Teach readers to discern 5 nonfiction text structures

When readers encounter nonfiction text, they are often overwhelmed by the barrage of facts, names, dates, and details included. Reveal the invisible organization behind nonfiction text to equip students with the know-how they need to tackle the five different nonfiction text structures.

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As we prepare readers to infer a text’s main idea and eventually the author’s purpose, it’s important to build a foundation of understanding about text structures. Just like houses are constructed with a frame, authors construct texts by intentionally putting together particular information.

Stories or narrative texts have a predictable text structure. They ALWAYS present a character who faces a conflict that gets resolved. This consistent organization makes it easier for students to follow.

However, nonfiction text is not so predictable; it can utilize one of five different text patterns. Consequently, without an understanding of text structures, the reader doesn’t know how to mentally organize the barrage of facts, names, dates, and details that he is consuming.

This often leads to confusion and makes nonfiction text intimidating.

Connect text structure to author's purpose
The secret to overcoming this reader obstacle is to understand that the author chose a specific text structure to correspond with his purpose. There is an intentional relationship between what details he includes in his writing and why he is writing. Consequently, it’s easiest to teach the nonfiction text structures alongside author purposes.

Review the three broad reasons to write—to persuade, to inform, and to entertain (i.e., P.I.E.). Although there is only one way for authors to organize persuasive text and only one way for authors to organize narrative text, there are 5 different ways for authors to organize nonfiction text. To make this more clear, reveal a more specific to-inform purpose for each text structure.

1. If the author wants TO TEACH the reader how something works, then he must use a procedural step-by-step text structure.
2. If the author wants TO EXPLAIN all about something, then he must use a descriptive or categorical text structure.
3. If an author wants TO STUDY TWO things in one text, then he must use a compare-contrast text structure.
4. If an author wants TO RELATE TWO things, then he must use a cause-effect text structure.
5. If an author wants to reveal the BEFORE & AFTER of something, then he must use a problem-solution text structure.

TIP: The easiest way for students to see the difference in organizational patterns is to show them similar information about the SAME TOPIC presented in different text structures.

Once students know of these five different ways to organize nonfiction texts, teach them how to discern which one an author used. (NOTE: Shorter texts often use a single text structure. Longer, more complex text often includes paragraph blocks or sections that each have its own text structure.)

Analyze the type of information per section
Teach students to look carefully at the topic revealed in the introduction, the type of information in the body, and the kinds of transitions used among sentences.

The secret is to analyze the types of information revealed in each section and then consider how the different sections are related.

This kind of reader analysis goes far beyond finding the text’s introduction, body, and conclusion. After all, ALL texts have a beginning, middle, and end. What’s most relevant to determine the text’s structure is to note the KIND of details provided in the passage.

For more examples of mentor text, check out these picture books and short passages.

Students who just read to collect facts and git-r-done will always struggle to comprehend nonfiction text. But, with an understanding of text structure, readers break the information into manageable chunks from beginning to end in order to significantly improve comprehension.

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