Text Structures in Informational Texts

Informational Text Structures "Did you know our home isn't the only sunken ship? There was a ship, The Titanic, that sank many years ago!" "Interesting! Let's do some research." Informational texts are structured in a certain way depending on the type of information being given. Some of these structures are: chronological order, description, compare and contrast, cause and effect and problem and solution. To work out which text structure is being used, we can look for signal words that help to organise the writing. Let's take a look at an example of each text structure. Chronological order means events sequenced in time order. Information is organised by dates, and may use signal words such as first, next or other phrases to show the passing of time. On April 10, 1912, The Titanic left England and set out for America. Four days into the cruise, a lookout saw an iceberg and warned of danger. The ship struck it, causing damage. As it sank, people scrambled to escape. At 2:30am on April 15th, The Titanic broke into two parts and slipped into the water. In 1985, the wreckage was found and years later, in 1997, the famous movie, Titanic, was made. In this text, we see dates and phrases like 'four days' and 'years later'. This next article is written as a description where the author wants to create an image in your mind. We can identify this structure by looking for examples, features and signal words like, 'such as' and 'for instance'. The Titanic was built to be the world's largest, most luxurious cruise liner. The ship was just over eight hundred and eighty-two feet in length and one hundred and four feet tall. The Titanic had ten decks and carried about two thousand, two hundred and twenty-four passengers and crew members. Here, it describes the size of the ship and uses words like, largest and most luxurious. These words help build an image of what The Titanic looked like. In a compare AND contrast structure, the author illustrates similarities and/or differences of a topic. We look for signal words such as same, alike, on the other hand, or instead. The Titanic carried passengers from all walks of life. They were divided up depending on the price of their ticket. The first-class passengers were wealthy businessmen and politicians. On the other hand, the third-class passengers were made up of poor immigrants looking for a better life. Do you see a signal word? The phrase 'on the other hand' contrasts the differences between passengers. Cause and effect is used when the author wants to show how one event leads to another. Signal words may include, since, as a result, and due to. The Titanic hit an iceberg late at night causing major damage. This damage resulted in the ship’s flooding and sinking to the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Due to the lack of lifeboats and the confusion of the event, only seven hundred and ten people survived! Which signal words do you see here? Causing, resulted, due to. An author can also convey problems related to a topic, and possible solutions created. Signal words for this structure may include issue, question, or solve. The Titanic carried about two thousand, two hundred passengers. As it sank, the biggest issue became clear. The Titanic did not have enough lifeboats to take all the passengers. Another problem was, during all of the chaos of the night, many of the lifeboats left before completely filled. The solution to making sure something like this does not happen again, is now all ships are required to have enough lifeboats for all people aboard. What signal words do you see here? Issue. Problem, solution. While Otis and Pearl explore their ship, let's review. Remember, informational text structures include chronological order, description, compare and contrast, cause and effect and problem and solution. To determine the text structure, look for signal words that are used to organise the writing. "Fascinating! Makes you wonder how our ship got here?"