1. Strategy
Writers decide how to organize the
information they want to present.
What?
That organization is called the text structure.
Knowing the structure before reading helps
you know what to look for and how to track
what the writer is saying.
Information taken from: Moore, D. (n.d) The good reader’s guide. US:
National Geographic and Hampton Brown

2. Strategy
NARRATIVE and DESCRIPTION
What?
• In a narrative the structure is based on a plot, a series of
events, with a beginning, a middle, and end.
• A description tells you how something looks.
GOAL AND OUTCOME
• Often the main character has a goal and the story is
organized around the characters actions and outcome.
Information taken from: Moore, D. (n.d) The good reader’s guide. US:
National Geographic and Hampton Brown

3. Strategy
TIME ORDER
What?
• Many biographies, stories and novels use a time order
structure to tell about events in the order in which they
happened.
SEQUENCE OR PROCESS
• Information is listed step-by-step.
• It explains how to do it and how it happens.
Information taken from: Moore, D. (n.d) The good reader’s guide. US:
National Geographic and Hampton Brown

4. Strategy
CAUSE AND EFFECT
What?
• Some nonfiction texts use a cause and effect structure to
explain why events happen and the result, or effects of those
events.
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
• Writers use a compare and contrast structure to show how
things are similar and different.
Information taken from: Moore, D. (n.d) The good reader’s guide. US:
National Geographic and Hampton Brown