English Reading Comprehensionusually ages 7–10

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

How to tell they’ve got it

Tick these off as you see them — no test required.

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')

🖨 Print this page to keep the checklist — it prints beautifully.

Try this together

When your child reads a page with headings, diagrams, or bold words, can they explain how those features help — like "the diagram shows the water cycle because the words alone are hard to picture"?

Where this sits on the map

Stuck here? Check the skills it builds on first. Confident? Here’s what it unlocks.

Builds on

Expressive and Sensory Languageages 6–9Identifying language contribution requires literary language understanding

Non-Fiction Text Featuresages 6–9Non-fiction structures knowledge supports analysing text presentation

Text Features & Presentationthis skill · ages 7–10

Unlocks

Analysing Text Structureages 11–14KS3 text structure analysis extends KS2 identifying how language choices and text structure contribute to meaning

Grammar for Effectages 11–14Analysing grammatical impact extends KS2 identifying how language choices contribute to meaning

Purpose, audience, and contextages 11–14Understanding context requires recognising how language choices serve different purposes

Structural terminologyages 8–9Understanding how parts build on each other connects to language/structure contribution to meaning

solid = must come firstdashed = helps

Curriculum alignment

Candidate matches to official curriculum codes — machine-suggested, unreviewed (v0.1).

Show candidate curriculum codes · 3 ACARA · 2 NSW · 3 VIC

Australian Curriculum v9 candidate

AC9E6LA03high confidenceYear 6 · Language

explain how texts across the curriculum are typically organised into characteristic stages and phases depending on purposes, recognising how authors often adapt text structures and language features

AC9E1LA03medium confidenceYear 1 · Language

explore how texts are organised according to their purpose, such as to recount, narrate, express opinion, inform, report and explain

AC9E5LA07medium confidenceYear 5 · Language

explain how the sequence of images in print, digital and film texts has an effect on meaning

NSW syllabus codes & stages only

EN2-CWT-01high confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 2

EN1-CWT-01high confidenceEnglish K-10 · Stage 1

Victorian Curriculum 2.0 codes & levels only

VC2E5LY08high confidenceEnglish · Level 5 · Literacy strand

VC2E6LA03high confidenceEnglish · Level 6 · Language strand

VC2E4LY08high confidenceEnglish · Level 4 · Literacy strand

These are candidate alignments generated by semantic matching — machine-suggested and unreviewed (v0.1), not official or verified mappings. For official curriculum content see australiancurriculum.edu.au, curriculum.nsw.edu.au and f10.vcaa.vic.edu.au. Don’t rely on them for registration or compliance purposes.

Nearby on the map

Forms of Poetry and Performanceages 7–10 Inferring Characters' Feelings and Motivesages 7–10 Main Ideas & Note-Takingages 7–10 Story Lessons and Moralsages 7–8

All Reading Comprehension skills →