Monica Almeida/The New York TimesHow does a bad economy affect businesses like Phoenix Decorating in Pasadena? We’re using this and other articles as models of writing about cause and effect. Go to related article »Last summer we took our first stab at thinking about how the Common Core Standards might apply to what we do on The Learning Network.
In that post, we offered suggestions for literacy strategies that we know work well with “informational text” — a category that includes pretty much everything The Times publishes every day.
Now we’d like to elaborate on that with more ideas for helping students understand common expository “text structures” like cause and effect, compare and contrast and problem-solution. These three, especially, are such staples of journalism that you can find multiple examples in every day’s paper.
Below, we’ve pulled out recent, student-friendly Times examples — in both print and multimedia — that illustrate each. We’ve also included a list of “signal words” commonly used in each. (A list borrowed, in part, from the work of Stephanie Harvey.)
Of course, the Times examples we include here are sophisticated pieces of writing. Just as it is impossible to find real-world, professional versions of that schoolroom classic, the five-paragraph-essay (the one with the thesis as the final line of the first paragraph, and topic sentences neatly heading each of the three body paragraphs), these pieces similarly resist a lockstep outline. Some may even cross categories. But each can illustrate for students how well a basic structure can work to lay out complex information.
After you’ve read a few from each category, try finding your own. We invite students and teachers to post more Times examples for each in the comment section below.
Cause and Effect
Much of journalism involves tracking the ripple effects of big news events or societal trends.
For instance, take a look at the paper any day and you’ll find stories in every section about the continuing chain of effects of the dismal global economy. Earlier this year, The Times was full of stories about the effects of theJapanese tsunami and nuclear crisis, and more recently journalists have tracked the spread, and effects, of Occupy Wall Street.
As students read the pieces we’ve chosen, they might use or adapt our simple graphic organizer — or create their own.
Signal Words and Phrases
- for this reason
- thus
- since
- in order to
- as a result
- therefore
- consequently
- because
- due to
- for this reason
- on account of
Times Print Examples
After Lean Acorn Crop in Northeast, Even People May Feel the Effects
How does a dearth of acorns this year lead one scientist to predict both that traffic collisions will rise and that 2012 will be “the worst year for Lyme disease risk ever”?
The Lasting Shadow of Bernie Madoff
“…for those he ensnared, the Madoff story drags on”: How Bernie Madoff, who was arrested three years ago this week, has changed the lives of his victims, family and trustees.
Time for a Vacation? Climate Change and the Human Clock
How climate change over the last thirty years has affected attendance at the national parks — and how it could influence leisure activities, from ski trips to leaf-peeping to bird watching to ice-cream-eating, in the future.
In Tough Times, a Boom in Cremations as a Way to Save Money
“All but taboo in the United States 50 years ago, cremation is now chosen over burial in 41 percent of American deaths, up from 15 percent in 1985, according to the Cremation Association of North America. Economics is clearly one of the factors driving that change.”
Rough Times Take Bloom Off a New Year’s Rite, the Rose Parade
The sputtering economy and municipal budget cuts are presenting new problems for the Tournament of Roses and the float industry.
A Message on Every Arm
Why the chic are carrying humble cloth tote bags this season.
Times Multimedia Examples
Graphic | How Shifting Plates Caused the Earthquake and Tsunami in ...
Graphic | It’s All Connected: An Overview of the Euro Crisis
Compare and Contrast
Articles and multimedia that compare two or more things can be found daily in The Times, whether it’s via a chart comparing the new iPhone to its rivals, or an architecture review that contrasts the two new baseball stadiums in New York City.
Our Venn diagram graphic organizer might come in handy, either for taking notes while reading or for planning your own piece.
Signal Words and Phrases
- in comparison
- by contrast
- similarly
- but
- on the other hand
- on the contrary
- yet
- however
- despite
- similarly
- as opposed to
Times Print Examples
Two New Baseball Palaces, One Stoic, One Scrappy
A 2009 architecture review comparing the two new baseball stadiums in New York City, Yankee Stadium and Citi Field.
Fire and Ice
A recent Op-Ed by Maureen Dowd compares Newt Gingrich with President Obama.
India Ink | Who Wants to Shop in a Big Box Store, Anyway?
“Let’s compare the American big-box shopping experience to shopping in urban India,” invites this blog post, a particularly simple and clear example of this kind of writing.
Obsession, Reignited
An article comparing Stieg Larsson’s novel “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” with the forthcoming film version by David Fincher. (This is just one of many Times examples in which an original literary piece is compared with the film or theatrical version. To find more, use Times search to read about works of literature you’re teaching.)
Multimedia Examples
Graphic | A Smartphone Face-Off Apple iPhone 4S vs. Samsung Galaxy ...
Slide Show | Vamps, Crooks and Killers to compare with A Rogues’ Gallery
Graphic | Comparing Internet Speeds Across the Nation
Problem and Solution
Every day in The Times there are articles that identify a problem of some kind and report on an innovative solution. In fact, one whole Times blog, calledFixes, is entirely devoted to reporting on solutions to social problems and why they work.
Of course we have a basic graphic organizer for this text type as well — to use as is, or as a jumping-off point for your own version.
Signal Words and Phrases
- problem
- solution
- because
- cause
- since
- as a result
- in order to
- so that
Times Print Examples
Monks Embrace Web to Reach Recruits
“The Benedictine monks at the Portsmouth Abbey in Portsmouth, R.I., have a problem. They are aging — five are octogenarians and the youngest will be 50 on his next birthday — and their numbers have fallen to 12, from a peak of about 24 in 1969.” Read about how these monks have taken to the Internet to solve it.
A Hard Turn: Better Health on the Highway
How can the trucking industry encourage drivers to exercise and eat right on the road?
Fixes | The Power of Positive Coaching
“…today’s youth coaches often struggle to provide sound, evidence-based, and age-appropriate guidance to players.” Fixes describes one solution.
Fixes | An Electronic Eye on Hospital Hand-Washing
“Hospitals do impossible things like heart surgery on a fetus, but they are apparently stymied by the task of getting health care workers to wash their hands.” What can they do to change that culture?
Times Multimedia Examples
Interactive | Lunch Line Redesign
