Which text structure shows information arranged by cause and effect?

• A. Cause-and-effect structure.
• B. Chronological.
• C. Spatial.
• D. Problem-solution.

Answer: (A)

This question tests recognizing how information is organized to show relationships between events. In a cause-and-effect structure, the writer explains why something happens (the cause) and what happens as a result (the effect). You’ll often see signal words like because, since, due to, as a result, consequently, and therefore that guide you through the relationship.

This is the best fit here because the prompt asks for the structure that arranges information by why things happen and what happens because of them. It’s about tracing a link from a starting event to its outcomes, not merely listing events in time, describing a location, or presenting a problem with a solution.

To contrast, a chronological arrangement puts events in the order they occurred over time; a spatial structure describes how something is laid out or arranged in space; a problem-solution structure presents a problem and then offers one or more solutions. These do not center on explaining why one thing leads to another in the way a cause-and-effect passage does. Look for cause-and-effect when you see discussion of a reason followed by its result, or a chain of events that explains why something happened.