What structure focuses on the reasons why something happened?
What is Cause & Effect?
What structure is essential for writing a biography?
What is Chronological?
The main goal of this structure is to inform the reader about the five senses or specific traits of a subject.
What is Description?
This structure often addresses the similarities between two or more subjects.
What is Compare & Contrast?
What signal word would you use to show a direct outcome or consequence?
What is therefore (or as a result, consequently)?
What signal word would be used between the third and fourth steps in a science experiment?
What is next (or after that, following)?
What signal word would you use to introduce a specific characteristic of a subject?
What is for instance (or specifically, such as)?
What signal word is used to highlight a difference between two items?
What is unlike (or in contrast, however)?
IDENTIFY THE STRUCTURE: A paragraph explaining that a lack of rain over several months (the cause) led to widespread crop failure (the effect).
What is Cause & Effect?
IDENTIFY THE STRUCTURE: A passage detailing the life cycle of a butterfly, starting with the egg and ending with the adult.
What is Sequence (or Process)?
IDENTIFY THE STRUCTURE: An excerpt from a textbook detailing the rough texture, reddish color, and large size of the planet Mars.
What is Description?
IDENTIFY THE STRUCTURE: An essay evaluating the differences in gameplay, graphics, and storyline between two popular video games.
What is Compare & Contrast?
True or False: A text organized by Cause & Effect primarily shows similarities and differences between two subjects.
What is False? (Showing similarities and differences is the job of Compare & Contrast.)
True or False: A biography detailing a person's life from birth to death is an example of Process Order.
What is False? (A biography uses Chronological Order to track time. Process Order is used for steps, like making a paper airplane.)
Of the following four options, this is the organizational pattern that a writer often uses within the Description text structure to arrange details in a specific physical way.
A) Sequential
B) Spatial
C) Problem-Solution
D) Compare/Contrast
What is Spatial?
This signal word, common in the Compare & Contrast structure, indicates a point of difference or unlikeness between the two subjects.
A) Similarly
B) Conversely
C) Therefore
D) As a result
What is Conversely?