Informational
Audience
the intended target group for a message, regardless of the medium
Key idea
important ideas throughout a work that support the central message, theme, tone, etc.
Text structure
— the way or pattern in which an author organizes ideas within a text
Title
Quickly tells the reader what information they will learn about
Table of contents
Shows students the different chapter or section titles and where they are located
Graphic feature
picture or other image within a text
Informational text
a text that presents information in order to explain, clarify, and/or educate
Text/print feature
— any characteristic of the text outside the main body of the text that helps convey meaning
Bolded words
– the words that are defined in the glossary or important words
Maps
Help a reader locate a place in the world that is related to text
Author’s purpose
the reason an author writes about a particular topic (e.g., to persuade, to entertain, to inform, to explain, to analyze, etc.); the reason an author includes particular details, features, or devices in a work
Organizational pattern
— the pattern an author constructs as he organizes his or her ideas and provides supporting details
Summarize
to reduce large sections of text to their essential points and main idea. Note: It is still important to attribute summarized ideas to the original source.
Sidebars
Are set apart from the main text, (usually located on the side or bottom of the page) and elaborate on a detail mentioned in the text
Pictures and captions
Show an important object or idea from the text
Central idea
the main point of a piece of writing
Paraphrase
restate the meaning of something in different words. Paraphrasing alters the exact wording of the source and transmits its ideas or information without evaluation or interpretation.
Captions
sentence describing a picture
Charts and graphs
Represent and show data related to, or elaborate on, something in the main body of text
Headings
Help the reader identify the main idea for that section of text
Digital text
an electronic text read or heard on a computer or other electronic device that may include images, sound, video, and other multimodal interactive and embedded elements
Author’s craft
intentional and deliberate use of organizational patterns, text and graphic features, sentence structures, devices, and language to create an effective written work; author’s craft may vary by genre
Index
– tells what pages certain words can be found on in the book
Glossary
Identifies important vocabulary words for students and gives their definitions
Labeled diagrams
Allow readers to see detailed depictions of an object from the text with labels that teach the important components