写文章时，要注意把一切内容都安排得井然有序，这样才能把要表达的内容表达清楚。
一些优秀的文学作品或其他类型的文章大都遵循这样一些规律写文章，即依重要性原则、按空间和时间顺序、使用归纳法或演绎法。在安排文章内容时，如不遵循这些规律，文章就会杂乱无章。阅读和写作时，注意学习和运用这些规律是很有必要的。
(一)依次重要→重要或依重要→次重要的顺序安排文章内容
在展开一个段落或一篇文章时，内容安排要有序，要么依重要→次重要，要么依次重要→重要，不能想到什么就写什么，一定要依一定的顺序排列。请看下例：
例1
①run out of natural resources
②people worry about energy problem
③run short of food
④threaten mankind’s survival
⑤lead to a serious energy crisis
从例1的写作提纲看，其论述顺序有些混乱。第②点——人们为能源问题焦虑，应为第①点；第⑤点——导致能源危机，应为第④点；把威胁人类生存放在最后当做结论。改动后的排列顺序就符合依次重要→重要，依现象至本质的顺序。重新安排的写作提纲如下：
①People worry about natural resources.
②The world is run out of energy.
③The world is short of food.
④This leads to a serious energy crisis.
⑤This will threaten mankind’s survival.
组成段落文章是：
Energy is one of the biggest problems people worry about today. Many people are afraid that the amount of our natural resources is very limited, and that if we use it at the present rate, the world is most likely to run out of oil, coal and metals, and to run short of food in the near future. This will lead to a serious energy crisis and threaten mankind’s survival.
例2
①Students should consider a liberal arts college.
②Learning may be exciting in a liberal arts college.
③Students can develop their ability to think, speak, read and write.
④It is easier to enter the top professions.
例2的第①点是全段的主题句，即学生应该考虑上文科院校，下面的第②、③、④点写的是原因。第②点说文科专业的学习会很有趣，第③点是学生可以培养思维、讲话、阅读和写的能力，最后一点是找到最好工作的捷径。这个排列顺序是：学习有趣→培养能力→找到好工作。符合依次重要→重要的排列方法。
例2段落文章如下：
There are good reasons why students should consider a liberal arts school, even if getting a job is their main concern. For one thing, learning itself may be more exciting in a liberal arts college due to a broader and more flexible curriculum than one might find at a technical school. Thus students may do better in their courses and earn higher grades, which will certainly make them more attractive to employers. More important, a liberal arts education is the most likely to develop one’s ability to think, speak, read, and write—all critical skills that business and industry are coming to value more and more. Finally, students should realize that a liberal arts education has always been the preferred path for entry into the top professions: law, medicine, government, and education.
例3
①Savita likes living in a private house better than in a dormitory for a number of reasons
②has more privacy
③has parking space
④costs less
⑤is easier to study
例3的第①点是主题句，下面四点是围绕主题句说明为什么要住私宅的原因。根据提纲，得知段落内容不复杂，但是愿意住私宅的原因排列无序，依重要性排列应是：
②cost less (经济原因最重要)
③has more privacy(清静是第二位的原因)
④is easier to study(这一点的实现要以第二点为基础)
⑤has parking place(这是最次要的原因)
全段文章为：
Savita likes living in a private house better than in a dormitory for a number of reasons. First, it costs less. For example, she paid $120 a month to live in a dorm, but it costs her only $90 to live in a private home. Second, she has more privacy in a home. In a dorm, she shared a room with another girl, but in a home, she has a room all to herself. Third, it is easier to study in a private home. A dorm is often too noisy, but a home rarely is. Finally, she can keep her car at a house, At campus dorms, there are no parking spaces for student cars. For these reasons, Savita likes to live off campus.