Essay graphic organizers

Scientists, engineers and IT (Information Technology) professionals often document their design ideas in diagrams and standardized forms. IT uses this method in CASE (Computer Assisted Software Engineering) tools. An essay graphic organizer is comparable with a CASE tool. It is one of the essay helpers this blog has already discussed.

CASE uses scenario, sequence, flow and many other diagrams to design a computer application. Some even provide for the generation of code templates in various computer languages like Java.

Broadly a computer language serves the same purpose as a normal human language. The code templates CASE generates are almost like the outlines of essay paragraphs. Essay graphic organizers try to clone CASE tools, often with mixed results. They attempt provision of logical structure and ease essay writing.

CASE indexes bidirectional trace backs between the final program code and documented design concepts. It facilitates seamless changes and upgrades to a computer program.

Likewise an essay graphic organizer should correlate the final essay with the underlying study, reference work and the thought process. It should help in responding to questions during follow-ups and in subsequent revisions of the essay.

Essay graphic organizers in vogue are not as functional as CASE tools. Anyway you should know something about them. They may revolutionize future writing efforts. Some of them are mundane and some are arcane. Let us have a look at them.

• Venn diagrams: Boolean mathematics originally used Venn diagrams. Boolean math tackles the problem of proving a proposition (True or False) given one or more underlying statements of facts. The AND, OR, NOT and NOR constructs one uses in internet search are creatures of the Boolean world. Venn diagrams use two or more circles to describe the domain for mapping various possibilities. Essay graphic organizers use them to determine whether an essay draws the right conclusions in the light of various intersecting and discrete facts discussed.
• Flow charts: Flow charts use standardized symbols, lines and arrows to depict the various nodes, flows, branches and terminations of a process consisting of many sub processes. They provide for branching of sub processes based on the answers to appropriate questions. Engineers use these to describe process flows.  A graphic essay organizer can use these diagrams to ensure that various themes in the plot of what is written in the essay support one another.
• Forms and templates: Most of the essay graphic organizers currently available are forms and templates. One can jot down random thoughts in the appropriate slots of these forms for subsequent review and consolidation in essays. Graphical templates of 3 paragraph essays and five paragraph essays are dime a dozen in the internet.
• Language Tools: Given the specified inputs, graphical citation generators show the citations in the correct format in various styles like APA, MLA etc. Just copy and paste. Parsing tools help in the logical sub division of long passages. There are table of contents and index generators in the internet. Feel free to explore.