Text Features – Fiction Text and Non-Fiction Text

Reading – Text Features

Text features are those parts of fiction or non-fiction that consist of text other than the main story. They help us to understand what we are reading (the story).

Text features help us to make sense of what we are reading. Fiction means a story that is made up. It is not a true story whereas non-fiction is based on facts.

Text features usually refer to features of a non-fiction text, but fiction texts also have text features. Text features in fiction include pictures, titles, and chapter headings.

In non-fiction, captions, indexes, glossaries, charts, etc. are examples of text features.

Some of the text features are:

• Titles: Titles appear at the top of the page or front of a book. They tell us what the book or the chapter is about.
• Subtitles: Subtitles give us more information about the title.
• Headings: Headings help us to organize information into sections.
• Subheadings: Subheadings are used to organize information into smaller sections.
• Table of contents: Most non-fiction books have a table of contents at the beginning. It helps us to identify on which page each chapter begins.
• Charts, graphs, and tables: These are used in non-fiction books to share information. They help to organize data so that it becomes easy for the readers to read.
• Graphs help to organize and compare information in a visual way.
• Tables organize facts in a visual way which makes it easier for the readers.
• Captions: Captions are present underneath photographs and illustrations. They give us more information about the picture.
• Diagrams: These are simple drawings that show the parts of something or its working. Diagrams have labels that name each part.
• Labels: These are words used to describe parts of a picture.
• Maps: Maps are used in some non-fiction materials to show the location of a place.
• Timelines: Timelines are used to show the order in which certain events happened. These are usually used with historical events.
• Photographs: These are taken using a camera and they show what something looks like.
• Illustrations: Illustrations are drawn by an artist, and they show what something looks like.
• Bold and italic letters: Bold and italic letters are used to draw attention to important words. Words are written in dark and heavy lines to make them bold. Italic letters are slanted.
• Glossary: It is a mini dictionary found at the end of the book. It gives us the definitions of keywords. Sometimes bold and italic words are used in the glossary.
• Index: An index is the very last page of a book. There we can find out the page number of important keywords or information. In an index, words are listed in alphabetical order.