Text Structure Worksheet

Which text structure is used in the following paragraph?

• chronological

• problem-solution

• cause-effect

• compare-contrast

Which text structure is used in the following paragraph? 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, analyzing 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.

• chronological

• problem-solution

• cause-effect

• compare-contrast

Which text structure is used in the following paragraph? The surface of the Earth is divided into pieces called “tectonic plates.” These plates move. When the plates rub against each other, they do not move smoothly. When the plates do not move smoothly, earthquakes result. Some parts of the world get more earthquakes than other parts. The parts of the earth that get most earthquakes are near the edges of these plates.

• Chronological

• Problem-Solution

• Cause-Effect

• Compare/Contrast

Which text structure is used in the following paragraph? Lightning and thunder are related events. Lightning is a sudden, violent flash of electricity that occurs between a cloud and the ground or between two clouds in the sky. A lightning bolt can be several miles long and can be straight or forked. It is very hot, with an average temperature of 34 000 degrees Celsius. This causes the air around the electric bolt to expand, producing lots of sound energy. It is this sound energy that we hear as thunder. So, lightning and thunder are caused by the same event, but lightning is light energy, or electromagnetic energy, whereas thunder is sound energy. Thus, we see lightning and hear thunder.

• Chronological

• Problem-Solution

• Cause-Effect

• Compare-Contrast

How the author organizes the text is....

• the main idea

• the theme

• the problem

• the text structure

This text structure uses facts and descriptive details to describe a specific topic or idea.

• cause and effect

• descriptive

• compare and contrast

• sequential order

This text structure explains how something happens or is done, step-by-step.

• sequential order

• problem and solution

• cause and effect

• compare and contrast

This text structure shows how two topics are alike and different.

• compare and contrast

• problem and solution

• descriptive

• sequential order

This text structure describes what happens and why it happens.

• descriptive

• chronological order

• problem and solution

• cause and effect

This text structure presents information in time order.

• cause and effect

• compare and contrast

• chronological order

• descriptive