Since the beginning of the school year, each
Monday, I’ve been posting about the
importance of understanding the key elements of finely-crafted expository
nonfiction and helping students identify those features as they read and
include them as they write.
For the first few weeks, I focused on the
pre-writing process. Then, I turned my attention to text characteristics and
discussed text format, text scaffolding, and text density. You can scroll down
to read those posts.
Today, I’m going to take a fresh look at text
structure, which is probably the topic I’ve discussed the most on this blog.
Why? Because it’s my biggest struggle as a writer.
If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you
may already know that I like to compare searching for a text structure to
shopping for a pair of pants. When we shop for pants, we usually know what
purpose we want them to serve. Are they for playing sports? Relaxing around the
house? Going to a fancy party?
eliminate some pants pretty quickly. We can also rule out pants if they’re the
wrong size or a color we don’t like. But at a certain point, we have to try on
a few pairs of pants to see how they fit. We might not like spending time in
the store’s cramped dressing room, but we accept that it’s a necessary part of
the process.
The same is true for selecting a nonfiction text structure. When writers
consider their purpose for writing, identify their audience, and decide exactly
what they’re most excited to share with readers, they can quickly eliminate
some text structures. For example, a sequence structure won’t work if the topic
lacks a time element or natural order. Maybe there’s no problem, and therefore
no solution.
But like shopping for a pair of pants, at a certain point, a writer often has
to try on a couple of different text structures to see which one fits best.
As
you can see in this online revision timeline, when I was writing Can an Aardvark Bark?, I
experimented with four different text structures before finally deciding that a question and answer structure would work best.
According
to award-winning author Brenda Z. Guiberson, “every topic can be approached in
numerous different ways.” Before writers can settle on a text structure, they
must “figure out what they most want to say, and then pick the approach that
says it best.” Guiberson knew that Feathered Dinosaurs “would be a list
book from the very beginning,” but “it took a long time, and several false
starts,” to find the right structure for Earth: Feeling the Heat.
was trying to say too much about a complicated global issue,” Guiberson
explains. “Finally I decided to stick with specific details and let the
situations speak for themselves. Then it became a cause-and-effect book.”
like professional writers, young writers should understand that “trying on”
different text structures is an authentic part of the drafting process. I know
this is a big ask because the last thing kids want to do is revise a piece of
writing four or five times just to see what happens. That’s why I’m hoping this
“shopping for pants” analogy and Can an
Aardvark Bark? revision timeline will help.
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One Response
Such a great analogy! This is often the hardest thing to do!