Common Text Structures

Cause and Effect:

These texts explain something by highlighting an event and detailing the results. Science and history texts often use this structure. Key words to look for include “because,” “therefore,” and “why.”

Chronological:

These texts organize events in the order they happened. This structure is common in current events, history and in works of fiction or memoir. Key words include time markers like “first,” “next,” “then” and “finally.”

Compare / Contrast:

These texts are basically descriptive, but deal with two or more topics to highlight similarities and differences between them. This structure is useful in all subjects. Key words include “more,” “less,” “as [adjective] as,” “than” and “however.”

Order of Importance:

These texts present facts or information in a hierarchy, typically with the most important item first. This structure is often used in news stories and science, but can be used in a range of topics. Key words include “most,” “least,” and “important.”

Problem and Solution:

These texts begin by laying out an issue and then explaining how to solve or rectify it. This structure is common is science, math and social studies as well as a wide range of informative articles. Key words include “issue,” “problem,” “trouble,” “fix,” “solve” and “how.”

Sequence / Process:

Similar to chronological texts, this structure puts items in order, but with an eye to explaining the way something should be done. This is often seen in lab reports and how-to pieces. Key words include time markers like “first,” and “next” as well as “how” and “why.”

Spatial / Descriptive:

These texts describe a scenes, typically organizing that information by location; for example, describing a room by moving from the doorway to the opposite wall. This structure is used in fiction and non-fiction alike. Key words include prepositions like “above,” “below,” “behind,” etc. Adjectives are also a hallmark of this text structure.