Understanding Text Structures

Understanding TextStructuresin EXPOSITORY TEXT

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What is expository text?

•Expository Writing is a form of writing inwhich the purpose of the author is toinform, explain, describe or define his orher subject to the reader.

•Examples of expository text are: textbooks,encyclopedias, scientific books/journals,biographies, and newspapers.

What is a text structure?

•A “structure” is abuilding orframework

•“Text structure”refers to how apiece of text is built

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What is a text structure?

•Builders can usedifferent kinds ofstructures to builddifferent things

•A skyscraper, forexample, is adifferent kind ofstructure from ahouse

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What is a text structure?

•Writers usedifferent structuresto build their ideas

•Each text structurecommunicatesideas in a differentway

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Chronological order

•Authors usechronological orderto explain howthings happen inorder

•Chronological orderis also calledsequence or timeorder

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Chronological order

•You will know thatyou are reading atext inchronological orderbecause you willsee words like first,next, later, then,and finally

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Chronological order

•You will often see chronological order indirections:

Have you ever made macaroni and cheese?It’s simple! First, boil some water and makesome macaroni. Then, make your cheesesauce. After the cheese sauce is ready, mixit with the macaroni. Bake the entire thingin the oven. Finally, it’s time to eat!

Chronological order

•You will often see chronological order indirections:

Which paragraph is inchronological order?

Pennsylvania has manyhistoric sites. You can visitRevolutionary war sites, likeValley Forge. You can alsovisit important locationsfrom the Civil War, likeGettysburg. Finally, you canalso see the site of the firstoil well in Titusville.Pennsylvania has many neatplaces to visit!

Through the ages,Pennsylvania has seenmany interesting events.The state was founded in1681 by William Penn.Later, Pennsylvania was thesite of importantRevolutionary War battles.After that, Pennsylvaniawas home to new factoriesduring the IndustrialRevolution. Today,Pennsylvania continues tomake history.

Which paragraph is inchronological order?

This is theparagraph inchronologicalorder. Can youfind the cluewords that showthis order?

Which paragraph is inchronological order?

This is theparagraph inchronologicalorder. Can youfind the cluewords that showthis order?

Think about it!

•What is a structure?

•What does chronological ordermean?

•What are some clue words thatshow chronological order?

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Another text structure

•But what if anauthor doesn’twant to show howsomethinghappened insequence?

•The author wouldneed to use anothertext structure!

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Another text structure

•Suppose an authorwanted to explain howthese two birds aresimilar and different

•Chronological orderwouldn’t work---thereis no order of events

•The author wouldneed to use compareand contrast

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Another text structure

The cardinal and the cedarwaxwing are two common birds.Both have crests on their heads.Both are common at birdfeeders.But the birds have somedifferences. The male cardinal is abright red, while the waxwing isbrown. The cedar waxwing oftenmigrates from place to place. Onthe other hand, the cardinal staysin one place year after year.

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Compare and contrast clue words

When authors use thetext structure of compareand contrast, they oftenuse special clue words toshow this text structure.

Can you find the cluewords in the paragraph?

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Can you find the clue words?

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Here they are!

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Compare and contrast graphic organizer

•To organize detailsfrom a paragraphin compare andcontrast, use aVenn diagram

Review

•Can you explain the differencebetween chronological order andcompare and contrast?

•How can clue words help you as areader?

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Another text structure

•Sometimes, a writer will want to explainhow one event leads to another

•This kind of text structure is called causeand effect

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Cause and effect clue words

•When authorswrite paragraphsto show causes andeffects, they usewords like cause,effect, as a result,consequently, andso

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Can you find the clue words?

The night’s snowstorm had manyeffects. People were out shovelingsnow from their sidewalks. The powerlines were draped with ice. Snowplows drove down every street.Children were the happiest of all. Theunexpected snow caused school to becancelled!

Can you find the clue words?

More with cause and effect

Baby painted turtles spend all winter intheir nests. They have special chemicals intheir blood that can keep their blood fromfreezing. As a result, baby painted turtlescan survive freezing temperatures!

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More with cause and effect

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This is thecause

More with cause and effect

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This is theeffect

Review

•Which text structure tells about how thingsare similar and different?

•Compare and contrast

•Which text structure explains how thingshappen in time order?

•Chronological order

Another kind of text structure

•Sometimes, an authorwill want to explain aproblem, and thenshow one or moresolutions

•This kind of textstructure is calledproblem and solution

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An example of problem and solution

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Park School had aterrible problem. Everyday at recess, studentswould argue over theslides. Teachers had tospend time every daytaking care of thearguments. Finally, oneteacher came up with agreat solution. Theybought another set ofslides that everyone couldenjoy.

An example of problem and solution

Park School had a terribleproblem. Every day atrecess, students wouldargue over the slides.Teachers had to spendtime every day taking careof the arguments. Finally,one teacher came up witha great solution. Theybought another set ofslides that everyone couldenjoy.

•Can you find theproblem and thesolution in thisparagraph?

An example of problem and solution

Park School had a terribleproblem. Every day atrecess, students wouldargue over the slides.Teachers had to spendtime every day taking careof the arguments. Finally,one teacher came up witha great solution. Theybought another set ofslides that everyone couldenjoy.

Here is theproblem

An example of problem and solution

Park School had a terribleproblem. Every day atrecess, students wouldargue over the slides.Teachers had to spendtime every day taking careof the arguments. Finally,one teacher came up witha great solution. Theybought another set ofslides that everyone couldenjoy.

Here is theproblem

Here is thesolution

Of course, problem and solution is notalways so simple

•Often, authors willsignal problem andsolution structure withclue words likeproblem and solution,just like in the lastparagraph

•Sometimes, authorswill use related words

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Of course, problem and solution is notalways so simple

•Synonyms for probleminclude difficulty,struggle, uncertainty,worry, threat, andtrouble

•Synonyms for solutioninclude possibility,hope, bright spot,answer, and future

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A more difficult problem and solutionparagraph

The Chesapeake Bay faces anuncertain future. Issues such aspesticides, too many nutrients,and habitat loss all threaten theBay’s water quality and animallife. However, scientists arehopeful that the future may bebrighter. If everyone in theChesapeake Bay watershedworks together, solutions may befound.

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A more difficult problem and solutionparagraph

What is theproblem?

What is thesolution?

A more difficult problem and solutionparagraph

Problem

Solution

Text structures we’velearned so far

•Chronological order

•Compare and contrast

•Cause and effect

•Problem and solution

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Match the clue words!

however, on the otherhand, similarity, like,unlike

Can you figure out the text structure that these cluewords point to?

Compare andcontrast

Match the clue words!

as a result,consequently,therefore, so, cause,effect

Can you figure out the text structure that these cluewords point to?

Cause and effect

Match the clue words!

problem, solution,threat, difficulty, hope,answer, possibility

Can you figure out the text structure that these cluewords point to?

Problem andsolution

Are there any other textstructures?

Most paragraphs that we write inschool can be called main idea,description, or statement and supportparagraphs

Main idea paragraphs

•In this kind ofparagraph, the authoroffers a main ideastatement, and thensupports that statementwith several details

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Main idea paragraphs

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The pond was a beautifulplace to visit. The fallingleaves, all different colors,decorated the surface of thewater. At the edges of thepond, small wildflowers grew.The golden forest glowedfaintly in the distance.

Main idea paragraphs

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Main idea

Main idea paragraphs

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Main idea

All of the other sentencesexplain why the mainidea is true

Main idea paragraphs

•Clue words in theseparagraphs mayinclude:

•One reason, anotherreason, and forexample

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Now it’s your turn!

•On the next few slides,you will read someparagraphs about theGreat Chicago Fire

•Your task is to decide onthe text structure for eachone

•Understanding the textstructure will help you tounderstand each paragraph

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What’s the text structure?

•Chronologicalorder

•Compare andcontrast

•Cause andeffect

•Problem andsolution

•Main idea

Daniel Sullivan was the first to noticethe flames coming from the O’Learybarn at around 8:30 pm on October 8.A problem with the alarm box made itimpossible for the people in the areato call for the fire department. By 9:30pm, the entire block was blazing. Inanother 3 hours, there were fires allover Chicago. The heavy wind comingfrom the lake only made the firebigger. It would be another day beforethe fire would be completely out. Bythat time, 17,500 buildings had beenburned.

What’s the text structure?

•Chronologicalorder

•Compare andcontrast

•Problem andsolution

What’s the text structure?

•Chronologicalorder

What’s the text structure?

•Chronologicalorder

What’s the text structure?

•Chronologicalorder

•Notice howthe paragraphshows howevents happenin time order

What’s the text structure?

•Understandingthat this text iswritten inchronologicalorder can helpyou tounderstandhow the GreatFire started

Try another!

•Chronologicalorder

•Compare andcontrast

•Cause andeffect

•Problem andsolution

•Main idea

Why was the Great Chicago Fire sodisastrous? After all, Chicago had firedepartments and fire alarms. Onereason for the terrible fire is that thealarm malfunctioned. The local firecompany noticed the fire by accidentas it was returning from another fire.As another problem, a watchman whosaw the flames directed other firecompanies to a location that was nearlya mile away from the fire. Because ofthese two problems, a fire that couldhave been controlled rapidly spreadacross the city.

Try another!

•Compare andcontrast

•Cause andeffect

•Problem andsolution

Try another!

•Cause andeffect

Try another!

•Cause andeffect

•Notice howthe causes (inblue) lead tothe effect (inyellow)

What text structure is here?

•Chronologicalorder

•Compare andcontrast

•Cause and effect

•Problem andsolution

•Main idea

After the fire, thousands of peoplewere left homeless. Many escapedthe fire with nothing except theclothes on their backs. Providing allof these people with food, cleanwater, and shelter was a huge task.Luckily, the city quickly formed aRelief and Aid Society. This groupstarted giving out the food donationsthat were pouring in from othercities. The society built places forpeople to live, gathered the tools thatpeople needed to rebuild theirhouses, and even vaccinated 64,000people against smallpox.

What text structure is here?

•Chronologicalorder

•Cause and effect

•Problem andsolution

What text structure is here?

•Problem andsolution

What text structure is here?

•Problem andsolution

•Here is theproblem

What text structure is here?

•Problem andsolution

•Here is thesolution

Can you find the text structure?

•Chronologicalorder

•Compare andcontrast

•Cause andeffect

•Problem andsolution

•Main idea

Chicago changed in many ways afterthe fire. Before the fire, most of thebuildings were less than five storieshigh. The buildings that wereconstructed after the fire, however,were some of the first skyscrapers inthe country. Before the fire, most ofthe houses were made of wood. Afterthe fire, people chose to build theirhouses out of stone or brick. There werechanges in where people lived, as well.The poor people in the city lived close tothe center of the city before the fire.After the fire, they moved intoneighborhoods that were farther awayfrom the downtown area.

Can you find the text structure?

•Compare andcontrast

•Cause andeffect

•Main idea

Can you find the text structure?

•Compare andcontrast

Can you find the text structure?

•Compare andcontrast

Notice howthis paragraph iscomparingChicagoBEFORE thefire to ChicagoAFTER the fire

Can you find the text structure?

•Compare andcontrast

Notice howthis paragraph iscomparingChicagoBEFORE thefire to ChicagoAFTER the fire

One more paragraph!

By Monday night, the townof Chicago was burning.People described it asterrible, but amazing. Theflames were brighter thananything people had everseen. The harsh winds sweptthe fire across the city withterrible speed. For manywho watched, it was a sightto remember for the rest oftheir lives.

•Chronologicalorder

•Compare andcontrast

•Cause and effect

•Problem andsolution

•Main idea