A Guide to Understanding the Role of Spatial Order & Chronology in Essays

Before getting into any details, let me first show you two examples. Suppose you are writing an essay on photosynthesis. Which one of the following do you think will make more sense?

1. During photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) from the air and soil. Within the plant cell, the water is oxidized, meaning it loses electrons, while the carbon dioxide is reduced, meaning it gains electrons. This transforms the water into oxygen and the carbon dioxide into glucose. The plant then releases the oxygen back into the air and stores energy within the glucose molecules.

• During photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) from the air and soil. The plant then releases the oxygen back into the air and stores energy within the glucose molecules. This transforms the water into oxygen and the carbon dioxide into glucose. Within the plant cell, the water is oxidized, meaning it loses electrons, while the carbon dioxide is reduced, meaning it gains electrons.

[Information Source: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/photosynthesis]

You choose the second one, right? Well, of course.

That brings me to my next question – Why is the first point making proper sense and not the second one, although it has all the same information?

Quite visibly, the first has a logical flow of information, unlike the second one. So, the reason you can’t skip logical flow in your writing is right in front of you.

Organizing the information in a logical order is known as spatial order. Chronological order refers to “following the order in which a series of events take place.” Abiding by chronological order is mainly applicable to historical essays and mostly in the literature review chapters of a research paper.

Importance of Spatial and Chronological Order in Your Essay

First, speaking of spatial order, it is a method that must be used by the students to catch the attention of the readers. Also, you can say that spatial order makes it less confusing for the readers. Writing sans spatial order fails to make any proper sense and thus keeps hyping confusion among the readers.

Next, the chronological order is important because it simply does not make any sense to present an incident of 1905 before something occurring in, suppose, say, 1875.

Thus you can say that ensuring spatial and chronological order makes your essay more comprehensible than at other times. I will tell you the secret – these two are the seldom-spoken attributes of a piece of writing that can bring a few extra points to your report card.

How to Use Spatial Order and Chronological Order Effectively in an Essay?

There is nothing much to tell you about maintaining the chronological order except for its types. I am sure this information will be enough for you to implement properly in your essay. So here is a brief idea about the types of chronological order –

1. Linear –

In this type of chronology, incidents are mentioned in the order of their occurrence.

• Reverse –

This type of chronology mentions incidents in the reverse order of their occurrence.

• Non-linear –

In this type, actually, no order is followed. It describes the story as a series of different incidents shared out of chronological order.

You can use any of these types of chronological order as it suits your convenience and is apt for the essay you are writing.

Now moving on to ensuring the spatial order in your writing, here is how you can do it.

• Choosing an interesting topic is very important. A topic that you understand and get a lot of information about makes maintaining the spatial order easy. The logic is simple when the above criteria are fulfilled, it will be easier for you to get through all the information that you receive. Hence you will be able to arrange all of it hassle-free.
• The next step is very crucial – framing an outline. If you are doing this, the right half of the problem gets solved. When you frame a proper outline, all the information will automatically fall into place, maintaining a logical flow.
• Use reference whenever you need it. If you are feeling deciding the right placement of a particular piece of information, refer to other noted works to see how it has been used there. But of course. Remember to include citations to avoid plagiarism issues.
•  Give the essay a good structure. Know where to change paragraphs. This might be a little time taking. But give it all that it needs. The proper breaking of the paragraphs will make the spatial order to the point and enhance your essay’s readability.
• Use proper signal words in the right places. This practice ensures that you are following the right pattern of spatial order. These signal words are mostly used at the beginning of a sentence. Against, between, above, opposite, beneath, though, etc., are some examples of these signal words.

These words are meant to give a clearer picture to the readers.

• Remember that a little personalization in writing can help you serve the purpose better. Writers have agreed that when you add personalization, you know what to mention after what. It makes maintaining spatial orders better.

Wrapping it up –

To give your essay a proper meaningful sense, it is very important that you include both the spatial and chronological order, the latter only if applicable. Your audience will see the connections and be able to maintain concentration if the organizational pattern is done correctly.

With the aid of all their senses, readers will be better able to visualize what the author wants them to perceive from a paragraph when a descriptive essay‘s spatial layout is used. However, you must always keep in mind that using spatial writing in lengthy texts should be avoided because it sounds boring and will dull the readers. Consider various ways to structure your thoughts. Sometimes it is preferable to adopt a chronological format in order to properly and understandably convey a particular point.

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