Chapter 3
General Structure of a Text
Introduction
Level 1: Words
Level 2: Sentences
Level 3: Joining Sentences
Level 4: Paragraphs
Level 5: Joining Paragraphs
Level 6: Overall Structure
Clear statement proceeds from clear thinking.
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Introduction
Writing transmits information. Writing is part of a chain of communication. A
writer wants to take information and convey it to a reader who will use it in
some way. To do this there is one fundamental requirement, structure. The
best way to convey information is to structure it – writing that is structured is
easiest and quickest to read and understand. This is of major importance,
because the “essential characteristic” of any text is clarity, which is created by
an organised structure.
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Taking up the earlier illustration, a way to appreciate the need for structure is
to see writing as giving directions to a traveller on how to reach their
destination. Directions must flow in a logical way, from starting place to
finishing place. Leave out one step, or place a step in the wrong order, and the
traveller cannot follow your directions and cannot reach their destination. So it
is with writing. Miss a step in the argument, misstate a step, or put it in the
wrong place and your reader misses your point. Unless they can guess the
point you have lost them.
Since structure is so necessary for good writing there is a fundamental piece of
advice for writers. Your first thoughts must be to inquire how to structure
what you are about to write. From this moment on you must be aware of
structure all of the time. Think about structure, and keep thinking about
structure, as you think about the task, as you plan your work, as you read the
first reference, when you first put pen to paper to make notes, as you write, as
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Blunn v Cleaver (1993) 119 ALR 65, 82, per Sheppard, Neaves, Burchett JJ
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Gibbs (1953) p 498
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