chronological definition in essay writing

Chronological Order In Essay Writing

Table of contents

• 1 What Is a Chronological Order Essay
• 2 Chronological Order vs. Sequential Order
• 3 Importance of Correct Historical Occurrences
• 4 How to Write a Chronological Paragraph?
• 5.1 Pick an Idea and Make a Plan
• 5.2 Use a Variety of Sentence Structures to Keep Your Writing Interesting
• 5.3 Provide Sufficient Details
• 5.4 Use Transitional Words and Phrases, Such As “First,” “Next,” and “Then,” to Indicate the Chronological Flow
• 5.5 Use Headings and Subheadings to Organize Your Essay
• 5.6 Use Introductory and Concluding Sentences to Signal the Main Points of Each Paragraph
• 5.7 Use Appropriate Citations and References (Especially for the Historical Essay)
• 5.8 Maintain a Consistent Timeline and Avoid Jumping Back and Forth in Time
• 6 Conclusion

Writing a chronological essay is a pure pleasure. This type of university assignment is clear and structured, so knowing the basic requirements, you can easily cope with the task. Essays in chronological order require their author to have deep knowledge of the chosen subject. Not to stray from the course of the story, you need to be a real expert in this niche.

In this article, you will learn what a chronological-order essay is and how to write it. Also, you will find precious tips on making the writing process quick and enjoyable. So here are the milestones of our chronological essay guide:

• What a chronological order essay is;
• The difference between chronological and sequential order;
• Guidelines for chronological paragraph writing;
• Tips for writing an outstanding chronological essay.

Together we will consider each important point and dispel your doubts about the chronological essays. Without further ado, let’s get it started!

What Is a Chronological Order Essay

A chronological essay is an expository writing that describes historical events or a biography of a specific person. Surprisingly, not only students of the Faculty of History are faced with this type of essay. Whenever you have been given the task of writing about outstanding personalities, talking about your experiences, or presenting a life story or historical event, you will be faced with the need to use chronological order in writing.

This type of narrating writing essay requires you to present information in a logical and structured way. Expository essay writers must state all the events in the order in which they occurred. Moreover, you should dip the reader into the context of the event, explaining to him the background and the outcomes.

Chronological Order vs. Sequential Order

You may think that sequence and chronological order are identical concepts. Don’t worry, you’re not the only one who thinks so. These concepts are strongly related but not identical. Sequential order is based on the order of steps performed and how events occur relative to each other. But what is a chronological order of events?

The chronological timeline tells about the sequence of actions in time-space. Sequential order is well suited for writing step-by-step instructions and listing events. At the same time, the chronological order is excellent for narrating historical events and writing biographies.

Importance of Correct Historical Occurrences

Preliminary research is a solid foundation for your chronological essay. Take information only from reliable and trusted sources respected in science. Avoid unverified facts and loud statements. Make an effort to pre-study to avoid building an essay on false grounds. It may seem that a detailed study will take too much time, but on the contrary, it will save you the effort of rewriting the time order essay.

Check several sources for proof of the integrity of the information you found. Whenever you don’t have enough time for research, consider buying an essay rather than copying random facts from the web. After all, no matter how well you present the events in chronological order, if it does not correspond to reality, then your essay will lose all scientific value.

How to Write a Chronological Paragraph?

You can be assigned to write a chronological paragraph in your paper. This is also a type of chronological writing that you should do right if you need to get a good grade for your essay.

This paragraph should describe the sequence of events that occurred to a specific object or person. These events should be sorted chronologically, from the earliest to the latest. You should present the sequence and make logical transitions between events. This will help readers understand the connections between events and the outcomes of specific things.

You can write about anything interesting, there are almost no topics you should avoid in the essay if they meet the requirements. However, it is better when the subject is interesting to you.

When structuring these paragraphs, students not only present the facts but also explain them as causes and effects. If you don’t see connections between things, you should look closer and do more research.

To write a good chronological paragraph, you need to include crucial elements. Thus, it will be easier to structure the course of events. This guide may not only be used for chronological essays, it’s a rather versatile piece of advice on how to compose a personal statement . Among the integral components are:

• Topic sentence
• Important supporting points
• Chronological progression
• Coherence of the narrative
• Summarizing sentence

Topic sentences exist to briefly remind the reader of the main topic of your paper. Give enough detail to put the reader in the context of the chronological sequence essay. Do not jump in time, state all events clearly and unambiguously to maintain logical transitions. End your paragraph by summarizing what has been said so far.

Example of chronological order:

The Second World War was the largest bloody war, in which more than 30 countries participated and left an indelible mark on the history of mankind. (Strong topic sentence.) The prerequisites ( the supporting details ) for this historic event are considered Germany’s course for revenge in the First World War. Events began in September 1939 with the German attack on Poland. ( Chronological progression). The most important event of the Second World War is thought to be the Japanese attack on the United States of America in Pearl Harbor. After six years of fierce fighting, the Nazis were defeated by the Allies, and the war ended with the Japanese surrender on 2nd September 1945. ( Summarizing sentence)

Tips on Writing a Chronological Essay

You start the writing process by choosing a topic for it. Find an interesting topic that meets your assignment’s requirements, or ask your teacher to give you a topic.

If you are stuck with creating this paper, you can use an essay editing service to prepare it. Its writers have experience working on chronological essays, they can help you with narrative and cause-and-effect paper .

Then you should research and find as much information on your topic as possible. Collect this information in a well-organized format so you can reference any of it if needed, and don’t forget to keep the dates of all events.

Pick an Idea and Make a Plan

If you need to create informative essays about a specific historical event, you should start from the beginning of this event or even with earlier events that lead to it. If a particular group organizes an event, tell the motives of this group, how they got to this idea, and how they started working on it. Then write about each step from the beginning to the conclusion of this event and arrange the events in chronological order.

Use a Variety of Sentence Structures to Keep Your Writing Interesting

If you only use simple sentences or start each sentence with the word «then», your writing will be boring to read. PapersOwl specialists advise studying several chronological ordering examples to understand the linking words and the structuring strategy. Use different stylistic devices as well as different types of complex sentences.

Provide Sufficient Details

Provide your reader with the full context of the story in time-order paragraphs. To understand the course of action of the chronological essay, the reader must be aware of the background and cause of historical events. At the same time, try not to overload your compositions with unnecessary details.

Use Transitional Words and Phrases, Such As “First,” “Next,” and “Then,” to Indicate the Chronological Flow

Sequencers help keep the story logical, they’re keywords for chronological order that make the essay flow smoothly. Use transitional words to direct the reader through the flow of your story. Don’t forget to use different expressions to avoid tautology.

Use Headings and Subheadings to Organize Your Essay

Provide clear divisions so that the paper becomes much more readable. Large arrays of text always repel the reader, so use a proper chronological structure. Also, headings and subheadings will help you further structure your essay.

Use Introductory and Concluding Sentences to Signal the Main Points of Each Paragraph

A thesis statement that summarizes the main message of your chronological essays should be restructured and repeated several times during writing. This technique is used by writers to express the main idea of the essay in the introduction and throughout the text. The thesis proposal should be catchy and memorable.

Use Appropriate Citations and References (Especially for the Historical Essay)

There could be many sources of false information on the Internet. Students should check information and put only proven citations into the chronological expositions. We know it could be challenging to deal with citation norms, so we’re always ready to write your paper for you . Be sure to check the accuracy of the quotes and the veracity of the facts you refer to.

Maintain a Consistent Timeline and Avoid Jumping Back and Forth in Time

When you have the list of essential timeline events, you can arrange the events in the order in which they happened. It helps you to use the correct order in an essay from the earliest events in your story to the latest. You can use simple editors or a spreadsheet for sorting lists.

When you write a chronological essay, nothing may cause you problems if you are well-oriented to the chosen subject. You should carefully choose topics for writing, do not forget about the preliminary study, and double-check the sources you use.

After reading our guide in detail, you will undoubtedly be able to write a decent chronological essay. However, even if you find it difficult to find inspiration for writing, this is not a problem either, as you can resort to exposition editing services. Remember that an experienced team of professionals is always ready to help you with heavy research writing essays.

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chronological

Definition of chronological

Examples of chronological in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chronological.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

chonological from chronologic + -al entry 1 or from chronology + -ical ; chronologic from chronology + -ic entry 1 , probably after French chronologique or New Latin chronologicus

1614, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing chronological

chronological age

Dictionary Entries Near chronological

chronologer

Cite this Entry

“Chronological.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chronological. Accessed 28 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of chronological, more from merriam-webster on chronological.

Nglish: Translation of chronological for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of chronological for Arabic Speakers

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• Literary Terms
• When & How to Use Chronology
• Definition & Examples

How to Use Chronology

When writing, establishing a chronology can be relatively easy, especially in fiction, when the timeline of events is completely up to you! Overall, the best way to establish your work’s chro-nology is by creating a timeline of events. Start at the beginning and work your way to the end, being sure not to forget any important dates, events, or occurrences that are relative to your story. After that, you can decide how the timeline fits in with the way you want your audience to un-derstand the story. Ask yourself several questions:

• Is a sense of time crucial to your work?
• If so, to what extent—Historical period? Century? Decade? Specific date and time of day?
• Is the order in which things occurred essential to the plot?
• Are you trying to share a sequence of linked events?
• Are you trying to show a chain of cause and effect?
• Which events in your timeline are relative to the big picture?
• Are any events not important enough to cover thoroughly, but at least need to be mentioned?

In general, you need to think about context when developing a chronology—what about your timeline is crucial for the audience and your work? What can be left out, and what can’t? Ulti-mately, it is up to you and your creativity to decide how your audience will understand the time-line of your work.

When to Use Chronology

Basically, you always need to at least consider chronology when writing, in one way or another. When you are sharing any type of event or sequence of events, the timeline is important in just about every case, across all genres of both fiction and nonfiction.

Of course, it is particularly important to establish a timeline of events when storytelling—that’s how we ultimately develop a plot! Your readers need some perception of time to follow what is happening, and the easiest way to assure that is by putting things in chronological order. Even if you decide to share events out of order, you as the author need to know when and how they hap-pened so that you can share them with your readers and avoid making mistakes with your story- line or characters . Let’s think back to the baseball player example—if the focus of your story is about how a rookie becomes a star, you could still begin by showing him hitting a home run on the field, and later show the steps it took to get him there. But imagine if in the beginning, your rookie character is also shown as being popular because he’s been partying all summer. Only, during all his practicing, he actually missed all the parties. It would be confusing to your readers and show a conflicting character, instead of a hardworking rookie. But this would be avoided if the timeline is well-developed before the story is composed.

Since the theme is about the player’s road to fame, it’s also crucial to show how one thing causes another—the cause is that the boy is dedicated to practicing and sacrifices all other activities over a period of time, and the effect is that he becomes a great player and finally makes the baseball team. So even when “beginning with the end.” you still need to have an idea about the story’s chronology. What’s more it’s just a great starting point when you’re developing a piece of fiction!

List of Terms

• Alliteration
• Amplification
• Anachronism
• Anthropomorphism
• Antonomasia
• APA Citation
• Aposiopesis
• Autobiography
• Bildungsroman
• Characterization
• Circumlocution
• Cliffhanger
• Comic Relief
• Connotation
• Deus ex machina
• Deuteragonist
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Dramatic irony
• Equivocation
• Extended Metaphor
• Figures of Speech
• Flash-forward
• Foreshadowing
• Intertextuality
• Juxtaposition
• Literary Device
• Malapropism
• Onomatopoeia
• Parallelism
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Personification
• Point of View
• Polysyndeton
• Protagonist
• Red Herring
• Rhetorical Device
• Rhetorical Question
• Science Fiction
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• Synesthesia
• Turning Point
• Understatement
• Urban Legend
• Verisimilitude
• Essay Guide
• Cite This Website

Chapter 9 Writing Essays: From Start to Finish

9.3 organizing your writing, learning objectives.

• Understand how and why organizational techniques help writers and readers stay focused.
• Assess how and when to use chronological order to organize an essay.
• Recognize how and when to use order of importance to organize an essay.
• Determine how and when to use spatial order to organize an essay.

The method of organization you choose for your essay is just as important as its content. Without a clear organizational pattern, your reader could become confused and lose interest. The way you structure your essay helps your readers draw connections between the body and the thesis, and the structure also keeps you focused as you plan and write the essay. Choosing your organizational pattern before you outline ensures that each body paragraph works to support and develop your thesis.

This section covers three ways to organize body paragraphs:

• Chronological order
• Order of importance
• Spatial order

When you begin to draft your essay, your ideas may seem to flow from your mind in a seemingly random manner. Your readers, who bring to the table different backgrounds, viewpoints, and ideas, need you to clearly organize these ideas in order to help process and accept them.

A solid organizational pattern gives your ideas a path that you can follow as you develop your draft. Knowing how you will organize your paragraphs allows you to better express and analyze your thoughts. Planning the structure of your essay before you choose supporting evidence helps you conduct more effective and targeted research.

Chronological Order

In Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?”, you learned that chronological arrangement has the following purposes:

• To explain the history of an event or a topic
• To tell a story or relate an experience
• To explain how to do or to make something
• To explain the steps in a process

Chronological order is mostly used in expository writing , which is a form of writing that narrates, describes, informs, or explains a process. When using chronological order, arrange the events in the order that they actually happened, or will happen if you are giving instructions. This method requires you to use words such as first , second , then , after that , later , and finally . These transition words guide you and your reader through the paper as you expand your thesis.

For example, if you are writing an essay about the history of the airline industry, you would begin with its conception and detail the essential timeline events up until present day. You would follow the chain of events using words such as first , then , next , and so on.

Writing at Work

Choose an accomplishment you have achieved in your life. The important moment could be in sports, schooling, or extracurricular activities. On your own sheet of paper, list the steps you took to reach your goal. Try to be as specific as possible with the steps you took. Pay attention to using transition words to focus your writing.

Keep in mind that chronological order is most appropriate for the following purposes:

• Writing essays containing heavy research
• Writing essays with the aim of listing, explaining, or narrating
• Writing essays that analyze literary works such as poems, plays, or books

When using chronological order, your introduction should indicate the information you will cover and in what order, and the introduction should also establish the relevance of the information. Your body paragraphs should then provide clear divisions or steps in chronology. You can divide your paragraphs by time (such as decades, wars, or other historical events) or by the same structure of the work you are examining (such as a line-by-line explication of a poem).

On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph that describes a process you are familiar with and can do well. Assume that your reader is unfamiliar with the procedure. Remember to use the chronological key words, such as first , second , then , and finally .

Order of Importance

Recall from Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” that order of importance is best used for the following purposes:

• Persuading and convincing
• Ranking items by their importance, benefit, or significance
• Illustrating a situation, problem, or solution

Most essays move from the least to the most important point, and the paragraphs are arranged in an effort to build the essay’s strength. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to begin with your most important supporting point, such as in an essay that contains a thesis that is highly debatable. When writing a persuasive essay, it is best to begin with the most important point because it immediately captivates your readers and compels them to continue reading.

For example, if you were supporting your thesis that homework is detrimental to the education of high school students, you would want to present your most convincing argument first, and then move on to the less important points for your case.

Some key transitional words you should use with this method of organization are most importantly , almost as importantly , just as importantly , and finally .

On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph that discusses a passion of yours. Your passion could be music, a particular sport, filmmaking, and so on. Your paragraph should be built upon the reasons why you feel so strongly. Briefly discuss your reasons in the order of least to greatest importance.

Spatial Order

As stated in Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?”, spatial order is best used for the following purposes:

• Helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it
• Evoking a scene using the senses (sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound)
• Writing a descriptive essay

Spatial order means that you explain or describe objects as they are arranged around you in your space, for example in a bedroom. As the writer, you create a picture for your reader, and their perspective is the viewpoint from which you describe what is around you.

The view must move in an orderly, logical progression, giving the reader clear directional signals to follow from place to place. The key to using this method is to choose a specific starting point and then guide the reader to follow your eye as it moves in an orderly trajectory from your starting point.

Pay attention to the following student’s description of her bedroom and how she guides the reader through the viewing process, foot by foot.

The paragraph incorporates two objectives you have learned in this chapter: using an implied topic sentence and applying spatial order. Often in a descriptive essay, the two work together.

The following are possible transition words to include when using spatial order:

• Just to the left or just to the right
• On the left or on the right
• Across from
• A little further down
• To the south, to the east, and so on
• A few yards away
• Turning left or turning right

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your answers.

Key Takeaways

• The way you organize your body paragraphs ensures you and your readers stay focused on and draw connections to, your thesis statement.
• A strong organizational pattern allows you to articulate, analyze, and clarify your thoughts.
• Planning the organizational structure for your essay before you begin to search for supporting evidence helps you conduct more effective and directed research.
• Chronological order is most commonly used in expository writing. It is useful for explaining the history of your subject, for telling a story, or for explaining a process.
• Order of importance is most appropriate in a persuasion paper as well as for essays in which you rank things, people, or events by their significance.
• Spatial order describes things as they are arranged in space and is best for helping readers visualize something as you want them to see it; it creates a dominant impression.
• Successful Writing. Authored by : Anonymous. Provided by : Anonymous. Located at : http://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/successful-writing/ . License : CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike

Organizational Strategies for Using Chronological Order in Writing

ThoughtCo / Ran Zheng

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

The word chronological comes from two Greek words. "Chronos" means time. "Logikos" means reason or order. That is what chronological order is all about. It arranges information according to time.

In composition  and speech , chronological order is a method of organization in which actions or events are presented as they occur or occurred in time and can also be called time or linear order.

Narratives and process analysis essays commonly rely on chronological order. Morton Miller points out in his 1980 book "Reading and Writing Short Essay" that the "natural order of events — beginning, middle, and end — is narration 's simplest and most-used arrangement."

From " Camping Out " by Ernest Hemingway to "The Story of an Eyewitness: The San Francisco Earthquake" by Jack London , famous authors and student essayists alike have utilized the chronological order form to convey the impact a series of events had on the author's life. Also common in informative speeches because of the simplicity of telling a story as it happened, chronological order differs from other organizational styles in that it is fixed according to the timeframe of events which happened.

How Tos and Who-Done-Its

Because time order is essential in things like "How-To" presentations and murder mysteries alike, chronological order is the preferred method for informative speakers. Take for example wanting to explain to a friend how to bake a cake. You could choose another method to explain the process, but putting the steps in order of timing is a much easier method for your audience to follow — and successfully bake the cake.

Similarly, a detective or officer presenting a murder or theft case to his or her team of police would want to retrace the known events of the crime as they occurred rather than bouncing around the case — though the detective may decide to go in reverse chronological order from the act of the crime itself to the earlier detail of the crime scene, allowing the team of sleuths to piece together what data is missing (i.e., what happened between midnight and 12:05 am) as well as determine the likely cause-effect play-by-play that led to the crime in the first place.

In both of these cases, the speaker presents the earliest known important event or occurrence to happen and proceed to detail the following events, in order. The cake maker will, therefore, start with "decide which cake you want to make" followed by "determine and purchase ingredients" while the policeman will start with the crime itself, or the later escape of the criminal, and work backward in time to discover and determine the criminal's motive.

The Narrative Form

The simplest way to tell a story is from the beginning, proceeding in time-sequential order throughout the character's life. Though this may not always be the way a narrative speaker or writer tells the story, it is the most common organizational process used in the narrative form .

As a result, most stories about mankind can be told as simply as "a person was born, he did X, Y, and Z, and then he died" wherein the X, Y, and Z are the sequential events that impacted and affected that person's story after he was born but before he passed away. As X.J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy, and Jane E. Aaron put it in the seventh edition of "The Bedford Reader," a chronological order is "an excellent sequence to follow unless you can see some special advantage in violating it."

Interestingly, memoirs and personal narrative essays often deviate from chronological order because this type of writing hinges more upon overarching themes throughout the subject's life rather than the full breadth of his or her experience. That is to say that autobiographical work, largely due to its dependence on memory and recall, relies not on the sequence of events in one's life but the important events that affected one's personality and mentality, searching for cause and effect relationships to define what made them human.

A memoir writer might, therefore, start with a scene where he or she is confronting a fear of heights at age 20, but then flash back to several instances in his or her childhood like falling off a tall horse at five or losing a loved one in a plane crash to infer to the reader the cause of this fear.

When to Use Chronological Order

Good writing relies on precision and compelling storytelling to entertain and inform audiences, so it's important for writers to determine the best method of organization when attempting to explain an event or project.

John McPhee's article " Structure " describes a tension between chronology and theme that can help hopeful writers determine the best organizational method for their piece. He posits that chronology typically wins out because "themes prove inconvenient" due to the sparsity of occurrences that relate thematically. A writer is much better served by the chronological order of events, including flashbacks and flash-forwards, in terms of structure and control. 

Still, McPhee also states that "there's nothing wrong with a chronological structure," and certainly nothing to suggest it's a lesser form than thematic structure. In fact, even as long ago as Babylonian times, "most pieces were written that way, and nearly all pieces are written that way now."

• Definition and Examples of Narratives in Writing
• A Guide to All Types of Narration, With Examples
• Spatial Order in Composition
• AP English Exam: 101 Key Terms
• 6 Traits of Writing
• Understanding Organization in Composition and Speech
• Using Flashback in Writing
• How to Write a Personal Narrative
• Graphic Organizers
• Definition and Examples of Climactic Order in Composition and Speech
• The Difference Between an Article and an Essay
• What Is Narrative Therapy? Definition and Techniques
• How to Write a Narrative Essay or Speech
• Point of View in Grammar and Composition
• What Is a Novel? Definition and Characteristics
• What Is Composition? Definition, Types, and Examples

• Increase Font Size

Chronological Order

Chronological arrangement has the following purposes:

• To explain the history of an event or a topic
• To tell a story or relate an experience
• To explain how to do or to make something
• To explain the steps in a process

Chronological order is mostly used in expository writing, which is a form of writing that narrates, describes, informs, or explains a process. When using chronological order, arrange the events in the order that they actually happened, or will happen if you are giving instructions. This method requires you to use words such as first, second, then, after that, later, and finally. These transition words guide you and your reader through the paper as you expand your thesis. For example, if you are writing an essay about the history of the airline industry, you would begin with its conception and detail the essential timeline events up until present day. You would begin with its conception and detail the essential timeline events up until present day. You would follow the chain of events using words such as first, then, next, and so on. Keep in mind that chronological order is most appropriate for the following purposes:

• Writing essays containing heavy research
• Writing essays with the aim of listing, explaining, or narrating
• Writing essays that analyze literary works such as poems, plays, or books

When using chronological order, your introduction should indicate the information you will cover and should also establish the relevance of the information. Your body paragraphs should then provide clear divisions or steps in chronology. You can divide your paragraphs by time (such as decades, wars, or other historical events) or by the same structure of the work you are examining (such as a line-by-line explication of a poem.

Choose an accomplishment you have achieved in your life. The important moment could be in sports, schooling, or extracurricular activities. On your own sheet of paper, list the steps you 25 Return to Table of Contents took to reach your goal. Try to be as specific as possible with the steps you took. Pay attention to using transition words to focus your writing.

On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph that describes a process you are familiar with and can do well. Assume that your reader is unfamiliar with the procedure. Remember to use the chronological key words, such as  first,   second ,  then,  and  finally.

• Order of Importance
• Order of importance is best used for the following purposes:
• Persuading and convincing
• Ranking items by their importance, benefit, or significance
• Illustrating a situation, problem, or solution

Most essays move from the least to the most important point, and the paragraphs are arranged in an effort to build the essay’s strength. Sometimes, however, it is necessary to begin with the most important supporting point, such as in an essay that contains a thesis that is highly debatable. When writing a persuasive essay, it is best to begin with the most important point because it immediately captivates your readers and compels them to continue reading. For example, if you were supporting your thesis that homework is detrimental to the education of high school students, you would want to present your most convincing argument first, and then move on to the less important points for your case. During your career, you may be required to work on a team that devises a strategy for a specific goal of your company, such as increasing profits. When planning your strategy you should organize your steps in order of importance. This demonstrates the ability to prioritize and plan. Using the order of importance technique also shows that you can create a resolution with logical steps for accomplishing a common goal.

On a separate sheet of paper, write a paragraph that discusses a passion of yours. Your passion could be music, a particular sport, filmmaking, and so on. Your paragraph should be built upon the reasons why you feel so strongly. Briefly discuss your reasons in the order of least to greatest importance.

Writing for College Introduction to College Writing with Grammar Skills Review by Cheryl McCormick; Sue Hank; and Ninna Roth is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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10.1 Narration

Learning objectives.

• Determine the purpose and structure of narrative writing.
• Understand how to write a narrative essay.

Rhetorical modes simply mean the ways in which we can effectively communicate through language. This chapter covers nine common rhetorical modes. As you read about these nine modes, keep in mind that the rhetorical mode a writer chooses depends on his or her purpose for writing. Sometimes writers incorporate a variety of modes in any one essay. In covering the nine modes, this chapter also emphasizes the rhetorical modes as a set of tools that will allow you greater flexibility and effectiveness in communicating with your audience and expressing your ideas.

The Purpose of Narrative Writing

Narration means the art of storytelling, and the purpose of narrative writing is to tell stories. Any time you tell a story to a friend or family member about an event or incident in your day, you engage in a form of narration. In addition, a narrative can be factual or fictional. A factual story is one that is based on, and tries to be faithful to, actual events as they unfolded in real life. A fictional story is a made-up, or imagined, story; the writer of a fictional story can create characters and events as he or she sees fit.

The big distinction between factual and fictional narratives is based on a writer’s purpose. The writers of factual stories try to recount events as they actually happened, but writers of fictional stories can depart from real people and events because the writers’ intents are not to retell a real-life event. Biographies and memoirs are examples of factual stories, whereas novels and short stories are examples of fictional stories.

Because the line between fact and fiction can often blur, it is helpful to understand what your purpose is from the beginning. Is it important that you recount history, either your own or someone else’s? Or does your interest lie in reshaping the world in your own image—either how you would like to see it or how you imagine it could be? Your answers will go a long way in shaping the stories you tell.

Ultimately, whether the story is fact or fiction, narrative writing tries to relay a series of events in an emotionally engaging way. You want your audience to be moved by your story, which could mean through laughter, sympathy, fear, anger, and so on. The more clearly you tell your story, the more emotionally engaged your audience is likely to be.

On a separate sheet of paper, start brainstorming ideas for a narrative. First, decide whether you want to write a factual or fictional story. Then, freewrite for five minutes. Be sure to use all five minutes, and keep writing the entire time. Do not stop and think about what to write.

The following are some topics to consider as you get going:

The Structure of a Narrative Essay

Major narrative events are most often conveyed in chronological order , the order in which events unfold from first to last. Stories typically have a beginning, a middle, and an end, and these events are typically organized by time. Certain transitional words and phrases aid in keeping the reader oriented in the sequencing of a story. Some of these phrases are listed in Table 10.1 “Transition Words and Phrases for Expressing Time” . For more information about chronological order, see Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” and Chapter 9 “Writing Essays: From Start to Finish” .

Table 10.1 Transition Words and Phrases for Expressing Time

The following are the other basic components of a narrative:

• Plot . The events as they unfold in sequence.
• Characters . The people who inhabit the story and move it forward. Typically, there are minor characters and main characters. The minor characters generally play supporting roles to the main character, or the protagonist .
• Conflict . The primary problem or obstacle that unfolds in the plot that the protagonist must solve or overcome by the end of the narrative. The way in which the protagonist resolves the conflict of the plot results in the theme of the narrative.
• Theme . The ultimate message the narrative is trying to express; it can be either explicit or implicit.

Writing at Work

When interviewing candidates for jobs, employers often ask about conflicts or problems a potential employee has had to overcome. They are asking for a compelling personal narrative. To prepare for this question in a job interview, write out a scenario using the narrative mode structure. This will allow you to troubleshoot rough spots, as well as better understand your own personal history. Both processes will make your story better and your self-presentation better, too.

Take your freewriting exercise from the last section and start crafting it chronologically into a rough plot summary. To read more about a summary, see Chapter 6 “Writing Paragraphs: Separating Ideas and Shaping Content” . Be sure to use the time transition words and phrases listed in Table 10.1 “Transition Words and Phrases for Expressing Time” to sequence the events.

Collaboration

Please share with a classmate and compare your rough plot summary.

Writing a Narrative Essay

When writing a narrative essay, start by asking yourself if you want to write a factual or fictional story. Then freewrite about topics that are of general interest to you. For more information about freewriting, see Chapter 8 “The Writing Process: How Do I Begin?” .

Once you have a general idea of what you will be writing about, you should sketch out the major events of the story that will compose your plot. Typically, these events will be revealed chronologically and climax at a central conflict that must be resolved by the end of the story. The use of strong details is crucial as you describe the events and characters in your narrative. You want the reader to emotionally engage with the world that you create in writing.

To create strong details, keep the human senses in mind. You want your reader to be immersed in the world that you create, so focus on details related to sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch as you describe people, places, and events in your narrative.

As always, it is important to start with a strong introduction to hook your reader into wanting to read more. Try opening the essay with an event that is interesting to introduce the story and get it going. Finally, your conclusion should help resolve the central conflict of the story and impress upon your reader the ultimate theme of the piece. See Chapter 15 “Readings: Examples of Essays” to read a sample narrative essay.

On a separate sheet of paper, add two or three paragraphs to the plot summary you started in the last section. Describe in detail the main character and the setting of the first scene. Try to use all five senses in your descriptions.

Key Takeaways

• Narration is the art of storytelling.
• Narratives can be either factual or fictional. In either case, narratives should emotionally engage the reader.
• Most narratives are composed of major events sequenced in chronological order.
• Time transition words and phrases are used to orient the reader in the sequence of a narrative.
• The four basic components to all narratives are plot, character, conflict, and theme.
• The use of sensory details is crucial to emotionally engaging the reader.
• A strong introduction is important to hook the reader. A strong conclusion should add resolution to the conflict and evoke the narrative’s theme.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Paragraphs: Chronology

Transitions : after, afterward, at that moment, at last, at length, before, by that time, during, earlier, first, from then on, later, meanwhile, next, presently, since, second, soon afterward, the next day, then, when, while, within an hour

Example : The rehearsal dinner will be on Friday night. Afterward, we are hoping that many of the guests will help to clean the area for tomorrow's wedding.

Explanation : In these sentences, the transition "afterward" highlights a chronology of events (first the dinner, then the cleaning).

Transitions Video Playlist

Note that these videos were created while APA 6 was the style guide edition in use. There may be some examples of writing that have not been updated to APA 7 guidelines.

• Academic Paragraphs: Introduction to Paragraphs and the MEAL Plan (video transcript)
• Academic Paragraphs: Types of Transitions Part 1: Transitions Between Paragraphs (video transcript)
• Academic Paragraphs: Types of Transitions Part 2: Transitions Within Paragraphs (video transcript)
• Academic Paragraphs: Appropriate Use of Explicit Transitions (video transcript)
• Engaging Writing: Incorporating Transitions (video transcript)
• Engaging Writing: Examples of Incorporating Transitions (video transcript)
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Table of Contents

Ai, ethics & human agency, collaboration, information literacy, writing process, chronological order.

Chronological Order refers to the practice of organizing information by time, either from the past to the future or the future to the past.

Narratives (either chronological narratives or process narratives) are organized in chronological order.

Brevity - Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Flow - How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity - Inclusive Language

The Elements of Style - The DNA of Powerful Writing

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Understanding Chronological Text Structure

When reading both fiction and non-fiction pieces, have you noticed how the information seems to follow a sequential order, almost like a storyline unfolding event by event? Well, that’s most likely because the passage follows a chronological text structure. 

What is Chronological Text Structure?

Chronological order refers to organizing details and ideas in a text by time – the order of occurrence from start to finish. So whether it is a history article detailing battles of a war or a novel chapter building up to the climax, a chronological flow helps render clarity and cohesion for readers.

How to Identify Chronological Text Structure?

In non-fiction genre articles, chronologically structured passages often provide clear date markers corresponding to key events, discoveries, public policies etc. For example, a textbook section on the Civil War may detail key developments year by year from 1861 up to the Confederate surrender in 1865.

Whereas fictional literary forms like stories and novels do not usually provide explicit dates or years. Instead, the implied sequence is based on relative connections that convey time progression. For instance, a scene where characters pack bags after saying goodbye would indicate the packing occurs after the farewell sequentially.

Reinforcing Concepts of Time Order and Sequence

For example, a magazine article can walk through the key events in a person’s life from when they were a child to becoming an adult. This shows how details are arranged based on when they happened to the person. Similarly, chapters in a fantasy book about a hero’s adventures can move the story forward in a logical order. Recognizing how the events and actions build over time in both real-life stories and fictional tales helps young readers grasp important concepts.

This step-by-step flow gives young students practice tracing and recalling key details that connect over time. 

Here are two sample passages to demonstrate chronological text structure –

• One nonfiction
• One fiction:

1. Nonfiction: How Kites Were Invented 

Over 3000 years ago, kites were created in China. People made kites from wood, silk fabric, and rice paper. The first kites might have been used to signal warnings or send messages. Later, around 700 BC, Chinese generals began using kites to measure distances. By 200 BC, Chinese farmers started flying kites to scare birds from their crops. Kite flying spread to other Asian countries over time. By the 800s AD, kites became popular in India, Korea, and Malaysia too.  

In the passage on how kites were invented, the key events about kites in time order of when they happened are presented. Use of phrases like ‘ Over 3000 years ago ’ to show kites first started in ancient China. Terms like ‘ later ’, ‘ by ’, and ‘ over time ’ display the order of important milestones .

2. Fiction: Alex and Zac’s Playdate

It was Saturday morning and Alex just woke up to sunshine filling his room. He felt excited because his best friend Zac was coming over later! Alex quickly brushed his teeth and got dressed before running downstairs. “Hi Mom! Can Zac and I have cookies later?” he asked hopefully. His mom reminded Alex to clean his room first before Zac arrives. Alex hurried to put all his toys and books away neatly. *ding dong* – the doorbell rang, signalling Zac’s arrival! The boys rushed off to start their fun weekend playdate together.

In the fictional narrative passage, the events are arranged sequentially as they occurred from Alex waking up. Words Using time-based transitions like later ’, ‘ before ’ and ‘ then ’ to show logical sequence of events. There is clear chronological track of actions as Alex gets ready, interacts with mom, and ultimately greets his friend

Here are some worksheets on chronological order text structure from Workybooks Digital library

https://www.workybooks.com/worksheet/3.RL.3.3-1/event-sequencing

https://www.workybooks.com/worksheet/3.W.3.3.C-1/time-order-words

https://www.workybooks.com/worksheet/3.W.3.3.C-3/crazy-cody

https://www.workybooks.com/worksheet/3.RI.3.3-2/informational-text-how-to-repot-a-plant

https://www.workybooks.com/worksheet/3.RI.3.8-2/1-grilled-cheese-please

Neha Goel Tripathi, PhD

Accomplished sustainability educationist with over 20 years of experience in city planning, architecture and teaching. Experienced in research and consultancy on various projects covering climate change, sustainability, eco-sensitive zones, and smart cities. Passionate educator currently working on innovating climate change curriculum for K-12 students. I am driven to nurture students' critical thinking and awareness on environmental sustainability.

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We are thankful to be welcome on these lands in friendship. The lands we are situated on are covered by the Williams Treaties and are the traditional territory of the Mississaugas, a branch of the greater Anishinaabeg Nation, including Algonquin, Ojibway, Odawa and Pottawatomi. These lands remain home to many Indigenous nations and peoples.

We acknowledge this land out of respect for the Indigenous nations who have cared for Turtle Island, also called North America, from before the arrival of settler peoples until this day. Most importantly, we acknowledge that the history of these lands has been tainted by poor treatment and a lack of friendship with the First Nations who call them home.

This history is something we are all affected by because we are all treaty people in Canada. We all have a shared history to reflect on, and each of us is affected by this history in different ways. Our past defines our present, but if we move forward as friends and allies, then it does not have to define our future.

Learn more about Indigenous Education and Cultural Services

• The Writing Process
• Stage 2: Drafting/Writing
• Paragraph Structure

Therefore, there are several organizational patterns to know in order to find the one that best fits the written work.

Chronological

A chronological pattern organizes information according to the sequence of time. Each section or paragraph represents a certain moment in time and the sub-points can explain the important events that occurred within that moment. This pattern is especially beneficial when writing a historical essay or a biography.

Sequential/Process

A sequential or process pattern arranges the ideas in a step-by-step process. Each sentence or section represents a different step. This is beneficial when giving instructions or explaining the steps taken to conduct an experiment.

When it is necessary to articulate how things fit together, a spatial pattern of organization would help. This pattern will help the reader to visualize how something appears physically; for example, it would be beneficial to use this pattern to describe a physical space.

Cause-Effect

Sometimes, if you are writing about a particular problem, you might find that your argument is pointing out the particular root causes of that problem. You might even be identifying the effects. If this is what you find, then the pattern of organization to use would be cause-effect. There are two main ways to structure this kind of pattern. You can have two main sections identifying all of the causes in one section and all of the effects in the other. Alternatively, you could separate each section or paragraph by the cause and its subsequent effect.

Problem-Solution

Much like the cause-effect pattern, the problem-solution pattern describes a problem and its solution(s). Commonly used in persuasive writing, this pattern can convince the reader to form an opinion on a particular problem and take action towards the solution(s). This pattern can be organized with two main sections identifying all of the problems in one section and all of the solutions in the other. On the other hand, it could have one section or paragraph designated for each problem and its subsequent solution(s).

Compare and Contrast

When you are comparing-contrasting two or more items or ideas, this pattern will obviously work the best. You can separate each item and describe each in detail, leaving the reader to identify the similarities and/or differences. Alternatively, you can separate each section/paragraph by each similarity and/or difference you identify. If you choose the latter, all items should be discussed under each particular similarity or difference.

For additional help on writing compare-contrast papers, download the Compare-Contrast Paper tip sheet.

Advantages-Disadvantages

When illuminating the advantages and disadvantages of two or more things, this pattern of organization will help the reader to understand both sides of an issue. There are a variety of ways to organize this pattern; however, the most effective would be to separate the advantages from the disadvantages.

Most of the time, when writing does not fit into the above-mentioned categories, it requires a topical organizational pattern. With this pattern, writers arrange the sections or paragraphs according to different topics, keeping in mind what would make the most sense to the reader. If you remember these patterns during the planning stages of your writing, your decision about how to structure your written assignment should become easier.

Patterns of Organization and Methods of Development

Patterns of organization can help your readers follow the ideas within your essay and your paragraphs, but they can also work as methods of development to help you recognize and further develop ideas and relationships in your writing. Here are some strategies that can help you with both organization and development in your essays.

Major Patterns of Organization

Read the following sentences:

• Now take the pie out of the oven and let it cool on the stovetop.
• Mix the dry ingredients with the liquid ingredients.
• Set the pie crust aside while you make the filling.

How did it feel to read the above list? A bit confusing, I would guess. That’s because the steps for making a pie were not well organized, and the steps don’t include enough detail for us to know exactly what we should do. (Like what are the dry and liquid ingredients?) We all know that starting instructions from the beginning and giving each detailed step in the order it should happen is vital to having a good outcome, in this case a yummy pie! But it’s not always so simple to know how to organize or develop ideas, and sometimes there’s more than one way, which complicates things even further.

First, let’s take a look at a couple of ways to think about organization.

General to Specific or Specific to General

It might be useful to think about organizing your topic like a triangle:

The first triangle represents starting with the most general, big picture information first, moving then to more detailed and often more personal information later in the paper. The second triangle represents an organizational structure that starts with the specific, small scale information first and then moves to the more global, big picture stuff.

For example, if your topic is air pollution in Portland, Oregon, an essay that uses the general-to-specific organizational structure might begin this way:

Many people consider Portland, Oregon, to be an environmentally friendly, pollution-free place to live. They would be shocked to know how many pollutants are in the air causing a multitude of health problems in Portland’s citizens.

An essay that uses the specific-to-general structure might start like this:

When Nancy moved to Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two kids, she expected to find a clean, pollution-free city. She was shocked and angered when her daughter was diagnosed with asthma caused by air pollution.

What’s the difference between these two introductions? And how might they appeal to the intended audience for this essay (Portland voters) in different ways? The first introduction is looking at the big picture of the problem and mentions pollution’s impact on all citizens in Portland, while the second introduction focuses on one specific family. The first helps readers see how vast the problem really is, and the second helps connect readers to a real family, making an emotional appeal from the very beginning. Neither introduction is necessarily better. You’ll choose one over the other based on the kind of tone you’d like to create and how you’d like to affect your audience. It’s completely up to you to make this decision.

Does the Triangle Mean the Essay Keeps Getting More Specific or More Broad until the Very End?

The triangle is kind of a general guide, meaning you’re allowed to move around within it all you want. For example, it’s possible that each of your paragraphs will be its own triangle, starting with the general or specific and moving out or in. However, if you begin very broadly, it might be effective to end your essay in a more specific, personal way. And if you begin with a personal story, consider ending your essay by touching on the global impact and importance of your topic.

Are There Other Ways to Think about Organizing My Ideas?

Yes! Rather than thinking about which of your ideas are most specific or personal or which are more broad or universal, you might consider one of the following ways of organizing your ideas:

• Most important information first (consider what you want readers to focus on first)
• Chronological order (the order in time that events take place)
• Compare and contrast (ideas are organized together because of their relationship to each other)

The section on Methods of Development, below, offers more detail about some of these organizational patterns, along with some others.

Choose one of the following topics, and practice writing a few opening sentences like we did above, once using the general-to-specific format and once using the specific-to-general. Which do you like better? What audience would be attracted to which one? Share with peers to see how others tackled this challenge. How would you rewrite their sentences? Why? Discuss your changes and listen to how your peers have revised your sentences. Taking in other people’s ideas will help you see new ways to approach your own writing and thinking.

• Facing fears
• Safety in sports
• Community policing
• Educating prisoners
• Sex education
• A book or movie that impacted you
• One thing you would change about your community
• Beauty standards
• Toxic masculinity
• How the media affects identity formation
• Gender roles
• Race in America
• The value of art in society
• Travel as part of a well-rounded education
• Drugs and alcohol
• Advice to new parents
• Advice to teachers
• The value of making mistakes
• How you’d spend a million dollars
• What a tough day at work taught you about yourself or others.

Methods of Development

The methods of development covered here are best used as ways to look at what’s already happening in your draft and to consider how you might emphasize or expand on any existing patterns. You might already be familiar with some of these patterns because teachers will sometimes assign them as the purpose for writing an essay. For example, you might have been asked to write a cause-and-effect essay or a comparison-and-contrast essay.

It’s important to emphasize here that patterns of organization or methods of developing content usually happen naturally as a consequence of the way the writer engages with and organizes information while writing. That is to say, most writers don’t sit down and say, “I think I’ll write a cause-and-effect essay today.”  Instead, a writer might be more likely to be interested in a topic, say, the state of drinking water in the local community, and as the writer begins to explore the topic, certain cause-and-effect relationships between environmental pollutants and the community water supply may begin to emerge.

So if these patterns just occur naturally in writing, what’s the use in knowing about them?  Well, sometimes you might be revising a draft and notice that some of your paragraphs are a bit underdeveloped. Maybe they lack a clear topic, or maybe they lack support. In either case, you can look to these common methods of development to find ways to sharpen those vague topics or to add support where needed. Do you have a clear cause statement somewhere but you haven’t explored the effects?  Are you lacking detail somewhere where a narrative story or historical chronology can help build reader interest and add support?  Are you struggling to define an idea that might benefit from some comparison or contrast?  Read on to consider some of the ways that these strategies can help you in revision. And if you want to learn more, check out what the New York Times has to say in their learning blog article, “ Compare-Contrast, Cause-Effect, Problem Solution: Common ‘Text Types’ in The Times .”

Cause and Effect (or Effect and Cause)

Do you see a potential cause-and-effect relationship developing in your draft?  The cause-and-effect pattern may be used to identify one or more causes followed by one or more effects or results. Or you may reverse this sequence and describe effects first and then the cause or causes. For example, the causes of water pollution might be followed by its effects on both humans and animals. You may use obvious transitions to clarify cause and effect, such as “What are the results? Here are some of them…” or you might simply use the words cause , effect , and result , to cue the reader about your about the relationships that you’re establishing.

Here’s an example article from the New York times, “ Rough Times Take Bloom Off a New Year’s Rite, the Rose Parade ,” that explores the cause and effect relationship (from 2011) between Pasadena’s budgetary challenges and the ability of their Rose Parade floats to deck themselves out in full bloom.

Problem-Solution

At some point does your essay explore a problem or suggest a solution? The problem-solution pattern is commonly used in identifying something that’s wrong and in contemplating what might be done to remedy the situation. There are probably more ways to organize a problem-solution approach, but but here are three possibilities:

• Describe the problem, followed by the solution.
• Propose the solution first and then describe the problems that motivated it.
• Or a problem may be followed by several solutions, one of which is selected as the best.

When the solution is stated at the end of the paper, the pattern is sometimes called the delayed proposal. For a hostile audience, it may be effective to describe the problem, show why other solutions do not work, and finally suggest the favored solution. You can emphasize the words problem and solution to signal these sections of your paper for your reader.

Here’s an example article from the New York times, “ Monks Embrace Web to Reach Recruits ,” that highlights an unexpected approach by a group of Benedictine monks in Rhode Island; they’ve turned to social media to grow their dwindling membership. Monks on Facebook?  Who knew?

Chronology or Narrative

Do you need to develop support for a topic where telling a story can illustrate some important concept for your readers? Material arranged chronologically is explained as it occurs in time. A chronological or narrative method of development might help you find a way to add both interest and content to your essay. Material arranged chronologically is explained as it occurs in time. This pattern may be used to establish what has happened. Chronology or narrative can be a great way to introduce your essay by providing a background or history behind your topic. Or you may want to tell a story to develop one or more points in the body of your essay. You can use transitional words like then , next , and finally to make the parts of the chronology clear.

Here’s an example article from the Center for Media Literacy (originally published in the journal Media & Values ): “ From Savers to Spenders: How Children Became a Consumer Market .” To encourage his readers to think about why and how children are being marketed to by advertisers, the author uses a historical chronology of how the spending habits of children changed over a number of decades.

Comparison and Contrast

Are you trying to define something? Do you need your readers to understand what something is and what it is not? The comparison-and-contrast method of development is particularly useful in extending a definition, or anywhere you need to show how a subject is like or unlike another subject. For example, the statement is often made that drug abuse is a medical problem instead of a criminal justice issue. An author might attempt to prove this point by comparing drug addiction to AIDS, cancer, or heart disease to redefine the term “addiction” as a medical problem. A statement in opposition to this idea could just as easily establish contrast by explaining all the ways that addiction is different from what we traditionally understand as an illness. In seeking to establish comparison or contrast in your writing, some words or terms that might be useful are by contrast , in comparison , while , some , and others .

Here’s an example article from the New York times: “ Who Wants to Shop in a Big Box Store, Anyway? ” The author explores some interesting differences between the average American and average Indian consumer to contemplate the potential success of big box stores in India and also to contemplate why these giant big box corporations, like Walmart or Target, might have to rethink their business model.

These four methods of development—cause and effect, problem-solution, chronology or narrative, and comparison and contrast—are just a few ways to organize and develop ideas and content in your essays. It’s important to note that they should not be a starting point for writers who want to write something authentic—something that they care deeply about. Instead, they can be a great way to help you look for what’s already happening with your topic or in a draft, to help you to write more, or to help you reorganize some parts of an essay that seem to lack connection or feel disjointed. Look for organizational patterns when you’re reading work by professional writers. Notice where they combine strategies (e.g a problem-solution pattern that uses cause-and-effect organization, or a comparison-contrast pattern that uses narrative or chronology to develop similarities or differences). Pay attention to how different writers emphasize and develop their main ideas, and use what you find to inspire you in your own writing. Better yet, work on developing  completely new patterns of your own.

The Word on College Reading and Writing Copyright © by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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The word chronology can be broken down into the Greek words krono, which means “time,” and l ogia,  a branch of learning or discourse. The meaning of chronological description thus has to do with arranging discourse according to time. Chronological descriptions are among the most common ways to describe an event because they follow the natural order that people understand in their everyday experiences.

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The word chronology can be broken down into the Greek words krono, which means “time,” and l ogia, a branch of learning or discourse. The meaning of chronological description thus has to do with arranging discourse according to time. Chronological descriptions are among the most common ways to describe an event because they follow the natural order that people understand in their everyday experiences.

What Does Chronological Description Mean?

In composition or speech, chronological description is a method of describing an action or event from beginning to end. Chronological order is also called linear order or time order because it denotes a movement through time in one forward direction.

Description is a mode of speaking or writing—also known as a rhetorical mode —that recreates a person, place, event, or action for an audience.

Rhetorical modes are a way of organizing communication so that the audience is impacted most effectively. They are also known as patterns of organization because they often happen naturally during discourse to create a natural pattern of discussion and/or argument.

If rhetorical modes are about organizing communication for the benefit of the audience, then chronological descriptions are an excellent rhetorical tool because nearly everyone understands chronological order. This is because the entire human experience occurs in chronological order.

For example, the first thing that happened to you today is that you woke up from sleeping (hopefully). You likely groomed yourself—changed your clothes, brushed your teeth, showered, or some other routine—then, at some point, you decided to study. Next, you picked up a digital device to find helpful content, and you navigated to this page.

This is a (somewhat loose) chronological description of your day. Whether people are conscious of it or not, everyone experiences the same movement of time, so everyone has an innate understanding of chronological order.

Stages of Chronological Structure

Chronological descriptions can be organized by time—as you saw in the example about your hypothetical day—date, or as a series of steps in a process.

The chronological structure of an event by date is written much the same way as if it were written by time. This is a helpful way to describe historical events.

World War I began with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The very next month, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia, and the War truly began, with the rest of the world joining in the conflict within a month after that. Trench warfare began in October 1914, after an indecisive victory between Germany and allied troops. After years of conflict in Europe, the United States declared war on Germany in April 1917. In September of 1918, American and French troops conducted the largest offense in US history with the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, where the victory was instrumental in bringing an end to the war. On November 11th, 1918, Germany signed the armistice after being given 72 hours to agree to the Allied Force's demands, and all hostilities were ordered to cease at 11 am Paris time.

This example moves through the events of World War I in chronological order according to dates of significance. It would be much more difficult to understand this summary of the events if it was laid out other than chronologically.

You can also use a chronological structure to explain the process of something. Think about a manual or instruction booklet you’ve read; if it was a good manual, it explained how to build the dresser (or whatever it was) by using transition words like first and next as it went through the process steps.

Chronological Transition Words

Transition words are those you use to transition from one piece of a chronological structure to the next. These words signal a transition from one step to the next. Look for these transition words that signal a transition through time:

Look for these transition words that signal a movement through a sequence of some sort:

First, second, third, etc.

A transition isn’t always summed up in a single word, but these are common transition words you’re likely to see—or use—in a chronological description.

Chronological Description in Writing with Examples

The way you organize your writing is as important to the meaning as the content itself. If you don’t order your writing in a way that makes sense to the audience, then they’re likely to become confused and lose interest.

Chronological descriptions are often used in expository writing .

There are four common types of expository writing ; comparison / contrast , description, process analysis, and cause/ effect. These writing styles aim to expose information (hence the name, expository writing).

Chronological descriptions help the audience understand something by exposing a chain of events. Three of the most common types of expository writing that benefit from chronological descriptions are:

Describing the history of a topic

Narrating a story

Explaining how to do something

You can use chronological description to explain information in all of these situations.

Chronological Description: History

Telling the history of something is perhaps the most natural place to use chronological description. It begins with the inception or beginning of something, then moves through its different phases, and ends with either the present time or a particular event that caused it to conclude.

Oscar Wilde’s wild life began in 1854 as he was born in Dublin, Ireland, with the given name Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde. He began studying classics at Trinity college in 1871, and then in 1878, he won the Newdigate Prize for his poem Ravenna. After his personal life swelled with marriage and the birth of two children, his career as an author took off with the publication of titles such as Lady Windermere’s Fan, The Picture of Dorian Gray, An Ideal Husband, and The Importance of Being Ernest (and many more) between the years of 1891 and 1895. After suing the Marquess of Queensberry for libel due to a crude remark, Wilde was prosecuted for “gross indecency” and found guilty. After two years in prison, Wilde was released.

This historical description of Oscar Wilde's life takes significant events one-by-one, going through time from beginning to end. Notice there is no emphasis on the order of importance—or what was the most significant thing that happened to him.

Chronological Description: Narrative

Narration is essentially story-telling, and how could anyone tell a story without the use of chronological description? It would be much, much more difficult.

Narration depends on chronological order because it often seeks to mirror real-life experiences—which, as previously discussed, follow a chronological pattern.

When the boy came back, the old man was asleep in the chair, and the sun was down. The boy took the old army blanket off the bed and spread it over the back of the chair and the old man’s shoulders. They were strange shoulders, still powerful although very old, and the neck was still strong too and the creases did not show so much when the old man was asleep and his head fallen forward.

This example is a quote from Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea (1951).

Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea is an interesting example of chronological order. It is a novella divided by days in the man's life rather than traditional chapters. This quote is found in the section for Day One.

The chronology is subtly expressed in the first line of this quote. Because the story follows only a few days of the man’s life, Hemingway expresses the movement of time by describing where the sun is in the sky.

Chronology will not always be expressed in obvious terms such as first, next, and last. Notice Hemingway doesn’t say, “Next, the boy took the old army blanket off the bed, then spread it over the back of the chair.” Keep an eye out for subtle references to chronological descriptions, especially in creative narratives.

Chronological Description: Process

Chronological descriptions are naturally used to describe processes because a process by nature has a clear beginning, middle, and end. It is important to walk through a process in chronological order to see your audience through to the finished product.

You might notice a chronological structure in essay prompts or assignments on an exam.

Carefully read the following six sources, then synthesize material from at least three. Next, produce a well-written essay in which you incorporate your own ideas based on your analysis of the three sources.

This is a clear breakdown of the expectation for the assignment. Because it was explained with chronological description, the student knows exactly how to proceed with the assignment and in which order.

Chronological Order in a Paragraph

It is possible to craft an entire essay around a chronological description or simply use it as a tool to address a larger topic. Whatever the aim, you can use chronological structures to your advantage, one paragraph at a time.

If you are writing a descriptive essay structured in chronological order, you should assemble your essay with each body paragraph taking one piece of the chronology at a time. This structures your essay in a way that clearly lays out the movement of time or steps.

Remember, in a multi-paragraph essay, the body paragraphs are the place for you to provide support for your thesis or the main idea for your essay. Each body paragraph should have a topic sentence in which you address the main point of that particular paragraph. For a description essay that uses chronological order, the topic sentences for your body paragraphs should be the element or stage of the chronology that you will address in that paragraph.

Your paragraphs could take the subject by date or time or by the structure of the thing you’re examining (line-by-line of a poem, for example). Remember to use helpful transition words to signal your movement through time or the process.

A basic outline for body paragraphs using chronological description looks like this:

Body paragraph 1 (one step or piece of the event)

Topic sentence

Discussion of larger context

Body paragraph 2 (next step or piece of the event)

Body paragraph 3 (next step or piece of the event)

Don’t simply state the order of events in a descriptive essay that uses chronological order; you should try to illustrate connections between what is happening and whatever your main idea is for the essay. You can do this by discussing what is happening in the larger context with each new step in the chronology.

Chronological Description - Key Takeaways

• In composition or speech, chronological description is a method of describing an action or event from beginning to end
• Chronological order can be explained by time, date, or steps in a process
• Transition words can be used to transition from one piece of a chronological structure to the next.
• Chronological descriptions are often used in expository writing
• You can organize an essay around a chronological structure by using the body paragraphs to break down the steps or events

Frequently Asked Questions about Chronological Description

--> what is the chronological order in essay writing.

Chronological order in essay writing is a method of describing an action or event from beginning to end to expose information to the audience.

--> What is the purpose of chronological writing?

The purpose of chronological writing is to show the movement of time or steps in a process, from beginning to end, to explain or expound on a larger concept.

--> How do you write in chronological order?

You write in chronological order by finding your starting point and breaking the event or process into sequential pieces. Use transition words to indicate movement from one step in the chronology to another.

--> Is chronological order used in expository writing?

Yes, chronological order is used in expository writing.

--> Is chronological order from oldest to newest?

Yes, since chronological order is the arrangement of events from first to last, it moves from oldest to newest.

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True or false: Description is a rhetorical mode

If rhetorical modes are about organizing communication for the benefit of the audience, then ________     _______ are an excellent rhetorical tool because nearly everyone understands chronological order

Which of the following is an example of a common source of chronological descriptions involving a process

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What is the definition of chronological description?

In composition or speech, chronological description is a method of describing an action or event from beginning to end.

Chronological descriptions

Chronological descriptions can be organized by ______, ________, and ____________.

Time, dates, steps in a process.

An instruction manual

First, next,  and last  are examples of ______ ________.

Transition words

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Each method can be used separately or in combination with any of the others. Learning which methods best suit your purpose will help when you create outlines and write first drafts of paragraphs and essays.

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LEARN TO NARRATE

Use narration to recall an event or explain how a process works. A narrative is a story. It arranges information in chronological (time) order; one event in a story or one step in a process follows another just as it happened.

Narratives contain action words—verbs and adverbs—that help move the story or process along and make it more interesting. They also use transitions such as first, then, soon, after, and suddenly, which maintain coherence and show movement from one event to the next.

Read this paragraph from Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings . It recalls a childhood incident when neighborhood children mocked her and her grandmother. Action words are in red; transitions are in blue:

Before the girls got to the porch, I heard their laughter crackling and popping like pine logs in a cooking stove. I suppose my lifelong paranoia was born in those cold, molasses-slow minutes. They came finally to stand on the ground in front of Momma. At first they pretended seriousness. Then one of them wrapped her right arm in the crook of her left, pushed out her mouth and started to hum. I realized that she was aping my grandmother.

LEARN TO DESCRIBE

Use description when you need to explain the nature of people, places, and things. It's always a good idea to start a physical description by relying on your five senses to gather details about what your subject looks, sounds, feels, smells, or even tastes like.

Unlike narration, which presents information from beginning to end, description can be arranged in any pattern you think best. Usually, the pattern is spatial, presenting things as they appear in space. But each writer chooses his or her own perspective—the position from which to view a subject. And each decides where to begin and where to end.

Read this paragraph from Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings . Angelou doesn't simply describe her subjects' appearance; she uses description to explain their characters. She also uses it to reveal her emotional reaction to their behavior.

The dirt of the girls' cotton dresses continued on their legs, feet, arms, and faces to make them all of a piece. Their greasy uncolored hair hung down, uncombed, with a grim finality. I knelt to see them better, to remember them for all time. The tears that had slipped down my dress left unsurprising dark spots, and made the front yard blurry and even more unreal. The world had taken a deep breath and was having doubts about continuing to revolve.

LEARN TO EXPLAIN, CONVINCE, AND PERSUADE

Narration and description can also be used to explain an idea or statement, to convince readers that an opinion is correct, or to persuade them to do something. But such purposes also lend themselves to other methods.

USING ILLUSTRATION

Illustration explains abstract ideas by providing clear, specific, and concrete examples. Take this paragraph from "A Few Kind Words for Superstition" by Robertson Davies:

Many superstitions are so widespread and so old that they must have risen from a depth of human mind that is indifferent to race or creed. Orthodox Jews place a charm on their doorposts; so do (or did) the Chinese. Some peoples of Middle Europe believe that when a man sneezes, his soul, for that moment, is absent from his body, and they hasten to bless him, lest he should be seized by the Devil. How did the Melanesians come by the same idea? Superstition seems to have a link with some body or belief that far antedates the religions we know—religions which have no place for such comforting little ceremonies and charities.

There are two concrete examples here:

• Orthodox Jews place a charm . . . .
• Some peoples of Middle Europe believe . . . .

USING COMPARISON/CONTRAST

A comparison explains similarities. A contrast explains differences. The first half of the following paragraph compares a harpsichord and a piano. The second half contrasts these instruments.

USING DEFINITION

A definition identifies a term and sets it apart from all other terms that may be related to it. Often, definitions begin by mentioning the general class to which a term belongs. Then they provide specifics to distinguish the term from other members of that class. For example, if you were to define whale, you might start by saying it is an aquatic mammal. Then you could talk about its size, shape, varieties, environment, breeding habits, and so on.

Read this paragraph. Try to determine the general class to which the subject belongs; then find specifics that distinguish it from other members of that class.

The viola is a stringed instrument in the violin family. It is only slightly larger than the violin and is tuned at a lower pitch. Like its smaller relative, the viola is held on the shoulder under the chin and is played with a bow. While the violin has many uses, the viola is used mainly in orchestral and chamber music.

COMBINING METHODS OF DEVELOPMENT

One method of development can be used in combination with others. Reread the paragraph defining the viola. Pick out examples of comparison and contrast.

USING CLASSIFICATION

Classification—distinguishing types or classes—can help you explain a great deal of seemingly unrelated information in an organized and easy-to-follow manner. Take this paragraph that explains stringed instruments:

There are many types of stringed instruments. The violin family is made up of the violin, viola, cello, and double bass. Fretted instruments (frets are strips that show players where to put their hands) include the banjo, mandolin, lute, ukulele, and guitar. Related to these instruments are the lyre and the harp. The dulcimer, zither, and psaltery form another family, whose strings are stretched over flat sound boxes. Finally, there are the keyboard stringed instruments such as the piano, clavichord, and harpsichord.

USING CAUSE AND EFFECT

The cause-and-effect method is useful in explaining why something happens. Take this paragraph on the causes of avalanches:

An avalanche is a huge snow slide that rushes down the side of a mountain, carrying large trees, rocks, and other debris in its path. Avalanches are similar to landslides but can be more dangerous and destructive. Avalanches can occur when huge amounts of new snow fall on layers of snow and ice that have become unstable because of melting. They can also be triggered by explosions or earthquakes.

Read the paragraph on avalanches again:

Where is definition used in this paragraph? How about comparison?

MASTER FOUR PATTERNS OF ARRANGEMENT

As you have learned, there are several ways to develop details in a paragraph. These methods—narration, description, comparison/contrast, definition, classification, illustration, and cause and effect—relate to the paragraph's purpose. You should also learn patterns of arrangement—ways to organize details in a paragraph.

There are four basic patterns, but there are as many variations on such patterns as there are writers who use them. Study these four patterns of arrangement. You can use any of them regardless of the method of development you choose.

GENERAL-TO-SPECIFIC PATTERN

The pattern that begins with a general statement followed by specific supporting details can be used to argue a point or make an abstract idea clear. In the next paragraph, the writer starts with the idea that living with an alcoholic parent is difficult. This is the topic sentence. She then gives details to explain how difficult this problem is.

The nights that my mother was home were nightmares. She sat on the living room couch with a case of Budweiser, just drinking, listening to music, and talking to herself. On many occasions, she turned up the record player so high that the police stopped by our house late at night to ask that she lower the volume. I spent those evenings sitting up with my crying sister reassuring her that everything would be all right, while the sounds of Paul Anka vibrated into her bedroom. My brother went for long walks and sometimes didn't return until school was dismissed the next afternoon. The day after, I would find my mother sitting on the couch surrounded by beer cans and slumped over one corner of the couch. The record player would still be running, with the needle in the center of the record, playing nothing. (Author anonymous, "Mom")

SPECIFIC-TO-GENERAL PATTERN

This pattern can help you create suspense or build to an emotional high point. The following paragraph starts with a specific detail that leads to a more general topic sentence.

I was too cold now. My teeth were chattering, my feet frozen like lifeless stumps. I looked up to the heavens and screamed in agony, damning the fates. I lit another cigarette and expressed my dismay over the two friends who had accompanied me on this pilgrimage. Suddenly, I spotted them walking back to the car, their heads down, shoulders hunched, and hands buried deep within their coat pockets. I knew there was no need to talk. I understood immediately that they had found no help. I handed the keys and the lighter to Jason. He fumbled with them for a few minutes, but with no luck. Robert walked to the park bench and sat down. I looked away from them. My own frustration was compounded by the pain in their eyes. I felt another surge of self-pity. The dull agony of the cold, the biting pain of the wind, the guilt of endangering the lives of my friends: it was all too much to bear. (Bill McGlynn, "Taking the Blame")

QUESTION-TO-ANSWER PATTERN

Beginning with a question can capture the reader's attention. It is also an easy way to arrange information. After asking the question, you can fill the rest of the paragraph or essay with details that answer or relate to it.

What's so bad about junk food? A great deal. For example, it usually contains artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives—additives that pose serious health hazards and, over the long run, may cause cancer. In addition, much junk food is packed with sugar, fats, or cholesterol. It adds inches to our waistlines, clogs our arteries, and disturbs our metabolism. Most important, junk food contains few nutrients. Eating cotton candy, potato chips, and chocolate bars may satisfy our hunger, but for that very reason it keeps us from eating the foods we need to stay healthy. (Nicholas Cannino, "The Junk-Food Junkie")

ORDER-OF-IMPORTANCE PATTERN

Fiction writers often save the most important or startling information for last. This technique helps them maintain suspense and create emphasis. You can use this pattern whether your purpose is to tell a story, describe a scene, explain an idea, or defend an opinion. The next paragraph is a good example.

I am divorced now, free and alone, a woman of 45 with children who have gone off to finish school, to start families, and to spin out lives of their own. I got married when I was nineteen. Back then, some young people got married because they were genuinely in love, but too many of those I knew tied the knot for the wrong reasons. Some sought security; some, companionship, romance, or sex. A few even "had to" get married. But the most compelling reason to wed in those days was that everyone else was doing it, and nobody wanted to be left behind. (Lena Schmidt, "Time to Grow Up")

Definition of Chronology

Chronology refers to the orderly arrangement of occurrences or incidents, particularly in a historical context . Its roots can be traced back to the Greek words “Kronos” and “Logia,” signifying the study of time. Over time, the Greek term “Kronos” evolved into the Latin term “chronologia,” which eventually became “chronology” in English during the 16th century or thereafter. This term functions as a noun and can also be used in the plural form, such as “chronologies.” It pertains to the measurement of time, encompassing historical events or the timeline of specific occurrences or an event.

Within the realm of literature, chronology plays a crucial role in novels, where characters experience incidents in sequential order throughout their lives. It serves as an essential component of narrative storytelling, offering a comprehensive timeline of events that characters undergo. Moreover, it can be applied to various other domains, such as the chronology of a virus, the chronology of pottery, or the chronology of the United States.

Regarding the events depicted in a narrative, they can unfold in a linear fashion, commonly known as a straightway. Alternatively, they may occur in medias res , where a particular event from a character ’s life is selected and subsequently explored, revealing the character’s past or present. Therefore, chronology holds significant importance in plot development. However, in the postmodern era, many writers have subverted this vital narrative element, intentionally disrupting the traditional order of events. However, in the postmodern world, most writers have turned this important element of the narrative topsy-turvy.

Examples from Literature

The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

When the boy came back the old man was asleep in the chair and the sun was down. The boy took the old army blanket off the bed and spread it over the back of the chair and over the old man’s shoulders. They were strange shoulders, still powerful although very old, and the neck was still strong too and the creases did not show so much when the old man was asleep and his head fallen forward.

In this passage taken from Ernest Hemingway’s novel , The Old Man and the Sea, chronology is skillfully employed right from the opening line. Despite the seemingly straightforward introduction of the old man’s age, Hemingway subtly incorporates this narrative element throughout the novel, focusing on just a few days in the old man’s life. The initial mention of “the sun was down” immediately establishes the evening setting , indicating that the old man is preparing for sleep. Subsequently, the narrative unfolds, meticulously tracing the timeline of events from that evening onward. This apt use of chronology showcases Hemingway’s mastery in utilizing this literary technique to enhance the storytelling experience.

Animal Farm by George Orwell

Mr. Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-houses for the night , but was too drunk to remember to shut the popholes. With the ring of light from his lantern dancing from side to side, he lurched across the yard, kicked off his boots at the back door, drew himself a last glass of beer from the barrel in the scullery, and made his way up to bed, where Mrs. Jones was already snoring. As soon as the light in the bedroom went out there was a stirring and a fluttering all through the farm buildings. Word had gone round during the day that old Major, the prize Middle White boar, had had a strange dream on the previous night and wished to communicate it to the other animals.

In this example, from George Orwell’s novel, there is an intriguing example of chronology. The narrative depicts a significant shift in Manor Farm’s operations as all activities come to a halt. The contextual clues subtly suggest an evening setting, as indicated by the awakening lantern light. Furthermore, the mention of the extinguished bedroom light and the reference to the previous night further reinforce the passage’s temporal progression. This portrayal emphasizes that chronology in a narrative does not always adhere to a strictly linear structure. Instead, it can be skillfully woven into the story using implicit cues from the surrounding natural elements, enhancing the overall flow and enjoyment for readers.

A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickins

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness , it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way—in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

In this excerpt from A Tale of Two Cities, the above passage subtly indicates the concept of chronology. While it may not overtly emphasize the chronological order of events, thoughtful readers can discern the indications of time and season within the text. The references to “times,” “age,” “ spring ,” and “winter” provide subtle hints that can be interconnected with the characters and their experiences. The readers can piece the temporal aspects of the narrative, enriching their understanding and interpretation of the story by discerning these contextual cues.

Preface to Aeneid by R. W. MacFarland

This narration occupies the second and the third nooks, which, therefore, in the order of time, are first and second, while which stands, first, is the third in the course of events. The others are in their natural order. But this arrangemnet of the first three books, has the advantage of making the hero relate the destruction of Troy.

This example shows the multifaceted role of chronology not only in writing but also in narrations, events, and stories. The author explicitly states that although the books are labeled as first and second, their order does not correspond to the sequence of events portrayed in Aeneid. This acknowledgment highlights the subtle nature of chronology, showcasing how it can be manipulated and rearranged to suit the artistic vision or thematic structure of a literary work. By challenging the linear progression of events, the author prompts readers to engage with the narrative in a unique and thought-provoking manner, further emphasizing the significance of chronology as a tool for storytelling.

Function of Chronology

The function of chronology in literature is instrumental in providing readers with a comprehensive understanding of the unfolding events. The use of chronology enables readers to discern whether the events take place in the past, present, or future by establishing the temporal framework of a narrative. This context allows readers to engage with the story and its developments logically. Furthermore, chronology serves as a guidepost for comprehending the order in which events occur, offering a sense of structure and progression. The chronological sequence allows readers to follow the storyline more effectively, gaining insight into the causal relationships between events and appreciating the overall coherence of the narrative. Ultimately, the function of chronology is key to providing readers with a cohesive framework that promotes their immersion in the story and enhances their comprehension of the events as they unfold.

Related posts:

• Deuteragonist
• Equivocation
• Science Fiction
• Turning Point
• Supporting Sentence
• Urban Legend
• Antonomasia
• Comic Relief
• Black Humor
• Narrative Poem
• Dramatic Monologue
• Existentialism
• In Medias Res
• Short Story
• Romanticism
• Feminine Rhyme
• Metaphysical
• Auditory Imagery
• Sensory Language
• Implied Metaphor
• Rhetorical Device
• Sound Devices
• Exact Rhyme
• Examples of Symbolism in Poetry

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chronological

[ kron-l- oj -i-k uh l ]

a chronological list of events.

a chronological process.

/ ˌkrəʊ-; ˌkrəʊ-; ˌkrɒnəˈlɒdʒɪkəl; ˌkrɒnəˈlɒdʒɪk /

• (esp of a sequence of events) arranged in order of occurrence
• relating to or in accordance with chronology

Discover More

Derived forms.

• ˌchronoˈlogically , adverb

Other Words From

• chron·o·log·i·cal·ly adverb
• un·chron·o·log·i·cal adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of chronological 1

Example Sentences

She also advocates for a return to Facebook’s chronological news feed.

The book zigzags from place to place on a chronological, continental-scale field trip.

Mare’s chronological structure, a welcome break from the tangles of timelines that obscure weak plotting in too many recent shows, adds another layer of difficulty.

His drawings of a man who’s up to his neck in water are essentially identical, but because they’re divided across five panels, they strongly imply chronological succession.

The leg brace that allows Alex Smith to play footballHere’s a chronological look back at Smith’s improbable recovery.

Then the Archives started the chronological release, which covers February 1971 to July 1973.

Here are the biggest reveals in the court documents, in chronological order.

Like Moby-Dick, River Bend Chronicle mixes together narrative and essays, not always in chronological order.

In chronological order: When the story of Henrietta Lacks was “ripped” for an episode of Law and Order.

Instead, I bring you ten fun and exciting Dick Morris audios, images, videos (in chronological order).

As we follow the poet's work in its chronological development, we find this trait growing more and more pronounced.

Below, however, I have recorded in chronological order the more important references to them which have come under my observation.

You searched all the chronological records of the two classifications of telegrams that we have indicated?

The series of prescriptions and suggestions with regard to children, for instance, could be read in chronological sequence.

His view of his obligations was strictly chronological, and in taking it he counted, like the poet, only happy hours.

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