What Are Text Features? Unraveling the 6 Most Common Text Features
With the aid of text features in nonfiction books students in middle and high schools are able to focus on their reading.
When reading nonfiction, text features direct students’ thinking and plays a part in their comprehension.
Before students read nonfiction, they should spend time reviewing the maps, diagrams, tables, captions, headings, etc. to support their reasoning.
However, this article aims at helping students understand the importance of text features, some common text features and the benefits. Let’s dive in.
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Table of contents
What are text features?
Text Features are portions of a text that don’t always exist in the text’s main body.
Text featuresmake it easier for readers to discover specific information inside the text, are frequently employed in nonfiction texts like those that deal with science or social sciences.
The index, table of contents, captions beneath images or diagrams, glossary terms, labels or characteristics of graphs and charts, and bolded words are the nonfiction text aspects that are most frequently used.
Although it serve a different purpose, they all work toward the same objective of facilitating quick access to information in nonfictional content.
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Why Are Text Features Important?
They are significant because they make it simpler for students to locate text information in a nonfiction text or book.
Students can learn more about a particular topic or subtopic without reading the full work thanks to text features..
Students read nonfiction books more quickly when they are aware of where each text component is located.
There are many text characteristics, so let’s go over the six most significant ones one by one.
In nonfiction, text features have a distinct function, yet they all serve the general purpose of making information accessible quickly and simply.
Informational texts and research materials can be read more quickly thanks to text characteristics.
Without having to read the entire book, the reader can easily find the pages of the book that contain a certain piece of information using the index and table of contents.
Throughout the book, information is frequently represented or documented in images or illustrations with captions that appear beneath each one.
The terms in the text that are bolded are typically new words that are frequently defined in the glossary or tiny dictionary at the back of the book.
Finally, graphs, charts, and diagrams are frequently used to display images or statistics that correspond to the content.
Because the data is frequently not actually written in the text body, these three text qualities are crucial.
In a nonfiction source, every textual device is just as valuable as the text itself.
Information is presented in an orderly, systematic fashion that readers can easily understand thanks to the use of both text and text features.
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The 6 Most Common Text Features
Students can read texts more easily with the aid of text features. Several of the most common are listed below:
1. Titles
This text feature that gives the reader a quick preview of what they will learn is the title.
The titles and subtitles of a nonfiction literature are crucial components that students can utilize to comprehend unfamiliar vocabulary phrases and comprehend the meaning of the text.
Examples provided in titles can help with comprehension and memory.
The student can see a concrete example that enables them to analyze the text on their own and formulate claims based on the title.
2. Table of Contents
A table of contents provides the reader with a summary of the text’s themes and their locations.
What can be expected to learn in each chapter is suggested by the chapter names.
3. Glossary or Index
A glossary or index are text features that are frequently present in texts.
They are offered to aid readers in better understanding the material by succinctly describing key terms and broad concepts.
They can facilitate comprehension of the texts’ overarching message.
Glossary terms are frequently marked with bold language within the text.
4. Sidebars
Besides the primary content, this text box contains information.
Typically, the sidebars are located on the page’s edge.
Important information that, for whatever reason, didn’t fit well in the body of the nonfiction text is contained in sidebars.
5. Pictures and Captions
Features that aid in better understanding the content include pictures and captions.
To illustrate a specific point or idea from the text, many authors may create captions.
Language that is extremely complex is not used in short headings.
6. Maps
Maps are text features that appear in many different kinds of instructional content.
A map or chart can help readers visualize the precise location or time period of an event.
To clarify the subject matter, maps and the related content and headers are included.
They enable the reader to visualize when and where events are taking place more clearly in their minds.
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Benefits of Using Text Features
Students pick up on concepts such as the function of the charts, chapter order, print elements, images, and more.
Students typically internalize the meanings of text characteristics more thoroughly than they would without understanding their purpose.
Activities that focus on text features assist teachers in discussing a text’s significance and enhancing literacy.
It could be necessary to focus on ensuring that kids comprehend crucial ideas in order to address the literacy issue.
However, not every student is at the same reading comprehension level, and not every student is certain of their grasp of a material.
Adding text features can be used to illustrate text in an entertaining way.
With a little bit of fun, students can discover the functions of diagrams, bold phrases, end-of-chapter exercises, charts and graphs, the heading, images, menu, and more.
How teachers can introduce text features to students
Every nonfiction book should give students the chance to read about and interact with text features, starting in kindergarten.
The idea of embarking on a treasure hunt in the book for text features is one straightforward introduction activity that even students as young as five can perform.
Younger readers might seek for capital letters and pictures, while older readers can make a checklist of all the text features they find in the text.
Students can compare and contrast the ways in which text elements are employed to convey information when we provide them access to a variety of nonfiction sources.
Making an anchor chart with the help of the children is another way to further introduce them to text features.
Students can use magazines and newspapers to cut out text features while working in pairs or groups.
Then, they should arrange them according to their labels on chart paper or poster board.
They are completing the project by using a text feature as a result. Keep these kid-friendly anchor charts out so that kids may learn them all.
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Conclusion
In a nonfiction text, students need means to easily access the information.
Teachers can assist students by demonstrating how to use text features to traverse nonfiction content.
Some conventional teaching techniques make it harder to move on to the next stage of life.
Therefore, we must make every effort to provide them with the tools they need to successfully navigate the world.
It give students simple access to the subject as a whole, whether you are teaching a reading comprehension class, a history lecture series, or a scientific course.
FAQs
How many text features exist?
They can be divided into three groups for discussion purposes: directional features, supplementary features, and visual aids.
What do text features mean?
All the parts of a story or article that are not the primary text body are referred to as text features. These consist of the table of contents, index, glossary, headings, bolded words, sidebars, photos and captions, and labeled diagrams.
Is an introduction a text feature?
Yes, they are sections of books, journals, etc. that are not the main text. Table of contents, an introduction, charts, sidebars, a preface, a timeline, an afterword, etc.
What are some of the most common text features?
A book’s table of contents, index, headings, captions, bolded text, illustrations, pictures, the glossary, labels, graphs, charts, and diagrams are some of the most common.
References
- Study.com – Text features: definition, uses and examples
- Prioritylearn.com – what are text features? Types of text features
- 4kinderteachers.com – what are text features? How to teach them to kids
