Technical Text

Technical Text: A sub-group of expository text. Nonfiction literature, written to inform the reader about a topic, and often gives step-by-step directions. Examples of technical text are recipes, how-to manuals, directions for assembling a toy, origami (paper-folding) directions, and informational brochures such as those found at amusement parks. Technical text almost always includes pictures or diagrams which help explain the text.

Technical/Expository elements:

• Topic - the focus of the text's information
• Main Ideas - the important subtopics that tell more about the topic, the "big picture" ideas
• Supporting Details - the specific, exact information that tells more about each main idea; these are often the steps of a process or set of directions

• Titles - the name of the section or article. This usually tells you the topic of the text.
• Headings and Subheadings - section headings that break the text into distinct parts. These usually point out the main ideas of the text.
• Graphic Features (Maps, charts, graphs, diagrams, pictures, and photographs) - these visual elements give additional information about the topic, and help you to "see" information.
• Captions - the sentences that accompany a photograph or other graphic feature (visual element). These explain what you are seeing, and often give additional details that are not found in the written text of the article or section.