This document discusses different text structures used to organize information, including chronological, sequential, cause/effect, problem/solution, compare/contrast, and proposition/support structures. For each structure, it provides a brief definition and example of a graphic organizer that could be used. It also outlines steps for identifying a text's structure as a reader and creating an effective structure as a writer or speaker, which involve breaking down the information and analyzing the impact.

1. TEXT STRUCTURES
The way we organize what we say!
Chronological – Sequential – Cause/Effect – Problem/Solution – Compare/Contrast – Proposition/Support

2. Chronological – Time oriented. This speech or text
would be organized in the order that events
happened using time, date, etc…
• The graphic organizer for events in chronological order is a time line.
For example:

3. Sequential – Step by step oriented. This speech or
text would be organized in the order that things
must or do occur in process.
• The graphic organizer for events in sequential order can be literal
steps or a line-arrow graphic. For example:

4. Cause and Effect – Action and reaction oriented.
This speech or text would be organized by pointing
out an event (cause) and its consequences
(effect). The effect can be positive, negative, or neutral.
• The graphic organizer for a Cause and Effect speech or text could be:
CAUSE
EFFECT
EFFECT
EFFECT
(This graphic could be adapted for many causes and one effect or multiple
causes and multiple effects accordingly.)

5. Problem and Solution – Result oriented. This
speech or text would be organized by presenting
an issue and proposing a fix.
• The graphic organizer for a Problem and Solution speech or text is
straightforward and adaptable to multiple solutions.
PROBLEM (s) SOLUTION (s)

6. Compare and Contrast – Similarities and Differences
organization. This speech or text would be organized by
pointing out what is alike and what is different about a
given topic, subject, or event.
• The go-to graphic organizer for the compare and contrast speech or
text is the good old Venn Diagram!
THING 1
THING
3
THING
2
Thing
1
Thing
2

7. Proposition and Support – the pitch and the proof.
This speech or text is organized by proposing or
pitching an idea or premise (proposition) then
providing reasoning or proof (support) for it.
Support
Support
Support
Example graphic for Proposition and Support:
PROPOSITION

8. STEPS to FIND TEXT STRUCTURE as a
listener/reader
• Think about the information presented – analyze or close read it –
BREAK IT DOWN
• Decide what structure best applies to the speech or text
• Mentally or literally place the speech or text on the appropriate
graphic – BREAK IT DOWN AGAIN
• Categorize for impact and effectiveness – ANALYZE IT

9. STEPS to CREATE TEXT STRUCTURE as a
speaker/writer
• Think about the information you want to present – what are you
trying to say & who is your audience– BREAK IT DOWN
• Decide what structure best applies to the speech or text based on
your purpose and evidence or support
• Mentally or literally place the speech or text on the appropriate
graphic – BREAK IT DOWN AGAIN
• Categorize for impact and effectiveness – ANALYZE IT