Structuring a text: paragraphs, sentences, conjunctions

​​In a nutshell

It is important to know how to organise and structure a text to create different effects. In this summary you will learn about some different features of structure and organisation.

Ways of structuring and organising text

Structuring a text can be difficult because there are a lot of things to remember. The table below shows all the different structural devices that you might look out for in a text:

Sentences and word order

There are many types of sentences: short sentences, long sentences and even extremely long sentences. So what do they mean? Different sentence lengths are used for different purposes. Short sentences can create shock or surprises, whilst longer sentences might be used to give extra information and detail.

Example of a short sentence

He was there.

Example of a long sentence

The sweet sound of chirping woke us all up from our beautiful slumber. 

Conjunctions

Conjunctions can be within a sentence or between sentences. Conjunctions link phrases, clauses and sentences together. There are lots of different conjunctions, such as: 'and', 'although' and 'but'.

Example

Shelly always eats at home because she likes cooking. 

Openings and endings 

The beginning of a story has to grab the reader's interest and it's therefore important to make sure that the opening does just that. The ending is just as important as the beginning of a story because it gives the writer a chance to leave an impact on the reader.

Example of an opening

The air turned purple all around me.

Example of an ending

It had all been a dream.

Paragraphs

Paragraphs help organise writing so that it is easier to read. They are used in writing to introduce new characters, new stories or new information. Paragraphs can be short or long in length creating different effects. Short paragraphs create shock in the reader and long paragraphs can be used to add extra detail.

• A new paragraph always starts on a new line.
  
• A new paragraph is signalled by missing a line.
  
• Paragraphs have no set length.
  
  

Example of a long paragraph

Crocodiles are reptiles, which means that they are cold-blooded, are covered in dry, scaly skin and have a backbone. They are sometimes called ‘living fossils’ because they have been living on Earth since the time of the dinosaurs. Although they have been around for millions of years, their bodies have not changed very much during that time because they are such successful predators.

Unlike alligators, crocodiles have very pointed snouts, and their upper and lower jaws are the same size. Crocodiles have webbed feet, which help them to be fast swimmers. Their bodies are also very streamlined, which means that they can slide quickly through the water to catch their prey. The size of a crocodile depends on its species, but some can grow to be over $$23$$​ feet long and weigh over $$2,200$$​ pounds!

Analysis

In this example, the theme of the paragraphs is facts about crocodiles. The paragraphs are split into what crocodiles look like and where they live. This paragraph includes a lot of detail spanning many lines, therefore it is a long paragraph.