Text Structures
Definitions
Text and Graphic
Features Definitions
Identify the Text Structure
Which Text/Graphic Feature?
Text and Graphic Features Examples
100

This text structure tells about events in the order they happened.

Sequence, Chronology

100

An image or illustration with labels often called this.

Diagram

100

A program in Mexico tried to get people to use less electricity. This program had mixed results. The program paid people to replace old refrigerators and air conditioners with new ones. The new machines used less power. So, the new refrigerators led to less electricity use. However, since the new air conditioners worked better than the old air conditioners, people used them more. For this reason, people actually used more electricity with the new air conditioners.

Cause and Effect

100

Which text or graphic feature would you use if you needed to find the location of a city in the US?

map

100

How does this text feature help the reader?

It organizes information and makes the facts more visible.

200

This structure compares similarities and differences between two or more things.

Compare and Contrast

200
An image that came from a camera is called this.

Photograph

200

It takes a long time and a lot of hard work to become a veterinarian. You'll want to start by finishing high school and going on to college. During college, you might study biology, chemistry, or animal science. Then, after four years of college, you'll attend four years of veterinary school. There you will learn more about medicine and animals and how to care for them. After finishing veterinary school, you will need to pass a test called a licensing exam. Then, at last, you can work as a veterinarian.

Sequence, Chronology

200

Which text or graphic feature would you use if you wanted to show the different parts of a flower?

diagram

200

Under which heading would you look to find information about food that astronauts eat?

Eating in Space

300

This structure presents a problem followed by one or more possible solutions.

Problem and Solution

300

Bold words at the beginning of a section that tells what the section will be about is called this.

Heading

300

Passengers entering New York Harbor are greeted by a great lady. She is the Statue of Liberty, and she is hard to miss. For one thing, she stands alone on a small island in the middle of the harbor. For another, she's tall, very tall. From the ground to the top, she measures more than three hundred feet. That's as high as a thirty-story building. And she holds, raised high in her right hand, a torch to light the way.

Descriptive

300

Which text or graphic feature would you use if you wanted to show what an actual black bear looked like?

photograph

300

Why would the author include this sidebar in the article?

To expand on (or tell more about) information found in the text

400

This text structure explains a topic by providing examples and details.

Descriptive

400

These are words or sentences under an image that tell more about the image.

Caption
400

Different animals are good at guarding in different situations. Some people own dogs to guard their homes. Dogs can bark a warning when strangers (or mail carriers) show up. Dogs usually live well in city homes. But if you're in the country, you might prefer a donkey instead. That's especially true if you have sheep, pigs, or horses to protect. Donkeys can fight off coyotes and wolves better than many dogs. A donkey is easier to care for, too. It can just eat the grass in the pasture with the other animals.

Compare and Contrast

400

Which text or graphic feature would you use if you wanted to convey the favorite school subjects of the students in your class?

graph

400

What can you expect to be happening to your broken bone in week 7?

The bone will be forming a hard callus.

500

This structure explains the reason something happens and the result that follows.

Cause and Effect

500

This is a drawing that shows the location of something.

Map

500

For a long time, historians faced a big issue when studying ancient Egyptian culture. No one knew how to read ancient Egyptian writing, which is called hieroglyphics. The answer to the puzzle came in 1799, when a soldier found a piece of rock called the Rosetta Stone. The Stone had a decree carved into it three times: once in hieroglyphics, once in ancient Greek, and once in another Egyptian writing system. Many people already knew how to read ancient Greek, so they used the text to figure out how to read the hieroglyphics.

Problem and Solution

500

Which text or graphic feature would you use if you wanted to show important events in time order?

timeline

500

Which planet has the highest number of known moons? How many moons does it have?

Saturn; 52 (or 53)

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