Understanding Text Structure

Objectives

1. Identify the structure of academic texts.

2. Differentiate between various structures of
academic texts.
3. Apply their understanding of text structure
to extract relevant information.
Engage
Matching:Based on the photo at the left
column, match the pattern of paragraph
development which best suits in the context
of the photo.
1.Paragraph development by
classification/division
2. Paragraph development by narration
3. Paragraph development by analogy
4. Paragraph development by definition
5. Paragraph development by process
1.Paragraph development by
classification/division
2. Paragraph development by narration
3. Paragraph development by analogy
4. Paragraph development by definition
5. Paragraph development by process
1.Paragraph development by
classification/division
2. Paragraph development by narration
3. Paragraph development by analogy
4. Paragraph development by definition
5. Paragraph development by process
1.Paragraph development by
classification/division
2. Paragraph development by narration
3. Paragraph development by analogy
4. Paragraph development by definition
5. Paragraph development by process
Explore & Explain

Gleaning Information Through Text

Structure
 Characteristics of Expository Texts

•Expository text is a type of informational

text that provides factual information
about a topic using a clear, non-
narrative organizational structure with a
major topic and supporting information.
• Expository texts can include topics such as
historical, scientific or economic information.
 Expository Text

Information is presented with a clear organizational text structure which

includes but is not limited to: description, chronology, comparison,
cause/effect, problem/solution.
The language in expository text is precise, specific to the subject, and
includes domain specific vocabulary to explain concepts and information.
Expository text often includes organizational tools such as table of
contents, headings, index, glossary, pronunciation guide, appendices.
Includes text features that support or enhance the text such as
photographs, illustrations, captions, charts, diagrams, tables, graphs, and
timelines.
Examples of expository text may include: trade books, articles, reports,
 Text Structure

• The term “text structure” refers to how information is

organized in a passage. The structure of a text changes
many times in a work and even within a paragraph.
Students are often asked to identify text structures or
patterns of organization on reading tests. Also,
understanding text structures can help students make
and interpret arguments. For these reasons it is
important that students are exposed to the various
patterns of organization.
 Why study text structure?

• Text structure will determine the complexity of the text.

Most of the reading materials in senior high school,
college and academe are primarily expository materials.
• As a student, you are not only expected to read
academic expository texts but also write that kind of
text. Understanding text structure or lack of such, may
enhance or impair reading comprehension. No wonder,
there are several high school, college and even graduate
students find reading difficult and challenging.
 Categories of Text Structure

Text Feature
• Text features include all the components of a reading
material that are not the main body of text. These include
the table of contents, index, glossary,headings, bold
words, sidebars, pictures and captions, and labeled
diagrams. These features can be helpful if they are
concise, related to the content, and clear, or they can be
harmful if they are poorly organized, only loosely related
to the content, or too wordy.
Common
Text
Features
 Text Organization

• Text organization refers to the patterns and structures

used by the author(s) to write the text. A well-organized
text assists the reader through predictable placement of
information. A poorly organized text can impede the
reader by being counterintuitive.
Text
Organizatio
n
 Commonly Used Patterns of Paragraph
Organization

1. Narration
• The purpose of narration is to tell a story or relate an
event. Narration is an especially useful tool for sequencing
or putting details and information into some kind of
logical order, usually chronological. Literature uses
narration heavily, but it also can be useful in non-fiction,
academic writing for strong impact. In academic writing,
narrative pattern is used for introductory paragraphs.
 Commonly Used Patterns of Paragraph
Organization

2. Description
• The purpose of description is to recreate, invent, or
visually present a person, place, event, or action so that
the reader can picture that which is being described. It is
heavily based on sensory details: sight, sound, smell,
feel, taste.
 Commonly Used Patterns of Paragraph
Organization

3. Example
• It’s common to see examples used in all kinds of
situations—an idea can be considered too general or
abstract until we see it in action. Exemplification extends
this idea even further: it carries one or more examples
into great detail, in order to show the details of a
complex problem in a way that’s easy for readers to
understand.
 Commonly Used Patterns of Paragraph
Organization

4. Definition
• Definition moves beyond a dictionary definition to
deeply examine a word or concept as we actually use
and understand it.
 Commonly Used Patterns of Paragraph
Organization

5. Process Analysis
• Analyzing a process can also be thought of as “how-to”
instruction. Technical writing includes a lot of process
analysis, for instance. Academic writing can incorporate
process analysis to show how an existing problem came
to be, or how it might be solved, by following a clear
series of steps.
 Commonly Used Patterns of Paragraph
Organization

6. Classification and Division

• Classification takes one large concept,and divides it into
individual pieces. A nice result from this type of writing
is that it helps the reader to understand a complex topic
by focusing on its smaller parts. This is particularly useful
when an author has a unique way of dividing the
concepts, to provide new insight into the ways it could
be viewed.
 Commonly Used Patterns of Paragraph
Organization

7. Comparison and Contrast

• Comparison focuses on similarities between things, and
contrast focuses on their differences. We innately make
comparisons all the time, and they appear in many kinds
of writings. The goal of comparison and contrast in
academic essays is generally to show that one item is
superior to another, based on a set of evaluations
included as part of the writing.
 Commonly Used Patterns of Paragraph
Organization

8. Cause and Effect

• If narration offers a sequence of events, cause/effect
essays offer an explanation about why that sequence
matters. Cause/effect writing is particularly powerful
when the author can provide a cause/effect relationship
that the reader wasn’t expecting, and as a result see the
situation in a new light.
 Commonly Used Patterns of Paragraph
Organization

9. Problem and Solution

• This type of academic writing has two equally important
tasks: clearly identifying a problem, and then providing a
logical, practical solution for that problem. Establishing
that a particular situation IS a problem can sometimes
be a challenge–many readers might assume that a given
situation is “just the way it is,” for instance.
 Text Content

• Content can be accessible if it is reduced to manageable

chunks, or it can be intimidating if it includes too much
specialized academic vocabulary and too many abstract
concepts.
• Content is both information and communication: the
sum total of the freshness, readability, relevancy, and
usefulness of the information presented, and the
manner in which it is presented.
 What are disciplinary Texts?

• Disciplinary text refers to specialized texts and ways of

using literacy in the disciplines. Historians,
mathematicians, literary critics, and scientists read and
write differently because they create different kinds of
knowledge and rely on different kinds of evidence. Same
with students in Senior High School from different
strands have different specialized writing tasks specially
in your "major" or specialized subjects.
 Elaborate: Online Practice Test

1. Directions: Do the activities in the following webpage.

https://www.english-online.org.uk/ieltsfolder/readac3.php
?name=Academic%20Reading%203&fun=startRead()&s
pt=readac3

After doing this activity, screenshot your output/ proof

that you have taken the test and send it with your
2.Then, create a presentation analyzing the structure of a
professional report. You can use a manila paper or you’re
a canva application.
 Evaluation

• Refer to the handouts

Assignment:
Activity 1. Direction: Match the informal vocabulary in the list below with the more appropriate formal options from the
box.
Assignment:
Assignment:
Assignment:
God Bless!