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As I continue my series about micro-comprehension, text structure processing is next in line. Earlier, I wrote about sentence structure processing. The process of analyzing sentence structure and text structure shares similarities. However, analyzing at the sentence level gives a close-up picture of the meaning of the sentence; whereas, analyzing text structure provides the bigger picture of an entire essay or any longer piece of writing.

Many fluent readers seem to automatically process text structure, but it is probably subconscious. Take a look at this shortlist of text structures students encounter:

sequence/chronological order
compare/contrast
description
cause/effect
problem/solution

Unfortunately, a lot of readers miss out on whole chunks of meaning because they get caught in the muck and mire of wading through too much information. Tunnel vision sets in, and students simply gloss over the purpose for the passage. Understanding the overall structure of the text can help students avoid some of these struggles. So…how do we teach students to recognize these text structures?

Look at the list of text structures again. Luckily, these types of text structures come with signal words and phrases that you can directly teach students to recognize. Then, as they read, these words clue them in as to which textual structure they are reading. The NEA published an excellent chart to illustrate this.

With practice, students can identify the structure, which prepares their brains to comprehend and retain the information. Students who can readily determine an author’s text structure will have a much clearer mental model of the goings on in a piece of text.

Now, here’s an interesting approach that will also inform your reading instruction. First, Shurley English provides graphic organizers (also called advance organizers and prewriting maps) that help students determine the kinds of text they want to write. Since we show students the ins and outs of how to write various text structures (depending on the purpose of the writing and the audience), it isn’t a huge leap for them to analyze what they are reading, based on an author’s chosen text structure. And, they can use our graphic organizers to help them do it! It’s almost like reverse engineering, using texts and graphic organizers.

Now, it’s your turn…

Select a short passage—any grade appropriate prose will do.
Provide your students the appropriate Shurley English prewriting map, or have them select which map will best work for the text.
- use a Venn Diagram for a comparison/contrast structure;
- use the Descriptive map for a descriptive text structure;
- use the Persuasive/Argumentative map for a problem/solution text structure, etc.
Read the passage aloud or have volunteers read it aloud.
Have students listen carefully and fill in the information on the map as they hear or read the text.

I love using reading and writing skills interdependently because that’s the way those processes actually interact in the brain. Each lends itself to the other as confirmation that the meaning is getting through! As students begin to identify text structures in their reading, you build onto that knowledge to shore up their writing, and vice versa.

In my next article, I will conclude my series on micro-comprehension with a discussion about comprehension monitoring. Please join me!

(This post is part of a series on Micro-Comprehension. To start at the beginning, click here.)