Writing a Paragraph Using Order of Importance

By : Indah Rahmawati

 

In writing, people often use listing signals or signal words to indicate the various items/things in the paragraph.

Examples:

Listing Signals / Signal Words First                             second                         moreover First of all                    third                            most importantly For one thing               also                              for example One reason that           in addition                   finally The next + noun          another + noun            the most important + noun

 

EQUAL ORDER

If we feel that all the points we are using as support are equally important, so we list the points one by one using listing signals.

Read the model paragraph:

There are several things you can do to protect yourself when it gets very hot outside. First of all you should avoid strenuous activity or wait until the sun goes down. In addition, it is a good idea to wear light-colored clothing. And it is also important to eat less food and drink more liquids. Finally, try to stay in air-conditioned buildings or go to the beach or the mountains.

ASCENDING ORDER

In Ascending order, we list the minor points first, saving the most important for the last, so the paragraph would have a kind of ‘dramatic structure’. It builds up to or ascends to a climax.

Read the model paragraph:

There are many box office movies made by movie industries in Hollywood every year. But only great motion pictures are nominated to win the prestigious awards such as Emmy Award, Golden Globe even Academy Award. Among those award winning movies, there are three genres of movies I like. The first genre is musical. It was represented by a beautiful classical movie The Sound of Music which was produced in 1964 and it was based on a real story about The Von Trapp family. The next genre is action which is a good recommendation for those who like to pump up their adrenaline. Action movies like Saving Private Ryan and The Pacific could be the best choices for spending the weekend. And last but definitely not least, my most favorite movie genre is drama and the best movie goes to Tootsie, a 1980s movie which was played by a famous actor Dustin Hoffman.

DESCENDING ORDER

In descending order, we list the most important first then we go on to speak of the other points. So, descending order is the inverse of ascending order. (don’t forget to use the listing signals)

Read the model paragraph:

         Religions have become the most essential thing of human rights. However, there are five major religions that spread around the globe since ancient to modern times. First, the religion with the most numerous believers is Christianity. It has 954,766,700 believers which are globally spread from east to west. The base of Christianity is the teachings of Jesus Christ which was called The New Testament. The second religion with 538,213,900 believers is Islam. It was spread from Morocco, Middle East countries to Asian countries like Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan. The base of Islamic belief is the teachings of Prophet Muhammad and Holy Quran. Another religion with 524,273,050 believers is Hinduism. It was introduced in India about 3000 years ago based on The Vedas, the holy book of Hindu followers. The next is Buddhism which was introduced by Sidharta Gautama through his teachings in The Eightfold Way. It is held by 249,877,300 and spread in the east to Europe and United States. The last religion with its 14,353,790 believers is Judaism. It is spread widely and it was descended from Israel’s tradition.