Informational Text Analysis

Content Vocabulary Word Bank:

Subject What was it about?
Occasion What happened?
Intended/target audience Who was this written for?
Authors purpose What does he/she want you the
reader to do?
Speaker Who wrote this? What qualifies them to
write this?
Summary all the main points and nothing more
Critique all the main points and your opinion how
good or bad a job the writer did
Fallacies unsupported claims made to persuade
people, usually by manipulating their emotions by
causing things like fear, pity, anger, guilt, etc.
Bias showing favor toward one side of an issue or
argument while being against the other
Cultural views the way a group of people
traditionally feel about a topic/issue
Logical evidence evidence based on argument
facts, statistics
Empirical Evidence evidence based on observation
Anecdotal evidence evidence based on what
happened to you
Cause and Effect One event causes another to
happen
Problem Solution the text cites problems and
suggests solutions
Compare/contrast the text discusses how two or
more things are alike and different
Chronological order the text is in time order
Description/spatial the text describes how things
look, feel, smell, taste, sound
Procedural the text is organized in a how-to, step-
by-step order
Syntax the organization, pattern, and/or placement
of sentences to achieve a desired purpose
Diction deliberately choosing words that the author
knows will affect the reader, usually emotionally




1. What is the subject of this text?
2. What is the occasion? What happened that made the writer write this work?
3. What is the intended audience? How do you know?
4. What is the authors purpose in this selection?
5. Who is the speaker? What do we know about him/her?
6. What was the writers tone? Was it appropriate or inappropriate for his attended audience?
7. What type of support does the writer use? logical, empirical, anecdotal?
8. Does the writer use any bias or fallacies or attempt to appeal to or manipulate the readers
emotions in any way? Explain what the writer has done?
9. Does the text/media represent a cultural view on the topic? If so what is it?
10. How is the essay mostly organized? Cause and effect? Problem-solution? Compare-Contrast?
Chronological/Sequential order? Description? Narrative A combination of two or three? If so
which?
11. Based on the authors tone in the text, how, can we infer he feels about the topic? Support your
inference with one example of support. Answer this question in Short Answer format.
12. Which quotation from the text best summarizes the authors view on the essays topic?
13. What is the main/controlling idea in the passage?
14. Write a summary of the text.
15. Include a one-paragraph critique of at least 3 of the following: the authors quality of word choice,
usage of figurative language, tone to manipulate the readers emotions, ability to connect with his
intended audience, usage of support.