IXL | Identify text structures | 7th grade language arts

Read the text.

In July 2014, when Africa was experiencing a devastating outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus, doctors identified the first Ebola case in Nigeria. Officials worried that Ebola would quickly spread in Nigeria, but within three months, health officials had defeated the disease inside Nigeria's borders. Because Ebola spreads through direct contact with an infected person, Nigerian medical personnel immediately tracked down everyone who had been in contact with the infected patient. More than one hundred and fifty workers conducted 18,500 interviews to identify everyone who might have been exposed to Ebola. The medical personnel monitored these contacts, isolating and treating anyone who showed signs of the disease. These tactics succeeded, and Nigeria was declared free of Ebola in October.

Which organizational structure does this text primarily use?

compare-contrast

problem-solution

ref_doc_title.

Learn with an example

question

Read the text.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall were both great African American civil rights leaders, but they endorsed differing approaches. King, a preacher, advocated civil disobedience (peaceful protest) and was jailed for his efforts. Thurgood Marshall, a lawyer, brought legal actions in court instead. Marshall filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of African Americans who were denied their rights, taking many cases to the Supreme Court. Marshall was the winning lawyer in Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 case declaring school segregation unconstitutional. When King began leading protests and boycotts, Marshall disapproved of his breaking the law. But Marshall, who worked for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), used NAACP funds to bail out King's followers.

Which organizational structure does this text primarily use?

cause-effect

compare-contrast

key idea

Authors use different text structures to organize their ideas in writing. Learning to identify these structures will help you to understand the relationships between ideas in informational texts. You can also use these structures to organize your own writing.

A cause-effect structure presents the causes and the effects of a particular event, trend, or situation. This structure often uses words and phrases such as because, since, as a result, due to, or consequently.

A compare-contrast structure presents similarities (comparisons) and differences (contrasts) between two or more things. This structure often uses words and phrases such as like, similarly, or in the same way (for comparing) or on the other hand, in contrast, or unlike (for contrasting).

A problem-solution structure presents a problem and suggests one or more possible solutions. This structure often uses words such as issue, question, puzzle, propose, and answer.

A sequential structure describes a series of events that happens in a certain order. This structure often uses specific dates and times or words such as first, next, during, finally, and while.

solution

The text uses a compare-contrast structure to show how the approaches of two civil rights leaders, Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King Jr., were different.

Marshall	King
lawyer	preacher
filed lawsuits	advocated civil disobedience
bailed out protesters	went to jail

In the text, certain words and phrases help to organize ideas in a compare-contrast structure. Notice the words both, differing and instead:

Martin Luther King Jr. and Thurgood Marshall were both great African American civil rights leaders, but they endorsed differing approaches. King, a preacher, advocated civil disobedience (peaceful protest) and was jailed for his efforts. Thurgood Marshall, a lawyer, brought legal actions in court instead. Marshall filed numerous lawsuits on behalf of African Americans who were denied their rights, taking many cases to the Supreme Court. Marshall was the winning lawyer in Brown v. Board of Education, the 1954 case declaring school segregation unconstitutional. When King began leading protests and boycotts, Marshall disapproved of his breaking the law. But Marshall, who worked for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), used NAACP funds to bail out King's followers.

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Not feeling ready yet? These can help:

F.1Determine the order of events in informational texts

E.1Compare and contrast in informational texts

E.2Match causes and effects in informational texts

E.3Match problems with their solutions

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