Focus on Genre: Text Features in Nonfiction
• Features That Organize
• Features That Show Information
Nonfiction text gives information about real events, issues, people, and ideas. Writers use text features to help readers locate, use, and analyze the information they need.
How It Works
Writers use text features to organize information.
• Headings and subheadings and boldface and italic type help you see the organization of a text. In longer works, tables of contents and indexes help you locate specific information.
Writers also use text features to show information.
• Charts, diagrams, graphs, sidebars, and maps, as well as illustrations and photographs show specific information visually instead of in words.
Here is an example of how text features can help organize and present information in nonfiction.
Location Matters
All forests have trees, but not all forests are alike. Forests can be very different, depending on where they are found in the world.
Central American Tropical Forest
North American Mountain Forest
A tropical forest in Central America (left) gets warmer than an evergreen forest in North America (right).
Main heading
Each subheading gives the main idea of the section that follows.
Labels identify what is shown.
Photos present information at a glance.
Captions give more details about photos and other visuals.