debt or molecular anatomy.

By far, the most common use of alphabetic order by speakers and writers is as memory aid. If you have to teach public speaking, you may want to show students how to use letters of the alphabet to help them recall the points they want to make.

Public speakers often use acrostics, which are a form of alphabetic string, to help the audience remember more than a few key points. In an acrostic, the first letters of the key words might spell smile, for example, if the sage on the stage is a motivational speaker or a dentist.

You can help students remember a list of writing procedures by making a checklist that uses an acrostic, especially if the acrostic spells a common word.

Alphabetical order is the first of four common types of expository strings that I discuss in this series on nonfiction organizational patterns other than the essay format. The others are numerical, spatial and chronological strings.