Expository Text Structure

1. Expository Text Structure Problem Solution Cause Effect Descriptive Sequence Chronology Compare/Contrast

2. Cause and Effect Two ideas interact with each other . One is the cause and the other is the effect. Oil tankers are used to transport oil, and oil spills into the ocean. • Examples • Environmental disasters • Natural disasters People rely on oil for many every day needs. Animals and plants become coated with oil.

3. Cause/Effect Graphic Organizer for Writing • Signal Words: • Reasons why • If…then • As a result • Therefore • Because

4. Problem Solution The writer states a problem or poses a question that is followed by a solution. The Nashua River begins as a pristine river surrounded by forests. Europeans arrive, the wilderness turns into farms and later into cities. Paper mills, runoff, and wastewater pollute the river. A campaign is started to clean up the river, and although the river is never as clean as it once was, it is now much cleaner.

5. Signal words: • Problem is.. • Dilemma is… • Puzzle is… • Solved • Question • Answer • Because • Since • This led to Problem and Solution Organizer for Writing

6. Descriptive The author describes a topic by listing characteristics, features, and examples • Signal Words: • For example • For instance • Specifically • Characteristics are • Such as • Looks like • In addition

7. Presents information that occurs in a series or in steps such as the growth of living organisms or a recipe Sequence

8. Sequence Text Structure Graphic Organizers for Pre-Writing Signal Words First Next Then Finally Flow Chart Use Flow charts for steps in directions or life cycles, for example.

9. Chronology Timelines Use a timeline for biographies or other time chronologies

10. Compare/Contrast Signal Words Same as similar alike as well as either both different from