Reading nonfiction: structure, purpose, and arguments (grade 7) · lesson

Question and answer, cause and effect

💡 Naming a paragraph's structure tells you how its ideas link together.

Some paragraphs ask a question, then answer it. Others show cause and effect: one event leads to another.

Other common structures are time order, compare and contrast, and problem and solution.

To decide, ask what the paragraph is doing. Is it explaining why something happened? That is cause and effect.

🧠 Let's work it out

Paragraph: "Why do leaves change color? In fall, trees stop making green chlorophyll. As a result, yellow and orange show through."

It opens with a question and answers it.
The answer shows a cause (no more chlorophyll) and an effect (new colors).

What do you think comes next?

cause and effect: a structure that shows how one thing leads to another
text structure: the way a text is organized

🔗 Khan Academy: Integration of knowledge and ideas (grade 7) · Khan Academy ↗

Signal words

💡 Signal words are road signs that show how one idea connects to the next.

Words like "first," "second," and "finally" signal a list of separate points or reasons.

Words like "because," "so," "therefore," and "as a result" signal cause and effect.

Words like "however" and "but" signal a turn to a different idea.

🧠 Let's work it out

"The river rose all night. Therefore, the roads were closed."

"Therefore" tells you the closed roads were caused by the river.
Swap it for "However" and the sentences would not make sense.

What do you think comes next?

signal word: a word that shows how ideas are connected

Why a part is included

💡 Each paragraph or detail has a job, like showing cause, adding proof, or linking a topic to a bigger idea.

Authors include details to make a point. A detail that a team kept practicing in the rain shows how determined they were.

A paragraph that seems off to the side often widens the topic. It shows the event touched more parts of life.

Last paragraphs often explain lasting effects or connect to a big idea. Ask what the reader would lose if that part were cut.

🧠 Let's work it out

A passage about a new highway includes a paragraph about a small diner that closed when drivers stopped using the old road. Why?

It shows the highway changed more than travel times.
It changed people's jobs and towns too.

What do you think comes next?

author's purpose: the reason an author includes a text or part of a text

Relevant and convincing support

💡 Support only counts if it is relevant to the claim and stronger than a personal opinion.

Relevant support connects directly to the claim. If the claim is about safety, a sentence about fun is off-topic.

Convincing support uses facts, data, or expert views. Opinions and claims about what "everyone" thinks are weak.

To test a sentence, ask: does this give a reason the claim should happen?

🧠 Let's work it out

Claim: "The town needs more bike lanes."

A: "Crashes fell by half on streets with bike lanes." Relevant and strong.
B: "Bikes come in cool colors." Not relevant. Color says nothing about why we need lanes.

What do you think comes next?

relevant: directly connected to the claim
overgeneralization: a claim that something is true for everyone or always

Responding to the other side

💡 A strong writer admits a fair concern, then shows a way around it.

A counterclaim is an argument from the other side. Writers often bring it up with "It is true that" or "Some people say."

The response usually comes after "But" or "However." It may offer a solution, a cost savings, or a better reason.

🧠 How to think about it

"It is true that new lights cost money. But they use less power, so the town saves money in two years." The author admits the cost, then shows savings that outweigh it.

counterclaim: a point made by the other side of an argument