EXTERNAL TEXT STRUCTURES

 Reference items you can put your finger on  Visual items on a page External Text Structures

 To start a new paragraph  Sets information apart Indentation

 To get a basic understanding of what a reading selection is about. ANTS Types of Ants Types of ants include fire ants, which cause a painful sting, and carpenter ants, which damage wood structures while nest building. Other types of ants include honey, pharaoh, house, Argentine, and the thief ant. Headings and Subheadings

 Images, Pictures and Drawings that give you a visual interpretation of something.  Examples: Cartoons, clip art Illustrations

 To draw attention to the information  Certain titles are underlined Underlining

 To make information stand out  To draw your attention to something The Wetlands of the South Why are the South’s wetlands so important? The Okefenokee (oh kuh fuh NOH kee) Swamp is a large wetland in the South. A wetland is a place where the ground is soaked with water for at least part of the year. Bold and Colored Print

 To show inflection  Foreign Words  Character’s thoughts  Certain titles The Wetlands of the South Why are the South’s wetlands so important? Italics

 Located at the bottom of the page  Gives you more information Footnotes and Annotation

 Located at the side of the page  Column on the side of the page that gives you information Sidebars

 Shows a location or place Maps

 Located at the front of a book  Organizes the parts of a book Table of Contents

 Located at the back of the book  Alphabetical list of how the book or text is organized by topic Index

 Mini dictionary  Located at the back of the book  Alphabetical organization  Organizes the terms and their definitions Glossary