Step 1: Explicit Teaching & Modelling
Define the outcome-specific metalanguage (purpose, context, language) and model how to identify the feature, select evidence and explain or use it.
Learning goals
1. Outcome Overview & Core Concepts
Students learn to identify and describe how texts are structured differently depending on their purpose and how language features vary in texts. They identify precise evidence and explain or evaluate how a language, structural, literary or multimodal choice shapes meaning, representation, audience response or purpose. Key concepts include purpose, context, language, text structure, literary, argument.
Learning target: identify and describe how texts are structured differently depending on their purpose and how language features vary in texts
4-Step Instructional Sequence
4. 4-Step Instructional Sequence
Step 2: Guided Analysis
Work through a second example together: What is the choice or feature? Where is the evidence? What does it do here?
Step 3: Collaborative / Independent Practice
Students annotate, compare, read, edit, speak or compose with a fresh example, then apply the concept independently.
Step 4: Formative Assessment
Use an unseen micro-text, oral task or creation task. Require precise evidence plus a justified explanation or deliberate crafting choice.
Subject-Specific Content & Key Examples
2. Subject-Specific Content & Key Examples
Opinion plus reason
Move from “I liked the story” to “I found the ending effective because the repeated warning built suspense.” The second response gives a judgement and evidence.
Strength of judgement
Compare “might help”, “should help” and “will help”. The modal choice changes how certain or forceful the claim sounds.
Subjective and objective wording
“The brilliant new playground is exciting” evaluates; “the playground opened on Monday” reports a checkable fact. Discuss why a writer may choose either.
Transfer
Students underline one evaluative word in a fresh sentence, replace it with a weaker or stronger choice and explain the changed effect.
Curriculum Coverage & Elaborations
Curriculum Coverage & Elaborations
The content description is the required target. The elaborations below are taught as examples and contexts, not as disconnected checklist wording.
- E1: examining the structures of book or film reviews and how they might move from description of context to summary of the text and then to judgement of the text
- E2: recognising the social purpose of a persuasive text and how the purpose is reflected in the text structure and by the language features; for example, analysing the structure and language features of advertising posters
- E3: describing the structure and language features of literary texts, arguments, discussions, creative and analytical responses to literary texts, films or popular media, and discussing how the structure and language serves the purpose of the text
Common Student Misconceptions
3. Common Student Misconceptions
- Feature spotting: Explain how the exact feature shapes meaning, communication or response.
- Retelling: Select precise evidence and analyse it rather than repeating content.
- Automatic effect: Interpret choices through audience, purpose, context and surrounding text.
- Vague explanation: Replace “this makes it better” with the exact feature, evidence and likely effect.
Practice Thought & Formative Assessment
Practice Thought & Formative Assessment
Use a fresh example that has not been modelled. Ask the student to show the exact clue, feature or language choice and explain or use it independently.
🎥 Optional Video Lesson
The SkillrHub lesson remains the primary learning resource. This optional video reinforces the explanation; you can complete the lesson and practice without watching.
Before you watch:
- Pause after each worked example.
- Try the examples yourself.
- Return to the SkillrHub lesson before continuing.
Recommended: Comparing Text Structures
Khan Academy — Compare organisational patterns such as sequence, cause and effect, and comparison.
As you watch: What clues show how an author has organised information?
Load video player Loads YouTube in this lesson. See the video notice below.
Try it: Outline the same school issue once as cause and effect and once as a comparison.
Video unavailable, inaccurate or unsuitable for this year? Report a video problem to SkillrHub by email. You can continue with the written lesson and practice resources.
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Curriculum equivalents: Victoria, NSW and international
Curriculum equivalents for And describe how texts are structured differently depending on their...
Mapped skill: identify and describe how texts are structured differently depending on their purpose and how language features vary in texts
These references identify matching or closely related learning. Curriculum sequence, terminology and depth vary, so teachers should use the mapped skill and lesson difficulty to confirm suitability.
| Region | Curriculum framework | Closest level or code |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Australian Curriculum v9.0 | AC9E7LA03 · Year 7 |
| Victoria | Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0 — English | VC2E7LA03 · Level 7 |
| New South Wales | NSW English K–10 Syllabus (2022) | EN4-URA-01 · Stage 4 |
| United States (USA) | Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts | Grade 7 |
| Canada (Ontario) | Ontario Curriculum — English | Grade 7 |
| United Kingdom (England) | National Curriculum in England — English | Year 8, Key Stage 3 |
| India | NCERT / CBSE — English | Class 7 |
Australian Curriculum v9.0 is the canonical source for this SkillrHub lesson. Victoria and NSW entries name the closest published state codes or outcomes; international entries are planning references rather than claims of identical curricula.
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Topic reference: AC9E7LA03 — AC9E7LA03: Identify and describe how texts are structured differently depending on their purpose and how language features vary in texts
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