Organizational Structures Nonfiction texts have their own organization and features Writer use text structures to organize information. Understanding how a piece of nonfictional text is organized makes text easier to understand.

 Nonfiction texts are structured to suggest a relationship among ideas.  Writers create a hierarchy within a text by clearly establishing main points and supporting ideas followed with evidence to support both.

 Main Ideas  main points, or topic sentences, are established by using supporting ideas and evidence  Supporting ideas  Evidence  Clues or signal words (transitions) that align with the topic sentence  Facts  Data, quotes, studies, experiments, statistical data, expert information, conclusions drawn from the author  Indicated by transition words that supports the writer’s reason  Transitions indicate which organizational structure is used.

5 Types of Structures  Description (Logical Order)  Chronological Order (sequence)  Problem & Solution  Cause & Effect  Compare & Contrast

1. Description (Logical Order) The author explains a topic, idea, person, place, or thing by listing characteristics, features, and examples. Focus is on one thing and its components.

Signal Words  As a result of  When….then….  Because  So  Consequently  For this reason  Accordingly  To begin with  Finally  Due to the fact  In order to  If...then…  Next  Thus  In addition…

Main Idea detail Graphic Organizer evidence

Summary questions:  What specific person, place, thing, event, or concept is being described?  How is the topic described? (How does it work? What does it do? What does it look like? Etc.)  What are the most important attributes or characteristics?  How can the topic be classified?

Paragraph Frame  A ____________ is a type of ____________. It is made up of ___________ and looks like ______________. Some ____________ have _____________ such as ____________. For example, ____________. Now you can recognize the ________________.

Example:  Cold weather gives me goosebumps. It makes me shiver, and I get little bumps on my skin. They look like sesame seeds. Also, my hair stands straight like a porcupine’s quills.

2. Sequence (Chronological Order) The author lists items or events in numerical or chronological order. Describes the order of events or how to do or make something.

Signal Words  First, Second, Third  Before,  Not long after,  At the same time,  Next,  Then,  Finally,  During,  Immediately,  Initially,  Meanwhile,  Soon,  On (date)

Graphic Organizers  Chronological : (in order of time) Timeline Steps/directionsCycle/ Circle

Summary questions:  What sequence of events is being described?  What are the major events or incidents that occur?  What are the steps, directions, or procedures to follow? (What must be done, first, second, etc.?)  What is the beginning event?  What other events or steps are included?  What is the final outcome, event, or step?

Paragraph Frame  Here is how a ____________ is made. First ____________. Next, ___________. Then, _____________. Finally, _________________.  On (date) ________________ happened. Prior to that ________________ was ____________. Then _____________. After that ____________. In the end, _______________.

3. Problem & Solution The author states a problem and lists one or more possible solutions to the problem. May also include the pros and cons for the solutions.

Signal Words  Problem is…  Dilemma is…  Puzzle is…  Solved  Question  Answer  Because  Since  This led to  The main difficulty  One possible…  Solution is…  One challenge…  Therefore,  This led to, so that  If…then, thus

Graphic Organizers Problem Solution

Summary Questions  What is the problem(s)?  Who had the problem?  What is causing the problem?  Why is this a problem?  What is wrong and how can it be taken care of?  What solutions are recommended or attempted?  What can be improved, changed, fixed, or remedied?  What are the pros and cons of the solutions offered?

Paragraph Frame  ________________ had/is a problem because __________________. One possible solution is _______________. This answer is good because _______________. Therefore, _________________. As a result, ______________.

4. Cause & Effect The author lists one or more causes or events and the resulting consequences or effects. Effect = What happened? Cause = What made it happen? Purpose is to explain why or how something happened, exists, or works. * Often there will be an “if/then” pattern

Signal Words  Reasons why  Reasons for  If…then  As a result of  Therefore  Because of  So  Since  In order to  Leads or leads to  Effects of  Caused by  Result  Outcome  Impact  Influenced by  Brought about by

Graphic Organizers Caus e Effect Cause

Summary Questions  What happened?  Why did it happen? What was the reason for…?  What were the results or outcomes caused by the event?  In what ways did prior event(s) cause or influence the main event?  Will this result always happen from these causes?

Paragraph Frame  The reason why ___________ happened was because of ____________________. If _____________ then ________________. In order to ________________. Since _______. Finally, due to _______________. This explains why _____________________.

5. Compare & Contrast The author explains how two or more things are alike and/or how they are different.

Signal Words  Although  Instead of  But  Similar to  Even though  Compared with  On the other hand  However  Otherwise  Either…or…  Still  Similarly  Yet  In common  As well as  As opposed to

organizational structures CompareContrast

Summary Questions

Paragraph Frame