Identify and Analyze Text Structure Back to 20 Best-practices Reading Strategies How is the information organized? Authors make decisions about how to present information to readers. They choose from a variety of structures to organize the information for readers: Chronological/Sequence: (Time/Order) Chronological articles reveal events in a sequence from beginning to end. Words that signal chronological structures include: first, then, next, finally, and specific dates and times. Cause/Effect: Informational texts often describe cause and effect relationships. The text describes events and identifies or implies causal factors. Problem/Solution: The text introduces and describes a problem and presents solutions. Compare/Contrast: Authors use comparisons to describe ideas to readers. Similes, metaphors, and analogies are used in compare/contrast organizational structures. Description: Sensory details help readers visualize information. Directions: How-To texts frame the information in a series of directions. Readers experience a variety of text structures. Identifying the structure of a text helps readers read efficiently. Readers select specific comprehension strategies that fit a particular text based on knowledge of how the information is organized. Readers can anticipate what information will be revealed in a selection when they understand text structure. Understanding the pattern of the text helps readers organize ideas for synthesizing and summarizing. Questions that help readers use text structures to aid comprehension: Skim the article for titles, subtitles, headings, and key words. After scanning the text, how do you think the author organized the information? Which framework did this author use to organize the information? Chronological? Cause/Effect? Problem/Solution? Compare/Contrast? Description? Directions? Does the author use a combination of structures? How did the author organize the text to be “reader-friendly”? Which text features helped you collect information from the article?   This Season Teachers Kids Orientation Registration Search Copyright 1997-2009 Journey North. All Rights Reserved. Questions or comments? Contact us.