CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RI.7.5

ELA7th GradeCraft and Structure

The Standard

Analyze the structure an author uses to organize a text, including how the major sections contribute to the whole and to the development of the ideas.

Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts · Reading Standards for Informational Text

What This Standard Means

Students need to notice how an informational text is built. They should identify sections, headings, order of ideas, and shifts in focus. Then they explain why the author arranged it that way and how each part helps build the main idea or argument.

Mastery sounds like, “The background section explains the problem, then the evidence section shows why it matters.” Students often get stuck naming the structure only, like cause and effect, without explaining its purpose. They may also summarize each section instead of showing how the parts work together.

Ways to Teach It

Cut up a short article into sections, remove headings, and have students reorder it with a reason for each placement.
Ask students to write: Which section could not be removed, and how would the text change without it?
Give students a new article and have them label each section’s job in seven words or fewer.
Use a school handbook page and ask how its headings and order help readers find and understand rules.