Comparing Text Structure

Read each passage: "Capybara" The capybara is the world's largest rodents. Capybaras can weigh up to 145 pounds. They love the water and spend most of their time in swamps, ponds, and rivers. If you want to see a capybara in the wild, you will need to go to Central or South America. "Crocodiles and Alligators" Crocodiles and alligators look very much alike, but there are ways to tell them apart. The crocodile has a pointy snout, while the alligator’s snout is rounder. The crocodile weighs less than the alligator and can move faster. Both animals have an extra-long lower tooth. When the crocodile’s mouth is closed, you can see this long tooth. However, when the alligator’s mouth is closed, the tooth is hidden inside the mouth. "Crocodiles and Alligators" is written in which overall text structure?

• Cause and Effect

• Description

• Compare and Contrast

• Chronological Order/Sequence

What text structure compares similarities and differences?

• Cause and Effect

• Description

• Problem/Solution

• Compare/Contrast

Read each passage: "Capybara" The capybara is the world's largest rodents. Capybaras can weigh up to 145 pounds. They love the water and spend most of their time in swamps, ponds, and rivers. If you want to see a capybara in the wild, you will need to go to Central or South America. "Crocodiles and Alligators" Crocodiles and alligators look very much alike, but there are ways to tell them apart. The crocodile has a pointy snout, while the alligator’s snout is rounder. The crocodile weighs less than the alligator and can move faster. Both animals have an extra-long lower tooth. When the crocodile’s mouth is closed, you can see this long tooth. However, when the alligator’s mouth is closed, the tooth is hidden inside the mouth. The two passages are:

• similar because both passages compare and contrast animals.

• different because "Crocodiles and Alligators" explains the cause and effect of crocodiles and alligators, on the other hand, "Capybara" describes capybara by giving details.

• similar because both passages describe different animals by giving details.

• different because "Crocodiles and Alligators" compare and contrast crocodiles and alligators while "Capybara" describes capybara by giving details.

Two articles discuss the history of transportation. Article 1 lists the developments in order from the invention of the wheel to modern cars. Article 2 compares the efficiency of different modes of transportation. The text structure of Article 2 is (a)   .

• Chronological/Sequence

• Compare/Contrast

• Cause/Effect

• Problem/Solution

Answer explanation

Article 2 focuses on comparing the efficiency of different transportation modes, which indicates a comparison structure. In contrast, Article 1 follows a chronological order of developments.

Tags

CCSS.RI.5.5

Text structure that describes how two things are similar and different is:

• order and sequence

• compare and contrast

• cause and effect

• problem and solution

This type of writing considers similarities and differences.

• description

• compare & contrast

• order & sequence

• cause & effect

Match the following text structures with their descriptions.

• Proposes strategies to address an issue.

• Problem/Solution

• Highlights similarities and differences.

• Cause/Effect

• Explains reasons and their outcomes.

• Chronological/

  Sequence

• Describes events in the order they occurred.

• Compare/Contrast

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

• In a rural community, there are not many lights from buildings to block the stars. As a result, you can see many stars when you look up at the night sky.

• Urban and suburban communities both have stores, schools, banks, libraries and buildings. However, these things are more spread out in the suburbs than they are in urban communities.

• The tallest skyscraper in the world is Burj Khalifa in a city called Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It has 163 stories and is 2,723 feet tall.

• 
  People may move to the suburbs so that they can have more space but still enjoy the city. Suburbs are usually so close to a city that you can get to the city and back in the same day.

Which of the following passages has a description text structure?

• Rhesus monkeys and baboons are part of a group called Old World monkeys. Like rhesus monkeys, baboons have tails. However, baboons usually weigh more than rhesus monkeys. Baboons live in Africa and Arabia, while rhesus monkeys live in Asia.

• 
  Scientists were preparing to send the first humans into outer space. However, they didn’t yet understand the effects that space would have on the human body. They didn’t want to put humans in danger. As a solution, they started by sending rhesus monkeys into space and studying the effects on them.

• 
  Rhesus monkeys are primates with brown bodies and red faces. They come from Asian countries, such as Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. They are very intelligent, and some have even adapted to live near humans. Rhesus monkeys are good climbers and swimmers.

• 
  In 1947, scientists first discovered the Zika virus in a rhesus monkey in Uganda. A year later, they learned that Zika was spread by mosquitoes. In 1952, the first cases of Zika in humans were found. The virus did not make people very sick.

Which of the following passages has a sequence text structure?

• The Olympic Games started in Greece 3,000 years ago. They took place every four years for hundreds of years. The modern form of the Olympic Games started in 1896. The best athletes from countries all over the world compete. In 2016, the Summer Olympics were held in Brazil.

• 
  Only men were allowed to compete in the original Olympic Games. These men had to be Greek, and they could not be slaves. Slaves, women and people from other countries were excluded from the games.

• 
  It takes a lot of food to feed all of the people who are part of the Olympic Games. It also creates a lot of leftovers. To reduce food waste, some famous chefs came up with a plan. They decided to use the leftover food from the Olympics to help feed the homeless. They cooked meals for the homeless using ingredients that would have been thrown away.

• The Olympic Games always begin with an opening ceremony, a big show that often includes music and dancing. All of the countries that are playing in the games participate. Athletes march, wearing their countries’ colors.