Common Text Structures
Cause and Effect
What is determining why an event happened and what the result was
What text feature introduces what a section will be about?
Headings or subheadings
What is the author’s purpose when they write to explain?
To inform
What is the purpose of an introduction?
To introduce the topic and purpose
You see bold words—what is their purpose?
To highlight key terms
Chronological Order
What is the arrangement of events, documents, or items in the sequence they occurred in time, typically starting with the earliest and moving toward the most recent
How do captions help readers understand images?
They explain how the image connects to the text
How does structure help support the author’s purpose?
It organizes ideas to match the goal
Why are body paragraphs often organized by one main idea?
To keep ideas clear and focused
Why would an author include a timeline?
To show events in order
Compare and Contrast
What is identifying their similarities and differences.
Why might an author use bullet points instead of paragraphs?
To make information clearer and easier to scan
Which structure works best to persuade a reader—and why?
Problem/solution or cause/effect because they convince logically
How do transitions connect sections of a text?
They show relationships between ideas
A text compares two ideas in each paragraph. What structure is this?
Compare and contrast
Problem and Solution
What is something difficult or challenging that needs to be fixed
How does a diagram add meaning beyond the text?
It visually explains complex information
How does an effective introduction help convey meaning?
It previews key ideas and hooks the reader
Why might an author include a separate section for statistics or evidence?
To strengthen credibility and support claims
How does changing text structure change meaning?
It changes how ideas are connected and understood
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Explain how multiple text features can work together to support comprehension.
They organize, clarify, and highlight key ideas
How can the conclusion of a text reinforce its purpose?
It reminds readers of key ideas or calls them to action
Explain how a specific section of a text can change a reader’s understanding.
introducing new information, shifting perspective
Which structure and feature would best explain climate change—and why?
The best structure to explain climate change is the Earth’s Atmosphere,