Learn It Part 2
After you have a sense of the text structure, drill down deeper into the key ideas and details in the text. As you analyze ideas and details, ask yourself:
- How does this information support the purpose or structure of the text?
- What relationship does this detail have to previous information?
- Does it expand an idea, provide a reason for something occurring, or give examples?
- Why did the author include this information?
- How does this information help me better understand the text?
High tides create good surfing waves.
Asking questions to determine the relationship among key ideas and details will increase your understanding of complex concepts in a text. Recognizing text structure will guide you as you uncover meaning in a text.
Take another look at the first two paragraphs from Dance of the Tides:
Surfers consult tide tables as often as they consult weather and wave predictions. While predicting tides may be more systematic than predicting wave heights, knowing the tide's effect on the waves is another matter. There are no rules, except one: You have to know something about your beach to know how it will be affected by the tides.
All good surfing beaches have what's called a break, a place where the beach drops off under the water. The break is where the waves crest, and therefore is where surfers catch their rides. The depth of the water over the break changes with the tides: The water is deeper when the tide is high, shallower when it's low. At some point in the tide cycle, the water will be at its best depth for making good surfing waves. Problem is, that depth and that time in the tide cycle depend on factors unique to your beach—where the break is, the slope of the beach, etc. The bottom line is that tide affects surf, but in order to make the most of it, you need to know your beach.
Based on what you have read so far, what is the author’s purpose for writing this article? Think about your response, and then click Show Answer.
What evidence from the text supports this purpose? Think about your response, and then click Show Answer.
What relationship between the ideas and details in the first two paragraphs support the author’s purpose?
Now go to the following page to explore the Dance of the Tides article as you practice analyzing text structure.
