English for Academic Purposes and Profession

Quarter: 1 Term: Week 2

Unit Topic: Text Structures

Learning Competency:
 Uses knowledge of text structure to glean the information he/she needs

Day 1 – 3

Overview

Text structure refers to how the information within a written text is

organized. This strategy helps students understand that a text might present a
main idea and details cause and then its effects; and/or different views of a topic.
Teaching students to recognize common text structures can help students
monitor their comprehension. Text Structure refers to the ways that authors
organize information in text. Teaching students to recognize the underlying
structure of content-are texts can help students focus attention on key concepts
and relationships, anticipate what’s to come, and monitor their comprehension as
they read.

Obviously, all texts are different to a certain extent, but depending upon the
author’s purpose, the topic and the genre, reading selections tend to be
organized to employ a few predominant structural patterns. The following should
be explicitly taught to teach students to comprehend more effectively.

Structure (Organization)
Fiction Non-Fiction
Story Elements:  Cause and Effect
 Characters  Sequence
 Setting  Problem/Solution
 Problem/Solution  Description
 Plot  Compare and Contrast

Fiction texts have literary elements, such as characters, setting, problem/

solution, and plot. Hearing stories told and read aloud help children
internalize the elements of fiction. When they begin to read, they expect that
there will be characters and that some will be more important than others.
They also expect a resolution, a satisfying ending.

Teacher Note: It should be pointed out that expository-informational texts

often contain multiple structural patterns. When reading expository texts, readers
should come to expect differing structures. When first introducing text
organization, explicitly teach the structure one at a time, but as students

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 Read the selection below.

The texts have organizational patters called text structures. The following
text structures are the following:
 Description,
 Sequence,
 Problem and solution,
 Cause and effect, and
 Compare and contrast

Table adapted from http;//forpd.ucf.edu/strategies/strattextstructure.html

Text Structure Definition/Example Organizer

Description This type of text Descriptive Pattern
structure features a
detailed description of Describing
something to give the qualities
reader a mental
picture.
EXAMPLE: A book
may tell all about
whales or describe
what the geography is
like in a particular
region.

Cause and Effect This structure presents Cause-Effect Pattern

the casual relationship Process/ Cause and
between a specific Effect
event, idea, or concept
and the events, ideas,
or concept that follow.

Comparison/ This type of text

Contrast examines the Comparison/
similarities and Contrast
differences between
two or more people,
events, concepts,
ideas, etc.
Example: A book
about ancient Greece
may explain how the
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 Spartan women were
different from the
Athenian women.
Order/Sequence This text structure Sequence Pattern
gives readers a
chronological of events Chronological
or a list of steps in a Sequence
procedure.
EXAMPLE: A book
about the American
revolution might list the
events leading to the
war. In another book,
steps involved in
harvesting blue crabs
might be told.
Problem-Solving This type of structure Problem-Solution
sets up a problem or Organizer
problems, explains the
solution, and then
discusses the effects
of the solution.
Example:

SIGNAL WORDS
Compare
Cause and Problem/ Sequence/
and Description
Effect Solution Chronological
Contrast
Because Different For instance Problem First, second…
from
Since For example The Not long after
Same as question is
Consequentl Such as Next
y Similar to A solution
To illustrate Then
This led to… As opposed One
so to Most answer is Initially
important
If…then Instead of Before
In addition
Nevertheless Although After
Accordingly However Another

Because of Compared Furthermore

with
As a result of First,
As well as second…
In order to
Also
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 May be due
to Either…or
Yet But
For this On the other To begin with
reason hand
Not only… Unless
but also

Tasks 1

Directions: Read the passages and determine how each is mainly structured.
On a sheet of paper, put the information from each passage into an
appropriate graphic organizer. The following graphic organizers are examples.
Feel free to make changes if necessary.
Chronologic Cause and Problem and Compare
Sequence
al Effect Solution and Contrast

1. Market Leaders
Most mobile phones sold today have an operating system that was either
designed by Apple or Google. Apple makes the iOS operating system powering
their iPhones and iPads. Google makes the Android operating system that can
be found on many different mobile phones and tablets. Both of these operating
systems allow users to connect to app stores and download applications. To
launch these applications, users press small square buttons that appear on their
home screens. One major difference between these two operating systems is
that Apple makes all of its own hardware. That is to say, the iOS operating
system only appears on products created by Apple. On the other hand, many
different manufacturers like Samsung, Sony, and LG use the Android operating
system. Which one do you like better: Android or iOS?

2. Downloading Apps
Getting a new phone is a really cool feeling, but your phone can’t do much
without applications. In order to get the most from your new phone, you need to
download apps. To do this you will need a data connection. Some plans allow
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you to get data from your phone network. If your plan lets you to do this, you can
connect to web services anywhere that your phone gets a signal. If your plan
does not let you to do this, you will need to connect your device to a Wi-Fi
network. Free Wi-Fi can be found at coffee shops, laundry mats, and other public
locations. Once your phone is receiving data, go to the application store on the
device. Use the search or browse functions to find fun, interesting, or useful
programs. Once you have found an application that you want to try, click the
button to download and install it on your device. Not all applications are free, so
make sure that you know how much the app costs before agreeing to download
it. Also, if you are under the age of 18, get your parent’s permission before
downloading anything. You’ll like your new phone so much more once you have
some cool apps.

3. Lost and Found

A mobile phone is lost every second by some estimates. A 2011 survey shows
that about 22% of Americans have lost a mobile phone. When a person loses
their phone, they don’t just lose a device that may have cost as much as $600,
they lose phone numbers, photos, and sensitive information. If the phone isn’t
locked and it gets lost or stolen, someone may use it to commit identity theft.
Perhaps the worst part about this is that it can be prevented. Today’s smart
phones have free applications that allow you to find your lost phone using GPS
signals. Even if you cannot retrieve your phone, you can use these applications
to delete your data so that you are less likely to become a victim of identify theft.
Losing your phone feels horrible, but if you take the time to install a phone-finding
app, you’ll be much better prepared to deal with it.

4. Eyes on the Road

For better or worse, mobile phones are changing the world; however, one place
where phones are definitely making things worse is on the road. Today it is
common for motorists to play with their mobile phones while driving. Drivers may
get bored or impatient while waiting in traffic and use their smart phones to pass
the time by checking sports scores, stock numbers, or news stories. Worse still,
they may engage in text messaging. Some drivers are so used to receiving and
responding to communications immediately that it does not occur to them to wait
until an appropriate time to respond. As soon as they get a message, these
drivers will try to read and respond to it. There are many reasons why people use
cell phones while driving, but none of them are good reasons.

5. The Intelligent Telephone

A smart phone is a mobile phone with built-in computer system that can send
emails, view websites, or download applications. The first use of the term smart
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phone was in 1997, when Ericson described its GS 88 as a “smart phone.” In
2003 phones got even smarter when Andy Rubin launched the Android mobile
operating system. It would take years for the first Android powered phone to
reach the market, but today over 80% of all mobile phones are powered by
Android. Yet, perhaps the biggest development in the history of smart phones
occurred in 2007, when the original iPhone was released. The first iPhone didn’t
even have an app store, but it set many of the standards that people have come
to expect from smart phones, like using the phone with just a finger on the screen
rather than with a keypad or stylus. Smart phones have changed the world and
continue to improve. I don’t know where the future will take us, but I bet that the
phones will be cooler.

Day 4: ASSESSMENT

A. Directions: Identify the text structure of the following passages. Underline

signal words and clues that helped you determine each structure.
_____________________1. Wild chimpanzees are rapidly disappearing. Some
people are trying to solve this problem. Otherwise, chimpanzees may one day
exist only in zoos. People are trying to save the rain forests and woodlands
where the chimps live from being cut down. It will take many people working
together to solve this problem.
_____________________2. Chimpanzees and humans are alike in many ways.
A baby chimp laughs when its mother tickles it. After chimpanzees fight, they kiss
and make up. When one chimpanzee comforts another, it gives it a hug or pat on
the back. There are, of course, many ways that chimpanzees and humans are
different. Chimpanzees are smaller and stronger than humans. An adult male
chimpanzee stands three or four feet tall and weighs about 100 pounds. But a
chimpanzee can lift more weight than a man who is six feet tall.
_____________________3. Chimps live in groups and like each other a lot, but
sometimes they fight. Because they don’t want to stay angry at each other after a
fight, they make up by holding a hand out to the other and kissing. They show
they are sorry with pats and hugs. Then the anger goes away.
_____________________4. A chimpanzee’s body is made for climbing and
swinging in the trees. First, it uses its long arms to reach a branch. Next, with its
flexible hands and feet, it grabs and hooks on to the branch. Finally, it swings
from that branch to another branch of tree.
_____________________5. It is fun to read about chimpanzees. All wild
chimpanzees live in Africa. They live mostly in thick rain forests and in
woodlands. There are two types, or species, of chimpanzees—the common
chimpanzee and the bonobo, also known as the pygmy chimpanzee

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B. Directions: Read the passages and on a sheet of paper, identify the main
pattern of organization used in each paragraph and put information from
each passage into an appropriate graphic organizer. Feel free to make
changes to the graphic organizers if necessary.
Cause and Problem and Compare
Chronological Sequence
Effect Solution and Contrast

1. The dodo bird used to roam in large flocks across America.  Interestingly, the
dodo wasn’t startled by gun shot.  Because of this, frontiersmen would kill entire
flocks in one sitting.  Unable to sustain these attacks, the dodo was hunted to
extinction.
2. Jack and Jill ran up the hill to fetch a pail of water. Jack fell down and broke
his crown and Jill came tumbling after.
3. Linux and Windows are both operating systems.  Computers use them to run
programs.  Linux is totally free and open source, so users can improve or
otherwise modify the source code.  Windows is proprietary, so it costs money to
use and users are prohibited from altering the source code.
4. Here are the three worst things that you can do on a date.  First, you could tell
jokes that aren’t funny and laugh really hard to yourself.  This will make you look
bad.  Worse though, you could offend your date.  One bad “joke” may cause your
date to lash out at you, hence ruining the engagement.  But the worst thing that
you can do is to appear slovenly.  By not showering and properly grooming, you
may repulse your date, and this is the worst thing that you can do.
5. Thousands of people die each year in car accidents involving drugs or alcohol.
Lives could be saved if our town adopts a free public taxi service. By providing
such a service, we could prevent intoxicated drivers from endangering
themselves or others.

References:
 Mondez, R. G. (2016). English for Academic and Professional Purposes.
Makati City: Diwa Learning Systems, Inc.
 Reginio, C. U. (2016). English for Academic Advancement. Sampaloc,
Manila: St. Augustine Publications, Inc.
 Wyson, J. D. (2016). English for Academic and Professional Purposes.
Quezon City: Vibal Group, Inc.

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 Retrieved from:
o Table for the Text Structure:
http;//forpd.ucf.edu/strategies/strattextstructure.html

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