Comparing text structures

0:00- [Instructor] Readers, hello. Let's talk about text structure, how a text is organized, how the ideas or information or events in the text are put together. What I wanna do in this video is show you how to compare one text to another to see how their structures are different.

0:18There are many different kinds of text structures, but here are a few common ones you might have already heard of. There's cause and effect, one thing caused or led to another thing. There's chronology, here are the things that happened in the order they happened.

0:34There's problem and solution, there was something wrong, and here's what made it right. And there's comparison, here's one thing and here's another and let's look at each of them and see what they've got in common and what makes them different. Here are the steps you can use to compare text structures.

0:50First identify, figure out what the structure is. One way to do this is by looking for keywords, words that show the structure. For example, a chronology will list events in order and may use number or sequence words like first, second, then, and finally. A comparison will likely have comparing words and phrases like on the other hand, similar, or different.

1:15Step two is analyze. Why do you think the author chose that structure? How does the structure help you find or understand the most important ideas in a text? And step three, compare and contrast the two texts. How are their structures alike and how are they different, and why?

1:35Let's give this a shot and compare two texts. "Who makes the best frozen desserts in the city? Our team has narrowed it down to two: Mika's Frozone and Iggy's Ices. Mika's makes best-in-class ice cream. We loved their classic chocolate! Across town, Iggy's specialty is fruit-flavored ices.

1:53Our favorite was the coconut lime. Mika's is slightly more expensive, but their treats were tastier than Iggy's. Overall, our team thought Mika's was the best." And here's text number two, "A decade ago, there were no ice cream shops in the west side of town. Families had nowhere to enjoy a frozen treat after dinner.

2:14Mika Yamato had the answer. She had a dream of a neighborhood hangout. And she had an absolutely killer ice cream recipe. Because of the neighborhood need and Mika's fabulous ice cream, her shop was a success from the moment it opened its doors." Now let's apply our method.

2:30We'll start with the first text and then move on to the second. Step one, identify. Identify the structure. So I can tell that this text is about two different ice cream shops and they're asking which one is better. And I see some words that show a comparison, right, slightly more, tastier, and best.

2:52This is a compare and contrast text. And step two, analyze. Why did the author choose this structure? What were they trying to do? Well, they wanted the reader to know which ice cream shop they think is the best and why. So let's look at the second text. Step one, again, identify the structure.

3:11So the first sentence describes a problem. There were no ice cream shops on the west side of town, but is there a solution to the problem? There is, Mika Yamato had the answer. And answer is one of those keywords for problem and solution structure. So that's what this is, a problem and solution structure text.

3:32Step two, analyze. Why does the author use this structure? The structure emphasizes that Mika has done something valuable and important for the neighborhood. There was a problem, now there's a solution. Step three, compare and contrast. Why would the authors of these texts choose these structures?

3:51Text one uses a compare-contrast structure because the author wanted to convince you that Mika's has the best frozen treats in town. But text two uses a problem-solution structure because the author wanted to show how Mika solved a problem in her neighborhood by opening her ice cream shop.

4:09Remember, different text structures have different purposes or goals. The way a text is ordered or arranged can shape how you think about the information in that text and what information seems the most important. All right, that's all the time I've got for this one.

4:24You can learn anything. David, out.