Levels of Writing: Sections

Typically, the level above the paragraph is the chapter. But before we get there, I think it is important to look at sections. Although some writers use chapters as section breaks, there are many writers who do not. There are also many different kinds of sections that can be used.

No matter how it's done, all sections have one thing in common: they are complete. A section has an introduction, an elaboration, and a conclusion. A section can stand on its own. One may notice that I described paragraphs in the same way, with a beginning, follow-through, and conclusion. It is no mistake. Above sentences, all of the organization levels will have that in common. If writing didn't have a natural flow like that, it would be confusing and unpleasant.

However, although they are similar, paragraphs and sections are different. A section has to be complete. Paragraphs do not. The previous paragraph here can only somewhat stand on its own. It doesn't use any pronouns that refer to nouns in the first paragraph, so we understand everything the paragraph is saying. The problem is that the ideas within them are directly based on ideas presented in the first paragraph and that they need further elaboration in subsequent paragraphs to make the most sense. Paragraphs are stepping stones from the beginning to the end of the section. Each stone has its own internal structure of sentences, but no one stone is enough to make a bridge.

Despite sections having this commonality, they still come in different forms. Sometimes that depends on the kind of writing being done. A section in a lab report will be very different from a section in a novel, which in turn will be different from a section in a history textbook.

Let's look at the lab report first. These papers already have very specific guidelines, so we don't have to figure out how to break the writing into sections, but it does provide a framework to ask why. We start with the abstract, which is basically a quick summary of what you tested, why you did it, how you did it, and what results you found. This section gives us an overview; it grounds us and prepares us for the rest of the report. Then we move into the introduction, where we elaborate on what we are testing, what we hope to achieve, and why we think it will work. This is our premise. Next we talk about our materials used, so we know how we are accomplishing our tests and how others can repeat it. The procedure section is similar to the materials section in its reasons. And then we have the conclusion, where we say what our final results are and postulate on what they indicate.

In the lab report, each section is an aspect of the scientific process. It covers all of the questions we would ask, basically providing the written equivalent of a video of the experiment. Let's see how other sections work. The history text book next.

A history text book either focuses on one location throughout time or several locations at a single period in time. For example, let's use the latter. If the book covers several locations, then each chapter would be a single location. Therefore, each section would describe a different aspect of each location. One section could be on how the government worked. Another on economy. Another on farming and/or industry.

The section that described that location's governmental system would be complete and would not require reading any of the other sections to understand it. Much like the lab report, each section covers a different aspect of this one area. When all of the sections are put together, you get a full understanding of the area. So nonfiction sections seem to be fairly similar. How does fiction fare?

I've come across my share of novels that had section breaks within a chapter. When this happened, the scene, characters, and storyline all changed. You go from the A story to the B story, so we are following the B character in their B setting. But why do we make a section break instead of just starting a new chapter? Often times, it is because what is happening in this second section is occurring at the same time as what we just read in the first section.

In fiction writing, sections are similar, but different. If we consider a chapter as a particular stretch of time, then each section shows a piece of what is going on during that point in time. Although the A and B stories will probably intertwine, the sections do not really have to do with each other; they can stand on their own. However, they also have nothing to do with each other in any other way. They don't follow the same people or the same story or the same location. Their only connection is time. Still, they are connected.

So it seems that a section is a section is a section. They organize aspects into concise parts that work on their own, but add to the bigger picture when put together. Whatever kind of writing you're doing, sections mostly follow the same way. Not every piece of writing requires sections, but you can determine what you need by how big of an area you are trying to cover.