Text Features

What are Text Features?

The readability of textbooks and reference materials has improved a great deal over the years, in part because publishers have become more aware of the need to make them more user friendly. Teaching students that their textbook is their friend improves student learning and empowers students with the tools to find information.

Comprehending written material, especially works of nonfiction, can be aided by text features, such as titles, glossaries, and graphics. Learning the function of various text features enhances the usefulness of a textbook, which benefits both teachers and students.

Learning how text features organize information is critical. Students that understand this important tool will have a much easier time searching for information in reference books, periodicals, and web sites.

Text features commonly found in textbooks include:

Titles: State the main topic or premise to be argued.

Tables of contents: Display the topics that will be discussed in the order that they will be presented and often includes where the topics can be found.

Chapter headings: Summarize the primary claim or assertion to be advanced.

Chapter Sub-headings: Provide a more specific guide to chapter content, particularly when chapter is long or complex.

Glossaries: List words and phrases that may be unfamiliar to the general reader, such as technical terms or foreign words.

Indices: Provide a page reference to specific key topics discussed in text.

Bibliographies: Lists sources consulted in the writing of the text. Writer may choose to include a brief description of what made the source useful.

Citations: Provide reader with title, author, and basic publishing information for an individual source. Citations may be given in text, in endnotes, or in footnotes.

Graphics and Captions: Illustrate concepts discussed in text. Charts, tables, and diagrams provide an easily accessible format to data. Captions summarize the content of the graphic image.

Sidebars and text boxes: Provide clarification or interesting information that did not fit with the main text.

Boldface or italicized words: Bring the reader’s attention to specific sections of the text.

Text features in a book should enhance the structure of the text. The structure or sequencing of a book may vary depending on the course subject. History books may be written in chronological order, because events and actions are discussed from one time period to another, while language arts textbooks may be organized by genre or theme.