Glossary
text structure
Text structure is the outline a passage is built on — sequence, cause and effect, compare and contrast, or problem and solution — and naming it tells you where the claim sits.
The text structure is the outline a passage is built on, and naming it tells you where the claim will sit. Four structures do the work. Sequence moves in time or in steps, with signal words such as first, then, after and finally. Cause and effect explains why something happened or what it produced, with because, since and as a result; the effect is often stated early and the cause explained after it. Compare and contrast sets two things side by side, with both, unlike and whereas, and the shared features usually come before the difference. Problem and solution states a difficulty and then a remedy, with however, one approach and a better way. One passage can nest two of these — a solution piece that explains the cause of its problem on the way in. When that happens, a question about structure is asking about the outer outline, not the digression. Read the signal words, name the shape, then predict where the claim is.
Taught in
Related terms
- main idea — The main idea is the claim a passage was written to deliver — broad enough to cover every paragraph, narrow enough that no paragraph sits outside it.
- inference — An inference is a conclusion the passage supports without stating — one step past the text, using only what the text gives.
- signal word — A signal word is a transition that tells the reader what the next sentence is doing — adding, contrasting, concluding or giving a cause.
- sequence — A sequence structure presents information in time order, using words like first, then, after and finally as its skeleton.
- compare and contrast — A compare-and-contrast structure sets two things side by side, showing how they are alike and how they differ, usually along the same points.
- cause and effect — A cause-and-effect structure explains why something happened, linking an event to the conditions that produced it.
- problem and solution — A problem-and-solution structure states a problem and then presents one or more fixes, often weighing their limits.
Source: The reading-comprehension guide in this course: the three skills above are the ones that guide teaches, and every definition is written for this course in our own words, with no publisher's prose reproduced. Elsevier's own HESI A2 page, which names reading comprehension among the areas the exam covers, is the exam-side source. (Elsevier HESI A2 page accessed 2026-10-23; definitions written 2026-10-27)