Text Features

1. Text Features 2A

2. Text features • Are parts of books, magazines, etc. besides the main text. • May include table of contents, introduction, charts, sidebars, foreword, timeline, afterword, etc. • Are useful to the reader when he is trying to understand the main text a little better. • Have a purpose! • Your job is to determine that purpose! (to verify, support, or clarify meaning)

3. Table of Contents • Is in the front of the book. • Lists the chapters (or sections) in the order they appear. • Usually indicates the main topic (if given a title). • Your job will be to analyze what a chapter or section title might include. Example – Page 155

4. Headings • Are a short line of text that briefly describes the topic of material coming after it. • Usually in bold • Easy to spot • Usually in informative writing • Break up the text into smaller sections • A reader can quickly skim headings and be able to determine information underneath them. Example – Page 159

5. Introductory features • Introduction – a paragraph (or longer) that appears at the beginning of the main text. • The general purpose of many introductions is to build the reader’s interest to read more. • Forwards and prologues are two types of introductions.

6. Introductory features(cont.) • Foreword – a type of introduction to a book that is often written by someone other than the author. • The purpose may be to give the author praise or to emphasize the author’s qualifications as a writer. • Prologue or Preface – a type of introduction written by the author. • The purpose may be to tell of an event that happened before the story begins, or it may give part of the story that occurs at or near the end of the story line. Example – Page 162

7. Sidebar • Is a short text written in addition to the main article. • Relates to the main article in some way. • Usually gives additional information about a specific detail mentioned in the article. • Is often in a box placed beside a main article. • Often verifies, supports, or clarifies something in the main article. Example – Page 166

8. Reference features • Are used when something needs further explanation. • An asterisks(*) or dagger(†) sign may be used as a symbol to show a footnote or an endnote. • Footnote – a note or reference placed at the bottom of the page. • Endnote – a note or reference placed at the end of the document. • Reasons for using footnotes or endnotes: • To give further information or instructions • To comment on an idea in the text • To define a word or term that may be unfamiliar to a reader • To cite a source of information

9. Reference features(cont.) • Bibliography – a list of books, articles, etc. used as a reference for another document • at the end of the article, essay, or research paper • listed in alphabetical order • The author’s purpose is to give credit for the information he used and to verify from which sources the information was obtained.

10. Concluding features • Afterword – a commentary usually written by someone other than the author that comes after the author’s text. • Usually found in nonfiction writing • Similar to a foreword • Can comment either on the text or the author • Purpose is to give a sense of closure. • May answer common questions or may give additional resources for further research. • When written by the author, he/she may explain underlying reasons for writing.

11. Concluding features(cont.) • Epilogue – a conclusion given at the end of a story that often tells what happens to the characters in the future. • Usually found in after fictional stories / plays • Often tells what happens to the characters • Purpose is to give a sense of closure. • May answer common questions. • When written in a play, it may be a concluding speech given directly to the audience.

12. Graphic • Is a photo, a design, or a display of data in the form of charts or graphs. • Charts / Graphs • Illustrations • Diagrams • Often used to support the text.

13. Graphic(cont.)

14. Tips • Pay more attention to the second part of each answer choice.

15. Possible test questions • How would the sidebar support the information of the passage? • How does the sidebar support the meaning of the passage? • How will the inclusion of the sidebar support the meaning of the passage? • How does the inclusion of the timeline support the meaning of the passage? • Does the introduction support the meaning of the passage? • Which conclusion is supported by information in the graph and the passage?

16. Possible test questions • Under which suggestion in the passage does the above statement appropriately fit? • Does the proposed afterword help to verify the information in the excerpt? • Which statement below justifies the decision to include or not to include the information in the timeline? • Which statement below justifies the author’s decision to include or not to include the foreword? • If presented as a sidebar to the passage, how would the chart support the message of the passage?

17. Words to know • Demonstrates • Proposes • Compassionate • Cautious • Indicates • Proposes • Isolate • Verify • Compliance • Clarifies • Contradict • Reveals • Significant • Elaborates • Justifies • Detracts • Forthright • Dominant • Emphasize • Illustrates

18. Mississippi SATP English II Revised: Multiple Choice Student Review Guide for Vocabulary/Reading