Looking at HOW an author organizes his or her ideas can help you figure out WHAT the author is saying.

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• Each pattern of organization has
Signal Words
Signal Words are clues!
Signal Words show us the relationship between ideas and details in a passage.
A signal word does not always indicated the correct pattern of organization.

• Compare and Contrast passages will have two or more subjects and present similarities and/or differences.
Compare
• What things have in common or how they are alike
• Signal Words: similarly, like, the same as, compared to, in the same way, likewise…
Contrast
• The differences between items or how they are not alike
• Signal Words: but, yet, on the other hand, however, instead, nevertheless, on the contrary...

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C & E passages discuss the relationship between events or concepts.
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Cause – something that brings about an event or series of events
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Effect – the event or events brought about by the cause
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The cause can appear before or after the effect.
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Signal Words : cause, effect, because, why, reason, therefore, consequently, as a result, so…

• Remember each cause can have more than one effect and some effects may have multiple causes.

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The events or facts appear in the order they actually took place. Chronological order is all about TIME!
Signal Words : first, next, last, then, before, after, finally, specific dates and times…
BEWARE OF FLASHBACKS
• Flashbacks are events in a chronological order that refer to events that happened earlier.

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• Argument/Support first states an argument and then provide a series of facts, examples, or reasons to support a main idea.
Signal Words : example, another, and, too, in addition, or, also, as well as, plus, in fact, besides

• We usually see this POO in text books. A topic is defined and then explained.
• Signal Words: definition, define as, is, known, the term means, for example, to illustrate, for instance, such as.

• This is sometimes called problem/solution.
The writer poses a question such as “how can we solve global warming?”, and then gives one or more answers.
• Signal Words: problem, need, difficulty, challenge, issue, answer, propose, suggest, solve, resolve, improve, plan

• Writers briefly describe something and then provide a list. The list might be bulleted or in paragraph form.
• Signal Words : and, too, in addition, or, also, as well as, plus, in fact, besides

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Spatial Order selections present information as if the reader were taking a tour.
These selections may not contain a topic sentence.
• They will follow a consistent principle
• Top to bottom; far to near; order of impression
• Signal Words: right, left, top, bottom, behind

Fruits are a wonderful snack to eat in between meals. My two favorite fruits are oranges and apples. When I am in the mood for something crunchy and sweet, I pick an apple. Sometimes
I even dip them in caramel for extra taste. But when I am thirsty, I usually grab an orange.
Compared to apples, oranges are juicier and their fleshy consistency satisfies my thirst more.
Biting into one is like a tangy explosion in my mouth!

Apples crunchy sweet
Oranges fruit
Great snacks
Fleshy, juicy
Tangy

Some people sue over the strangest things.
One example is a Tennessee woman who is suing McDonald’s because she was badly burned on the chin by a hot pickle in her hamburger. A Canadian woman is another example . She wants to ban the South Park television show because her son Kenny is victimized by the show’s Kenny character, who is killed in each episode. In addition to the prior two examples, a group of Australian women are arguing that single people are victimized because society ignores them. As you can see, the facts support the argument that people sue over the strangest things.

Some people sue over the strangest things.
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Tennessee woman suing McDonald’s
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Canadian woman suing South Park
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Australian women suing because single people are ignored.

No trip to New York would be complete without seeing The Statue of Liberty. As you approach
Liberty Island you will first notice the large base.
Atop of the base stands Lady Liberty. In her right hand she holds a torch and in her left a book. As you enter the base of the statue you will see a large spiral staircase that leads to a lookout point on top of the torch.

Obesity is a major problem in the United
States. Overeating, lack of exercise, and stress can cause expanding waistlines. Eating more calories than one burns in a day will cause the body to put on excess weight. While obesity is caused by lack of exersize it can also lead to decreased activity. Overweight people are less likely to participate in physical activity. Obesity also cause increased blood pressure and can even lead to heart disease or early death.

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What causes obesity?
High blood pressure
Obesity
Heart disease death

How can students solve the problem of poor grades? Some students receive poor grades on projects, not because they lack the ability to do them, but because they can not seem to manage their time when it comes to a large project. They do not know where to begin, and therefore put things off until the last minute. To solve this problem , students need to develop a plan or timeline for completing the project.
If they divide the assignment into manageable parts and then set a schedule for completing each part, they will be able to finish the entire project before the deadline. Without the pressure of not knowing where to begin, the students will be able to focus on smaller parts of their project and finish it on time.

How can students improve their grades?
Question/
Problem
Set a timeline
Break it up into small parts
Complete each small section on time
Events/Details
I will finish it on time and not wait until the last minute!
Answer/Solution

As soon as I got out of bed I knew it was going to be a bad day. First , my foot hit the floor and I screamed in pain when I saw I had stepped on my brother’s very spiky toy dinosaur. As I hobbled to the bathroom I remembered that I had a huge exam in English and hadn’t studied.
After putting on my favorite outfit I spilled cranberry juice all over my white shirt and had to change into a dirty old shirt. Then I missed the bus and had to walk to school.
Once I got to school I found out that my best friend was moving to Kalamazoo and that Friday’s dance had been cancelled. On my way home I tripped and fell in a mud puddle. Finally , at the end of the day, I lost my cell phone at the busstop. It was truly the worst day ever.

Stepped on dinosaur
Got cranberry juice on clothes
Missed the bus
Heard
Friend is moving
Lost her phone
Fell in mud
Dance is cancelled

• There are several activities that students can participate in during the 4 th annual academic festival. This all day festival will celebrate smarts!
• 9:00 am Chess Tournament
• 10:00am Endangered Species Face Painting
• 11:00 am International Dance
• 1:00pm Spelling Bee
• 3:00 pm Math Parade

• Describes the festival
• Lists events.

A veto is defined as the right of an individual or branch of government to reject or cancel a bill or decision. For example the
Student Government decided to host a dance on Tuesday night but the principal vetoed that decision because it was the night before the FCAT. Students were at first upset by the veto but then rescheduled a bigger dance for the following Friday.

• The term veto is defined.
• The term veto is then explained with an example.