chronological: used for documents that involve a linear process, such as a step-by-step guide that describes how to accomplish something; parts of an object: Used for documents that describe the parts of an object, such as a graphic showing the parts of a computer (keyboard, monitor, mouse, etc.); simple to complex (or vice versa): starts with easy ideas and gradually goes into complex ideas; specific to general: starts with many ideas, then organizes the ideas into sub-categories; general to specific: starts with a few categories of ideas, then goes deeper.