 The key idea that set the "Britannica" apart was to group related topics together into longer essays, that were then organized alphabetically.Previous English encyclopedias had generally listed related terms separately in their alphabetical order, rather like a modern technical dictionary, an approach that the "Britannica's"' management derided as "dismembering the sciences".Although anticipated by Dennis de Coetlogon, the idea for this "new plan" is generally ascribed to Colin Macfarquhar, although William Smellie claimed it as his own invention.