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Grammar & Writing

5 Types of Informational Text Structures

by Derek Spencer

The vast majority of texts are written for one or more of these three purposes:

To make an argument
To tell a story

To achieve these purposes, authors use one or more of the following 5 text structures:

Description
Sequence/Instruction/Process
Cause/Effect
Compare/Contrast
Problem/Solution

Students must be able to unpack these 5 text structures and study their components in order to fully understand and analyze informational texts, whether they're reading textbooks, news articles, or works of literary nonfiction.

1. Description

This is pretty straightforward. Texts that use this structure simply describe something. With few exceptions, these texts also present plenty of details about what they're describing.

A text using this structure might also:

Tell you why something is being described
Tell you why the described topic is important
Provide examples of the described topic(s)

Descriptive texts are everywhere—in novels, works of literary nonfiction, news articles, science textbooks—which makes sense because the entire point of description is to present information.

2. Sequence/Instruction/Process

This text structure covers a few purposes:

Sequential instructions (Step 1, Step 2, Step 3; do this, then do that, and finally do this)
Chronological events (This happened, then this happened, then this happened, etc.)
Arguments that use evidence to support a claim (presenting evidence from least to most convincing)

When students read or write a text with this structure, order is key. Texts that use this format usually don't present any event or instruction out of order, as doing so would make its directions more difficult to follow.

As a ludicrous example, imagine a cake recipe in which preheating the oven is the last step. It would just be confusing and odd. Poorly written instructions just aren't worth your time.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of words and phrases that indicate a text follows the sequence/instruction/process text structure:

3. Cause/Effect

Cause/Effect text structures explain, well, causes and effects. Sounds pretty simple! But works that use this structure can become complex when an effect has multiple causes (or vice versa).

Students will encounter complex examples of cause-effect when they read historical texts. Many events in history had more than one cause, all related in ways that can be difficult to unpack.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of words and phrases that indicate a text follows the cause/effect text structure:

4. Compare/Contrast

This text structure involves a comparison involving multiple things, revealing how they are similar and how they are different.

Make sure your students know that contrasting two or more things doesn't necessarily mean identifying them as either good or bad. Comparisons simply relay the differences; therefore, one thing could have both positive and negative traits.

Here is a non-exhaustive list of words and phrases that indicate a text follows the compare/contrast text structure:

5. Problem/Solution

This text structure involves two parts:

The author identifies a problem
The author details a solution to this problem

Problem/Solution can be a very complex text structure, as it necessitates the use of other structures, too. Clearly, the author needs to describe the problem. The author would likely also explain the causes and effects of the problem in order to argue in favor of their solution. Does implementing the author's solution involve following a series of specific steps? That involves another structure. What if the author wants to mention other potential solutions and then explain why their solution is the best one? Oh, hello there, Compare/Contrast!

What's important here, as it is with any text in which an author marshals an argument, is that the author uses only the information needed to advance the argument or refute counterarguments. When students examine a text that uses the Problem/Solution text structure, they should examine at least two things: the argument as a whole and the individual components of it.

Knowing that aspects of other text structures might appear in the Problem/Solution one will help students examine the argument's individual components. That's why it's essential that students understand and can analyze the other four structures if you want them to be able to examine Problem/Solution effectively.

Reading Informational Texts

Looking for a series that makes teaching informational material easier? Try Reading Informational Texts , available for grades 7–12. Each book in this series offers challenging nonfiction passages that align with the rigorous guidelines of the Common Core State Standards.

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The New York Times

The learning network | compare-contrast, cause-effect, problem-solution: common ‘text types’ in the times.

Compare-Contrast, Cause-Effect, Problem-Solution: Common ‘Text Types’ in The Times

Float builders like Phoenix Decorating in Pasadena say some former clients can't justify the cost.

Update | Sept. 2012: We’ll be exploring the new Common Core State Standards, and how teaching with The Times can address them, through a series of blog posts. You can find them all here, in the lesson plan category “Common Core.”

Last summer we took our first stab at thinking about how the Common Core Standards might apply to what we do on The Learning Network.

In that post, we offered suggestions for literacy strategies that we know work well with “informational text” — a category that includes pretty much everything The Times publishes every day.

Now we’d like to elaborate on that with more ideas for helping students understand common expository “text structures” like cause and effect, compare and contrast and problem-solution. These three, especially, are such staples of journalism that you can find multiple examples in every day’s paper.

Below, we’ve pulled out recent, student-friendly Times examples — in both print and multimedia — that illustrate each. We’ve also included a list of “signal words” commonly used in each. (A list borrowed, in part, from the work of Stephanie Harvey .)

Of course, the Times examples we include here are sophisticated pieces of writing. Just as it is impossible to find real-world, professional versions of that schoolroom classic, the five-paragraph-essay (the one with the thesis as the final line of the first paragraph, and topic sentences neatly heading each of the three body paragraphs), these pieces similarly resist a lockstep outline. Some may even cross categories. But each can illustrate for students how well a basic structure can work to lay out complex information.

After you’ve read a few from each category, try finding your own. We invite students and teachers to post more Times examples for each in the comment section below .

Cause and Effect

Much of journalism involves tracking the ripple effects of big news events or societal trends.

For instance, take a look at the paper any day and you’ll find stories in every section about the continuing chain of effects of the dismal global economy. Earlier this year, The Times was full of stories about the effects of the Japanese tsunami and nuclear crisis , and more recently journalists have tracked the spread, and effects, of Occupy Wall Street .

As students read the pieces we’ve chosen, they might use or adapt our simple graphic organizer — or create their own.

Signal Words and Phrases

for this reason
in order to
as a result
consequently
on account of

Times Print Examples

After Lean Acorn Crop in Northeast, Even People May Feel the Effects How does a dearth of acorns this year lead one scientist to predict both that traffic collisions will rise and that 2012 will be “the worst year for Lyme disease risk ever”?

The Lasting Shadow of Bernie Madoff “…for those he ensnared, the Madoff story drags on”: How Bernie Madoff, who was arrested three years ago this week, has changed the lives of his victims, family and trustees.

Time for a Vacation? Climate Change and the Human Clock How climate change over the last thirty years has affected attendance at the national parks — and how it could influence leisure activities, from ski trips to leaf-peeping to bird watching to ice-cream-eating, in the future.

In Tough Times, a Boom in Cremations as a Way to Save Money “All but taboo in the United States 50 years ago, cremation is now chosen over burial in 41 percent of American deaths, up from 15 percent in 1985, according to the Cremation Association of North America. Economics is clearly one of the factors driving that change.”

Rough Times Take Bloom Off a New Year’s Rite, the Rose Parade The sputtering economy and municipal budget cuts are presenting new problems for the Tournament of Roses and the float industry.

A Message on Every Arm Why the chic are carrying humble cloth tote bags this season.

Times Multimedia Examples

Graphic | How Shifting Plates Caused the Earthquake and Tsunami in Japan

Graphic | It’s All Connected: An Overview of the Euro Crisis

Compare and Contrast

Articles and multimedia that compare two or more things can be found daily in The Times, whether it’s via a chart comparing the new iPhone to its rivals, or an architecture review that contrasts the two new baseball stadiums in New York City.

Our Venn diagram graphic organizer might come in handy, either for taking notes while reading or for planning your own piece.

in comparison
by contrast
on the other hand
on the contrary
as opposed to

Times Print Examples Two New Baseball Palaces, One Stoic, One Scrappy A 2009 architecture review comparing the two new baseball stadiums in New York City, Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.

Fire and Ice A recent Op-Ed by Maureen Dowd compares Newt Gingrich with President Obama.

India Ink | Who Wants to Shop in a Big Box Store, Anyway? “Let’s compare the American big-box shopping experience to shopping in urban India,” invites this blog post, a particularly simple and clear example of this kind of writing.

Obsession, Reignited An article comparing Stieg Larsson’s novel “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” with the forthcoming film version by David Fincher. (This is just one of many Times examples in which an original literary piece is compared with the film or theatrical version. To find more, use Times search to read about works of literature you’re teaching.)

Multimedia Examples

Graphic | A Smartphone Face-Off Apple iPhone 4S vs. Samsung Galaxy S II

Slide Show | Vamps, Crooks and Killers to compare with A Rogues’ Gallery

Graphic | Comparing Internet Speeds Across the Nation

Problem and Solution

Every day in The Times there are articles that identify a problem of some kind and report on an innovative solution. In fact, one whole Times blog, called Fixes , is entirely devoted to reporting on solutions to social problems and why they work.

Of course we have a basic graphic organizer for this text type as well — to use as is, or as a jumping-off point for your own version.

Monks Embrace Web to Reach Recruits “The Benedictine monks at the Portsmouth Abbey in Portsmouth, R.I., have a problem. They are aging — five are octogenarians and the youngest will be 50 on his next birthday — and their numbers have fallen to 12, from a peak of about 24 in 1969.” Read about how these monks have taken to the Internet to solve it.

A Hard Turn: Better Health on the Highway How can the trucking industry encourage drivers to exercise and eat right on the road?

Fixes | The Power of Positive Coaching “…today’s youth coaches often struggle to provide sound, evidence-based, and age-appropriate guidance to players.” Fixes describes one solution.

Fixes | An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing “Hospitals do impossible things like heart surgery on a fetus, but they are apparently stymied by the task of getting health care workers to wash their hands.” What can they do to change that culture?

Interactive | Lunch Line Redesign

Slide Show | 10 Days in a Carry-On

Interactive | The 2010 Year in Ideas

Comments are no longer being accepted.

Students need explicit training about text structure. And your post is filled with good exercises and source material to work with.

Recognizing how information is organized helps students to analyze original work and summarize it for their audience. But for students to truly be engaged in summarizing, two components must come into play: 1. Allow students to make their own judgments about what’s important (instead of just repeating the details the teacher highlights) 2. Students need to be able to share what they’ve learned with an audience other than the teacher.

Your readers might also enjoy this series of strategies that focus on core skills needed across the curriculum. Designed for struggling readers at the secondary level. (Free downloadable pdf’s.) “18 Literacy Strategies for Struggling Readers – Defining, Summarizing and Comparing” //bit.ly/nQTXbQ

Students do need proper scaffolding. Opportunities to learn different analytic models – cause / effect, problem / solution, sequencing, continuity / change. It makes sense to provide them some graphic organizers to help master the models. But at some point, you must turn them loose and give them the chance to explore, discover, create. Put another way, if your entire class comes back with the same comparative analysis – you did the thinking, they didn’t.

Here’s a project I did for the Smithsonian – “Analyzing the History of the Bicycle: A Prezi DBQ” //bit.ly/qHxfXh

It explores notion of continuity and change and illustrates a question that I often pose to educators – when do we stop modeling for students and free them to take responsibility for their learning? In this lesson, students are given images of historic bicycles with a minimal amount of supporting text. Starting with concrete observations, students look for patterns of change and continuity (elements that changed, e.g., size / number of wheels, speed, stability and those that remained relatively constant , e.g., human powered, seated posture, need for brakes). Finally, they are asked develop a way to express what they’ve learned. This gives them an audience other than their teacher.

This is fabulous for teachers! You SHOW and TELL! I would also suggest that students use Glogster, a 2.0 webtool to show “debates” about articles in the newspaper. Students can choose which perspective they believe in and present their side with compelling quotations, videos, pictures from the internet. The “signal” words can be incorporated into this persuasive “final exhibition.”

Excellent suggesting for how to teach close reading of complex text using NYT articles.

It is not at all clear that students need explicit training to acquire different text structures. There is a great deal of published evidence that those who read a lot acquire these differences, and stud8ies claiming to show this compare explicit instruction to no instruction, not to extensive reading. I suspect that only the most obvious aspects of different text types can be taught explicitly.

Were is this place? I think it looks VERY realistic! I saw it and i was like “WOW LOOK AT THOSE COLORS!”

I can understand why Mr. Pappas commented in support of the *Times* worksheets (“graphic organizers”). Students do benefit from looking closely at a text and seeing its parts. He suggests that after analysis should come synthesis (speaking to an audience). I’d add three things to this scaffolding. First, writing is not just about worksheets. Kids need to write their own sentences about complex processes and share them — and then write more. Learning the key phrases that signal thought is a necessary but very very small part of learning to think. The danger is that teachers will think the content is the list of phrases, not the students’ ability to find worthwhile arguments and argue them persuasively. Secondly, teacher communities need support to go beyond teaching worksheets (it’s time consuming and easy to resort to marking errors or giving empty praise). If we’re teaching thinking, we have to teach form and content all the time, and then let the kids actually use language via discussion, writing and more writing, to make sense of the topic. In other words, they have to make meaningful statements together, not merely complete or accurate ones. Third, testing pushes us to teach only easily score-able lessons and to break the kids into two groups, those who will argue about concepts removed from the kids’ experience (for instance, the history of the bicycle) and those who will not play that game — and those who will not play that game usually end up being re-taught the “basics” of form and grammar for their entire school career. So for me the question is how we do both always, and the answer usually is to write, thus avoiding the either/or dichotomy of “ideas” and “critical thinking” as opposed to “style” and “form” — something we all say we want to unite, but rarely see in the atomistic, assembly-line lesson plans that train kids for the test. Finally, since teachers themselves have no time or support as writers — they are prepping for the test themselves nowadays — they have little personal experience to guide them as they teach their kids to meld style and content across the disciplines. Teachers need support from (now eliminated) programs like the National Writing Project and National Board Certification!

I used the compare/contrast, problem/solution, cause and effect with my eighth grade students. They worked in groups, did “chunking” first with the articles, and then filled in the graphic organizers. It was a terrific way to teach/reinforce these concepts using informational text. Thanks so much!

Thanks for writing in and saying so, Lee–it helps so much for us to know whether and how our lesson ideas work in actual classrooms!–Katherine

What a wonderful support for writing teachers! It is important to also think about how text structure plays into reading. By being immersed in the genre of informational text as readers and then as writers, students will begin to see these structures and how using them benefit the readers they write for — the symbiotic relationship between the two is one of the toughest kinds of thinking for kids to discover, yet, it is the most powerful in creating independent writers whose learning then becomes generative. “Reading with the eyes of a writer” allows students (and adults!) to use effective writing techniques in any genre. Thank you NYT for offering mentor texts!

I agree with you jaime, smart words used to explain our ideas and feelings…

Common Core standards reflect best teaching practices that most educators execute in their classrooms. My questions is for any Senator, President, or administrator. When are tests going to reflect the skills that we are required to teach in the classrooms? Are tests the best practice to use in order to measure learning? How are teachers suppose to be accountable for teaching analytical skills when we our jobs are measured based on test scores of our students?

Thank you for the excellent resource. I was looking for something like this, and you’ve saved me a lot of time looking for articles.

Thank you so much for the resources. My grade level team is very excited to work hard with incorporating this website in our lessons. Thank you for your hard work.

good advice .my children said they got 100. I have twins and this helped them both .

I don’t like these. Never have. I hate these assignments -.-

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Online Guide to Writing and Research

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Online Guide to Writing

Patterns for Presenting Information

Problem-Cause-Solution Pattern

According to conventional wisdom, you can summarize every story ever told in the following way: someone falls into a hole and must climb out. In other words, every story is about solving a problem. There are probably many exceptions to this observation; however, connecting the need to solve a real-life problem to your subject can draw your readers’ attention. The problem-cause-solution pattern can help you do this.

the word of REVISE on building blocks concept.

In a sense, this pattern is a variety of the specific-to-general pattern, as it often begins with specific details and moves to a somewhat generalized solution. However, rather than evoking a sense of mystery and suspense, the problem-cause-solution pattern focuses on concrete difficulties; and though a solution may appeal to abstract principles, the solution should have a practical application, enough to solve the real-life problem.

When to Use this Pattern

You may find the problem-cause-solution pattern useful in writing case studies, critiques, introductions, reports of scientific investigations, literary reviews, political and social discourse, white papers, proposals, many kinds of reports, and essay examinations.

How to Create this Pattern

The name of the problem-cause-solution pattern also describes the sequence in which to present your information.

Begin by describing the problem.

Proceed through diagnosing and analyzing the problem.

Then propose a solution.

The forms of analysis used to diagnose the problem may vary. You might, for example, use comparative analysis to evaluate for flaws in a process that may have led to the problem. You might use a combination of synthesis and cause and effect analysis to locate systemic conditions which caused the problem. However, in each instance—whether analyzing an entire process or analyzing a specific cause—the goal is to locate a cause or causes.

Example of this Pattern

There are two main kinds of ice that shape sea levels. The first is sea ice, which comes from ocean water that freezes solid. It makes up most of the ice at the North Pole. As it forms, it changes the saltiness of seawater and helps shape powerful ocean currents.

Melting sea ice doesn’t change the overall amount of water in the ocean, just as melting ice cubes don’t change the water level in a glass of water. But sea ice tends to reflect sunlight, while the darker ocean tends to soak up its heat. That speeds up warming and drives more ice melt in a worrying feedback loop. The warmer temperatures also contribute to the thermal expansion of water, which in turn can raise sea levels.

The second kind of ice is land ice, which builds up in sheets over thousands of years from compacted snow. In Antarctica, the ice sheet is 1.5 miles thick (2.4 km) on average, reaching up to 3 miles (5 km) in some areas. Greenland’s ice sheet averages a mile in thickness. When land ice starts to jut out over the ocean, it creates a floating ice shelf (Irfan, 2022, paras. 9-11).

Example Explained

Notice how the passage above begins with an implied problem: ice causing changes to sea levels. The passage proceeds to explain the causes of changing sea levels. These are the first two parts of our pattern. A few paragraphs later, the author shifts to discussing the beginnings of a solution.

Key Takeaways

The problem-cause-solution approach will first describe the problem, then analyze the cause or responses to the problem, and then will lead to a solution.
We practice this approach daily in our interactions with others, whether at work or home.

Mailing Address: 3501 University Blvd. East, Adelphi, MD 20783 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License . © 2022 UMGC. All links to external sites were verified at the time of publication. UMGC is not responsible for the validity or integrity of information located at external sites.

Table of Contents: Online Guide to Writing

Chapter 1: College Writing

How Does College Writing Differ from Workplace Writing?

What Is College Writing?

Why So Much Emphasis on Writing?

Chapter 2: The Writing Process

Doing Exploratory Research

Getting from Notes to Your Draft

Introduction

Prewriting - Techniques to Get Started - Mining Your Intuition

Prewriting: Targeting Your Audience

Prewriting: Techniques to Get Started

Prewriting: Understanding Your Assignment

Rewriting: Being Your Own Critic

Rewriting: Creating a Revision Strategy

Rewriting: Getting Feedback

Rewriting: The Final Draft

Techniques to Get Started - Outlining

Techniques to Get Started - Using Systematic Techniques

Thesis Statement and Controlling Idea

Writing: Getting from Notes to Your Draft - Freewriting

Writing: Getting from Notes to Your Draft - Summarizing Your Ideas

Writing: Outlining What You Will Write

Chapter 3: Thinking Strategies

A Word About Style, Voice, and Tone

A Word About Style, Voice, and Tone: Style Through Vocabulary and Diction

Critical Strategies and Writing

Critical Strategies and Writing: Analysis

Critical Strategies and Writing: Evaluation

Critical Strategies and Writing: Persuasion

Critical Strategies and Writing: Synthesis

Developing a Paper Using Strategies

Kinds of Assignments You Will Write

Patterns for Presenting Information: Critiques

Patterns for Presenting Information: Discussing Raw Data

Patterns for Presenting Information: General-to-Specific Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Problem-Cause-Solution Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Specific-to-General Pattern

Patterns for Presenting Information: Summaries and Abstracts

Supporting with Research and Examples

Writing Essay Examinations

Writing Essay Examinations: Make Your Answer Relevant and Complete

Writing Essay Examinations: Organize Thinking Before Writing

Writing Essay Examinations: Read and Understand the Question

Chapter 4: The Research Process

Planning and Writing a Research Paper

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Ask a Research Question

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Cite Sources

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Collect Evidence

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Decide Your Point of View, or Role, for Your Research

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Draw Conclusions

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Find a Topic and Get an Overview

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Manage Your Resources

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Outline

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Survey the Literature

Planning and Writing a Research Paper: Work Your Sources into Your Research Writing

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Human Resources

Research Resources: What Are Research Resources?

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found?

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Electronic Resources

Research Resources: Where Are Research Resources Found? - Print Resources

Structuring the Research Paper: Formal Research Structure

Structuring the Research Paper: Informal Research Structure

The Nature of Research

The Research Assignment: How Should Research Sources Be Evaluated?

The Research Assignment: When Is Research Needed?

The Research Assignment: Why Perform Research?

Chapter 5: Academic Integrity

Academic Integrity

Giving Credit to Sources

Giving Credit to Sources: Copyright Laws

Giving Credit to Sources: Documentation

Giving Credit to Sources: Style Guides

Integrating Sources

Practicing Academic Integrity

Practicing Academic Integrity: Keeping Accurate Records

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Paraphrasing Your Source

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Quoting Your Source

Practicing Academic Integrity: Managing Source Material - Summarizing Your Sources

Types of Documentation

Types of Documentation: Bibliographies and Source Lists

Types of Documentation: Citing World Wide Web Sources

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - APA Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - CSE/CBE Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - Chicago Style

Types of Documentation: In-Text or Parenthetical Citations - MLA Style

Types of Documentation: Note Citations

Chapter 6: Using Library Resources

Finding Library Resources

Chapter 7: Assessing Your Writing

How Is Writing Graded?

How Is Writing Graded?: A General Assessment Tool

The Draft Stage

The Draft Stage: The First Draft

The Draft Stage: The Revision Process and the Final Draft

The Draft Stage: Using Feedback

The Research Stage

Using Assessment to Improve Your Writing

Chapter 8: Other Frequently Assigned Papers

Reviews and Reaction Papers: Article and Book Reviews

Reviews and Reaction Papers: Reaction Papers

Writing Arguments

Writing Arguments: Adapting the Argument Structure

Writing Arguments: Purposes of Argument

Writing Arguments: References to Consult for Writing Arguments

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Anticipate Active Opposition

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Determine Your Organization

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Develop Your Argument

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Introduce Your Argument

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - State Your Thesis or Proposition

Writing Arguments: Steps to Writing an Argument - Write Your Conclusion

Writing Arguments: Types of Argument

Appendix A: Books to Help Improve Your Writing

Dictionaries

General Style Manuals

Researching on the Internet

Special Style Manuals

Writing Handbooks

Appendix B: Collaborative Writing and Peer Reviewing

Collaborative Writing: Assignments to Accompany the Group Project

Collaborative Writing: Informal Progress Report

Collaborative Writing: Issues to Resolve

Collaborative Writing: Methodology

Collaborative Writing: Peer Evaluation

Collaborative Writing: Tasks of Collaborative Writing Group Members

Collaborative Writing: Writing Plan

General Introduction

Peer Reviewing

Appendix C: Developing an Improvement Plan

Working with Your Instructor’s Comments and Grades

Appendix D: Writing Plan and Project Schedule

Devising a Writing Project Plan and Schedule

Reviewing Your Plan with Others

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Patterns of Organization and Methods of Development

Patterns of organization can help your readers follow the ideas within your essay and your paragraphs, but they can also work as methods of development to help you recognize and further develop ideas and relationships in your writing. Here are some strategies that can help you with both organization and development in your essays.

Major Patterns of Organization

Read the following sentences:

Now take the pie out of the oven and let it cool on the stovetop.
Mix the dry ingredients with the liquid ingredients.
Set the pie crust aside while you make the filling.

How did it feel to read the above list? A bit confusing, I would guess. That’s because the steps for making a pie were not well organized, and the steps don’t include enough detail for us to know exactly what we should do. (Like what are the dry and liquid ingredients?) We all know that starting instructions from the beginning and giving each detailed step in the order it should happen is vital to having a good outcome, in this case a yummy pie! But it’s not always so simple to know how to organize or develop ideas, and sometimes there’s more than one way, which complicates things even further.

First, let’s take a look at a couple of ways to think about organization.

General to Specific or Specific to General

It might be useful to think about organizing your topic like a triangle:

a diagram that shows a triangle with the point at the bottom to represent "general to specific" organization and a triangle with a point at the top to represent "specific to general" organization

The first triangle represents starting with the most general, big picture information first, moving then to more detailed and often more personal information later in the paper. The second triangle represents an organizational structure that starts with the specific, small scale information first and then moves to the more global, big picture stuff.

For example, if your topic is air pollution in Portland, Oregon, an essay that uses the general-to-specific organizational structure might begin this way:

Many people consider Portland, Oregon, to be an environmentally friendly, pollution-free place to live. They would be shocked to know how many pollutants are in the air causing a multitude of health problems in Portland’s citizens.

An essay that uses the specific-to-general structure might start like this:

When Nancy moved to Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two kids, she expected to find a clean, pollution-free city. She was shocked and angered when her daughter was diagnosed with asthma caused by air pollution.

What’s the difference between these two introductions? And how might they appeal to the intended audience for this essay (Portland voters) in different ways? The first introduction is looking at the big picture of the problem and mentions pollution’s impact on all citizens in Portland, while the second introduction focuses on one specific family. The first helps readers see how vast the problem really is, and the second helps connect readers to a real family, making an emotional appeal from the very beginning. Neither introduction is necessarily better. You’ll choose one over the other based on the kind of tone you’d like to create and how you’d like to affect your audience. It’s completely up to you to make this decision.

Does the Triangle Mean the Essay Keeps Getting More Specific or More Broad until the Very End?

The triangle is kind of a general guide, meaning you’re allowed to move around within it all you want. For example, it’s possible that each of your paragraphs will be its own triangle, starting with the general or specific and moving out or in. However, if you begin very broadly, it might be effective to end your essay in a more specific, personal way. And if you begin with a personal story, consider ending your essay by touching on the global impact and importance of your topic.

Are There Other Ways to Think about Organizing My Ideas?

Yes! Rather than thinking about which of your ideas are most specific or personal or which are more broad or universal, you might consider one of the following ways of organizing your ideas:

Most important information first (consider what you want readers to focus on first)
Chronological order (the order in time that events take place)
Compare and contrast (ideas are organized together because of their relationship to each other)

The section on Methods of Development, below, offers more detail about some of these organizational patterns, along with some others.

Choose one of the following topics, and practice writing a few opening sentences like we did above, once using the general-to-specific format and once using the specific-to-general. Which do you like better? What audience would be attracted to which one? Share with peers to see how others tackled this challenge. How would you rewrite their sentences? Why? Discuss your changes and listen to how your peers have revised your sentences. Taking in other people’s ideas will help you see new ways to approach your own writing and thinking.

Facing fears
Safety in sports
Community policing
Educating prisoners
Sex education
A book or movie that impacted you
One thing you would change about your community
Beauty standards
Toxic masculinity
How the media affects identity formation
Gender roles
Race in America
The value of art in society
Travel as part of a well-rounded education
Drugs and alcohol
Advice to new parents
Advice to teachers
The value of making mistakes
How you’d spend a million dollars
What a tough day at work taught you about yourself or others.

Methods of Development

The methods of development covered here are best used as ways to look at what’s already happening in your draft and to consider how you might emphasize or expand on any existing patterns. You might already be familiar with some of these patterns because teachers will sometimes assign them as the purpose for writing an essay. For example, you might have been asked to write a cause-and-effect essay or a comparison-and-contrast essay.

It’s important to emphasize here that patterns of organization or methods of developing content usually happen naturally as a consequence of the way the writer engages with and organizes information while writing. That is to say, most writers don’t sit down and say, “I think I’ll write a cause-and-effect essay today.” Instead, a writer might be more likely to be interested in a topic, say, the state of drinking water in the local community, and as the writer begins to explore the topic, certain cause-and-effect relationships between environmental pollutants and the community water supply may begin to emerge.

So if these patterns just occur naturally in writing, what’s the use in knowing about them? Well, sometimes you might be revising a draft and notice that some of your paragraphs are a bit underdeveloped. Maybe they lack a clear topic, or maybe they lack support. In either case, you can look to these common methods of development to find ways to sharpen those vague topics or to add support where needed. Do you have a clear cause statement somewhere but you haven’t explored the effects? Are you lacking detail somewhere where a narrative story or historical chronology can help build reader interest and add support? Are you struggling to define an idea that might benefit from some comparison or contrast? Read on to consider some of the ways that these strategies can help you in revision. And if you want to learn more, check out what the New York Times has to say in their learning blog article, “ Compare-Contrast, Cause-Effect, Problem Solution: Common ‘Text Types’ in The Times .”

Cause and Effect (or Effect and Cause)

Do you see a potential cause-and-effect relationship developing in your draft? The cause-and-effect pattern may be used to identify one or more causes followed by one or more effects or results. Or you may reverse this sequence and describe effects first and then the cause or causes. For example, the causes of water pollution might be followed by its effects on both humans and animals. You may use obvious transitions to clarify cause and effect, such as “What are the results? Here are some of them…” or you might simply use the words cause , effect , and result , to cue the reader about your about the relationships that you’re establishing.

Here’s an example article from the New York times, “ Rough Times Take Bloom Off a New Year’s Rite, the Rose Parade ,” that explores the cause and effect relationship (from 2011) between Pasadena’s budgetary challenges and the ability of their Rose Parade floats to deck themselves out in full bloom.

Problem-Solution

At some point does your essay explore a problem or suggest a solution? The problem-solution pattern is commonly used in identifying something that’s wrong and in contemplating what might be done to remedy the situation. There are probably more ways to organize a problem-solution approach, but but here are three possibilities:

Describe the problem, followed by the solution.
Propose the solution first and then describe the problems that motivated it.
Or a problem may be followed by several solutions, one of which is selected as the best.

When the solution is stated at the end of the paper, the pattern is sometimes called the delayed proposal. For a hostile audience, it may be effective to describe the problem, show why other solutions do not work, and finally suggest the favored solution. You can emphasize the words problem and solution to signal these sections of your paper for your reader.

Here’s an example article from the New York times, “ Monks Embrace Web to Reach Recruits ,” that highlights an unexpected approach by a group of Benedictine monks in Rhode Island; they’ve turned to social media to grow their dwindling membership. Monks on Facebook? Who knew?

Chronology or Narrative

Do you need to develop support for a topic where telling a story can illustrate some important concept for your readers? Material arranged chronologically is explained as it occurs in time. A chronological or narrative method of development might help you find a way to add both interest and content to your essay. Material arranged chronologically is explained as it occurs in time. This pattern may be used to establish what has happened. Chronology or narrative can be a great way to introduce your essay by providing a background or history behind your topic. Or you may want to tell a story to develop one or more points in the body of your essay. You can use transitional words like then , next , and finally to make the parts of the chronology clear.

Here’s an example article from the Center for Media Literacy (originally published in the journal Media & Values ): “ From Savers to Spenders: How Children Became a Consumer Market .” To encourage his readers to think about why and how children are being marketed to by advertisers, the author uses a historical chronology of how the spending habits of children changed over a number of decades.

Comparison and Contrast

Are you trying to define something? Do you need your readers to understand what something is and what it is not? The comparison-and-contrast method of development is particularly useful in extending a definition, or anywhere you need to show how a subject is like or unlike another subject. For example, the statement is often made that drug abuse is a medical problem instead of a criminal justice issue. An author might attempt to prove this point by comparing drug addiction to AIDS, cancer, or heart disease to redefine the term “addiction” as a medical problem. A statement in opposition to this idea could just as easily establish contrast by explaining all the ways that addiction is different from what we traditionally understand as an illness. In seeking to establish comparison or contrast in your writing, some words or terms that might be useful are by contrast , in comparison , while , some , and others .

Here’s an example article from the New York times: “ Who Wants to Shop in a Big Box Store, Anyway? ” The author explores some interesting differences between the average American and average Indian consumer to contemplate the potential success of big box stores in India and also to contemplate why these giant big box corporations, like Walmart or Target, might have to rethink their business model.

These four methods of development—cause and effect, problem-solution, chronology or narrative, and comparison and contrast—are just a few ways to organize and develop ideas and content in your essays. It’s important to note that they should not be a starting point for writers who want to write something authentic—something that they care deeply about. Instead, they can be a great way to help you look for what’s already happening with your topic or in a draft, to help you to write more, or to help you reorganize some parts of an essay that seem to lack connection or feel disjointed. Look for organizational patterns when you’re reading work by professional writers. Notice where they combine strategies (e.g a problem-solution pattern that uses cause-and-effect organization, or a comparison-contrast pattern that uses narrative or chronology to develop similarities or differences). Pay attention to how different writers emphasize and develop their main ideas, and use what you find to inspire you in your own writing. Better yet, work on developing completely new patterns of your own.

The Word on College Reading and Writing Copyright © by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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17 Rhetorical Modes for Paragraphs & Essays

Questions to Ponder

Before you read this chapter, discuss with partners:

What are rhetorical modes (also called “patterns of organization” and “methods of development”)? Can you list some examples?
Why are rhetorical modes important in writing? Jot down your ideas.

Now read the graphic below. Can you add to the list of rhetorical modes that you created with your partners?

Flow Chart. Central idea: Choosing Paragraph Patterns. Radiating from top right: Narration - introduction, to tell a story that makes a point, to give background on people or event, to show sequence of events. Process - to show steps of action, to explain how to do something. Example/Illustration - to clarify a point or concept, to give a picture or specific instance, to make the abstract real. Analogy - to compare scenarios, to compare to a settled outcome, to compare one event to another very different one. Definition - to clarify meaning, to set foundation of argument, to give background. Comparison/contrast - to draw distinction between items, to find common ground. Description - to give details, to create a picture. Cause/effect - to lead from one item to another, to argue logic of evidence of action. Classification/Division - to put items in categories, to clarify comparison of items in a category, to divide items by characteristics.

Rhetorical Modes

Rhetorical modes are also called patterns of organization or methods of development ; they are the ways that authors and speakers organize their ideas to communicate effectively. The rhetorical modes that are covered here are best used as ways to look at what’s already happening in your draft and to consider how you might emphasize or expand on any existing patterns. You might already be familiar with some of these patterns because instructors will sometimes assign them as the purpose for writing an essay. For example, you might have been asked to write a cause and effect essay or a comparison and contrast essay.

Patterns of organization or methods of developing content usually happen naturally as a consequence of the way the writer engages with and organizes information while writing. That is to say, most writers don’t sit down and say, “I think I’ll write a cause and effect essay today.” Instead, a writer might be more likely to be interested in a topic, say, the state of drinking water in the local community, and as the writer begins to explore the topic, certain cause and effect relationships between environmental pollutants and the community water supply may begin to emerge . And in fact, many times, one essay may incorporate two or more rhetorical modes, as the author makes an argument for their point of view.

Activity A ~ Brainstorming Rhetorical Modes

Pause here to brainstorm ideas with your partner. Using the chart above (“ Choosing Paragraph Patterns “), discuss some of the topics below. Which mode(s) might you use in an essay about these topics? Would you need to explore more than one rhetorical mode for each topic?

Gender roles
Race in America
The value of art in society
Travel as part of a well-rounded education
Drugs and alcohol
Advice to new parents
Advice to teachers
The value of making mistakes
How you’d spend a million dollars
What a tough day at work taught you about yourself or others
My family history
Your idea: ___________

Keep reading to consider some of the ways that these strategies can help you as you revise a draft.

Cause/Effect

Do you see a potential cause-and-effect relationship developing in your draft? The cause/effect pattern may be used to identify one or more causes followed by one or more effects or results. Or you may reverse this sequence and describe effects first and then the cause or causes. For example, the causes of water pollution might be followed by its effects on both humans and animals. Use the signal words cause , effect , and result , to cue the reader about your about the relationships that you’re establishing.

Here’s an example article from T he New York Times , “ Rough Times Take Bloom Off a New Year’s Rite, the Rose Parade ,” that explores the cause and effect relationship (from 2011) between Pasadena’s budgetary challenges and the ability of their Rose Parade floats to deck themselves out in full bloom.

Problem/Solution

At some point does your essay explore a problem or suggest a solution? The problem/solution pattern is commonly used in identifying something that’s wrong and in contemplating what might be done to remedy the situation. For example, the problem of water pollution could be described, followed by ideas of new ways to solve the problem. There are probably more ways to organize a problem/solution approach, but here are three possibilities:

Describe the problem, followed by the solution
Propose the solution first and then describe the problems that motivated it
Explain a problem, followed by several solutions, and select one solution as the best

Emphasize the words problem and solution to signal these sections of your paper for your reader.

Here’s an example article from T he New York Times , “ Monks Embrace Web to Reach Recruits ,” that highlights an unexpected approach by a group of Benedictine monks in Rhode Island; they’ve turned to social media to grow their dwindling membership.

Compare/Contrast

Are you trying to define something? Do you need your readers to understand what something is and what it is not? The compare-and-contrast method of development is particularly useful in extending a definition, or anywhere you need to show how a subject is like or unlike another subject. For example, the statement is often made that drug abuse is a medical problem instead of a criminal justice issue. An author might attempt to prove this point by comparing drug addiction to AIDS, cancer, or heart disease to redefine the term “addiction” as a medical problem. A statement in opposition to this idea could just as easily establish contrast by explaining all the ways that addiction is different from what we traditionally understand as an illness. In seeking to establish comparison or contrast in your writing, some words or terms that might be useful are by contrast , in comparison , while , some , and others .

Here’s an example article from T he New York Times “ Who Wants to Shop in a Big Box Store, Anyway? ” The author explores some interesting differences between the average American and average Indian consumer to contemplate the potential success of big box stores in India and also to contemplate why these giant big box corporations, like Walmart or Target, might have to rethink their business model.

yellow umbrella on surface of water at daytime

These three methods of development—cause/effect, problem/solution, and compare/contrast—are just a few ways to organize and develop ideas and content in your essays. It’s important to note that they should not be a starting point for writers who want to write something authentic, to discuss something that they care deeply about. Instead, they can be a great way to help you look for what’s already happening with your topic or in a draft, to help you to write more, or to help you reorganize some parts of an essay that seem to lack connection or feel disjointed.

Sometimes writers incorporate a variety of modes in any one essay. For example, under the umbrella of an argument essay, and author might choose to write paragraphs showing cause and effect, description, and narrative. The rhetorical mode writers choose depends on the purpose for writing. Rhetorical modes are a set of tools that will give you greater flexibility and effectiveness in communicating with your audience and expressing ideas.

In addition to cause/effect , problem/solution , and compare/contrast , there are many other types of rhetorical modes:

Classification and division , often used in science, takes large ideas and divides them into manageable chunks of information, classifying and organizing them into types and parts.
Definition clarifies the meaning of terms and concepts, providing context and description for deeper understanding of those ideas.
Description provides detailed information using adjectives that appeal to the five senses (what people see, hear, smell, taste, and touch) as well as other vivid details that help readers visualize or understand an item or concept.
Evaluation analyzes and judges the value and merit of an essay, a concept, or topic.
Illustration provides examples and evidence in detail to support, explain, and analyze a main point or idea.
Narrative uses fictional or nonfictional stories in a chronological sequence of events, often including detailed descriptions and appeals to the senses and emotions of readers while storytelling to reveal a theme or moment.
Persuasion (i.e., argumentation) logically attempts to convince readers to agree with an opinion or take an action; the argument also acknowledges opposing viewpoints and accommodates and/or refutes them with diplomatic and respectful language, as well as provides precise and accurate evidence and other expert supporting details.
Process analysis describes and explains, step by step, chronologically, in detail, and with precision and accuracy, how to do something or how something works.

Assignment prompts for college essays may require a specific rhetorical mode, or you may be able to choose the best mode(s) to express your ideas clearly. Either way, be sure to ask your instructor if you are not sure which rhetorical mode(s) to use.

Key Takeaways

Why are rhetorical modes important?

As readers, understanding an author’s rhetorical mode helps us to understand the text, and to read and think critically.
Knowing the rhetorical mode helps us to identify the author’s main ideas, which helps us to summarize the author’s work.
As writers, we use rhetorical modes to make our writing clearer; they help us signal our topic and direction to our readers.
Rhetorical modes also help us to develop support and keep our readers interested.

Activity B ~ Identifying Rhetorical Modes

Read a printed or online essay or article. A letter to the editor or an editorial from a newspaper would be perfect. Then, with a partner, identify the modes of writing found in the article. (Use the lists above to help.) Analyze the different choices the writer has made about language and organization to express a point of view. Notice how the author may combine rhetorical modes (for example, a problem-solution article that uses cause-and-effect organization in some paragraphs, or a definition pattern that uses narrative or compare and contrast paragraphs to develop similarities or differences).
Select, read, and annotate a sample student essay in a specific style as provided in “ Readings: Examples of Essays ” from Saylor Academy . Note in the margins or on another sheet of paper what rhetorical mode each paragraph uses, how those modes and paragraphs support the overall rhetorical mode of the essay, and whether each paragraph does so successfully or not. Discuss in small groups and summarize your findings to report to the rest of the class.

If you want to learn more about three common rhetorical modes, read what the New York Times has to say in their learning blog article, “ Compare-Contrast, Cause-Effect, Problem Solution: Common ‘Text Types’ in The Times .”

Note: links open in new tabs.

This chapter was modified from the following Open Educational Resources:

“Patterns of Organization and Methods of Development ” from The Word on College Reading and Writing by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear, which is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

“ Introduction ” from English Composition by Karyl Garland, Ann Inoshita, Jeanne K. Tsutsui Keuma, Kate Sims, and Tasha Williams, is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

“ Chapter 10: The Rhetorical Modes ” and “ Chapter 15: Readings: Examples of Essays ,” from Writing for Success from Saylor Academy, which is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0.

to think about

to write quickly

to come out, to be revealed

to decorate themselves

to fix; to make right

getting smaller

ENGLISH 087: Academic Advanced Writing Copyright © 2020 by Nancy Hutchison is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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30 Patterns of Organization and Methods of Development

Major Patterns of Organization

Now take the pie out of the oven and let it cool on the stovetop.
Mix the dry ingredients with the liquid ingredients.
Set the pie crust aside while you make the filling.

First, let’s take a look at a couple of ways to think about organization.

General to Specific or Specific to General

It might be useful to think about organizing your topic like a triangle:

Two triangles. The first is an inverted pyramid for General to Specific, the second is a pyramid for Specific to General.

For example, if your topic is traffic in Vancouver, British Columbia, an essay that uses the general-to-specific organizational structure might begin this way:

Many people consider Vancouver, British Columbia, to be a relaxed place to live. They would be shocked to know how bad the traffic is traveling major arteries into the city and even driving around the city itself.

An essay that uses the specific-to-general structure might start like this:

Transit is crowded, parking is expensive, and vehicles stop and go through the main streets of the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, and that is just once travelers brave the crowded arteries to enter the city; Vancouver’s traffic problem does not lend itself to the relaxed atmosphere many believe the city to have.

What’s the difference between these two introductions? And how might they appeal to the intended audience for this essay in different ways? The first introduction is looking at the big picture of the problem and mentions pollution’s impact on all citizens in Portland, while the second introduction focuses on one specific family. The first helps readers see how vast the problem really is, and the second helps connect readers to a real family, making an emotional appeal from the very beginning. Neither introduction is necessarily better. You’ll choose one over the other based on the kind of tone you’d like to create and how you’d like to affect your audience. It’s completely up to you to make this decision.

Does the Triangle Mean the Essay Keeps Getting More Specific or More Broad until the Very End?

Are There Other Ways to Think about Organizing My Ideas?

Yes! Rather than thinking about which of your ideas are most specific or personal or which are more broad or universal, you might consider one of the following ways of organizing your ideas:

Most important information first (consider what you want readers to focus on first)
Chronological order (the order in time that events take place)
Compare and contrast (ideas are organized together because of their relationship to each other)

The section on Methods of Development, below, offers more detail about some of these organizational patterns, along with some others.

Facing fears
Safety in sports
Community policing
Educating prisoners
Sex education

Methods of Development

Cause and Effect (or Effect and Cause)

Problem-Solution

Describe the problem, followed by the solution.
Propose the solution first and then describe the problems that motivated it.
Or a problem may be followed by several solutions, one of which is selected as the best.

Chronology or Narrative

Comparison and Contrast

These four methods of development—cause and effect, problem-solution, chronology or narrative, and comparison and contrast—are just a few ways to organize and develop ideas and content in your essays. It’s important to note that they should not be a starting point for writers who want to write something authentic—something that they care deeply about. Instead, they can be a great way to help you look for what’s already happening with your topic or in a draft, to help you to write more, or to help you reorganize some parts of an essay that seem to lack connection or feel disjointed. Look for organizational patterns when you’re reading work by professional writers. Notice where they combine strategies (e.g., a problem-solution pattern that uses cause-and-effect organization, or a comparison-contrast pattern that uses narrative or chronology to develop similarities or differences). Pay attention to how different writers emphasize and develop their main ideas, and use what you find to inspire you in your own writing. Better yet, work on developing completely new patterns of your own.

Text Attributions

This chapter was adapted from “ Patterns of Organization and Methods of Development ” in The Word on College Reading and Writing by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear, which is licensed under a CC BY-NC 4.0 Licence . Adapted by Allison Kilgannon.

Media Attributions

“ Peach and lavender pie ” by Heather Joan is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Licence .
“General to Specific vs. Specific to General Triangles” by Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear is under a CC BY-NC 4.0 Licence .

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Cause and Effect
English Language Arts
Problem and Solution
Text Structures

Sequence/Chronological Order, Cause/Effect, and Problem/Solution

This seminar is a study of Sequence/Chronological Order, Cause and Effect, and Problem/Solution text structures. Research shows sequence and chronological order as separate structures and also as one and the same. As for cause/effect and problem/solution text structures, these are often confused by learners. These concerns will be addressed in this seminar while you learn how authors organize ideas. As a result, this will help you to better understand the nonfiction texts you are exposed to, along with the graphic organizers used to support the texts.

CC.1.2.5.E Use text structure, in and among texts, to interpret information.

Introductory warm-up activity.

Think about at least five events that stand out which have taken place in your life up until now (times of excitement, sorrow, fright, etc). How did you remember them in your mind? Were they organized somehow in your memory?

Read or watch the resources to learn about this concept, then do the practice activity.

Discuss your ideas / opinions / understandings.

How do you think this image could relate to text structures? Formulate some ideas and be ready to share.

Now it is time to self-check how much you have learned about the this topic. If you do not know as much as you thought, go back to the “Explore” section of this seminar and reread, rewatch, or redo the activities listed. See your facilitator if you have questions.

Click here to take the quiz online. You do not have to log into the quiz site in order to take this quiz. If a window pops up asking you to sign up for the quiz site, just close the sign-up window and start your quiz.

This is a task or project where you can show what you know.

Choose one activity below to complete.

Activity #1 Occupational Text Structures - Reflect on the text structures taught in this seminar: sequence, chronological order, cause/effect, and problem/solution.

Your final project must include:

Two different occupations

Two different texts for each occupation (total of 4 text structure examples-paragraphs, videos, slides, etc.)

A completed graphic organizer for each text structure (total of 4 organizers)

You may NOT use a text structure more than once.

Organization of the above requirements in an appealing way, using Google Docs, Slides, or Drawing.

Activity #2 Image Text Structures- Reflect on the text structures taught in this seminar: sequence, chronological order, cause/effect, and problem/solution.

Three Images

Three graphic organizers, organizing your thoughts and information prior to writing your texts.

Three paragraphs revealing each text structure you chose for this activity; incorporating the appropriate signal words into each one.

Complete this wrap-up activity where you reflect on your learning

What was difficult about applying the concept of text structures when creating your own texts? How would you compare the level of difficulty to texts already written for you to designing your own?

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Solving Problems With Cause and Effect Analysis

How to use cause and effect diagrams.

By the Mind Tools Content Team

Cause and Effect Analysis is a technique that helps you identify all the likely causes of a problem. This means that you can find and fix the main cause, first time around, without the problem running on and on.

The diagrams you create with this type of analysis are sometimes known as fishbone diagrams, because they look like the skeleton of a fish. The technique was developed by Professor Ishikawa in the 1960s.

To solve a problem with this technique, write down your problem in a box on the left-hand side of a piece of paper. Then draw a straight line from the box to the other side of the paper.

Once you've written down the problem, draw several lines that extend out from your long horizontal line. You're now going to brainstorm all of the factors that could be contributing to this problem. These may be systems, equipment, materials, external forces, people involved with the problem, and so on.

In this example, which looks at the issue of high staff turnover, the possible factors are management, the working environment, training and development, the corporate culture, and pay.

When you've brainstormed possible factors, draw several horizontal lines that extend outward from each one. You're now going to brainstorm possible causes of the problem, related each factor.

In this example, possible causes could be that managers micromanage their teams. They may not spend enough time on site. Or, they may not provide team members with the guidance they need to do their jobs effectively.

You repeat this for each of the factors that you identified in the last step, until you've identified all possible causes of the problem. From here, you can review all of these to identify the most likely cause.

Now, read the article that accompanies this video to learn more about Cause and Effect Analysis.

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Cause and effect analysis.

Identifying the Likely Causes of Problems

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Paragraphs Cause-Effect

Drafting body paragraphs: purpose-based organization strategies cause-effect.

There are many different strategies designed for organizing specific types of body paragraphs, including cause-effect, problem-solution, comparison-contrast and chronological. You must identify the purpose of the paragraph before you begin writing and then seek out the appropriate organizational strategy for writing a paragraph with that specific purpose. This handout discusses the cause-effect strategy in detail.

First, there’s one thing you should know about this handout and its connection to another Academic Center handout. This handout is best used in conjunction with the Academic Center handout Drafting Body Paragraphs: CECC: An Internal Organization Strategy, which discusses a method of paragraph development that focuses on claim, evidence, commentary and conclusion. The CECC method accounts for the labeling in brackets of the example paragraphs in this handout. These labels in brackets are merely meant to show how each purpose-based organization strategy also corresponds with the CECC method.

Cause-effect paragraphs seek to illustrate the relationship(s) between two or more events by revealing why or how something happened. Therefore, it’s not enough simply to state the cause(s) and the effect(s). The cause-effect paragraph should be organized in a way that focuses on the connection(s) between the cause(s) and the effect(s). Keep in mind that there are several ways to develop a cause-effect paragraph: you can discuss how one cause led to one effect, how one cause led to several effects, how several causes led to one effect, or many other variations of the process. Furthermore, a cause and effect relationship may not necessarily be explained in its entirety in a single paragraph. If the process that is being described is quite detailed or complicated, a paragraph block might work better.

A paragraph block is a series of several paragraphs which share the same topic sentence. The paragraph block has the same basic function as a single paragraph – to explore a main idea in detail. A paragraph block is used when the main idea being covered features several different components or is especially detailed. The paragraph block will still follow the same organizational pattern; the content will just be revealed over the course of several paragraphs rather than contained within a single paragraph.

Regardless of the way that you choose to develop a cause-effect paragraph or paragraph block, the following organizational structure can apply:

In the paragraph’s topic sentence, make your claim that x, or x and y, or x, y and z, were the causes for the event (effect).
In the paragraph’s body, use evidence and commentary to describe the process of how these causes, x, y, and z, led up to the effects.
In the paragraph’s conclusion, describe the resulting effect(s).

Let’s take a look at an example of a successful cause- effect paragraph:

Causes of the event tied to its effects [claim]

While many teachers and parents offer rewards to entice children into behaving in a specific manner, recent research indicates that providing rewards may have negative effects on the child, including delayed egocentric growth.

Description of process whereby the effects are achieved [evidence and commentary]

Rewards are detrimental to a child’s ego development because they manipulate the very basic foundations of the ego’s function. According to Smith (2004), development of the ego relies on allowing one to choose and control situations for oneself subliminally without outside pressure. When that ability to choose and control for oneself is taken out of a child’s life and is manipulated with a concrete reward, some degree of meaning is lost (Smith 2004). Quite clearly, rewards, much like punishments, seek to control an individual’s behavior.

Effects of the event [conclusion]

Therefore, these rewards inhibit egocentric growth by taking the aspect of choice away from the child and placing the control of the child’s ego into the hands of the person with the reward.

In this example paragraph, the cause is the offering of rewards to children, the effect is the delay in egocentric growth, and the description of the process explains why the offering of rewards leads to a delay in egocentric growth.

Not only is the cause and effect pattern present, but the components of the CECC pattern also emerge. For example, in the description of the process section, the evidence, or statements about how ego development relies on the ability to choose and control for oneself, is cited according to Smith. However, the writer’s commentary which follows these statements interprets and summarizes this evidence for the reader. More information on providing and signaling commentary is available in our handout Signal Your Commentary on Source Material .

This cause-effect pattern is most useful in journalistic writing and historical writing, but it may also be used in other kinds of papers. In particular, this pattern may work well in the background section(s) of different types of papers.

Although this handout discussed the cause-effect approach to paragraph organization, there are many other methods you can use to organize information within a specific paragraph. Additionally, while the information presented in this handout is tailored toward paragraph development, this organizational strategies discussed can be applied as overall organization strategies for research papers or can be used as organization strategies for paragraph blocks within a larger paper.

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Cause and Effect Analysis

Identifying the likely causes of problems, (also known as cause and effect diagrams, fishbone diagrams, ishikawa diagrams, herringbone diagrams, and fishikawa diagrams.).

When you have a serious problem, it's important to explore all of the things that could cause it, before you start to think about a solution.

That way you can solve the problem completely, first time round, rather than just addressing part of it and having the problem run on and on.

Cause and Effect Analysis gives you a useful way of doing this. This diagram-based technique, which combines Brainstorming with a type of Mind Map , pushes you to consider all possible causes of a problem, rather than just the ones that are most obvious.

Click here to view a transcript of this video.

About the Tool

Cause and Effect Analysis was devised by professor Kaoru Ishikawa, a pioneer of quality management, in the 1960s. The technique was then published in his 1990 book, " Introduction to Quality Control ."

The diagrams that you create with are known as Ishikawa Diagrams or Fishbone Diagrams (because a completed diagram can look like the skeleton of a fish).

Although it was originally developed as a quality control tool, you can use the technique just as well in other ways. For instance, you can use it to:

Discover the root cause of a problem.
Uncover bottlenecks in your processes.
Identify where and why a process isn't working.

How to Use the Tool

Follow these steps to solve a problem with Cause and Effect Analysis:

Step 1: Identify the Problem

First, write down the exact problem you face. Where appropriate , identify who is involved, what the problem is, and when and where it occurs.

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Then, write the problem in a box on the left-hand side of a large sheet of paper, and draw a line across the paper horizontally from the box. This arrangement, looking like the head and spine of a fish, gives you space to develop ideas.

In this simple example, a manager is having problems with an uncooperative branch office.

Figure 1 – Cause and Effect Analysis Example Step 1

(Click image to view full size.)

Some people prefer to write the problem on the right-hand side of the piece of paper, and develop ideas in the space to the left. Use whichever approach you feel most comfortable with.

It's important to define your problem correctly. CATWOE can help you do this – this asks you to look at the problem from the perspective of Customers, Actors in the process, the Transformation process, the overall World view, the process Owner, and Environmental constraints.

By considering all of these, you can develop a comprehensive understanding of the problem.

Step 2: Work Out the Major Factors Involved

Next, identify the factors that may be part of the problem. These may be systems, equipment, materials, external forces, people involved with the problem, and so on.

Try to draw out as many of these as possible. As a starting point, you can use models such as the McKinsey 7S Framework (which offers you Strategy, Structure, Systems, Shared values, Skills, Style and Staff as factors that you can consider) or the 4Ps of Marketing (which offers Product, Place, Price, and Promotion as possible factors).

Brainstorm any other factors that may affect the situation.

Then draw a line off the "spine" of the diagram for each factor, and label each line.

The manager identifies the following factors, and adds these to his diagram:

Figure 2 – Cause and Effect Analysis Example Step 2

Step 3: Identify Possible Causes

Now, for each of the factors you considered in step 2, brainstorm possible causes of the problem that may be related to the factor.

Show these possible causes as shorter lines coming off the "bones" of the diagram. Where a cause is large or complex, then it may be best to break it down into sub-causes. Show these as lines coming off each cause line.

For each of the factors he identified in step 2, the manager brainstorms possible causes of the problem, and adds these to his diagram, as shown in figure 3.

Figure 3 – Cause and Effect Analysis Example Step 3

Step 4: Analyze Your Diagram

By this stage you should have a diagram showing all of the possible causes of the problem that you can think of.

Depending on the complexity and importance of the problem, you can now investigate the most likely causes further. This may involve setting up investigations, carrying out surveys, and so on. These will be designed to test which of these possible causes is actually contributing to the problem.

The manager has now finished his analysis. If he hadn't looked at the problem this way, he might have dealt with it by assuming that people in the branch office were "being difficult."

Instead he thinks that the best approach is to arrange a meeting with the Branch Manager. This would allow him to brief the manager fully on the new strategy, and talk through any problems that she may be experiencing.

A useful way to use this technique with a team is to write all of the possible causes of the problem down on sticky notes. You can then group similar ones together on the diagram.

This approach is sometimes called CEDAC (Cause and Effect Diagram with Additional Cards) and was developed by Dr. Ryuji Fukuda, a Japanese expert on continuous improvement.

Professor Kaoru Ishikawa created Cause and Effect Analysis in the 1960s. The technique uses a diagram-based approach for thinking through all of the possible causes of a problem. This helps you to carry out a thorough analysis of the situation.

There are four steps to using the tool.

Identify the problem.
Work out the major factors involved.
Identify possible causes.
Analyze your diagram.

You'll find this method is particularly useful when you're trying to solve complicated problems.

This site teaches you the skills you need for a happy and successful career; and this is just one of many tools and resources that you'll find here at Mind Tools. Subscribe to our free newsletter , or join the Mind Tools Club and really supercharge your career!

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Comments (36)

Over a month ago BillT wrote Hi AnotherFrancis, and Welcome to the Club! As with my response to Alex81, not everyone will find the example the most useful, as is the case with you. We appreciate your feedback. BillT Mind Tools Team
Over a month ago AnotherFrancis wrote Nice article but, like Alex81, I didn't find the example to be very helpful.
Over a month ago BillT wrote Hi Alex81, and Welcome to the Club! Thank you for your feedback on the Cause and Effect Analysis. I agree that not everyone may find the example the best way to demonstrate the resource. This diagram has also been known as the Ishikawa Diagram or Fishbone Diagram. You may find additional resources with better examples for you. Also, you may wish to post this in the Forums so that our members can provide their input into the topic. BillT Mind Tools Team

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48 Monroe’s Motivated Sequence, Problem-Solution, Comparative Advantages

Learning objectives.

Understand three common organizational patterns for persuasive speeches.
Explain the steps utilized in Monroe’s motivated sequence.
Explain the parts of a problem-cause-solution speech.
Explain the process utilized in a comparative advantage persuasive speech.

Organizing Persuasive Speeches

Previously in this text, we discussed general guidelines for organizing speeches. In this section, we are going to look at three organizational patterns ideally suited for persuasive speeches: Monroe’s motivated sequence, problem-cause-solution, and comparative advantages.

Monroe’s Motivated Sequence

One of the most commonly cited and discussed organizational patterns for persuasive speeches is Alan H. Monroe’s motivated sequence. The purpose of Monroe’s motivated sequence is to help speakers “sequence supporting materials and motivational appeals to form a useful organizational pattern for speeches as a whole” (German et al., 2010).

While Monroe’s motivated sequence is commonly discussed in most public speaking textbooks, we do want to provide one minor caution. Thus far, almost no research has been conducted that has demonstrated that Monroe’s motivated sequence is any more persuasive than other structural patterns. In the only study conducted experimentally examining Monroe’s motivated sequence, the researchers did not find the method more persuasive but did note that audience members found the pattern more organized than other methods (Micciche, Pryor, & Butler, 2000). We wanted to add this sidenote because we don’t want you to think that Monroe’s motivated sequence is a kind of magic persuasive bullet; the research simply doesn’t support this notion. At the same time, research does support that organized messages are perceived as more persuasive as a whole, so using Monroe’s motivated sequence to think through one’s persuasive argument could still be very beneficial.

Below are the basic steps of Monroe’s motivated sequence and the subsequent reaction a speaker desires from his or her audience.

The first step in Monroe’s motivated sequence is the attention step , in which a speaker attempts to get the audience’s attention. To gain an audience’s attention, we recommend that you think through three specific parts of the attention step. First, you need to have a strong attention-getting device. As previously discussed, a strong attention getter at the beginning of your speech is very important. Second, you need to make sure you introduce your topic clearly. If your audience doesn’t know what your topic is quickly, they are more likely to stop listening. Lastly, you need to explain to your audience why they should care about your topic. If this sounds familiar, it should! The attention step uses the same elements as an introduction for any speech: The attention getter, relevance, credibility, thesis statement, and preview.

In the need step of Monroe’s motivated sequence, the speaker establishes that there is a specific need or problem. This will be your first main point. In Monroe’s conceptualization of need, he talks about four specific parts of the need: statement, illustration, ramification, and pointing. First, a speaker needs to give a clear and concise statement of the problem. This part of a speech should be crystal clear for an audience. Second, the speaker needs to provide one or more examples to illustrate the need. The illustration is an attempt to make the problem concrete for the audience. Next, a speaker needs to provide some kind of evidence (e.g., statistics, examples, testimony) that shows the ramifications or consequences of the problem. Lastly, a speaker needs to point to the audience and show exactly how the problem relates to them personally.

Satisfaction

In the third step of Monroe’s motivated sequence, the satisfaction step , the speaker sets out to satisfy the need or solve the problem. This will be your second main point. Within this step, Monroe (1935) proposed a five-step plan for satisfying a need:

Explanation
Theoretical demonstration
Reference to practical experience
Meeting objections

First, you need to clearly state the attitude, value, belief, or action you want your audience to accept. The purpose of this statement is to clearly tell your audience what your ultimate goal is.

Second, you want to make sure that you clearly explain to your audience why they should accept the attitude, value, belief, or action you proposed. Just telling your audience they should do something isn’t strong enough to actually get them to change. Instead, you really need to provide a solid argument for why they should accept your proposed solution.

Third, you need to show how the solution you have proposed meets the need or problem. Monroe calls this link between your solution and the need a theoretical demonstration because you cannot prove that your solution will work. Instead, you theorize based on research and good judgment that your solution will meet the need or solve the problem.

Fourth, to help with this theoretical demonstration, you need to reference practical experience, which should include examples demonstrating that your proposal has worked elsewhere. Research, statistics, and expert testimony are all great ways of referencing practical experience.

Lastly, Monroe recommends that a speaker responds to possible objections. As a persuasive speaker, one of your jobs is to think through your speech and see what counterarguments could be made against your speech and then rebut those arguments within your speech. When you offer rebuttals for arguments against your speech, it shows your audience that you’ve done your homework and educated yourself about multiple sides of the issue.

Visualization

The next step of Monroe’s motivated sequence is the visualization step , in which you ask the audience to visualize a future where the need has been met or the problem solved. This will be your third main point. In essence, the visualization stage is where a speaker can show the audience why accepting a specific attitude, value, belief, or behavior can positively affect the future. When helping people to picture the future, the more concrete your visualization is, the easier it will be for your audience to see the possible future and be persuaded by it. You also need to make sure that you clearly show how accepting your solution will directly benefit your audience.

According to Monroe, visualization can be conducted in one of three ways: positive, negative, or contrast (Monroe, 1935). The positive method of visualization is where a speaker shows how adopting a proposal leads to a better future (e.g., recycle, and we’ll have a cleaner and safer planet). Conversely, the negative method of visualization is where a speaker shows how not adopting the proposal will lead to a worse future (e.g., don’t recycle, and our world will become polluted and uninhabitable). Monroe also acknowledged that visualization can include a combination of both positive and negative visualization. In essence, you show your audience both possible outcomes and have them decide which one they would rather have.

The final step in Monroe’s motivated sequence is the action step , in which a speaker asks an audience to approve the speaker’s proposal. For understanding purposes, we break the action into two distinct parts: audience action and approval. Audience action refers to direct physical behaviors a speaker wants from an audience (e.g., flossing their teeth twice a day, signing a petition, wearing seat belts). Approval, on the other hand, involves an audience’s consent or agreement with a speaker’s proposed attitude, value, or belief.

When preparing an action step, it is important to make sure that the action, whether audience action or approval, is realistic for your audience. Asking your peers in a college classroom to donate one thousand dollars to charity isn’t realistic. Asking your peers to donate one dollar is considerably more realistic. In a persuasive speech based on Monroe’s motivated sequence, the action step will end with the speech’s concluding device. As discussed elsewhere in this text, you need to make sure that you conclude in a vivid way so that the speech ends on a high point and the audience has a sense of energy as well as a sense of closure.

This step will be your conclusion. Again, it will have the same elements as a conclusion you would use for any speech.

Application

Now that we’ve walked through Monroe’s motivated sequence, let’s look at how you could use Monroe’s motivated sequence to outline a persuasive speech:

Specific Purpose: To persuade my classroom peers that the United States should have stronger laws governing the use of for-profit medical experiments.

Main Points:

Attention: Want to make nine thousand dollars for just three weeks of work lying around and not doing much? Then be a human guinea pig. Admittedly, you’ll have to have a tube down your throat most of those three weeks, but you’ll earn three thousand dollars a week.
Need: Every day many uneducated and lower socioeconomic-status citizens are preyed on by medical and pharmaceutical companies for use in for-profit medical and drug experiments. Do you want one of your family members to fall prey to this evil scheme?
Satisfaction: The United States should have stronger laws governing the use of for-profit medical experiments to ensure that uneducated and lower-socioeconomic-status citizens are protected.
Visualization: If we enact tougher experiment oversight, we can ensure that medical and pharmaceutical research is conducted in a way that adheres to basic values of American decency. If we do not enact tougher experiment oversight, we could find ourselves in a world where the lines between research subject, guinea pig, and patient become increasingly blurred.
Action: In order to prevent the atrocities associated with for-profit medical and pharmaceutical experiments, please sign this petition asking the US Department of Health and Human Services to pass stricter regulations on this preying industry that is out of control.

This example shows how you can take a basic speech topic and use Monroe’s motivated sequence to clearly and easily outline your speech efficiently and effectively.

Below is a checklist that contains a simple checklist to help you make sure you hit all the important components of Monroe’s motivated sequence.

The following video further details Monroe’s Motivated Sequence outlining each component and providing examples to provide an in-depth understanding of the organizational pattern.

For Future Reference | How to organize this in an outline |

Introduction: Attention Step

Main Point #1: Need Step

Main Point #2: Satisfaction Step

Main Point #3: Visualization Step

Conclusoin: Action Step

Problem-Cause-Solution

Another format for organizing a persuasive speech is the problem-cause-solution format. In this specific format, you discuss what a problem is, what you believe is causing the problem, and then what the solution should be to correct the problem.

Specific Purpose: To persuade my classroom peers that our campus should adopt a zero-tolerance policy for hate speech.

Demonstrate that there is distrust among different groups on campus that has led to unnecessary confrontations and violence.
Show that the confrontations and violence are a result of hate speech that occurred prior to the events.
Explain how instituting a campus-wide zero-tolerance policy against hate speech could stop the unnecessary confrontations and violence.

In this speech, you want to persuade people to support a new campus-wide policy calling for zero-tolerance of hate speech. Once you have shown the problem, you then explain to your audience that the cause of the unnecessary confrontations and violence is prior incidents of hate speech. Lastly, you argue that a campus-wide zero-tolerance policy could help prevent future unnecessary confrontations and violence. Again, this method of organizing a speech is as simple as its name: problem-cause-solution.

Comparative Advantages

The final method for organizing a persuasive speech is called the comparative advantages speech format. The goal of this speech is to compare items side-by-side and show why one of them is more advantageous than the other. For example, let’s say that you’re giving a speech on which e-book reader is better: Amazon.com’s Kindle or Barnes and Nobles’ Nook. Here’s how you could organize this speech:

Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that the Nook is more advantageous than the Kindle.

The Nook allows owners to trade and loan books to other owners or people who have downloaded the Nook software, while the Kindle does not.
The Nook has a color-touch screen, while the Kindle’s screen is black and grey and noninteractive.
The Nook’s memory can be expanded through microSD, while the Kindle’s memory cannot be upgraded.

As you can see from this speech’s organization, the simple goal of this speech is to show why one thing has more positives than something else. Obviously, when you are demonstrating comparative advantages, the items you are comparing need to be functional equivalents—or, as the saying goes, you cannot compare apples to oranges.

Key Takeaways

There are three common patterns that persuaders can utilize to help organize their speeches effectively: Monroe’s motivated sequence, problem-cause-solution, and comparative advantage. Each of these patterns can effectively help a speaker think through his or her thoughts and organize them in a manner that will be more likely to persuade an audience.
Alan H. Monroe’s (1935) motivated sequence is a commonly used speech format that is used by many people to effectively organize persuasive messages. The pattern consists of five basic stages: attention, need, satisfaction, visualization, and action. In the first stage, a speaker gets an audience’s attention. In the second stage, the speaker shows an audience that a need exists. In the third stage, the speaker shows how his or her persuasive proposal could satisfy the need. The fourth stage shows how the future could be if the persuasive proposal is or is not adopted. Lastly, the speaker urges the audience to take some kind of action to help enact the speaker’s persuasive proposal.
The problem-cause-solution proposal is a three-pronged speech pattern. The speaker starts by explaining the problem the speaker sees. The speaker then explains what he or she sees as the underlying causes of the problem. Lastly, the speaker proposes a solution to the problem that corrects the underlying causes.
The comparative advantages speech format is utilized when a speaker is comparing two or more things or ideas and shows why one of the things or ideas has more advantages than the other(s).

German, K. M., Gronbeck, B. E., Ehninger, D., & Monroe, A. H. (2010). Principles of public speaking (17th ed.). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, p. 236.

Micciche, T., Pryor, B., & Butler, J. (2000). A test of Monroe’s motivated sequence for its effects on ratings of message organization and attitude change. Psychological Reports, 86 , 1135–1138.

Monroe, A. H. (1935). Principles and types of speech . Chicago, IL: Scott Foresman.

Public Speaking Copyright © by Dr. Layne Goodman; Amber Green, M.A.; and Various is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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2.4.7: Patterns of Organization and Methods of Development

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Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear

Carol Burnell, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear
Clackamas Community & Portland State University via OpenOregon

Major Patterns of Organization

Read the following sentences:

Now take the pie out of the oven and let it cool on the stovetop.
Mix the dry ingredients with the liquid ingredients.
Set the pie crust aside while you make the filling.

First, let’s take a look at a couple of ways to think about organization.

General to Specific or Specific to General

It might be useful to think about organizing your topic like a triangle:

Figure $\PageIndex{1}$

For example, if your topic is air pollution in Portland, Oregon, an essay that uses the general-to-specific organizational structure might begin this way:

An essay that uses the specific-to-general structure might start like this:

Does the Triangle Mean the Essay Keeps Getting More Specific or More Broad until the Very End?

Are There Other Ways to Think about Organizing My Ideas?

Yes! Rather than thinking about which of your ideas are most specific or personal or which are more broad or universal, you might consider one of the following ways of organizing your ideas:

Most important information first (consider what you want readers to focus on first)
Chronological order (the order in time that events take place)
Compare and contrast (ideas are organized together because of their relationship to each other)

The section on Methods of Development, below, offers more detail about some of these organizational patterns, along with some others.

Figure $\PageIndex{2}$

Facing fears
Safety in sports
Community policing
Educating prisoners
Sex education
A book or movie that impacted you
One thing you would change about your community
Beauty standards
Toxic masculinity
How the media affects identity formation
Gender roles
Race in America
The value of art in society
Travel as part of a well-rounded education
Drugs and alcohol
Advice to new parents
Advice to teachers
The value of making mistakes
How you’d spend a million dollars
What a tough day at work taught you about yourself or others.

Methods of Development

So if these patterns just occur naturally in writing, what’s the use in knowing about them? Well, sometimes you might be revising a draft and notice that some of your paragraphs are a bit underdeveloped. Maybe they lack a clear topic, or maybe they lack support. In either case, you can look to these common methods of development to find ways to sharpen those vague topics or to add support where needed. Do you have a clear cause statement somewhere but you haven’t explored the effects? Are you lacking detail somewhere where a narrative story or historical chronology can help build reader interest and add support? Are you struggling to define an idea that might benefit from some comparison or contrast? Read on to consider some of the ways that these strategies can help you in revision. And if you want to learn more, check out what the New York Times has to say in their learning blog article, “Compare-Contrast, Cause-Effect, Problem Solution: Common ‘Text Types’ in The Times.”

Cause and Effect (or Effect and Cause)

Problem-Solution

Describe the problem, followed by the solution.
Propose the solution first and then describe the problems that motivated it.
Or a problem may be followed by several solutions, one of which is selected as the best.

Chronology or Narrative

Comparison and Contrast

Here’s an example article from the New York times: “Who Wants to Shop in a Big Box Store, Anyway?” The author explores some interesting differences between the average American and average Indian consumer to contemplate the potential success of big box stores in India and also to contemplate why these giant big box corporations, like Walmart or Target, might have to rethink their business model.

Text Structures -Problem & Solution vs Cause & Effect DIGITAL SORTS

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Do your students struggle differentiating between problem and solution and cause and effect? These two text structures are very similar but they have key differences that really set them apart! These digital sorts will help your students identify problem and solution and cause and effect, and also help them distinguish between the two text structures. These sorts are PERFECT for providing your students with extra click and drag practice which is commonly used on state assessments! This activity is PERFECT for DISTANCE LEARNING!

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1 keyword/phrases digital sort
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Problem and Solution or Cause & Effect

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1. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt A problem is an event or something that causes trouble the way to fix trouble
2. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt A solution is an event or situation that causes trouble something used to fix or resolve trouble
3. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt Which is a good solution to this problem? I don't understand what we are doing. Ask your mom or dad about it. Ask your brother or sister about it. Ask your teacher about it.
4. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt How can you tell the difference between information that contains cause and effect and information that contains a problem and solution? I can tell the difference when I read it. A cause has a solution. A cause isn't a problem and an effect isn't a solution.
5. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt The rain came down harder and harder. Suddenly the bridge came tumbling down. Does this paragraph contain a problem/solution text feature or a cause and effect text feature? cause/effect problem/solution
6. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt Caleb hadn't gotten any sleep for the past few nights. He was really tired tonight. He didn't know if he would be able to sleep. He decided to close the curtains in his room to keep out the light and wear ear plugs to keep out the noise. Hank slept very well this night. Does this paragraph contain a problem/solution text feature or a cause and effect text feature? cause/effect problem/solution
7. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt Ellie felt so bad. Her head hurt and her stomach ached. She had a fever too. Her mom decided to take her to the doctor to find out what was wrong with her. What is the cause in this paragraph? Ellie was sick. Ellie went to the doctor. Her mom was sick.
8. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt I bought my sister a new doll for her birthday. I thought she would like it. When she opened the gift, she gave me a big hug and said thank you! I was really glad she like the doll. Does this paragraph contain a problem/solution text feature or a cause and effect text feature? Cause/effect Problem/solution
9. Multiple Choice Edit 45 seconds 1 pt Hank came home from school and he was hungry. He decided to see if there was anything in the cupboard to eat. He checked the shelf and couldn't find any chips or crackers. He looked in another cupboard and there weren't any snack there either. Finally he looked in the frig and there he found some apples to eat. What is the solution? Hank found apples to eat. Hank likes chips. Hank looked for snacks.
10. Multiple Choice Edit 45 seconds 1 pt Stacey had a lot of fun riding her bike one sunny afternoon. She was just about home when she hit a patch of loose gravel. Stacey skidded and then tipped over on her bike, scraping her knee. After cleaning the scrape, Stacey put a bandage on her knee. What is the problem? She hit a patch of loose gravel. She had a lot of fun. She scraped her knee.
11. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt What is the solution to Stacey's problem? She went home. She put a bandage on it. She scraped her knee. She shouldn't have gotten on the bike.

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Cause effect problem solution

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Problem Solution vs Cause and Effect Text Structure?

The Causes of Climate Change

Human activities are driving the global warming trend observed since the mid-20th century.

The greenhouse effect is essential to life on Earth, but human-made emissions in the atmosphere are trapping and slowing heat loss to space.
Five key greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and water vapor.
While the Sun has played a role in past climate changes, the evidence shows the current warming cannot be explained by the Sun.

Increasing Greenhouses Gases Are Warming the Planet

Scientists attribute the global warming trend observed since the mid-20 th century to the human expansion of the "greenhouse effect" 1 — warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space.

Life on Earth depends on energy coming from the Sun. About half the light energy reaching Earth's atmosphere passes through the air and clouds to the surface, where it is absorbed and radiated in the form of infrared heat. About 90% of this heat is then absorbed by greenhouse gases and re-radiated, slowing heat loss to space.

Four Major Gases That Contribute to the Greenhouse Effect

Carbon dioxide.

A vital component of the atmosphere, carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) is released through natural processes (like volcanic eruptions) and through human activities, such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation.

Like many atmospheric gases, methane comes from both natural and human-caused sources. Methane comes from plant-matter breakdown in wetlands and is also released from landfills and rice farming. Livestock animals emit methane from their digestion and manure. Leaks from fossil fuel production and transportation are another major source of methane, and natural gas is 70% to 90% methane.

Nitrous Oxide

A potent greenhouse gas produced by farming practices, nitrous oxide is released during commercial and organic fertilizer production and use. Nitrous oxide also comes from burning fossil fuels and burning vegetation and has increased by 18% in the last 100 years.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

These chemical compounds do not exist in nature – they are entirely of industrial origin. They were used as refrigerants, solvents (a substance that dissolves others), and spray can propellants.

FORCING: Something acting upon Earth's climate that causes a change in how energy flows through it (such as long-lasting, heat-trapping gases - also known as greenhouse gases). These gases slow outgoing heat in the atmosphere and cause the planet to warm.

Another Gas That Contributes to the Greenhouse Effect:

Water vapor.

Water vapor is the most abundant greenhouse gas, but because the warming ocean increases the amount of it in our atmosphere, it is not a direct cause of climate change. Credit: John Fowler on Unsplash

FEEDBACKS: A process where something is either amplified or reduced as time goes on, such as water vapor increasing as Earth warms leading to even more warming.

Human Activity Is the Cause of Increased Greenhouse Gas Concentrations

Over the last century, burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO 2 ). This increase happens because the coal or oil burning process combines carbon with oxygen in the air to make CO 2 . To a lesser extent, clearing of land for agriculture, industry, and other human activities has increased concentrations of greenhouse gases.

The industrial activities that our modern civilization depends upon have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by nearly 50% since 1750 2 . This increase is due to human activities, because scientists can see a distinctive isotopic fingerprint in the atmosphere.

In its Sixth Assessment Report, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, composed of scientific experts from countries all over the world, concluded that it is unequivocal that the increase of CO 2 , methane, and nitrous oxide in the atmosphere over the industrial era is the result of human activities and that human influence is the principal driver of many changes observed across the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere and biosphere.

"Since systematic scientific assessments began in the 1970s, the influence of human activity on the warming of the climate system has evolved from theory to established fact."

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The panel's AR6 Working Group I (WGI) Summary for Policymakers report is online at https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/ .

Evidence Shows That Current Global Warming Cannot Be Explained by Solar Irradiance

Scientists use a metric called Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) to measure the changes in energy the Earth receives from the Sun. TSI incorporates the 11-year solar cycle and solar flares/storms from the Sun's surface.

Studies show that solar variability has played a role in past climate changes. For example, a decrease in solar activity coupled with increased volcanic activity helped trigger the Little Ice Age.

temperature vs solar activity updated July 2020

But several lines of evidence show that current global warming cannot be explained by changes in energy from the Sun:

Since 1750, the average amount of energy from the Sun either remained constant or decreased slightly 3 .
If a more active Sun caused the warming, scientists would expect warmer temperatures in all layers of the atmosphere. Instead, they have observed a cooling in the upper atmosphere and a warming at the surface and lower parts of the atmosphere. That's because greenhouse gases are slowing heat loss from the lower atmosphere.
Climate models that include solar irradiance changes can’t reproduce the observed temperature trend over the past century or more without including a rise in greenhouse gases.

1. IPCC 6 th Assessment Report, WG1, Summary for Policy Makers, Sections A, “ The Current State of the Climate ”

IPCC 6 th Assessment Report, WG1, Technical Summary, Sections TS.1.2, TS.2.1 and TS.3.1

2. P. Friedlingstein, et al., 2022: “Global Carbon Budget 2022”, Earth System Science Data ( 11 Nov 2022): 4811–4900. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4811-2022

3. IPCC 6 th Assessment Report, WG1, Chapter 2, Section 2.2.1, “ Solar and Orbital Forcing ” IPCC 6 th Assessment Report, WG1, Chapter 7, Sections 7.3.4.4, 7.3.5.2, Figure 7.6, “ Solar ” M. Lockwood and W.T. Ball, Placing limits on long-term variations in quiet-Sun irradiance and their contribution to total solar irradiance and solar radiative forcing of climate,” Proceedings of the Royal Society A , 476, issue 2228 (24 June 2020): https://doi 10.1098/rspa.2020.0077

Header image credit: Pixabay/stevepb Four Major Gases image credit: Adobe Stock/Ilya Glovatskiy

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See how the Key Bridge collapse will disrupt the supply of cars, coal and tofu

The port of baltimore is the top port in the nation for automobile shipments.

The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore on Tuesday cut off access to much of the city’s port — causing a suspension of vessel traffic that will disrupt a key trade lane and threaten to further tangle already-stressed supply chains.

The Port of Baltimore was the 17th largest in the nation by total tons in 2021 and an important artery for the movement of autos, construction machinery and coal. It handled 52.3 million tons of foreign cargo worth nearly $81 billion in 2023, according to Maryland data, and creates more than 15,000 jobs.

Top 10 imports and exports to the Port

of Baltimore in 2023

2023 total: $59B

electronics

commodities

2023 total: $22B

Iron, steel

Seeds, grains,

fruits, plants

Air and space

craft, parts

Coal, oil and

natural gas

Note: not seasonally adjusted. Vehicles excluding railways

and tramways. Nickel, aluminium, paper and wood include

derivatives of those commodities

Source: Census Bureau

Top ten imports and exports to the Port of Baltimore in 2023

Electronic machinery

and electronics

farmwork and

construction

Iron and steel

spacecraft, parts

Note: not seasonally adjusted. Vehicles excluding railways and tramways. Nickel, aluminium,

paper and wood include derivatives of those commodities

spacecraft,

bedding, lights

Note: not seasonally adjusted. Vehicles excluding railways and tramways. Nickel, aluminium, paper and wood include

On Tuesday, the Port of Baltimore said that vessel traffic would be suspended in and out of the port until further notice, but trucks would still be processed in its terminals.

“Baltimore’s not one of the biggest ports in the United States, but it’s a good moderate-sized port,” said Campbell University maritime historian Sal Mercogliano. It has five public and 12 private terminals to handle port traffic.

North Locust

Point Marine

Ports and terminals

Baltimore Port

Truck Plaza

Seagirt Marine

Dundalk Marine

Shipping channels

CSX Coal Pier

Francis Scott

Hawkins Point

Marine Terminal

“It does cars, it does bulk carriers, it does containers, it does passengers.” said Mercogliano. “So this is going to be a big impact.”

Baltimore’s the top port in the nation for automobile shipments, having imported and exported more than 750,000 vehicles in 2022, according to the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, an industry group.

About three-quarters of the autos that travel through the port are imports, dominated by big-name brands, including Mazda and Mercedes-Benz. Most of the top companies have enough inventory sitting on U.S. dealer lots that any immediate impact on supply is unlikely, said Ambrose Conroy, chief executive of the consulting firm Seraph.

“It’s too early to say what impact this incident will have on the auto business, but there will certainly be a disruption,” said John Bozzella, president of the Alliance for Automotive Innovation.

The port ranked second in the country for exporting coal last year, according to the state of Maryland. But it’s not a huge global supplier of thermal coal, and the disruption can likely be made up by replacements from Australia or Indonesia if needed, said Alexis Ellender, lead analyst at global trade intelligence company Kpler.

Baltimore is also a niche port for the soybean trade, focusing mostly on high-value soy used in tofu, miso, tempeh and organic products, according to Mike Steenhoek, executive director of the Soy Transportation Coalition. Most of those exports are destined for Asia, but Steenhoek doesn’t expect a big spike in tofu prices because several other U.S. ports also ship this sort of soy, including Norfolk, Va., Savannah, Ga. and Charleston, S.C.

All East Coast ports have become more important in recent years as the United States attempts to boost its trade with friendly nations and reduce geopolitical risks related to trade with China, which generally happens via West Coast ports, said Tinglong Dai, a Johns Hopkins Carey Business School professor and expert on global supply chains.

Baltimore port’s suspension is “one more disruption in an already-stressed system” for the global supply chain, said Abe Eshkenazi, chief executive of the Association for Supply Chain Management. Cargo will now have to be rerouted to other ports, which means figuring out where there is enough capacity to move things.

East Coast ports and shipping density

Ship traffic

Philadelphia

of Baltimore

5th-largest port

on the East Coast

for foreign trade

Newport News

Morehead City

East Coast ports

and shipping density

PENNSYLVANIA

The Port of Baltimore

5th-largest port on the

East Coast for foreign trade

Coal shipments will need to be rerouted to other ports, Kpler’s Ellender said. And Ryan Petersen, chief executive of the logistics company Flexport, posted on X that the company currently has 800 containers on a slew of ships heading for the port that will need to be rerouted, likely to Philadelphia or Norfolk.

The biggest problem Steenhoek sees from Baltimore’s shuttering is the knock-on effect to other ports. Many ships stuck in the port were destined to make stops at other U.S. ports to load and unload goods before heading overseas, a complicated logistical dance now scrambled by the bridge collapse.

“It just shows how you throw a wrench in the supply chain and the impact is not just confined to that one port,” Steenhoek said.

Tim Meko, Justine McDaniel and David J. Lynch contributed to this report. Editing by Kate Rabinowitz and Karly Domb Sadof.

Baltimore bridge collapse

How it happened: Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsed after being hit by a cargo ship . The container ship lost power shortly before hitting the bridge, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) said. Video shows the bridge collapse in under 40 seconds.

Victims: Divers have recovered the bodies of two construction workers , officials said. They were fathers, husbands and hard workers . A mayday call from the ship prompted first responders to shut down traffic on the four-lane bridge, saving lives.

Economic impact: The collapse of the bridge severed ocean links to the Port of Baltimore, which provides about 20,000 jobs to the area . See how the collapse will disrupt the supply of cars, coal and other goods .

Rebuilding: The bridge, built in the 1970s , will probably take years and cost hundreds of millions of dollars to rebuild , experts said.

Baltimore bridge collapse: Crane arrives at crash site to aid cleanup March 29, 2024 Baltimore bridge collapse: Crane arrives at crash site to aid cleanup March 29, 2024
Officials studied Baltimore bridge risks but didn’t prepare for ship strike March 29, 2024 Officials studied Baltimore bridge risks but didn’t prepare for ship strike March 29, 2024
Baltimore begins massive and dangerous cleanup after bridge collapse March 28, 2024 Baltimore begins massive and dangerous cleanup after bridge collapse March 28, 2024

What to know about the crisis of violence, politics and hunger engulfing Haiti

A woman carrying two bags of rice walks past burning tires

A long-simmering crisis over Haiti’s ability to govern itself, particularly after a series of natural disasters and an increasingly dire humanitarian emergency, has come to a head in the Caribbean nation, as its de facto president remains stranded in Puerto Rico and its people starve and live in fear of rampant violence.

The chaos engulfing the country has been bubbling for more than a year, only for it to spill over on the global stage on Monday night, as Haiti’s unpopular prime minister, Ariel Henry, agreed to resign once a transitional government is brokered by other Caribbean nations and parties, including the U.S.

But the very idea of a transitional government brokered not by Haitians but by outsiders is one of the main reasons Haiti, a nation of 11 million, is on the brink, according to humanitarian workers and residents who have called for Haitian-led solutions.

“What we’re seeing in Haiti has been building since the 2010 earthquake,” said Greg Beckett, an associate professor of anthropology at Western University in Canada.

Haitians take shelter in the Delmas 4 Olympic Boxing Arena

What is happening in Haiti and why?

In the power vacuum that followed the assassination of democratically elected President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, Henry, who was prime minister under Moïse, assumed power, with the support of several nations, including the U.S.

When Haiti failed to hold elections multiple times — Henry said it was due to logistical problems or violence — protests rang out against him. By the time Henry announced last year that elections would be postponed again, to 2025, armed groups that were already active in Port-au-Prince, the capital, dialed up the violence.

Even before Moïse’s assassination, these militias and armed groups existed alongside politicians who used them to do their bidding, including everything from intimidating the opposition to collecting votes . With the dwindling of the country’s elected officials, though, many of these rebel forces have engaged in excessively violent acts, and have taken control of at least 80% of the capital, according to a United Nations estimate.

Those groups, which include paramilitary and former police officers who pose as community leaders, have been responsible for the increase in killings, kidnappings and rapes since Moïse’s death, according to the Uppsala Conflict Data Program at Uppsala University in Sweden. According to a report from the U.N . released in January, more than 8,400 people were killed, injured or kidnapped in 2023, an increase of 122% increase from 2022.

“January and February have been the most violent months in the recent crisis, with thousands of people killed, or injured, or raped,” Beckett said.

Armed groups who had been calling for Henry’s resignation have already attacked airports, police stations, sea ports, the Central Bank and the country’s national soccer stadium. The situation reached critical mass earlier this month when the country’s two main prisons were raided , leading to the escape of about 4,000 prisoners. The beleaguered government called a 72-hour state of emergency, including a night-time curfew — but its authority had evaporated by then.

Aside from human-made catastrophes, Haiti still has not fully recovered from the devastating earthquake in 2010 that killed about 220,000 people and left 1.5 million homeless, many of them living in poorly built and exposed housing. More earthquakes, hurricanes and floods have followed, exacerbating efforts to rebuild infrastructure and a sense of national unity.

Since the earthquake, “there have been groups in Haiti trying to control that reconstruction process and the funding, the billions of dollars coming into the country to rebuild it,” said Beckett, who specializes in the Caribbean, particularly Haiti.

Beckett said that control initially came from politicians and subsequently from armed groups supported by those politicians. Political “parties that controlled the government used the government for corruption to steal that money. We’re seeing the fallout from that.”

Haiti Experiences Surge Of Gang Violence

Many armed groups have formed in recent years claiming to be community groups carrying out essential work in underprivileged neighborhoods, but they have instead been accused of violence, even murder . One of the two main groups, G-9, is led by a former elite police officer, Jimmy Chérizier — also known as “Barbecue” — who has become the public face of the unrest and claimed credit for various attacks on public institutions. He has openly called for Henry to step down and called his campaign an “armed revolution.”

But caught in the crossfire are the residents of Haiti. In just one week, 15,000 people have been displaced from Port-au-Prince, according to a U.N. estimate. But people have been trying to flee the capital for well over a year, with one woman telling NBC News that she is currently hiding in a church with her three children and another family with eight children. The U.N. said about 160,000 people have left Port-au-Prince because of the swell of violence in the last several months.

Deep poverty and famine are also a serious danger. Gangs have cut off access to the country’s largest port, Autorité Portuaire Nationale, and food could soon become scarce.

Haiti's uncertain future

A new transitional government may dismay the Haitians and their supporters who call for Haitian-led solutions to the crisis.

But the creation of such a government would come after years of democratic disruption and the crumbling of Haiti’s political leadership. The country hasn’t held an election in eight years.

Haitian advocates and scholars like Jemima Pierre, a professor at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, say foreign intervention, including from the U.S., is partially to blame for Haiti’s turmoil. The U.S. has routinely sent thousands of troops to Haiti , intervened in its government and supported unpopular leaders like Henry.

“What you have over the last 20 years is the consistent dismantling of the Haitian state,” Pierre said. “What intervention means for Haiti, what it has always meant, is death and destruction.”

Image: Workers unload humanitarian aid from a U.S. helicopter at Les Cayes airport in Haiti, Aug. 18, 2021.

In fact, the country’s situation was so dire that Henry was forced to travel abroad in the hope of securing a U.N. peacekeeping deal. He went to Kenya, which agreed to send 1,000 troops to coordinate an East African and U.N.-backed alliance to help restore order in Haiti, but the plan is now on hold . Kenya agreed last October to send a U.N.-sanctioned security force to Haiti, but Kenya’s courts decided it was unconstitutional. The result has been Haiti fending for itself.

“A force like Kenya, they don’t speak Kreyòl, they don’t speak French,” Pierre said. “The Kenyan police are known for human rights abuses . So what does it tell us as Haitians that the only thing that you see that we deserve are not schools, not reparations for the cholera the U.N. brought , but more military with the mandate to use all kinds of force on our population? That is unacceptable.”

Henry was forced to announce his planned resignation from Puerto Rico, as threats of violence — and armed groups taking over the airports — have prevented him from returning to his country.

An elderly woman runs in front of the damaged police station building with tires burning in front of it

Now that Henry is to stand down, it is far from clear what the armed groups will do or demand next, aside from the right to govern.

“It’s the Haitian people who know what they’re going through. It’s the Haitian people who are going to take destiny into their own hands. Haitian people will choose who will govern them,” Chérizier said recently, according to The Associated Press .

Haitians and their supporters have put forth their own solutions over the years, holding that foreign intervention routinely ignores the voices and desires of Haitians.

In 2021, both Haitian and non-Haitian church leaders, women’s rights groups, lawyers, humanitarian workers, the Voodoo Sector and more created the Commission to Search for a Haitian Solution to the Crisis . The commission has proposed the “ Montana Accord ,” outlining a two-year interim government with oversight committees tasked with restoring order, eradicating corruption and establishing fair elections.

For more from NBC BLK, sign up for our weekly newsletter .

CORRECTION (March 15, 2024, 9:58 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misstated which university Jemima Pierre is affiliated with. She is a professor at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, not the University of California, Los Angeles, (or Columbia University, as an earlier correction misstated).

Patrick Smith is a London-based editor and reporter for NBC News Digital.

Char Adams is a reporter for NBC BLK who writes about race.

Watch CBS News

How to travel around the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore: A look at the traffic impact and alternate routes

By Rohan Mattu

Updated on: March 29, 2024 / 5:01 AM EDT / CBS Baltimore

BALTIMORE -- The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday led to a major traffic impact for the region and cut off a major artery into and out of the port city.

A bridge column was hit by a large container ship around 1:30 a.m., sending bridge workers and vehicles into the Patapsco River. A water search for six missing workers turned to a recovery effort Tuesday night.

Drivers are told to prepare for extra commuting time until further notice.

Locator map showing the typical traffic routes of cargo vessels passing beneath the bridge and the trajectory Dali followed before the collision.

Alternate routes after Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse

Maryland transit authorities quickly put detours in place for those traveling through Dundalk or the Curtis Bay/Hawkins Point side of the bridge. The estimated 31,000 who travel the bridge every day will need to find a new route for the foreseeable future.

The outer loop I-695 closure shifted to exit 1/Quarantine Road (past the Curtis Creek Drawbridge) to allow for enhanced local traffic access.

The inner loop of I-695 remains closed at MD 157 (Peninsula Expressway). Additionally, the ramp from MD 157 to the inner loop of I-695 will be closed.

Alternate routes are I-95 (Fort McHenry Tunnel) or I-895 (Baltimore Harbor Tunnel) for north/south routes.

Commercial vehicles carrying materials that are prohibited in the tunnel crossings, including recreation vehicles carrying propane, should plan on using I-695 (Baltimore Beltway) between Essex and Glen Burnie. This will add significant driving time.

Where is the Francis Scott Key Bridge?

The Key Bridge crosses the Patapsco River, a key waterway that along with the Port of Baltimore serves as a hub for East Coast shipping.

The bridge is the outermost of three toll crossings of Baltimore's Harbor and the final link in Interstate 695, known in the region as the Baltimore Beltway, which links Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

The bridge was built after the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel reached capacity and experienced heavy congestion almost daily, according to the MDTA.

Tractor-trailer inspections

Tractor-trailers that now have clearance to use the tunnels will need to be checked for hazardous materials, which are not permitted in tunnels, and that could further hold up traffic.

The MDTA says vehicles carrying bottled propane gas over 10 pounds per container (maximum of 10 containers), bulk gasoline, explosives, significant amounts of radioactive materials, and other hazardous materials are prohibited from using the Fort McHenry Tunnel (I-95) or the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel (I-895).

Any vehicles transporting hazardous materials should use the western section of I-695 around the tunnels, officials said.

Francis Scott Key Bridge
Bridge Collapse
Patapsco River

Rohan Mattu is a digital producer at CBS News Baltimore. Rohan graduated from Towson University in 2020 with a degree in journalism and previously wrote for WDVM-TV in Hagerstown. He maintains WJZ's website and social media, which includes breaking news in everything from politics to sports.

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Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore

Israeli troops leave Gaza's Shifa Hospital a wreck in sea of rubble

Israeli forces have withdrawn from Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza City after a two-week operation, the Israeli military said on Monday, leaving behind a wasteland of destroyed buildings and Palestinian bodies scattered in the dirt of the complex.

Aftermath of deadly attack on Moscow concert hall

IMAGES

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COMMENTS

Text Structures Part 2: Cause and Effect + Problem / Solution
A cause / effect text structure can show 1 cause and several effects . Example: An earthquake can be the cause of many events (damaged structures, ruptured pipes, injuries, accidents, tsunami, etc.). When this is the case, it may be simpler to identify the cause first, then identify all of the effects. On the other hand, a cause / effect text ...
Problem-Solution vs Cause-Effect Speeches: How to Choose
Cause and effect comes before a problem and solution. Your job during a cause and effect speech is simply to show the correlation between the cause and the effect it has. It should feel objective ...
5 Types of Informational Text Structures
To inform. To tell a story. To achieve these purposes, authors use one or more of the following 5 text structures: Description. Sequence/Instruction/Process. Cause/Effect. Compare/Contrast. Problem/Solution. Students must be able to unpack these 5 text structures and study their components in order to fully understand and analyze informational ...
Compare-Contrast, Cause-Effect, Problem-Solution: Common 'Text Types
I used the compare/contrast, problem/solution, cause and effect with my eighth grade students. They worked in groups, did "chunking" first with the articles, and then filled in the graphic organizers. It was a terrific way to teach/reinforce these concepts using informational text. Thanks so much! Thanks for writing in and saying so, Lee ...
Patterns for Presenting Information: Problem-Cause-Solution Pattern
The problem-cause-solution approach will first describe the problem, then analyze the cause or responses to the problem, and then will lead to a solution. We practice this approach daily in our interactions with others, whether at work or home. Mailing Address: 3501 University Blvd. East, Adelphi, MD 20783.
Patterns of Organization and Methods of Development
These four methods of development—cause and effect, problem-solution, chronology or narrative, and comparison and contrast—are just a few ways to organize and develop ideas and content in your essays. ... Notice where they combine strategies (e.g a problem-solution pattern that uses cause-and-effect organization, or a comparison-contrast ...
17 Rhetorical Modes for Paragraphs & Essays
In addition to cause/effect, problem/solution, and compare/contrast, there are many other types of rhetorical modes: Classification and division, often used in science, takes large ideas and divides them into manageable chunks of information, classifying and organizing them into types and parts.
Patterns of Organization and Methods of Development
These four methods of development—cause and effect, problem-solution, chronology or narrative, and comparison and contrast—are just a few ways to organize and develop ideas and content in your essays. ... Notice where they combine strategies (e.g., a problem-solution pattern that uses cause-and-effect organization, or a comparison-contrast ...
Sequence/Chronological Order, Cause/Effect, and Problem/Solution
This seminar is a study of Sequence/Chronological Order, Cause and Effect, and Problem/Solution text structures. Research shows sequence and chronological order as separate structures and also as one and the same. As for cause/effect and problem/solution text structures, these are often confused by learners. These concerns will be addressed in this seminar while you learn how authors organize ...
Sequence/Chronological Order, Cause/Effect, and Problem/Solution
Overview. This seminar is a study of Sequence/Chronological Order, Cause and Effect, and Problem/Solution text structures. Research shows sequence and chronological order as separate structures and also as one and the same. As for cause/effect and problem/solution text structures, these are often confused by learners.
Cause and Effect Analysis
Step 1: Identify the Problem. First, write down the exact problem you face. Where appropriate, identify who is involved, what the problem is, and when and where it occurs. Then, write the problem in a box on the left-hand side of a large sheet of paper, and draw a line across the paper horizontally from the box.
Solving Problems With Cause and Effect Analysis
MTCT. Cause and Effect Analysis is a technique that helps you identify all the likely causes of a problem. This means that you can find and fix the main cause, first time around, without the problem running on and on. The diagrams you create with this type of analysis are sometimes known as fishbone diagrams, because they look like the skeleton ...
Organizing Cause Effect Paragraphs
Cause-effect paragraphs seek to illustrate the relationship (s) between two or more events by revealing why or how something happened. Therefore, it's not enough simply to state the cause (s) and the effect (s). The cause-effect paragraph should be organized in a way that focuses on the connection (s) between the cause (s) and the effect (s).
Problem Solving: Cause and Effect
Problem Solving: Cause and Effect. One tool that can be helpful when problem solving is the Cause and Effect diagram, also known as a fishbone diagram, (Kaoru Ishikawa 1968) This tool provides a systematic approach to problem solving and can be used to generate ideas for several potential causes, leading to identification of the key root cause.
Cause and Effect Analysis (Fishbone Diagrams)
Professor Kaoru Ishikawa created Cause and Effect Analysis in the 1960s. The technique uses a diagram-based approach for thinking through all of the possible causes of a problem. This helps you to carry out a thorough analysis of the situation. There are four steps to using the tool. Identify the problem. Work out the major factors involved.
Monroe's Motivated Sequence, Problem-Solution, Comparative Advantages
The problem-cause-solution proposal is a three-pronged speech pattern. The speaker starts by explaining the problem the speaker sees. The speaker then explains what he or she sees as the underlying causes of the problem. ... B., & Butler, J. (2000). A test of Monroe's motivated sequence for its effects on ratings of message organization and ...
How to improve your problem statements with "Cause and Effect"
If you uncover more than one negative effect in your research, choose the one most severe to user or business outcome. Now let's look at some examples of how to write a "Cause and Effect ...
Cause And Effect And Problem And Solution Teaching Resources
4.9. (8) $3.00. Google Slides™. Cause and Effect Versus Problem and Solution Task CardsThese digital task cards are perfect to practice differentiating between the problem and solution and cause and effect text structures. There are 5 paired passages (10 total passages) that students will read and determine the text structure.
2.4.7: Patterns of Organization and Methods of Development
These four methods of development—cause and effect, problem-solution, chronology or narrative, and comparison and contrast—are just a few ways to organize and develop ideas and content in your essays. ... Notice where they combine strategies (e.g a problem-solution pattern that uses cause-and-effect organization, or a comparison-contrast ...
Differentiating between problem and solution and cause and effect
There are 6 resources included in this bundle: Cause and effect - select the causes and effectsCompare and contrast and compare and contrast 2- Compare and contrast details in informational passagesCause and effect or problem and solution - differentiate between cause and effect and problem and solutionSequencing- put details in orderText struc.
Text Structures -Problem & Solution vs Cause & Effect *DIGITAL SORTS*
These digital sorts will help your students identify problem and solution and cause and effect, and also help them distinguish between the two text structures. These sorts are PERFECT for providing your students with extra click and drag practice which is commonly used on state assessments! This activity is PERFECT for DISTANCE LEARNING!
Problem and Solution or Cause & Effect
an event or something that causes trouble. the way to fix trouble. 2. Multiple Choice. 30 seconds. 1 pt. A solution is. an event or situation that causes trouble. something used to fix or resolve trouble.
Cause effect problem solution
Cause/Effect Categorize. by Smolina3. Problem & Solution: Match Up Match up. by Pharrison101. Problem Solving Situations Spin the wheel. by Blanigan. Speech Language Problem situations. Match the cause and effect using the conjunction so Find the match. by Bzlanguageandli.
Mitigation and Adaptation
Mitigation and Adaptation. Enrique/Pixabay.com. Mitigation - reducing climate change - involves reducing the flow of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, either by reducing sources of these gases (for example, the burning of fossil fuels for electricity, heat, or transport) or enhancing the "sinks" that accumulate and ...
The Causes of Climate Change
Takeaways. The greenhouse effect is essential to life on Earth, but human-made emissions in the atmosphere are trapping and slowing heat loss to space. Five key greenhouse gases are carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, methane, chlorofluorocarbons, and water vapor. While the Sun has played a role in past climate changes, the evidence shows the ...
How the Baltimore bridge collapse will impact supply chains, economy
The biggest problem Steenhoek sees from Baltimore's shuttering is the knock-on effect to other ports. Many ships stuck in the port were destined to make stops at other U.S. ports to load and ...
The Haiti crisis, explained: Violence, hunger and unstable political
Chaos has gutted Port-au-Prince and Haiti's government, a crisis brought on by decades of political disruption, a series of natural disasters and a power vacuum left by the president's assassination.
Alternate routes after Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse
BALTIMORE -- The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday led to a major traffic impact for the region and cut off a major artery into and out of the port city. Drivers ...
Baltimore Port: What impact will bridge collapse have on shipping?
A major bridge collapsed in the U.S. port of Baltimore in the early hours of Tuesday after being struck by a container ship, plunging cars into the river below.