Text Structure

The term “text structure” refers to how information is organized in a passage. 

5 Expository Text Structures and their Associated Signal Words

Cause and Effect

Cause and Effect explains the reason why something happened, or it may explain the effects of something. It can be order as cause and effect or as effects and then causes.

Cause and Effect Activity

Cause and Effect Relationships Questions

Chrolological Order

Chronological: information in the passage is organized in order of time.

Chrono = time
Logic = Order

Compare and Contrast

Compare and Contrast: two or more things are described.  There similarities and differences are discussed.

Some signal words that may indicate that the text is written using the compare and contrast organizational pattern: like, unlike, both, neither, similar, and different.