Analysing structure

Reading Comprehension

CCSS RL.9-10.5CCSS RI.9-10.5England: GCSE English Language Paper 1 Q3England: SAT Reading and Writing (Text Structure and Purpose)

Objective and success criteria

Students will: Analysing structure.

I can answer questions on today's skill on my own, without help.
I can explain each step and say why it works.
I can check my answer and spot a mistake.

Before and after

Needs first: Text structure (cause–effect, compare, problem–solution)

Leads to: Purpose and function of sentences (SAT)

Materials: A short text or extract (one copy each), Highlighters, Question cards, Mini whiteboards, A short model text on the board, Printed student sheet (below).

Warm-up · 5 min

Quick retrieval from earlier learning (Text structure (cause–effect, compare, problem–solution)). Students answer on mini whiteboards.
Show answers together and note who needs support in the main task.

Frogs and toads are both amphibians. However, frogs have smooth, wet skin, while toads have dry, bumpy skin. How is this text organised? (cause and effect / sequence / problem and solution / compare and contrast) → compare and contrastPrompt: How is the information organised?
The playground was always full of litter. The pupils decided to put more bins around and take turns being litter monitors. Now it is clean. How is this text organised? (description / problem and solution / cause and effect / compare and contrast) → problem and solutionPrompt: How is the information organised?
First, the egg hatches into a caterpillar. Next, the caterpillar eats and grows. Then it forms a chrysalis. Finally, a butterfly emerges. How is this text organised? (cause and effect / problem and solution / compare and contrast / chronological order (sequence)) → chronological order (sequence)Prompt: How is the information organised?

Hook · 5 min

Read the first lines of a short text aloud and ask what students predict will happen and why.
Share the objective: Analysing structure. Read the success criteria together.

I do: model it · 10 min

Work through the example out loud, saying why you do each step, not just what you do.
Example: An article opens with the story of one family who lost their home in a flood, then broadens to national flood statistics, and ends with proposed solutions. Why might the writer begin with one family's story?
Step 1: Text structure is how a writer organises ideas.
Step 2: So the answer is: to engage the reader emotionally before presenting wider facts
Answer: to engage the reader emotionally before presenting wider facts
Pause after each step and ask a student to say what comes next.

We do: guided practice · 10 min

Do these together. Students try each step on whiteboards before you reveal it.
Use the hints as prompts rather than giving the answer.

Paragraph 1 describes a busy, sunny harbour full of tourists. Paragraph 2 suddenly shifts to a single fisherman mending nets alone at night. What is the main structural effect of this shift? (It continues the same scene at the same time. / It concludes the story. / It narrows the focus from a crowd to one person, creating contrast and isolation. / It introduces a list of facts.) → It narrows the focus from a crowd to one person, creating contrast and isolation.Prompt: How is the information organised?
An article opens with the story of one family who lost their home in a flood, then broadens to national flood statistics, and ends with proposed solutions. Why might the writer begin with one family's story? (to show floods are rare / to confuse the reader / to avoid giving any facts / to engage the reader emotionally before presenting wider facts) → to engage the reader emotionally before presenting wider factsPrompt: How is the information organised?

You do: independent practice · 10 min

Students work on the student sheet. Circulate and check the first two answers of every student early.
Students who finish: write a question of their own for a partner, with the answer.

The 5 questions are on the student sheet below, with answers in the key.

Exit ticket · 5 min

Two questions on their own. Sort answers into got it / nearly / not yet to plan the next lesson.

Paragraph 1 describes a busy, sunny harbour full of tourists. Paragraph 2 suddenly shifts to a single fisherman mending nets alone at night. What is the main structural effect of this shift? (It continues the same scene at the same time. / It narrows the focus from a crowd to one person, creating contrast and isolation. / It introduces a list of facts. / It concludes the story.) → It narrows the focus from a crowd to one person, creating contrast and isolation.Prompt: How is the information organised?
A story ends with the same image it began with: an empty swing moving in the wind. What is this structure called, and what is its effect? (a cliffhanger, leaving the reader in suspense / a flashback, explaining the past / a list, giving many examples / a cyclical structure, suggesting that little has changed or that events repeat) → a cyclical structure, suggesting that little has changed or that events repeatPrompt: How is the information organised?

Watch out for

Answering from memory or opinion instead of evidence in the text.
Copying a long quote without explaining what it shows.

Support and stretch

Support

Review first: Text structure (cause–effect, compare, problem–solution).
Use concrete materials: a short text or extract (one copy each).
Give the first step of each question, or a partly worked example to finish.
Pair with a confident partner for the guided practice.

Stretch

Move on to: Purpose and function of sentences (SAT).
Explain a common mistake in writing and how to fix it.
Write a word problem that uses today's skill, then solve a partner's.

Homework and more practice

Free online practice with hints and printable worksheets for this skill: eurekami.com/english/grade-10.

Free lesson plan from eurekami.com/lesson-plan-builder

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Analysing structure

Name

Date

Score/ 5

1
Question 1
A story begins: "By the time the police arrived, the window was already broken." It then goes back to the morning to explain what happened. Which structural technique is used?
- A. a circular structure
- B. a list structure
- C. starting near the end, then using a flashback
- D. strict chronological order from the start

The Four-Day Week: Promise and Pitfalls

In recent years, a growing number of companies have experimented with a four-day working week, in which employees work about 80 per cent of their usual hours for 100 per cent of their pay, on the condition that they maintain their output. Supporters argue that the model could transform working life. Critics warn that its benefits may be exaggerated. The most widely reported trials have produced striking results. In one large study involving several dozen organisations, most companies chose to continue the four-day week after the trial ended. Employees reported less stress, better sleep and fewer days off sick, while company revenue remained broadly stable. For businesses struggling to recruit, the promise of an extra day off can be a powerful attraction. Yet these findings come with important caveats. Companies that volunteer for such trials may already be enthusiastic about flexible working and well suited to it. Their success may not be representative of all workplaces. Moreover, many of the participating organisations were offices or creative businesses, where output is relatively easy to reorganise. In hospitals, schools or factories, where staff must be present to deliver a service, reducing hours without hiring more people may simply be impossible. There are also questions about what happens in the long term. Early enthusiasm can fade, and the pressure to fit five days of work into four may eventually lead to longer, more intense working days, cancelling out the benefits to wellbeing. None of this means the idea should be dismissed. It does suggest that the four-day week is less a universal solution than a tool that may suit some sectors far better than others. The challenge for policymakers is to learn from the trials without assuming that what worked for a marketing agency will work for an emergency ward.

2
Question 2
Read "The Four-Day Week: Promise and Pitfalls". How is the text as a whole organised?
- A. It tells the story of one company in time order.
- B. It compares two countries' laws.
- C. It presents benefits, then limitations, then a balanced conclusion.
- D. It argues only against the four-day week.

3
Question 3
An article opens with the story of one family who lost their home in a flood, then broadens to national flood statistics, and ends with proposed solutions. Why might the writer begin with one family's story?
- A. to engage the reader emotionally before presenting wider facts
- B. to show floods are rare
- C. to avoid giving any facts
- D. to confuse the reader
4
Question 4
A story ends with the same image it began with: an empty swing moving in the wind. What is this structure called, and what is its effect?
- A. a flashback, explaining the past
- B. a list, giving many examples
- C. a cyclical structure, suggesting that little has changed or that events repeat
- D. a cliffhanger, leaving the reader in suspense
5
Question 5
Paragraph 1 describes a busy, sunny harbour full of tourists. Paragraph 2 suddenly shifts to a single fisherman mending nets alone at night. What is the main structural effect of this shift?
- A. It concludes the story.
- B. It introduces a list of facts.
- C. It narrows the focus from a crowd to one person, creating contrast and isolation.
- D. It continues the same scene at the same time.

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Answer key: Analysing structure

1. C. starting near the end, then using a flashback
2. C. It presents benefits, then limitations, then a balanced conclusion.
3. A. to engage the reader emotionally before presenting wider facts
4. C. a cyclical structure, suggesting that little has changed or that events repeat
5. C. It narrows the focus from a crowd to one person, creating contrast and isolation.