Identify and Analyze Text Structure
How
is the information organized? Authors make decisions about how to present
information. They choose from a variety of structures to
organize the information for readers:
Chronological/Sequence: (Time/Order)
Articles reveal events in a sequence from beginning
to end. Words that signal chronological structures include: first, then,
next, finally, and specific dates and times.
Cause/Effect:
Informational texts often describe
cause and effect relationships. The text describes events and identifies
or implies causal factors.
Problem/Solution:
The text describes a problem and presents solutions.
Compare/Contrast:
Author uses comparisons
to describe ideas. Similes, metaphors, and analogies are used.
Description:
Sensory details help readers
visualize information.
Directions:
How-to-texts frame the information
in a series of directions.
Readers experience a variety of text structures. They select
specific comprehension strategies that fit a particular text based on
knowledge of how the information is organized. Readers can anticipate
what information will be revealed in a selection when they understand
text structure. Understanding the pattern of the text helps readers organize
ideas for synthesizing and summarizing.
Guiding Questions:
- Skim
the article for titles, subtitles, headings, and key words. After scanning
the text, how do you think the author organized the information?
- Which
framework did this author use to organize the information? Chronological?
Cause/Effect? Problem/Solution? Compare/Contrast? Description? Directions?
- Does the
author use a combination of structures?
- How did
the author organize the text to be “reader-friendly”?
- Which
text features helped you collect information from the article?
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