Page 144 - Wordsmith A Guide to College Writing

Thesis

Topic sentence 1 (strong point)

Topic sentence 2 (weak point)

Topic sentence 3 (strong point)

Chronological Order

Chronological order, also called time order or order of occurrence, is

most often used in narratives and storytelling. But chronological order

is also useful in essays. In writing about the hassles of being a first-

year student, you would probably discuss problems with registration

before discussing the first day of class because registration occurred
first. If you were discussing your lifelong love of music, you would

probably begin with your childhood piano lessons and end with your

participation in your college’s community chorus.

Chronological order fulfills your reader’s expectation to have events
described in the order in which they occurred.

Example of Chronological Order

Thesis: My first day of classes was difficult.

Topic sentence 1: Finding a parking space on the first day of

class was more difficult than I expected.