Introduction to External Text Structures

External Text Structure The way the editor or publisher has arranged and printed the piece of writing. Knowing about external text structure helps you to understand what you are reading.

Why do we use external text structures? 1. Clarify Material 2. Give Extra Information 3. Show Detail 4. Emphasize Important Information 5. Make Information Easier to Understand

Types of External Text Structure Italics Bold Sidebars Heading Subheading Illustrations Graphs Photographs Captions

Italics Italics are slanted font and used to make a word stand out Indian as a term Europeans of the 1400s used the term Indies to refer to India, China, Japan and other Asian lands.

Italics 1) Why would you put words in italics?

Bold Bold words informs the reader of important key words/vocabulary Example: Some parents encouraged their children to assimilate, which means to be absorbed into.

Bold 2) Why would you put words in bold?

Sidebar Sidebars are boxes of information that give extra information about a topic.

Sidebar Example:

Sidebar 3) Why do you think we have sidebars?

Heading Usually at the top of the page and explains the central topic or theme. Used to clarify or divide the text under a title or heading Subheading

Heading Subheading

Illustrations & Graphs An illustration is a drawing to better explain the text. A graph is a visual representation of data or numbers.

Illustration Example:

Graph Example:

Illustration and Graph 4) Why do we have illustrations and graphs?

Photographs & Captions A photograph is a real-life picture representing information from the text A caption is the writing under a photograph and tells you the details of the picture

Photograph & Caption Example: Photograph Caption Supporters of Republican presidential hopefuls hold signs outside a polling station at Webster School, in Manchester, New Hampshire, on January 10. Caption

Can you find any external text structures?