Assign readings that exemplify a sequential text structure, such as expository essays. Students will naturally improve their own writing organization when they are used to reading material presented in a structured manner. Short fiction reading assignments are also appropriate, as students will learn to apply the sequential structure of plot and character development to their own writing.
Discuss the readings with your students. Ensure that they clearly grasp the structure of the text. It is helpful to draw a diagram to represent the text structure, such as a plot diagram or flowchart. This allows students to visualize the structure of the text. On your diagram, point out the main ideas of the text and explain to students how the chronological arrangement of the ideas allows them to build on each other.
Ask the students to analyze a text on their own. Choose a short text that features a relatively simple text structure, such as a five-paragraph essay. After reading, students will describe the main idea of each paragraph within their own flowchart diagram. Each idea they describe should either build on previous ideas or lead fluently into the subsequent idea of the text. Analyzing other texts in this way helps students to apply these same text organization skills to their own writing.
Assign an essay prompt related to a reading assignment. In your prompt, guide your students' thinking with multiple questions concerned with different points of the text. These questions should be arranged in a sequential structure. When students write essays in response to each question, they will develop a sequential text structure within their essays.
Hold a peer-review session in which students exchange and read each other's essays. Tell students to pay particular attention to the text structure of the essays. Give them questions to guide their reading, such as, "Do the ideas of each paragraph flow naturally within the overall text structure?" Students not only will provide each other with good feedback, they will also better understand the basic concept of a sequential text structure by reading the work of their peers.