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The structure of a text is how it is organised and how its parts fit together. Writers structure their texts deliberately to have an effect on the reader.

Exam questions ask you to comment on how writers structure their texts to interest the reader. You should use terminology and show that you understand how structural features introduce and prioritise information in a text.

Structural features

Structure of a non-fiction text

The structure of a non-fiction piece could be:

• chronological – in date or time order
• prioritised – the most important facts first (like a news article)
• separated into blocks by subheadings – eg in a feature article
• question and answer – eg in information leaflets
• problem and solution – eg in agony aunt columns, or self-help guides
• letter structure – a salutation (Dear…) and an appropriate ending (Yours sincerely…)
• starting in the middle of an event, then providing further information to give several possible viewpoints

Using paragraphs to structure a text

Look at the way the key ideas in a piece are ordered. This will help you work out the structure. There is usually one important idea per paragraph, but some texts have more.

Within each paragraph, ideas can be structured in different ways. A common approach is to start with a topic sentence – the big idea – and then develop it with details or examples. Paragraphs often end with a hook to make you consider the ideas included in the paragraph that you have just read, or a link to the next paragraph.

The number and order of paragraphs, the order of the ideas, and how each paragraph is constructed are all features you can comment on. Why has the writer chosen to structure their paragraphs in specific ways?

Additionally, a shortened paragraph that stands out to the reader can sometimes indicate a change in viewpoint or significant point in the text that the writer may offer a counter argument.

Example

This extract describes the events leading up to the 1666 ‘Great Fire of London’.

How does the writer structure the text to interest the reader?

September 2, 1666

It was a small mistake, but with great consequences. On September 2, 1666, Thomas Farrinor, baker to King Charles II of England, failed, in effect, to turn off his oven. He thought the fire was out, but apparently the smouldering embers ignited some nearby firewood and by one o'clock in the morning, three hours after Farrinor went to bed, his house in Pudding Lane was in flames. Farrinor, along with his wife and daughter, and one servant, escaped from the burning building through an upstairs window, but the baker's maid was not so fortunate, becoming the Great Fire's first victim. Did these cakes set fire to London?

The fire then leapt across Fish Street Hill and engulfed the Star Inn. The London of 1666 was a city of half-timbered, pitch-covered medieval buildings and sheds that ignited at the touch of a spark--and a strong wind on that September morning ensured that sparks flew everywhere. From the Inn, the fire spread into Thames Street, where riverfront warehouses were bursting with oil, tallow, and other combustible goods. By now the fire had grown too fierce to combat with the crude firefighting methods of the day, which consisted of little more than bucket brigades armed with wooden pails of water. The usual solution during a fire of such size was to demolish every building in the path of the flames in order to deprive the fire of fuel, but the city's mayor hesitated, fearing the high cost of rebuilding. Meanwhile, the fire spread out of control, doing far more damage than anyone could possibly have managed.

Extract taken from the diary of Samuel Pepys

Analysis

The writer:

• opens with a contrast “small mistake” and “great consequences”, raising the question of how something small grew so big
• the focus then shifts to Thomas Farrinor, a baker, thinking his “fire was out” – this detail foreshadows the start of the Great Fire, building tension
• a temporal reference “three hours after Farrinor went to bed” implies how control was lost in a short space of time as by then his house “was in flames” and there is the “first victim” – implying there will be many more victims
• the question “Did these cakes set fire to London?” suggest that the idea is hard for the reader to believe – and intrigues them to discover how this was possible
• the focus then shifts to the growing fire “leapt” and “engulfed”, the wooden structure of London and the “strong wind” – together these elements suggest the fire will take over quickly, creating a quicker pace
• contrast is used to show how useless the “bucket brigades armed with wooden pails” are as “the fire spread out of control”
• the extract ends leaving the reader thinking about the vast “damage” the fire caused, and that no one “could possibly have managed” it