TEXT STRUCTURE

Features and Organization

 WHY TEXT STRUCTURE?

Why is it important that readers can

recognize and understand text structures?
 PENCILS DOWN!
ANALYZE THE FOLLOWING IMAGE.

You will be asked to

reproduce this in a
moment…
YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE TO DRAW!!
YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE TO DRAW!!
 REFLECT AND DISCUSS

Which picture was

easier to recall and
draw?
Why?
TRY TO REMEMBER THIS NUMBER!

18986024365911
WRITE THE NUMBER FROM MEMORY!
 LET’S TRY AGAIN BUT THINK . . .

Declaration of Independence

Minutes/hours/days

National Emergency Hotline

18986024365911
1898
60-24-365
911
WELL…

What does this have to do with

READING?
The better a

reader

understands

text structures,

the higher the

comprehension.
Understanding

text structures is

the KEY to

unlocking

expository text!!
 WHAT IS TEXT STRUCTURE?

How information in a passage is organized

We will study six common patterns:

Chronological
Cause and Effect
Compare and Contrast
Problem and Solution
Sequence / Process
Spatial / Descriptive
 CHRONOLOGICAL

Information is organized in order of time.

Chrono = time Logic = order
Example

Jack and Jill ran Jack fell down Jill came

up the hill to fetch and broke his tumbling
a pail of water. crown. after.

ALL stories are told chronologically.

 CHRONOLOGICAL

Moved Fell in
Met Girl
Away Love

Born Married Died

in 1882 in 1906 in 1948
On April 23, 1564, William Shakespeare was
born in Stratford-on-Avon in England. He
attended a local grammar school in town. At the
age of 18 he married Ann Hathaway. Several
years later he travelled to London. By the time he
was 28 he had established his reputation by
acting and writing plays. Other than these facts,
little is known of Shakespear’s early life.
CAUSE AND EFFECT

An action and its results are explained.

Cause Effect
Students did not learn They performed
the material. poorly on the test.

•Don’t confuse with chronological.

•Won’t have a beginning, middle, and end.
 CAUSE AND EFFECT

Explains reasons why something

happened.

Not feeding it. Many Karate

Schools Opened.

why the dog

Not petting it. Lots of Karate Nunchuck sales
ran away Movies in 60’s Increased 400%

Not loving it.

Hospital cases
went up.
 COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Tells how two things are similar and different.

Apples & Oranges

Alike Different
1. Both are fruits. 1. People don’t eat
orange skins.
2. Both have skin.
2. Oranges have
more juice.
 COMPARE AND CONTRAST

Compare = find Contrast = find

similarities differences

Shows what’s in common and what’s different.

Country City
bears
buildings
trees

tractor
limo
 SEQUENCE / PROCESS WRITING

Information is listed step-by-step.

Explains how to do it or how it happens.
Don’t confuse with 4. Flip omelet.
chronological!
3. Cook on
one side.

2. Add cheese.
Does not occur at a
1. Crack a
few eggs.
specific time.
SEQUENCE / ORDER OF
IMPORTANCE
Steps described in the order they occur.

Get bread
Tighten
Laces
Open jars
Tie Loops
Together Spread peanut butter
Make Two
Loops Spread jelly

Put on Combine slices

Shoe
Enjoy.

Does not take place at any specific point in time.

 SPATIAL ORDER/DESCRIPTIVE

- Used for descriptive writing

- May include left-to-right, top-to-
bottom, front-to-back, or inner-to-
outer descriptions
When the elements of a scene, for example, are
described in a specific order, the scene becomes easy
to understand.

It is the method of organizing content such that the

details are described in the order of their location in
space. It is a logical progression of a view that
proceeds usually from left to right and top to bottom.
This method of description helps the readers visualize
the scene better. Spatial order is often used for
descriptive writing. This method makes it easier for
the writer to paint a picture for the reader.
 LET US DISCUSS THE CONCEPT WITH SOME
EXAMPLES. TAKE A LOOK AT THE FOLLOWING
SENTENCE:

In my pantry, there are several things like flour,

eggs, tea powder, sugar, canned food, and dry
pasta. 
This sentence gives a general information about the things
that one will find in the pantry. Reading the sentence, the
readers will picture each item given in the list. However,
they may not be able to picture those items in the pantry as
there is no clue of how they have been placed or arranged.
 NOW READ THIS.

In my pantry, eggs, tea powder, and sugar have been

kept in the top shelf. Flour, canned food, and dry pasta
are on the second shelf.
Here, spatial order has been used. The items in the pantry have been
enlisted in the order of their location. This way of writing has made
it easier for a reader to visualize the arrangement of items, thus
painting for him, a better picture of the pantry. Thus, we see that the
use of spatial order gives a structure to the description, and also
makes it easier for the readers to understand it
 TIPS TO IDENTIFY

1. Ask, “what is the author doing in this

paragraph?” Put it in your own words.
2. Have a hunch? Use the graphic
organizer to see if the info fits.
3. Look for signal words.
 PRACTICE

1. Read the paragraph

2. Identify the text structure

3. Write it down.
 POPULAR SPORTS

Football and baseball are two of the most

popular sports in the country. They have many
things in common. For one, they are both team
sports, and they both require players to advance to
an end or “home” point on the playing field.
However, football requires players to carry the ball
to the end zone, whereas in baseball, it is the
defending team that controls the ball while it is in
play.

ANSWER: COMPARE AND CONTRAST

 DEVILED EGGS

Pop out (remove) the egg yolks to a small bowl

and mash with a fork. Add mayonnaise, mustard
powder, vinegar, salt and pepper and mix
thoroughly. Fill the empty egg white shells with the
mixture and sprinkle lightly with paprika. Cover
lightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to
one day before serving.

ANSWER: SEQUENCE
 HOW TO USE THE MICROSCOPE

1. Plug in the lamp.

2. Place a sample of what you wish to observe on a
slide.
3. Adjust the mirror so it reflects light from the room up
into the objective lens.
4. Place your slide with the specimen directly over the
center of the glass circle on the stage.
5. With the LOW POWER objective lens placed over the
slide, use the coarse focus knob.
6. Look through the eyepiece with one eye while closing
the other eye.
7. Use the fine focus knob to fine
ANSWER: SEQUENCE
 PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY

After a long day at school, I came home and

watched “Cops,” my favorite show. During the
commercial breaks, I got up and made a peanut
butter and jelly sandwich. I took the bread out of
the cabinet, spread the jelly and peanut butter on
the bread, and stuck the two pieces together. I
enjoyed that sandwich as I watched the rest of
“Cops.”

ANSWER: CHRONOLOGICAL
 CITY GROWTH

In recent decades, cities have grown so large that now

about 50% of the Earth’s population lives in urban areas. There
are several reasons for this occurrence. First, the increasing
industrialization of the nineteenth century resulted in the
creation of many factory jobs, which tended to be located in
cities. These jobs, with their promise of a better material life,
attracted many people from rural areas. Second, there were
many schools established to educate the children of the new
factory laborers. The promise of a better education persuaded
many families to leave farming communities and move to the
cities. Finally, as the cities grew, people established places of
leisure, entertainment, and culture, such as sports stadiums,
theaters, and museum. For many people, these facilities made
city life appear more interesting than life on the farm, and
therefore drew them away from rural communities.

ANSWER: CAUSE AND EFFECT

John locked the door and stood for a minute or two on a
sidewalk taking the scene in. The morning walk was calm and
quiet. Across the street from him was a block-patterned wall
of another building, stretching end to end. The white wall had
yellowed through the years, but looked quite strong. The sun
had cast shadows on it. A gray stone sidewalk that run along
the wall seemed hushed. On the sidewalk, on the left, was an
old black streetlamp. This old rusty lamp, like the wall, had
withstood many seasons. Today, the lamp wasn't alone on
the street. On the right, John could see a policeman standing,
reading a newspaper. He didn't even look up to see him on
the other side of the street. He was standing near a
newsstand, whose owner was nowhere in sight. The colorful
magazines, newspapers, a stand, and a chair looked
orphaned without their owner. John decided to cross the road
and ask the inspector about the newsstand owner.
SPATIAL ORDER
 THANK YOU

QUESTIONS?
Assignment:
1.What is a thesis
statement?
2.What are the features of a
thesis statement?