November 2026 - Text Features Study Guide for nursing students in
Headings, subheadings, bold type, captions, footnotes, indexes and tables of contents tell you where information sits before you read a word of the body text. Questions asking where you would look for something are testing structure, not content, and the answer comes from the feature rather than from the passage.
Reading guide
Craft and structure
· 9 scored questions
6 min read
Practice As You Read
Try 4 short questions throughout this guide. Check each answer to learn from the explanation.
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What each feature is for
Feature
What it does
What you would use it for
Title
Names the whole text
Deciding whether the text is relevant at all
Heading
Names a major section
Finding the part of the text that covers your question
Subheading
Names a division within a section
Narrowing further, once you are in the right section
Table of contents
Lists sections in the order they appear, with page numbers
Seeing the shape of the whole text
Index
Lists specific terms alphabetically with page numbers
Finding every mention of one narrow term
Glossary
Defines specialist terms
Looking up a word the text uses
Caption
Explains an image, table or chart
Understanding what a visual shows
Footnote
Adds a source or an aside at the foot of the page
Checking where a claim came from
Bold or italic type
Marks a term as important or newly introduced
Spotting definitions and key terms
Sidebar
Holds related material outside the main flow
Extra context that is not part of the argument
Index or table of contents?
This is the distinction the exam tests most often, and the rule is short. A table of contents is at the front, follows the order of the book, and lists broad sections. An index is at the back, is alphabetical, and lists specific terms.
So: to see whether a textbook covers the cardiovascular system at all and where that chapter starts, use the contents. To find the three pages that mention the mitral valve specifically, use the index.
The question is about where you would look, not about what the answer is. If a choice states a fact rather than naming a place to find one, it is answering a different question — a common way to lose an easy mark by reading too fast.
Question 1 of 4
Reading Passage
A nursing textbook opens with a table of contents listing twelve chapters, and closes with a glossary and an index. Each chapter begins with a list of learning objectives, and specialist terms appear in bold the first time they are used. Charts throughout the book carry captions, and several pages include footnotes citing the studies behind particular figures.
A student wants to find every page in the textbook that mentions "hypokalaemia". Which feature should they use?
Choose one answer, then check it.
View the Answer and Explanation
Correct answer: B. The index
An index lists specific terms alphabetically with every page they appear on, which is exactly this task. The contents only names broad chapters, the glossary would define the word without locating its mentions, and the objectives describe what a chapter aims to teach.
Using features to read faster
Read headings before body text. Four headings tell you the structure in five seconds.
Read captions before studying a chart. The caption states what the visual is claiming.
Treat bold terms as the author's own list of what matters.
Check a footnote when a claim looks surprising — the source is often the answer to the question being asked about it.
Question 2 of 4
Reading Passage
A nursing textbook opens with a table of contents listing twelve chapters, and closes with a glossary and an index. Each chapter begins with a list of learning objectives, and specialist terms appear in bold the first time they are used. Charts throughout the book carry captions, and several pages include footnotes citing the studies behind particular figures.
The same student wants to know whether the book covers paediatric care and, if so, where that material begins. Which feature is most useful?
Choose one answer, then check it.
View the Answer and Explanation
Correct answer: B. The table of contents
This is a question about the shape of the whole book, so the contents answers it in one glance. An index could find scattered mentions but would not show whether a chapter is devoted to it, while footnotes give sources and bold terms mark vocabulary.
Terms to know
Text feature
Any element outside the running prose that helps a reader navigate or understand it.
Table of contents
A front-of-book list of sections in order, with page numbers.
Index
A back-of-book alphabetical list of specific terms, with page numbers.
Glossary
An alphabetical list of specialist terms with definitions.
Caption
Text accompanying an image or chart that explains what it shows.
Footnote
A note at the foot of a page giving a source or an aside.
Sidebar
A boxed section beside the main text carrying related material.
What the TEAS asks most
The same core ideas appear in different wording. If you can answer these without stopping to think, you have what this section requires.
Where in the book would you look to find …?
Index for a specific term, contents for a whole section, glossary for a definition.
What is the purpose of this heading or caption?
To tell the reader what the section or the visual contains, so they can decide whether to read it closely.
Which feature would help you most with this task?
Match the grain of the task to the grain of the feature: narrow term to index, broad topic to contents.
Question 3 of 4
Reading Passage
A nursing textbook opens with a table of contents listing twelve chapters, and closes with a glossary and an index. Each chapter begins with a list of learning objectives, and specialist terms appear in bold the first time they are used. Charts throughout the book carry captions, and several pages include footnotes citing the studies behind particular figures.
What is the purpose of the captions on the charts?
Choose one answer, then check it.
View the Answer and Explanation
Correct answer: B. To state what the chart shows so the reader can interpret it
A caption tells you what a visual is presenting, which is why it should be read before the data itself. Sourcing is the footnotes' job in this book, definitions belong to the glossary, and objectives sit at the start of each chapter.
Key points
Text features carry information about organisation, before you read any prose.
Contents: front, in order, broad. Index: back, alphabetical, specific.
A glossary defines terms; an index only locates them.
Captions state what a visual shows and should be read first.
These questions ask where to look, not what the answer is.
Question 4 of 4
Reading Passage
A nursing textbook opens with a table of contents listing twelve chapters, and closes with a glossary and an index. Each chapter begins with a list of learning objectives, and specialist terms appear in bold the first time they are used. Charts throughout the book carry captions, and several pages include footnotes citing the studies behind particular figures.
A figure in chapter four looks surprisingly high. Which feature would help the reader judge whether to trust it?
Choose one answer, then check it.
View the Answer and Explanation
Correct answer: A. The footnote citing the study the figure came from
Footnotes exist to show where a claim came from, and the source is what lets a reader weigh it. A definition, a statement of what the chapter intends to teach, and a typographic marker all leave the question of evidence untouched.
TEAS · Text features
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