Informational text comprehension requires different skills and strategies than literary text comprehension. Students must learn to navigate text features (headings, captions, glossaries, indexes), recognize organizational structures (description, sequence, compare-contrast, cause-effect, problem-solution), evaluate sources, and synthesize information from multiple texts. As students progress through the grades, informational text comprises an increasing proportion of their reading, making these skills essential.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| Text Structure | The organizational pattern an author uses to arrange ideas and information within a text |
| Text Features | Elements such as headings, captions, and diagrams that help readers navigate and comprehend informational text |
| Main Idea | The most important point or central concept that the author wants the reader to understand |
| Signal Words | Words or phrases that indicate how information is organized within a text structure |
| Close Reading | A strategy involving multiple careful readings of a text to analyze meaning, structure, and author choices |
| Summarization | Condensing a text by identifying and restating only the most important ideas in the reader's own words |
Study Tip
Know the five text structures and their associated signal words. Test questions often present a passage and ask which text structure it uses — look for the signal words to identify the pattern quickly.
Our study guide covers all 11 objectives in depth, and our practice test lets you apply what you've learned.