--- title: "Text Features & Presentation" description: "Identify how language choices, text structure and presentational features (illustrations, diagrams, bold print, layout) contribute to the overall meaning and effect of a text" canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/text-features-and-presentation-mt_aVZJhPbc_1 source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/text-features-and-presentation-mt_aVZJhPbc_1.md retrieved: 2026-10-19 --- > **Agent view.** This is the Markdown twin of the page, for tools and assistants. > When to use this site, and the call that answers each job: https://lightmysky.com/agent-instructions.md > API description (OpenAPI 3.1): https://lightmysky.com/openapi.json · Authentication: https://lightmysky.com/auth.md > Pricing: https://lightmysky.com/pricing.md · Catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms.txt · Full catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms-full.txt > Every machine-readable file on this domain: https://lightmysky.com/.well-known/ai-catalog.json > Ask for Markdown with `Accept: text/markdown`, a `.md` address, or `?mode=agent`. # Text Features & Presentation Identify how language choices, text structure and presentational features (illustrations, diagrams, bold print, layout) contribute to the overall meaning and effect of a text Subject: English · Area: Reading Comprehension · Ages 7 to 10 Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/text-features-and-presentation-mt_aVZJhPbc_1 ## Ready when they can - Explain how an author's word choices create a particular effect (e.g., 'The author uses "crept" instead of "walked" to make it feel sneaky and tense') - Identify how a text's structure helps the reader (e.g., 'The headings help you find information quickly', 'The story builds suspense before the ending') - Explain how a presentational feature contributes to meaning (e.g., 'The bold words are important vocabulary', 'The diagram shows how the water cycle works') ## Lesson: The Choices Behind the Page Authors don't just write words by accident. They pick certain words, put the text in a certain order, and add pictures or bold print on purpose. Each choice helps you understand the text better and helps you feel a certain way. **Example.** In one story, the author writes: 'The cat crept toward the mouse.' The author could have written 'walked,' but 'crept' makes the cat feel sneaky and quiet. That word choice makes the moment feel tense. *(drawing: The story saves the surprise for last. That order builds suspense and keeps you reading.)* **Example.** A book about frogs has a diagram with arrows showing egg, tadpole, then frog. The diagram shows the change in a way that's easier to picture than words alone. The book also puts 'amphibian' in bold, because that's an important word to know. Non-fiction pages are laid out on purpose too. A heading sits above one part of the page and names what that part is about, so you can find the bit you want. In a story, a chapter title does the same job. Numbered steps cut a job into small pieces and put them in the order you do them. A box holds something apart from the main writing: an extra fact for later, or one line the author does not want you to miss. The order of the parts matters as well, so a how-to page tells you what you need before it tells you what to do. Pictures and print do jobs as well. A caption is the small line under a picture, and it tells you what you are looking at. Labels are words joined to the parts of a diagram, so you can name each part. A photo shows what something really looks like, and a diagram can show how something changes or where its parts sit. Bold print makes a word easy to spot, but it does not make that word more true than the words around it. These choices only help when they do a job the plain writing cannot do, so a picture that just says the same thing again is only decoration. **Tip.** When you read, ask yourself: why did the author pick this word, this order, or this picture? That question helps you understand what the author really means. **Recap.** Authors choose their words, their order, and their pictures on purpose, and asking why helps you understand more. ## Practice 23 questions on this page, each with its working shown. ## Needs first - [Expressive and Sensory Language](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/expressive-and-sensory-language-mt_fL1Xz8ostr) - [Non-Fiction Text Features](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/non-fiction-text-features-mt_ZhUuT__i2H) ## Opens up - [Analysing Text Structure](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/analysing-text-structure-mt_II6iw4BmJI) - [Purpose, audience, and context](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/purpose-audience-and-context-mt_jIcgbCmziD) - [Grammar for Effect](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/grammar-for-effect-mt_N5tiL3uIeq) - [Structural terminology](https://lightmysky.com/learn/english/structural-terminology-mt_ujwtRoYJ34)