How to Read Informational Text

The most important purpose of informational text is to convey information about the natural or social world, typically from someone presumed to know that information to someone presumed not to, with distinctive features such as headings and technical vocabulary to help accomplish that principle. By our definition, therefore, biography is nonfiction but is not informational text, because its primary purpose is to convey information about an individual’s life. Procedural or how-to text is also nonfiction, but not informational text because it’s primary purpose is to tell someone how to do something, not convey information about some thing.               

Nonfiction narrative or “true stories” are also nonfiction but not informational text, because their primary purpose is to tell of an event or series of events that have occurred. This is not to say that biography, procedural text, nonfiction narrative, and other types of nonfiction are not important; they are just not the same as informational text.

Informational text is key to success in later schooling. We have all heard that from around fourth grade on, “reading to learn” is a major focus in school (Chall, 1983). Students encounter more textbooks and other forms of informational text as they move through the grades. The tests they take contain increasingly more difficult informational texts. College curricula are replete with a variety of informational readings. If we include more informational text in early schooling, we put children in a better position to handle the reading and writing demands of their later schooling. We would like to see a day when children “read to learn” and “learn to read” from the earliest days of school and throughout their school careers. The following is a listing of the five informational text structure:

 1. Description

    

Signal Words: such as, for instance, in addition, also, specifically

Tips: Ask yourself: what specific person, place, thing, or idea is being described? Look for a topic word or phrase and for synonyms.

2. Problem and Solution

Signal Words: problem, issue, since, as a result, solution, idea, so, leads to, causes

Tips: Ask yourself: what is the problem and what is the solution?

Look for the problem first and then the solution

  3. Compare and Contrast

 

Signal Words:  similar, same, alike, both, as well as, unlike, as opposed to, on the other hand, in contrast, instead

Tips: Ask yourself: what is being compared?

How are they the same? How are they different?

4. Cause and Effect

Signal Words: since, because, if, due to, as a result of, causes, leads to, consequently, then, therefore

Tips: Ask yourself: what happened and why did it happen?

Remember, you are looking for a cause, not a solution.

5. Sequence

Signal Words: first, second, third, then, next, before, after, finally, following

Tips: Ask yourself: Is this event taking place over time?

Look for steps or references to time such as dates.

When researchers investigate the kinds of texts children like to read, they've found something that isn't surprising: Different children have very different reading preferences. Some children seem to prefer informational text, some seem to prefer narrative text, and many don’t seem to have preferences for any particular genre. Utilizing these tips for understanding informational text will turn your young reader into an informed reader.