TEXT STRUCTURES

TEXT STRUCTURES

Understanding text structures helps you improve your reading and writing skills.

Text Structure

• The term “text structure” refers to how information is organized in a passage. 

• The structure of a text can change many times in a work and even within a paragraph.

• Students are often asked to identify text structures or patterns of organization on state reading tests.

• Also, understanding text structures can help students make and interpret arguments.

• For these reasons it is important that students are exposed to the various patterns of organization. 

Multiple Choice

Choose the text structure the author used in this passage.

The dodo bird used to roam in large flocks across America. Interestingly, the dodo wasn’t startled by gun shot. Because of this, frontiersmen would kill entire flocks in one sitting. Unable to sustain these attacks, the dodo was hunted to extinction.

• Compare and Contrast

• Problem and Solution

• Cause and Effect

Multiple Choice

Choose the text structure the author used in this passage.

Linux and Windows are both operating systems. Computers use them to run programs. Linux is totally free and open source, so users can improve or otherwise modify the source code. Windows is proprietary, so it costs money to use and users are prohibited from altering the source code.

• Cause and Effect

• Chronological order

• Compare and Contrast

Multiple Choice

Choose the text structure the author used in this passage.

Thousand of people die each year in car accidents involving drugs or alcohol. Lives could be saved if our town adopts a free public taxi service. By providing such a service, we could prevent intoxicated drivers from endangering themselves or others.

• Problem and Solution

• Cause and Effect

• Compare and Contrast

Multiple Choice

Choose the text structure the author used in this passage.

Don't let the tigers vanish. These majestic beasts are disappearing at an alarming rate. We should write to our congress people. If we let them know that we demand the preservation of this species, maybe we can make a difference. We should also donate some of our money to Save the Tigers. Help support those who fight the hardest to preserve the tigers. We owe it to our grandchildren to do something.

• Cause and Effect

• Problem and Solution

• Chronological order

Multiple Choice

Choose the text structure the author used in this passage.

The pond was frozen solid when the temperature dropped below 32 degrees. There was a 6 inch blanket of ice separating the water's surface and the air. No longer could a reflection of the surrounding trees be seen on the water. The fish could no longer find food floating at the top. It was now safe to ice skate.

• Problem and Solution

• Chronological order

• Description

Multiple Choice

Choose the text structure for the passage.

The cricket chirps by rubbing a scraper on its other wing. The tone changes depending on the distance between the wrinkles on the wing. The sound can be quite loud and monotonous.

• Cause and Effect

• Description

• Chronological order

Multiple Choice

Choose the text structure used in the passage.

There are many theories about why the dinosaurs vanished from the planet. One theory that many people believe is that a gigantic meteorite smashed into the Earth. Scientists believe that the meteorite was very big and that the impact may have produced a large dust cloud that covered the Earth for many years. The dust cloud may have caused plants to not receive sunlight and the large plant eaters, or herbivores, may have died off, followed by the large meat eaters, or carnivores. This theory may or may not be true, but it is one explanation as to why these giant reptiles no longer inhabit the Earth.

• Problem and Solution

• Description

• Cause and Effect

Multiple Choice

Choose the text structure used in the passage.

It’s important to think critically about the information that you receive, or else you may be led astray. For example, the brontosaurus is a type of dinosaur that never really existed. Many people still believe in the brontosaurus today, but the “brontosaurus” is actually the body of an apatosaurus with the head of a camarasaurus. This concocted creature was made from two mismatched fossils. Had more people thought critically about these findings, analysing the components that were presented, entire generations of school children may not have been misinformed; therefore, think critically about the information that people tell you, even if it’s information you find on a book or in a worksheet. Keep these problems in mind when conducting your studies.

• Compare and Contrast

• Problem and Solution

• Chronological order

Multiple Choice

Choose the text structure used in the passage.

Hurricane Katrina began as Tropical Depression Twelve over the south-eastern Bahamas on August 23, 2005. The depression later strengthened into a tropical storm on the morning of August 24 where the storm was also named Katrina. Katrina continued to move into Florida, and became a Category 1 hurricane only two hours before it made landfall around Hallandale Beach on the morning of August 25. The storm weakened over land, but became a hurricane again while entering the Gulf of Mexico.

• Problem and Solution

• Description

• Chronological order

Multiple Choice

Choose the text structure used in the passage.

When a river receives a lot of extra water it may flood. During a flood there is plenty of water, and most people wouldn’t think that dehydration was a serious risk, but flood waters are mostly polluted and not safe to drink. People who drink the contaminated water may suffer from illnesses or diseases such as typhoid. You can prepare for flooding by filling many containers with fresh clean drinking water. You can also use sandbags to protect your house and to soak up the water. Be prepared and be safe.

• Chronological order

• Cause and Effect

• Problem and Solution