Internal Text Structures
Organizational patterns
within the actual text
Chronological or
Sequential
A series of events that involve time order
To begin with
Before
First
Next
Following
Eventually
Then
After
Signal
Finally
Words
Last
Event 3
Event 1
Event 2
Event 1
Event 2
Event 5
Event 4
Event 3
Event 4
It all began with the dog barking. Monty never barks at
night, so when I heard his yelps coming from downstairs, I knew
something had to be wrong. Terrified that a robber might be
waiting for me outside, I ran into the spare bedroom and, as quietly
and quickly as I could, grabbed the baseball bat from the cluttered
closet. Then, realizing I couldn’t really see anything, stumbled back
into my room and grabbed my glasses from my night stand. At this
point it was decision time: confront whatever was making the
noise on my own or wake up Mr. Weis. The latter option won, and
after stirring him from his slumber, he and I crept down the stairs,
baseball bat and cell phone (just in case we needed to call 911) in
hand. Following Monty’s barks, we inched down the stairs to the
living room door.
“Ready?” Mr. Weis asked. I nodded , quickly flipped on the
light switch, and bravely spun towards my husband who was
standing before the intruder at the back door.
“Back to bed,” he growled as he picked Monty up. “It was
just a cat.”
Process
A series of steps that explain how something is
done or created; Results in a product
Begins with
After
First
Next
In order to
Once you have
Signal
Words
It is really easy to make Mrs. Weis happy.
First, call up your friendly LCPS snow-delay decider
and convince her to delay school for two hours.
Then, make sure all of your classmates have
completed their homework. After you come into
class, make sure you follow all of the directions,
including writing down your assignments. Next,
when Mrs. Weis asks a question, be sure to raise
your hand to offer an answer. Finally, ask really
great questions on your own and be sure to tell
her how much you love text structures! Once you
have done all of this, Mrs. Weis will be happy!
Chronological or Process?
• An explanation of how to change a car tire
• A series of journal entries about your summer trip to
Thailand
• A description of your terrible, horrible, no good, very
bad day
• Google Map directions for getting to a friend’s house
• A children’s book about how to brush your teeth
Jot Thoughts
1. Teacher asks a question/names a topic, sets a time limit,
and provides think time.
Name
examples
of
examples
of each
2. WhenName
the teacher says
“Go!” and sets the timer,
studenttopics
takes a slip ofthat
paper from
the center of
the
would
be
table topics
and writes his or
her thought
on it. He be
or she says
that
would
the thought out loud while writing.
organized
in
organized
using
3. Students repeat this process (one thought per slip of
chronological/sequential
paper)
until time is up. They attempt to cover the table
with their thoughts.process
order
4. Students read each thought and initial those that they
agree with or can explain.
Listing/Enumeration
Series of specific points or examples about a topic
There are many
For example
For instance
Signal
Words
Further more
In addition
Additionally
Also
Topic:
Why English is so great
Detail:
I love to write!
Detail:
Reading rocks!
Detail:
Learning about text structures is
informative, thought-provoking, and fun!
Detail:
Practicing parts of speech is
the highlight of my day!
Detail:
Mrs. Weis is the coolest
teacher ever!
There are many great reasons to learn to
sew. First, sewing is a skill that you will have
throughout your entire life. Additionally, it is a
practical skill to have and is one that is applicable
to real-world problems. Sewing also is a great way
to save money. For example, if you know how to
sew, you can alter your own clothes and avoid
paying enormous fees just to get your pants fitted
to your size. All seventh graders should thank
their FACS teacher for sharing such an important
skill with them!
Compare & Contrast
Showing similarities and differences between two+ things
Compared to
Same as
Yet
Similar to
Is different than
Either … or
Signal
Words
Compared with
Opposed to Than
We had hot summers in eastern Nebraska where I
was born. Often the temperature rose to well over
100 degrees Fahrenheit, with high humidity to
match. Our clothes would become so damp from a
walk or bike ride that we’d have to change twice a
day just to keep ourselves from sticking to the
furniture. We never could get enough of the pool!
Now we live in Arizona where summer temperatures
are even hotter, yet we seldom complain. Perhaps
that’s because more buildings are air-conditioned, or
it may be the lack of humidity. Arizona has a far
drier climate than Nebraska, winter or summer.
Listing or Compare & Contrast
• An editorial analyzing which of two films should
win an award
• A campaign speech sharing reasons why you should
vote for a certain candidate
• A travel book with suggestions for what to do in Florida
• A sign with Wegman’s prices and Safeway’s prices
• A document containing SOL scores for Blue Ridge and
Harmony Middle Schools
Practice!
Each person will now write a paragraph using one of the
four internal text structures we just learned. Using
RoundRobin, each person needs to pick a card from the
cup on your desk. The person who lost his or her first
tooth earliest goes first.
1 – Chronological / Sequential
2 – Process
3 – Listing
4 – Compare and Contrast
Cause & Effect
The reason something happens and the results of it happening
As a result of…
Since…
Due to the fact that … So…
Signal
Words
Because of…
Therefore…
In order to…
For this reason…
If … then…
caus
e
effec
t
Pediatricians across the country are concerned about the
rise in neck injuries among middle school boys. Waiting
rooms are packed with young boys complaining of severe
neck pain. What’s the diagnosis? Whiplash. As a result of
“Bieber Fever,” boys have mimicked the haircut that helped
launch the pop star into fame. One of the trademarks of
the “Bieber do” is a sharp, twitch-like, whipping of the head.
Boys do this in order to move the long fringy bangs out of
their eyes. This sudden movement causes whiplash, a
painful neck injury, often times resulting in months of
physical therapy. Because of the dramatic increase in the
reports of whiplash, Justin Bieber made a bold move. On
Wednesday afternoon, the performer debuted a new short
haircut on Ellen. Not only are doctors happy with the news,
but mothers are too. Gone are the days of sharing their
hair products and blow dryers with their sons!
Concept/Definition
Define a concept by providing appropriate supporting details
Refers to
Signal
Words
Thus
Is thought to be
(Concept) is (Definition)
*Synonyms may also be given
=
=
=
Internal text structures refer to methods of
organizing text to ease comprehension. Thus,
internal text structures are writing tools that help
people better understand what they read. They are
also known as “organizational strategies” and
“organizational tools.”
Generalization
Statements that support one side of an issue
Always
Signal
Words
In fact
Typically
Usually
*Also referred to as “Blanket Statements”
Whenever the economy is in a slump, people
typically tend to cut back on unnecessary spending.
For example, people usually decide not to go on
extravagant vacations, and they always buy fewer
presents for holidays. In fact, when times are tough,
it seems like all you hear about is how sales are
down.
Chronological/
Sequential
Listing
Compare and
Contrast
Cause and
Effect
To begin with
There are many
Compared to
As a result of…
Before
For example
Same as
Due to the fact that…
First
Furthermore
Is different than
Because of…
Next
Also
Either… or
In order to…
Following
For instance
Yet
Since…
Then
In addition
Similar to
So…
After
Additionally
Compared with
Therefore…
Finally
Opposed to
For this reason…
Last
Than
If… Then…
Topic:
Detail:
Detail:
Detail:
Detail:
Detail: