Skip to main content
Three elementary students looking at nonfiction books with their teacher

Teaching Text Features

Learn about the most common text features, the purpose of each, and how explicit instruction in identifying and using text features can support comprehension and strengthen student writing.

On this page:

Authors use structural elements to organize information and ideas, and to highlight important parts of the text. As students advance to middle and high school grades, the text that they must read and write become increasingly varied in style, vocabulary, text structure, purpose, and intended audience. Readers and writers learn to identify and use a variety of text features, or the elements that can make their writing clearer, add visual appeal, and make their writing more accessible.    

Here we’ll review some of the most used text features.   

Common text features

Authors use a variety of text features to organize their writing and make it more accessible to the reader. Text features, such as title and headings, help identify the topic and overall organization of ideas. Headings represent topical sections of text, making it easier for readers to work their way through a longer piece of text in manageable “chunks.” Graphics and captions highlight important details and present an alternative representation of information to support the textual representation. 

Asking students to examine recently read nonfiction informational texts in the classroom to find examples of text features can be a useful exercise. 

Text features and purpose

Text FeaturePurpose
TitleQuickly tells the reader what information they will learn about
Table of contentsShows students the different chapter or section titles and where they are located
IndexDirects students where to go in the text to find specific information on a topic, word, or person
GlossaryIdentifies important vocabulary words for students and gives their definitions
Headings or subtitlesHelp the reader identify the main idea for that section of text
SidebarsElaborate on a detail mentioned in the text. Sidebars are set apart from the main text (usually located on the side or bottom of the page) 
Pictures and captionsShow an important object or idea from the text
Labeled diagramsAllow readers to see detailed depictions of an object from the text with labels that teach the important components
Charts and graphsRepresent and show data related to, or elaborate on, something in the main body of text
MapsHelp a reader locate a place in the world that is related to text
Cutaways and cross-sectionsAllow readers to see inside something by dissolving part of a wall or to see all the layers of an object by bisecting it for viewing
Inset photosShow either a faraway view of something or a close-up shot of minute detail

Examples of visual text features

Pictorial graphics of West expansion in the U.S.

Page spread from History! The Past as You’ve Never Seen It Before (opens in a new window) (DK Publishing).


Captioned photographs, diagrams, illustrations, and insets

Illustration of undersea creatures

Page spread from Water: A Deep Dive of Discovery (opens in a new window) by Christy Mihaly, illustrated by Mariona Cabassa (Barefoot Books). Features: illustrations, inset detail, and captions.

Informational illustration about Ancient Egypt

Page spread from History! The Past as You’ve Never Seen It Before (opens in a new window) (DK Publishing). Features: illustrations, diagrams, photographs, and captions.

Illustrations of fossils and mountain formation

Pages from How Mountains Are Made (opens in a new window) by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfel, illustrated by James Graham Hale (HarperCollins). Features: diagrams, captions, and inset detail.

cross-section of planted vegetables

Page spread from Under Your Feet … Soil, Sand and Everything Underground (opens in a new window) by Marc Redmile-Gordon, illustrated by Wenjia Tang (DK Publishing). Features: illustrations, captions, and cross-section view.

captioned illustration of a honeybee

Page spread from Honeybee: The Busy Life of Apis Mellifera (opens in a new window) by Candace Fleming, illustrated by Eric Rohmann (Neal Porter Books). Features: illustration and captions.


Cutaways, cross-sections, and exploded views

Cross-section of an airport

Page spread from How Airports Work (opens in a new window) by Lonely Planet Kids, illustrated by James Gulliver Hancock (Lonely Planet Kids). Features: cross-section view, illustrations, and captions.

cross-section of a house

Page spread from Nano: The Spectacular Science of the Very (Very) Small (opens in a new window) by Jess Wade, illustrated by Melissa Castrillón (Candlewick Press). Features: cutaway/cross-section view, illustrations, and captions.

Cutaway of airplane

Page spread from The Ultimate Book of Airplanes and Airports (opens in a new window) by Sophie Bordet-Petillon, illustrated by Marc-Etienne Peintre (Twirl). Features: cutaway graphics, inset detail, and captions.

Cutaway illustrations of ancient castles by David Macaulay

Pages from Castle (opens in a new window) and Built to Last (opens in a new window) by David Macaulay (Clarion Books). Features: cutaway illustrations and captions.

exploded view of planet mercury

Page spread from Space! The Universe as You’ve Never Seen It Before (opens in a new window) (DK Publishing). Features: exploded view illustration, diagrams, photographs, captions, and quick facts.

Cutaway diagrams of a smart phone

Page spread from The Way Things Work (opens in a new window) by David Macaulay (Clarion Books). Features: exploded view diagrams, diagrams, and captions.


Timelines

Pictorial timeline of Earth's evolution

Page spread from Earth! My First 4.54 Billion Years by Stacy McAnulty, ilustrated by David Litchfield (Henry Holt). Features: timeline and captions.

Illustration of children holding posters of significant dates in Civil Rights Movement

Page spread of Let the Children March (opens in a new window) by Monica Clark-Robinson, illustrated by Frank Morrison (Clarion Books). Features: timeline and inset information.

Timeline of games using dice

Page spread from Timelines of Everything (opens in a new window) (DK Publishing). Features: timeline, illustrations, photographs, and captions.

Pictorial timeline of dinosaurs

Page spread from Timelines of Everything (opens in a new window) (DK Publishing). Features: timeline, illustrations, and captions.

Timeline and captioned graphics about the Civil War

Page spread from History Year by Year (opens in a new window) (DK Publishing). Features: timeline, illustrations, photographs, and captions.


Maps

Pictorial map, photos, and graphics of India

Page spread from Countries of the World: Our World in Pictures (opens in a new window) (DK Publishing). Features: map, inset map detail, photographs, captions, and quick facts.

Pictorial map of Florida

Page spread from The 50 States: Explore the U.S.A. with 50 Fact-Filled Maps! (opens in a new window) by Gabrielle Balka, illustrated by Sol Linero (Wide Eyed Editions). Features: map, inset map detail, timeline, illustrations, captions and pullout captions, and quick facts.

Mars map

Page spread from Space! The Universe as You’ve Never Seen It Before (opens in a new window) (DK Publishing). Features: map, table, photographs, diagram, captions, and quick facts.

Illustrations of world map and water

Page spread from Water: A Deep Dive of Discovery (opens in a new window) by Christy Mihaly, illustrated by Mariona Cabassa (Barefoot Books). Features: map, inset graphics, and diagrams.


Charts and graphs

pictorial charts and graphs about countries of the world

Page spread from Children’s Illustrated Atlas (opens in a new window) (DK Publishing). Features: pictorial charts, maps, and captions.

Basic steps in teaching about text features

Before reading

Show students one example of the chosen text feature

Ask questions such as:

  • What do you think text feature/s are?
  • Where have you seen this text feature before?
  • Why did the author use this?  

Define the text feature and explain its purpose to the students. 

Show examples

Define the feature and tell why it’s important. Display additional examples of the text feature from your classroom’s informational texts. Discuss how the text feature helps the reader and writer and when it’s used. 

Set a purpose for reading

Encourage the students to look for more examples of the text feature during the reading.   Make sure the chosen reading or read-aloud has plenty of examples of the targeted text feature.

During reading

Provide students with photocopies of the text or display it on a projector

Listen, read in pairs, or read silently. Ask students to find and underline/highlight examples of the text feature.  

At a designated stopping point, stop to discuss. Talk about text feature examples they found  and why they help the reader/writer to understand the text.  

After reading

Review and discuss

After reading the entire text, review the text features that students encountered during the text. Questions to ask:

  • What was the purpose of the text feature?
  • Why did the author use this feature here?
  • How did it help you to understand the reading?

Create a text feature anchor chart

Collaboratively create a chart with the text feature, a description of what it is, and examples you found together. Anchor charts are a visual aid to remind students what the text feature is and how it represents information by the author.  

Follow-up practice

Interactive activity

Divide students into pairs or triads and provide them with a different informational text. Ask them to identify and discuss the text features in their assigned text and explain how they guided their understanding of the text.

Text feature scavenger hunt

Prepare a list of text features. Give groups previously read informational texts to hunt for features. Have students work individually or in groups to locate examples of specific text features.  

Compare digital and print text features

Ask pairs or triads to examine digital and print versions of two common classroom texts. Have pairs fill out a chart. Discuss and compare what text features were used and how they helped their understanding of the texts. Try this sample chart

Use text features in a written response

Ask students write a short informational paragraph or text about a topic of their choice. Remind them to include the target text feature to organize their content more effectively.

Assess use of text features

Provide 1-3 paragraphs of informational text with text features removed. Ask students to add the target text feature back to the text.      

More on teaching text features

Top