Lesson 13 — Activity 4:

Organizing Information

You just completed an assignment where you collected a lot of information about your chosen career. Now what should you do with it all? It is important to organize your research information so that you are better prepared to start writing your report.

There are many different ways to organize information. You have probably heard of, and even used, graphic organizers. Graphic organizers are a great tool to use to help you make sense of the information you collected. Below are four methods that you could use when organizing information.

The Web Method is a way of organizing ideas. You completed a web earlier in which you brainstormed what you knew before you started researching. When completing a web, record the topic in the centre and the facts on the detail branches.

The KWL Method focuses on three things:

• what I already know
• what I want to know
• what I learned
  

It is formatted into a chart, and you fill in as much information as possible to organize your research.

The Venn Diagram Method is used to compare two or more things. As you can see, it is a group of circles that meet in the middle. In the area where they meet, you write things they have in common. In the remainder of the circle, you write things that are unique to each. You could also put more circles together to compare more than two things.

The Concept Map Method (or Cluster Map) is very similar to the webbing method, however, it also allows you to organize your information into subtopics.

Self-check!

Reflect! Think of a time when you used a graphic organizer. Did it help you to organize or understand your work better? How do you think using a graphic organizer will help you to write your career research report?