Analyzing Text Structure
Analyzing Text Structure is an analytical reading strategy that readers use to examine text structure; that is, they study how ideas are organized and how that organization contributes to the meaning of a text. Students should learn to analyze text structure in order to gain a deeper understanding of the ideas in a text. Analyzing Text Structure is also a useful strategy for teaching students how to write organized, well-constructed arguments. When students study the choices authors make, they can begin to mimic those choices in their own writing.
Where is this in the Reading/Writing Process: Step 4
Explicitly Teach: Explain. Connect. Model. Practice.
Cycle of Independence: I do. We do. They do. You do.
Origin: Although we cannot point to one person, the work of Linguists like John Swales, rhetoricians (ancient and modern), and text genre experts like Dr. Ann Johns have certainly contributed to what we understand about text structure and rhetorical patterns (or modes).
Want to know how analyzing text structure can help with reading comprehension? Read Michelle L. Bradley's Thesis.
Analyzing Text Structure Step-By-Step Process
Plan your lesson
Pathway
Teach the skill
Differentiate and support learning
Assess and track growth
Practice skills in all subjects
Literacy Standards In Action
We've mapped our literacy lessons and reading, speaking, and writing skills to state standards, Common Core, and NGSS. The standards are "the what" to teach. Our lessons are "the how" to meet the expectations defined by the standards. Click on the links below to view our quick reference table that maps standards to literacy lessons.
