gi Let Us Reflect In distinguishing various informational text types, we should consider how uniquely different they are to other text types. Through understanding these, the value and distinction of reading and writing informational text types in future endeavors will become much easy and more fun.

Let Us Reflect In distinguishing various informational text types, we should consider how uniquely different they are to other text types. Through understanding these, the value and distinction of reading and writing informational text types in future endeavors will become much easy and more fun.

Let us start distinguishing the types of INformational text by going through each one of them.

1. Description

This is pretty straightforward. Texts that use this structure simply describe something. With few exceptions, these texts also present plenty of details about what they're describing.

A text using this structure might also:

Tell you why something is being described

Tell you why the described topic is important

Provide examples of the described topic(s)

Descriptive texts are everywhere—in novels, works of literary nonfiction, news articles, science textbooks—which makes sense because the entire point of description is to present information.

2. Sequence/Instruction/Process

This text structure covers a few purposes:

Sequential instructions (Step 1, Step 2, Step 3; do this, then do that, and finally do this)

Chronological events (This happened, then this happened, then this happened, etc.)

Arguments that use evidence to support a claim (presenting evidence from least to most convincing)

When students read or write a text with this structure, order is key. Texts that use this format usually don't present any event or instruction out of order, as doing so would make its directions more difficult to follow.

3. Cause/Effect

Cause/Effect text structures explain, well, causes and effects. Sounds pretty simple! But works that use this structure can become complex when an effect has multiple causes (or vice versa).

Students will encounter complex examples of cause-effect when they read historical texts. Many events in history had more than one cause, all related in ways that can be difficult to unpack.

4. Compare/Contrast

This text structure involves a comparison involving multiple things, revealing how they are similar and how they are different.

Make sure your students know that contrasting two or more things doesn't necessarily mean identifying them as either good or bad. Comparisons simply relay the differences; therefore, one thing could have both positive and negative traits.

5. Problem/Solution

This text structure involves two parts:

The author identifies a problem

The author details a solution to this problem

Problem/Solution can be a very complex text structure, as it necessitates the use of other structures, too. Clearly, the author needs to describe the problem.

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