How to investigate structure in non-fiction texts

When looking at the effect that writers are trying to have on their reader, it is important not just to look at the language they have chosen to use. You must also look at the structural features of their text, as they have deliberately chosen to use these for effect too.

Structure is the way a text is organised.Structure can mean how the whole text is organised or the organisation of a single paragraph or sentence.

The way a text is structured can affect the reader’s response.

Some types of non-fiction text follow a pattern. You would expect an essay to start with an introduction and end with a conclusion, for example, or a letter to begin by addressing the recipient. But there is much more that you can consider.

When investigating whole text structure, you can look at:

• The order of information. Why has the writer chosen to give the information in this order?
• Shifts in the writer’s viewpoint. Are the writer’s views still the same (or have they changed) as you move through the key points in the text?
• Shifts in the focus. Has the focus changed? For example, shifting from theories to real-life examples.
• Changes in tone. Has the mood and feeling of the text changed as you move through the key points in the text?

A writer can control a text’s whole structure to have a particular impact on the reader. For example:

• A piece of travel writing could be structured so that the tone of excitement or tension builds towards the end.
• An investigative magazine article might be structured around a series of surprising events that keep driving the reader’s interest.

One of the ways writers structure their text is through the use of topic sentences. Each paragraph in a magazine article, speech or essay, for example, might be ordered around a topic sentence which gives a little taster of what that paragraph will cover.

In former United States President Barack Obama’s 2008 victory speech, one paragraph begins, ‘This victory alone is not the change we seek’. This is the topic sentence, indicating that the rest of the paragraph will be explaining the kinds of change the new president is hoping for following his victory:

This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can't happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice. So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other.

Looking at the text opening

The start of a non-fiction text will usually have clues to the structure of the whole piece. At the opening of her autobiography, Olympic medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill uses a flashback to pinpoint two moments from her past next to each other in order to show the contrast between her childhood and her moment of Olympic glory.

I am crying. I am a Sheffield schoolgirl writing in her diary about the bullies awaiting me tomorrow. They stand menacingly by the gates and lurk unseen in my head, mocking my size and status. They make a small girl shrink and I feel insecure and frightened. I pour the feelings out into words on the page, as if exposing them in some way will help, but nobody sees my diary. It is kept in my room as a hidden tale of hurt.

Flashbacks are a commonly used device in autobiographies because they help the writer highlight events in his or her past life that have impacted on the fame and achievements the reader knows them for. Ennis uses similar details in both moments – crying, feeling small – but shows how different the two are by setting them next to each other. It’s a way to show the reader how far she has come in the “two decades” she asks us to skip over.

Likewise, the use of contrast or comparison in non-fiction texts such as speeches can be set up in the opening to help the reader understand how an argument is to be framed.

A writer can play with length and sentence order within a paragraph.

In Usain Bolt’s autobiography Faster than Lightning: My Story, one of the paragraphs is ordered around the starter’s calls from a race, beginning with ‘On your marks’. This gives the reader an immediate sense of what the build-up to the race was like, drawing them into the action.

Bolt also uses the repetition of ‘Let’s do this … Let’s get this … Let me get this’ integrated with the starter’s instructions. It sounds like the athlete is talking to himself in the moments before the race begins, emphasising his focus and anticipation. The sentences - and the paragraphs - are also very short, which adds to the feeling of tension and excitement.

But in other types of non-fiction writing, a longer paragraph might slowly move the reader’s attention from one point to another, adding layers of evidence to make their points more convincing.

Writers will also think carefully about how they structure a single sentence.
Changing the order of the words or the punctuation can affect the meaning and impact of a single sentence. For example:

• ‘Appallingly, many factories still use child labour.’
• ‘It is appalling that many factories still use child labour.’

The structure of the first sentence gives the word appallingly more impact and stresses the opinion of the writer.

Punctuation can help a writer make their meaning clear. However, punctuation can also affect the impact of a sentence.

• ‘Will our society ever solve this problem?’
• ‘Will our society ever solve this problem!’
• ‘Will our society ever solve this problem …’

Each different piece of punctuation subtly changes the impact of this sentence. For example, the question mark gives the sentence a reflective tone. The exclamation mark gives the sentence an exasperated tone and the ellipsis suggests uncertainty.

Remember

Being aware of how a writer is using structure will help you understand non-fiction texts. Always ask yourself questions about the choices a writer is making. Notice patterns in sentences, within paragraphs and across whole texts.

Investigating structure quiz

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