Nonfiction Craft Techniques

What technique is the author using?

There are several ways people prepare for tornadoes. First, buildings are reinforced to make sure the roofs are strong and secure. Second, storm cellars are built so that people have safe places to stay during storms. Last, people who live in this region need to know what to do during a storm and need to get information from the news media about possible tornadoes.

• Quote from an authority

• Sequence

• Anecdote

• Statistics

What technique is the author using?

Hurricanes and tornadoes are similar in some ways and different in some ways. Knowing about each helps with forecasting.

• Compare and Contrast

• Description

• Cause and Effect

• Sequence

What technique is the author using?

Look outside. What do you see? Are there dark clouds in the sky? Does it look like it might rain? Do you need a jacket? An umbrella? When you check the weather to figure out what clothing to wear, you are making a prediction about the weather.

• Anecdote

• Problem and Solution

• Description

• Asking questions (and sometimes answering them)

What technique is the author using?

For example, in Atlanta, Georgia, the average rainfall is about 127 centimeters (50 inches) a year. If significantly less rain falls, there may be water shortages and a drought may be declared.

• Personal Anecdote

• Sequence

• Facts and statistics

• Problem and Solution

What technique is the author using?

Imagine it's springtime and you are playing baseball with your friends after school. Suddenly, the wind begins to blow. You feel raindrops, the skies darken, and you hear thunder in the distance. "We better get inside," you call to your friends, "it looks like a storm is coming!" If you live in some parts of Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, or Texas, you would probably run inside and turn on the radio or the television to check for a tornado watch or a tornado warning.

• Quote from an authority

• Addresses the reader directly

• Personal anecdote

• Surprising fact or statistic

What technique is the author using?

Tornadoes develop during thunderstorms and move unpredictably. Tornado researcher, Tom Grazulis, says, "Tornadoes are extremely hard to pin down."

• Quote from an authority

• Address the reader directly

• Problem and Solution

• Cause and Effect

What technique is the author using?

...in the months of March and June these four states experience the most severe tornadoes in the entire country. There are so many tornadoes here that this area is often called Tornado Alley.

• Sequence

• Personal anecdote

• Surprising fact or statistic

• Compare and Contrast

What technique is the author using?

That's why many people rely on weather forecasts. Meteorologists (or weather scientists) make forecasts that not only let you know what kind of clothes to wear for the day, forecasts also help keep people safe from dangerous weather such as hurricanes and tornadoes.

• Quote from an authority

• Surprising fact or statistic

• Personal anecdote

• Defines key terms and uses technical vocabulary

What technique is the author using?

How do scientists predict hurricanes and tornadoes? First, you need to know some basic facts about each. Hurricanes are very large storms. They form over open water. They can span up to 300 miles.

• Personal anecdote

• Quote from an authority

• Asks questions (and sometimes answers them)

• Cause and effect

What two techniques is the author using?

In contrast, warnings for tornadoes may come only 11 minutes in advance. That may seem like a short time. But, as meteorologist Ruth Tenzer Feldman points out, "That is about 11 minutes more than people had 20 years ago!"

• Quote from an authority

• Problem and Solution

• Surprising fact or statistic

• Sequence