Expository Text Dr. Peterson

Nonfiction 1. Primary Source Documents 2. Narrative Nonfiction 3. Non-Narrative Nonfiction

Types of Nonfiction Materials Primary Source Documents Where to find primary source documents Textbooks/Trade Books Newspapers and periodicals Governmental agencies Schools and libraries Community agencies Newspaper archives Radio and television stations Museums and art galleries Local businesses Homes Flea markets, antique shops, Recollections of people (e.g., journals, diaries, notes, etc.) The Internet CD-Roms Pike, K., & Mumper, J. (2004). Making nonfiction and other informational texts come alive. Boston, MA: Pearson.

Narrative Nonfiction Biographies Autobiographies Diaries/Memoirs Informational stories Poetry

Non-Narrative Nonfiction Reference books (i.e., dictionary, encyclopedia, atlas, etc.) Cook books How-to books Alphabet and Counting Books (some of these can also be narrative nonfiction) Concept/Content-Specific books (i.e., math, science, social studies, etc.)

What Do Expository Texts Look Like? Headings Boldface print Use of capitals to indicate degree of importance Titles Framed information Bullets Captions Italics Call-outs or side bars (information placed outside of regular text) Labels Varied type/font styles Changing colors in headings to indicate importance Subheadings Highlighted information Textual cues/signal words Text Features

What Do Expository Texts Look Like? Graphic Features/Visuals Diagrams Cross-sections Photographs Illustrations Can be color or black/white Graphs Timelines Figures Charts Word bubbles Tables Maps Graphic organizers Overlays Cut-aways

What Do Expository Texts Look Like? Text Organizational Features Preface Table of contents Index Glossary Pronunciation key appendix

Expository Text Structures 1. Descriptive text structure Describe the topic, telling the reader what it is like, and where to find it The author uses photographs and words to help signal the reader to a description which might include an increased attention to our senses in order to bring the topic to life. e.g., Whales by Seymour Simon 2. Sequential text structure Events are in time or include an order of events in a procedure which are explained when using a sequential text structure. Authors who are interested in explaining how things happened over a period of time will often use chronological order of events. e.g., A Picture Book of Helen Keller by David Adler; biographies and many historical books

Expository Text Structure 3. Comparison text structure Comparing two or more ideas Authors may compare two topics, subjects or objects to provide clarity of the concepts. e.g., The Sun, the Wind, and the Rain by Lisa Westberg Peters 4. Cause/Effect text structure Many events in history or natural phenomena happen as a result of other events. Often multiple events can occur from a single cause, which makes the relationships more complex. Authors who use cause/effect writing patterns are seeking to answer the questions “What happened? And Why?” e.g., Animals Nobody Loves? by Seymour Simon

Expository Text Structure 5. Problem/Solution text structure Causes people to look for solutions and act upon them. Authors explain an event that is a problem for the people involved. Questions often answered are: “What was the problem?” “What did people do to solve it?” Similar to cause/effect, the main difference between them is that cause/effect relationships occur in nature as well as in inanimate objects such as machinery. Problem/solution relationships occur only when people are involved. e.g., Garbage! Where it Comes From, Where it Goes by Evan and Janet Hadingham