Text Structure Day 1

Text Structure in Nonfiction Texts

Daily Objectives

• I can identify the text structure of a nonfiction text

• I can analyze how the author connects ideas throughout the text

• I can analyze how the text structure supports the central idea

What is text structure?

Architects and builders can use different kinds of blueprints to create different structures. A skyscraper, a house, and a hospital each require a different blueprint to build. A text structure is like a blueprint for building a text.

What is text structure?

Text structure is how the author organizes the information in the text. An author of a speech might present causes and then their effects. An author of a history book might retell important events in chronological order. Each structure communicates ideas in a different way.

Poll

Which of the following text structures have you learned about in your previous English classes?

• Compare and contrast

• Chronological order

• Cause and effect

• Description

• Problem and solution

Open Ended

If you had the opportunity to invent a new flavor of ice cream, which new flavor would you create?

Chronological order

Texts written in chronological order are organized according to the sequence of time. This is also called time order or sequential order. You will see transition words like first, next, later, then, before, after and finally.

Read the text and notice the transition words.

No one knows the true origin of ice-cream, but the first published ice-cream recipe appears in “Mrs. Mary Eales’ Receipts,” a cookbook that was printed in London in 1718. Next, sometime around 1832, an African American confectioner named Augustus Jackson created multiple ice cream recipes and invented a superior technique to manufacture ice cream. Then, ice cream soda was invented around 1874. But, the real breakthrough may have been at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, Missouri, when the American ice-cream cone was finally unveiled!

Open Ended

Which transition words indicate that this text is written in chronological order?

Read the text and connect the structure to the author's purpose.

The more trash we reuse, the less there is to get rid of. This saves money and energy as well as conserving natural resources. Recycling is not a new idea. In the 1920s and '30s it was a basic way of life in North America, especially in rural communities, where waste reuse and composting were commonplace. Later, in World War II, recycling became a patriotic duty for all citizens, and industry recycled 25 percent of the solid waste stream. Since then, affluence, cheaper consumer products (especially plastics), and the appeal of "convenience" have worked against recycling. However, with an ever-mounting garbage crisis, more and more people are seeing the need to preserve natural resources and conserve energy.

Open Ended

How does the chronological structure of the paragraph support the author's purpose of persuading the audience to reuse trash and conserve energy?

Compare and contrast

Texts written using compare and contrast are organized to show how ideas are similar to or different from each other. You will see transition words like both, but, however, although, while, likewise, similarly, as opposed to, and on the other hand.

Read the text and notice the transition words.

Ice-cream is a delicious frozen treat that comes in many different colors and flavors. Two of my favorite flavors are strawberry and chocolate. Although both of these flavors are delicious, strawberry may contain small pieces of fruit while chocolate usually will not. Even though more chocolate ice-cream is sold across the country annually than strawberry ice-cream, both flavors taste great inside of a milkshake.

Open Ended

Which transition words indicate that this text is written using compare and contrast?

How does the author introduce the debate concerning daylight saving time?

Every year on the second Sunday in March, people across America set their clocks an hour ahead and commence daylight saving time (DST). This period from March to October is designed to maximize sunlight when people are awake.

And every year, critics and cranks emerge to argue that we'd be better off without it. In opinion pieces, these detractors overlook the into-the-night baseball games, neighborhood strolls, and barbecues that daylight saving time allows for. The people who call for us to scrap DST are too wrapped up in a temporary loss of sleep but ignore months of sunshiny afternoons and evenings.

Multiple Choice

How does the author introduce the debate concerning daylight saving time?

• by detailing a chronological history of daylight saving time

• by providing facts that support the existence of daylight saving time

• by describing how daylight saving time has changed

• by discussing the benefits that critics of daylight saving time fail to see

How do paragraphs 3-5 contribute to the development of ideas in the text?

Of course, if the DST debate were about facts, then its disparagers might have a point. They have some facts on their side:

While DST was originally instituted as a way to save energy-- the thinking was that people would rely more on natural light and less on light bulbs-- a study from the University of California-Santa Barbara found that it has the opposite effect. Professor Matthew Kotchen analyzed 7 million utility bills in Indiana after the entire state adopted DST in 2006 and estimated that DST actually increased electricity consumption between 1 and 4%. (He proposed that people were running their air conditions more.)

How do paragraphs 3-5 contribute to the development of ideas in the text?

One expert even found that DST lowers work productivity and affects the economy. Their study showed that it causes people to stay out later. Though they enjoy the extra sunshine it affords, they end up losing sleep and are less productive at work the next day.

Multiple Choice

How do paragraphs 3-5 contribute to the development of ideas in the text?

• They list the facts used to argue in favor of daylight saving time.

• They draw attention to how weak the facts against daylight saving time are.

• They acknowledge facts that critics use to find fault with daylight saving time.

• They mention personal negative experiences with daylight saving time.

How do paragraphs 8-9 contribute to the development of ideas in the text?

Furthermore, when clocks aren't shifted forward, resulting in more nighttime darkness, there's been an observed increase in robberies. In one study, robberies were found to fall by 7% once DST begins. And in 2007, when Congress extended DST by four weeks-- three in the spring and one in the fall-- the same researchers found that the shift saved $59 million per year in social costs because of all the robberies that were avoided.

How do paragraphs 8-9 contribute to the development of ideas in the text?

Meanwhile, as clocks fall back at the start of standard time every November, so does consumer spending. In 2016, the JPMorgan Chase & Company Institute found that spending dropped by 3.5% in Los Angeles during the 30 days after clocks rolled back an hour in the fall. With less sunlight after work, people also spent less money.

Multiple Choice

How do paragraphs 8-9 contribute to the development of ideas in the text?

• They explain why most states take part in daylight saving time.

• They acknowledge valid arguments against daylight saving time.

• They provide facts and statistics that support the existence of daylight saving time.

• The share positive personal experiences made possible by daylight saving time.

Which of the following statements best identifies the central idea of the text?

An hour of sleep lost in March is simply another hour gained in November. In the end, we can quibble over facts, figures, and statistics stacked on both sides, or we can fully appreciate life and daylight. Each state has a choice in the matter of adopting DST; an overwhelming 96% decided they were better off with DST. There's a fact that no one can deny.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following statements best identifies the central idea of the text?

• Critics of daylight saving time cannot support their views with evidence.

• Daylight saving time hurts people by preventing better sleep.

• The benefits of daylight saving time are greater than its costs.

• The many risks of daylight saving time outweigh the few benefits.