This is what students see on their disks when they put them in the computer:

The sentences in the following paragraph do not follow any logical order. First identify the topic sentence. Using CUT and PASTE commands, move it to the beginning of the paragraph. Then use CUT and PASTE commands to rewrite the rest of the paragraph, arranging sentences in chronological order (the order in which things occur). Use transition words to help you.
When you are finished, go to SAVE AS under FILE and name the changes you made. Save the changes to your disk.

(1) When he was in eighth grade, his teacher recognized his talent and encouraged him to draw. (2) Rockwell died in his home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in 1978. (3) He was born on February 3, 1894, in New York City. (4) At the age of twenty-two, he sold his first cover picture to the Saturday Evening Post.. (5) Norman Rockwell is considered one of America’s favorite painters. (6) Later in his career he painted what was to become his most popular illustration, Saying Grace. (7) During his freshman year in high school, he started giving art lessons to pay his fees for art school. (8) He earned enough money so that by the age of eighteen he began art school as a full-time art student.
Here is the paragraph arranged correctly:

(5) Norman Rockwell is considered one of America’s favorite painters. (3) He was born on February 3, 1894, in New York City. (1) When he was in eighth grade, his teacher recognized his talent and encouraged him to draw. (7) During his freshman year in high school, he started giving art lessons to pay his fees for art school. (8) He earned enough money so that by the age of eighteen he began art school as a full-time art student. (4) At the age of twenty-two, he sold his first cover picture to the Saturday Evening Post.. (6) Later in his career he painted what was to become his most popular illustration, Saying Grace. (2) Rockwell died in his home in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, in 1978.

This lesson is adapted from the Prentice Hall Literature Writing Studio: Copper Level