Informational Text Structures

Informational text structures are the organizational patterns all writers must learn. Most people read and write for informational purposes.

Five Basic Informational Text Structures

There are five basic informational text structures. Those are:

• description
• compare/contrast
• cause/effect
• sequence/timeline
• problem/solution

Each structure gives the reader a unique perspective about a topic, and each structure has a purpose.

Decisions writers must make about text structures

Before a writer can even choose a text structure, the writer needs to know the topic, intended audience and purpose for writing. These decisions can help you to figure out what informational text structures you’re going to need to explain or argue something.

Improve comprehension and writing skills

Through teaching informational text structures, your students will gain the necessary study and writing skills they’ll need for the rest of their lives. I can’t tell you how many former students thank me for the writing skills I taught helped them in high school and college. All I did was introduce them to 5 simple text structures and showed them how to use them. However, these strategies made a world of difference in their note taking and writing.

Click here for a free pdf of the 5 basic informational text structures.

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