TEXT STRUCTURESThe way we organize what we say!

Chronological – Sequential – Cause/Effect – Problem/Solution – Compare/Contrast – Proposition/Support

Chronological – Time oriented. This speech or text would be organized in the order that events happened using time, date, etc…

• The graphic organizer for events in chronological order is a time line. For example:

Sequential – Step by step oriented. This speech or text would be organized in the order that things must or do occur in process.

• The graphic organizer for events in sequential order can be literal steps or a line-arrow graphic. For example:

OR

Cause and Effect – Action and reaction oriented. This speech or text would be organized by pointing out an event (cause) and its consequences (effect). The effect can be positive, negative, or neutral.

• The graphic organizer for a Cause and Effect speech or text could be:

(This graphic could be adapted for many causes and one effect or multiple causes and multiple effects accordingly.)

CAUSE

EFFECT

EFFECT

EFFECT

Problem and Solution – Result oriented. This speech or text would be organized by presenting an issue and proposing a fix.

• The graphic organizer for a Problem and Solution speech or text is straightforward and adaptable to multiple solutions.

PROBLEM (s) SOLUTION (s)

Compare and Contrast – Similarities and Differences organization. This speech or text would be organized by pointing out what is alike and what is different about a given topic, subject, or event. • The go-to graphic organizer for the compare and contrast speech or

text is the good old Venn Diagram!

THING 1

THING 3

THING 2

Thing 1

Thing 2OR

Proposition and Support – the pitch and the proof. This speech or text is organized by proposing or pitching an idea or premise (proposition) then providing reasoning or proof (support) for it.

Support

Support

Support

PROPOSITION

Example graphic for Proposition and Support:

STEPS to FIND TEXT STRUCTURE as a listener/reader

• Think about the information presented – analyze or close read it – BREAK IT DOWN• Decide what structure best applies to the speech or text• Mentally or literally place the speech or text on the appropriate

graphic – BREAK IT DOWN AGAIN• Categorize for impact and effectiveness – ANALYZE IT

STEPS to CREATE TEXT STRUCTURE as a speaker/writer• Think about the information you want to present – what are you

trying to say & who is your audience– BREAK IT DOWN• Decide what structure best applies to the speech or text based on

your purpose and evidence or support• Mentally or literally place the speech or text on the appropriate

graphic – BREAK IT DOWN AGAIN• Categorize for impact and effectiveness – ANALYZE IT