Organising a non-fiction text
English · Key Stage 2 · The School
Searched, not just read
A story is usually read start to finish, in order. Non-fiction is often SEARCHED — a reader wants to find one piece of information fast, without reading everything else on the page. Non-fiction layout is built for that kind of reading, and a well laid-out page makes searching quick instead of frustrating.
Headings and subheadings
A HEADING names a whole section. A SUBHEADING breaks that section into smaller parts. A reader can scan just the headings to find the part they need, without reading a single full sentence yet. Good headings are short and specific, not vague titles like "Information" that could describe almost anything.
Bullet points for a list
When you have several short, separate items — steps, examples, features — bullet points are clearer than cramming them into one long sentence. Each bullet stands on its own, easy to scan down. A reader can compare items at a glance, which a single dense sentence never allows, no matter how carefully it is punctuated.
Take one dense paragraph about volcanoes: what they are, why they erupt, and three famous examples. As one paragraph, a reader has to read every word to find, say, just the famous examples. Reorganise it: a heading "What is a volcano?" with its own short paragraph; a subheading "Why do volcanoes erupt?" with another; a subheading "Famous volcanoes" followed by three bullet points, one per example. Same facts, completely different reading experience. A reader wanting only the famous examples can now jump straight there, in seconds, instead of hunting through a wall of text with no signposts at all.