How Purpose Shapes Structure

Explain why an author chose a particular organization to serve a purpose.

Authors choose structures that fit their purpose. To explain a process, they use sequence: first, next, finally. To argue for a change, they often use problem-solution: here's what's wrong, here's how to fix it. To show why something happened, they use cause-effect. To help readers decide between options, they use compare-contrast. To warn, they may open with a vivid scene of danger before giving advice. Consider an original article whose purpose is to persuade the town to build a dog park.

It opens with the problem: dogs running loose in the soccer field, upsetting players. Then it proposes a fenced dog park and ends with the benefits for both dog owners and athletes. That problem-solution structure leads readers naturally toward the author's solution. If the same author only wanted to explain how dog parks are built, a sequence structure would fit better. When analyzing, name the structure and explain how it helps the author achieve the purpose.

• 1Structure is chosen to serve purpose
• 2Sequence explains; problem-solution argues; cause-effect explains why
• 3Name the structure and explain how it helps the purpose