Text structure
Also known as: organizational pattern, organization of a text
Text structure is the way a writer organizes ideas within a passage — the pattern that determines what comes first, what follows, and how the parts relate. Common structures include chronological order, cause and effect, compare and contrast, problem and solution, and description.
Text structure describes the architecture of a passage rather than its content. Two writers can cover identical material and organize it completely differently: one might trace events in the order they happened, another might open with an effect and work backward to its causes. Recognizing the pattern tells you what the author is doing with the information, not just what the information says.
A handful of structures account for most expository writing. Chronological or sequential order presents events or steps in time order, signaled by words like first, then, and finally. Cause and effect links actions to consequences, signaled by because, therefore, and as a result. Compare and contrast sets two subjects side by side using similarly, however, and on the other hand. Problem and solution names a difficulty and then proposes a remedy. Description or classification organizes a topic by its features or categories.
Structure is also useful at the paragraph level. Knowing that a passage moves from a general claim to supporting evidence, or that a paragraph sets up a counterargument the author will later reject, lets you predict what a given sentence is doing there. That is precisely the skill reading tests are measuring when they ask about the function of a sentence or the purpose of a paragraph.
Both the Praxis Core Reading test and the SAT Reading and Writing section include questions on organization and structure. The SAT's Craft and Structure questions ask about a passage's overall organization and the role a specific part plays within it, while Praxis Core asks you to identify organizational patterns and follow the logic of an argument.
Key takeaways
- Text structure is the organizational pattern a writer uses to arrange ideas in a passage.
- The most common patterns are chronological, cause and effect, compare and contrast, problem and solution, and description.
- Signal words such as because, however, and finally are the fastest clue to which structure is in use.
- Reading tests use structure questions to ask what a sentence or paragraph does, not what it says.