ELA 7 · Nonfiction and media
Who made this, and why?
Articles, websites, ads and posters are all made by someone, for a reason. Reading them well means using their features to find what you need, noticing the techniques meant to persuade you, and telling a fact you can check from an opinion that only sounds like one.
- 1. The words, first
- 2. Text features and structure
- 3. Persuasive techniques
- 4. Fact, opinion and reliable sources
- 5. What costs marks
The words, first
The idea: Fact and opinion are the pair to get right.
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Text features | Parts that help you find information: the title, headings, bold words, pictures and captions, diagrams, sidebars, the index. |
| Text structure | How the information is organized: in time order, as cause and effect, as a comparison, or as a problem and its solution. |
| Signal words | Words that show the structure: first, because, however, as a result. |
| Purpose | Why a text was made: to inform, to persuade, to entertain — or more than one. |
| Fact | A statement that can be checked and shown to be true. |
| Opinion | A belief or judgement. People can agree or disagree with it, but it cannot be proven. |
| Source | Where a piece of information comes from. |
| Reliable | Able to be trusted: the source knows the subject, has no reason to mislead you, and can be checked. |
| Bias | Leaning toward one side, often because of what the source stands to gain. |
Text features and structure
The idea: Features tell you where to look; structure tells you how the ideas connect. The signal words give the structure away.
Why Lakes Freeze from the Top Down
In the fall, cold air cools the water at the top of a lake. Cold water is heavier than warm water, so it sinks, and warmer water rises. This goes on until the whole lake is about 4°C. Water colder than that is lighter, so it stays on top and freezes. As a result, the ice forms a lid, and fish live through the winter underneath.
- The title asks why, so expect causes. The main idea is its answer.
- The signal words so, until and as a result link each step to the next: cause and effect.
- A labelled diagram would show the layers at a glance. When there is one, read it and its caption as part of the text.
| Structure | What it does | Signal words |
|---|---|---|
| Time order | Events in order | first, then, in 1905, finally |
| Cause and effect | Why something happens, and what follows | because, so, as a result |
| Compare and contrast | How two things are alike and different | both, however, unlike |
| Problem and solution | A problem, then ways to fix it | the problem is, one answer |
Persuasive techniques
The idea: A technique works on your feelings or your trust. Name it, then look for the real reason underneath — sometimes there is one, and sometimes there is not.
Everyone at Westbrook is already wearing them. Glide runners — “the only shoe I race in,” says Coach Dana Park. Don't be the one left behind. Just $89, this weekend only.
- Bandwagon: “Everyone at Westbrook” invites you to join the crowd. Popular does not mean good.
- Testimonial: the coach's quote borrows her trust. Is she paid to say it?
- Emotional appeal: “left behind” aims at the fear of being left out.
- Urgency: “this weekend only” hurries you past comparing.
- What is missing: any fact about the shoes. The ad tells you how to feel, not what you are buying.
| Three more | How it works | Ask |
|---|---|---|
| Loaded words | Words picked for strong feelings: disaster, amazing. | What would a neutral word say? |
| Statistics | “9 out of 10 kids prefer it” sounds proven. | Who counted, and how many did they ask? |
| Rhetorical question | “Don't you want your family safe?” has one comfortable answer. | Is there a reason here? |
Fact, opinion and reliable sources
The idea: A fact can be checked; an opinion can only be agreed or disagreed with. A source is reliable when it knows the subject, has no reason to mislead you, and can be checked.
- “The new skatepark cost the town $400 000.” — fact. The town's budget will show it.
- “The skatepark was a waste of money.” — opinion. Waste is a judgement; a skater there every day would disagree.
- “It cost $400 000, which is far too much.” — both. An opinion often hides in a sentence that starts with a fact.
Opinion words to watch for: best, worst, should, too much, everyone agrees. A confident tone does not turn an opinion into a fact.
Which source is most reliable for how much sleep a 12-year-old needs?
| Source | Who wrote it? | Purpose | Can you check it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| A children's hospital health page | Doctors and nurses | To inform | Yes: dated, writers named |
| A mattress company's blog | The company | To sell mattresses | Sometimes |
| A popular gamer's video | Not a health expert | To entertain | Rarely |
The hospital page wins on all three. The mattress blog may be accurate, but the company gains if you worry about your sleep. That is bias.
What costs marks
The idea: Most come from trusting how something sounds instead of checking what it says.
- Calling a sentence a fact because it sounds sure of itself.
- Missing an opinion hidden in a sentence that starts with a fact.
- Naming a technique without asking whether there is a real reason under it. A technique is not the same as a lie.
- Trusting a source because it looks professional. Ask who made it, and why.