Text Structure

In a text with a sequence text structure, the author

• describes a topic and its characteristics.

• tells about events in the order they happened.

• explains how things are similar and different.

• describes a problem and then explains how someone solved it.

In a text with a compare and contrast text structure, the author

• explains something that happened and the reasons why.

• tells about events in the order they happened.

• explains how things are similar and different.

• describes a problem and then explains how someone solved it.

In a text with a cause and effect text structure, the author

• explains something that happened and the reasons why.

• tells about events in the order they happened.

• describes a topic and its characteristics.

• describes a problem and then explains how someone solved it.

Identify the main text structure used in the passage below.

Many students in the US say that they've been bullied at school. Natalie Hampton is a high school student who was bullied a lot in middle school. She often had no one to sit with at lunch. So she created a phone app called "Sit With Us." This app lets students sign up and post when there are free seats at their lunch tables. These students have promised to be kind to those who come sit with them. Hampton hopes her app will help students find people to sit with without fear of being bullied.

• description

• problem and solution

• compare and contrast

• sequence

Identify the main text structure used in the passage below.

A river is a large natural stream of flowing water. The source of a river is the place where the river starts. This is usually the highest point in the river. Many rivers begin in springs, places where underground water flows to the Earth’s surface. Some rivers begin in melting glaciers high up in the mountains or in lakes.

• sequence

• description

• cause and effect

• problem and solution

Identify the main text structure used in the passage below.

Robots that look like humans are called androids. But not all robots are androids. The industrial robots used in manufacturing and production look like machines and not at all like human beings. So what does an android have in common with an industrial robot? They both have computers. And they both have sensors to gather information and ways to interact with their environments, too.

• sequence

• cause and effect

• problem and solution

• compare and contrast

Identify the main text structure used in the passage below.

A current is a steady flow of water in the ocean. In the Pacific Ocean, garbage from the shore and ships gets trapped by ocean currents. The currents move the trash into a large area in the middle of the ocean. This has created a swirling mass of plastics and seawater called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch.

• cause and effect

• compare and contrast

• problem and solution

• description

Identify the main text structure used in the passage below.

The Greenland shark can grow to be around 16 feet long. It’s an apex predator, an animal that is at the top of the food chain. No other creatures prey on apex predators. The Greenland shark can live to be about 400 years old, making it the the longest-living vertebrate animal.

• sequence

• compare and contrast

• description

• cause and effect

Which of the following passages has a sequence text structure?

• The Veterans Day National Ceremony is held every year at Arlington Cemetery. The ceremony always starts at 11 o’clock. A wreath is laid on a special monument that honors soldiers. The Veterans Day Ceremony also includes a parade and speeches by important figures.

• The fighting in World War I stopped on November 11, 1918. A year later, President Woodrow Wilson declared November 11th Armistice Day. He said that every year, Americans would honor and thank the veterans who fought. Armistice Day became a federal holiday in 1938.

• Armistice Day became the holiday Veterans Day. Both holidays celebrated veterans. But while Armistice Day was only for veterans of World War I, Veterans Day is for all veterans of any war.

• Across the country, people celebrate Veterans Day in different ways. Some schools and business close for the day or have a moment of silence at 11 o’clock. Groups may also organize parades.

Which of the following passages has a compare and contrast text structure?

• Scientists at NASA, the United States space program, think that there is liquid water on Mars. Pictures of the surface of Mars showed wet-looking spots. Researchers used these pictures to figure out that liquid water exists there.

• The ExoMars 2016 mission blasted off on March 14, 2016. The spacecraft is owned by Russian and European space programs. It left from the country of Kazakhstan. The ExoMars spacecraft has special tools to help scientists learn more about Mars.

• Mars is a red-orange planet in our solar system. There are eight planets in the solar system that orbit, or travel around, the Sun. Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun.

• Mars is farther away from the Sun than the Earth is. It’s much colder. Mars is 142 million miles from the Sun, while Earth is 93 million miles away. Even though Mars is smaller and colder than Earth, the two planets are similar. Both have seasons, like winter and summer.