3.7 Introducing Nonfiction Text Structures: Introduction

3.7 Introducing Nonfiction Text Structures

Introduction

You have been learning different ways to determine what is most important in informational text. We are going to begin looking at text structure, or the way a piece of text is designed. Knowing how a text is designed or structured can help you to figure out what is most important.

Like an architect designs buildings, an author organizes and puts ideas together. Let's say an architect is designing a house. A house has some basic structure to it - a roof, walls, doors, windows. Each house may look different but the basic structure is the same. However, if an architect is designing a skyscraper, the structure will be different - more floors, more windows, elavators, stairways.

A writer does something very similar, but instead of designing buildings for different purposes, a writer designs text for different purposes. A story has a plot structure - an exposition that introduces the setting, characters and problems, rising action, a climax, falling action, and a resolution. A nonfiction text has structures, too. Nonfiction has several different text structures, , depending on the purpose. Knowing the different nonfiction structures can help you become a better reader and can also help you when you are writing.