📘 Key Idea – Understanding Text Structures
Structure
💡 Why is this important?
Authors don't just write randomly — they organise their ideas using patterns. These patterns are called text structures. Understanding them helps you:
👀 Spot how ideas are connected.
📚 Understand what you're reading more easily.
✍️ Write better — whether you're telling a story, explaining something, or writing a report.
If you know the structure, you can follow the author's thinking like a map — and create your own writing with more confidence.
📘 Why should I learn it?
Because knowing text structures is like having cheat codes for reading and writing:
You’ll get the point faster when reading.
You’ll spot important information without getting lost.
You’ll be able to organise your own writing clearly — and that gets you better marks and makes your ideas stronger.
Authors use different text structures to organise their ideas in writing.
Learning to identify these structures will help you understand the relationships between ideas in informational texts and descriptive texts.
You can also use these structures to organise your own writing, including stories, reports, and descriptions.
🔁 Cause and Effect
A cause-effect structure presents the causes and the effects of a particular event, trend, or situation. This structure often uses words and phrases such as because, since, as a result, due to, or consequently.
🖊️ Descriptive writing use:
The wind howled through the broken windows because the storm had ripped the shutters off.
🧾 Informational writing use:
Pollution levels have increased because more cars are being used in cities.
Notes:
Cause: The storm had ripped the shutters off.
Effect: The wind howled through the broken windows.
Informational writing use:
Sentence: Pollution levels have increased because more cars are being used in cities.
Cause: More cars are being used in cities.
Effect: Pollution levels have increased.
⚖️ Compare and Contrast
A compare-contrast structure shows similarities and differences between two or more things. It often includes words like like, similarly, in the same way (for comparisons), or on the other hand, in contrast, unlike (for contrasts).
🖊️ Descriptive writing use:
Unlike the calm morning, the night was wild and full of shadows.
🧾 Informational writing use:
Cats are independent and quiet, while dogs are more social and need attention.
🔍 Problem and Solution
A problem-solution structure presents a problem and suggests one or more possible solutions. Look out for words such as issue, question, puzzle, propose, and answer.
🖊️ Descriptive writing use:
The door wouldn’t budge. She needed to find another way out.
🧾 Informational writing use:
One major issue in schools is bullying. To solve this, many schools have introduced peer support programs.
⏱️ Sequential
A sequential structure shows a series of events that happen in a particular order. It often uses time-related words like first, next, then, during, finally, and while.
🖊️ Descriptive writing use:
First, the fog rolled in. Then, the streetlamps flickered to life, casting eerie shadows across the path.
🧾 Informational writing use:
To plant a seed, first prepare the soil. Next, place the seed in a small hole. Finally, water it gently.
Summary to copy into your book:
🔁 Cause and Effect
This shows why something happened and what happened because of it.
Clue words: because, as a result, due to.
⚖️ Compare and Contrast
This shows how things are similar or different.
Clue words: like, unlike, on the other hand, similarly.
🔍 Problem and Solution
This shows a problem and gives one or more ways to fix it.
Clue words: issue, solve, answer, solution.
⏱️ Sequential
This shows things in the order they happen.
Clue words: first, next, then, finally.
https://hnl-tutor-games.blogspot.com/2025/04/structure-sleuth-spot-text-trick-quiz.html
