Both the States and the US Constitution have preambles and articles. The US Constitution has a brief and vague language, so the Federal Government can interpret it, States Constitutions are usually longer, therefore, are longer because they are more detailed on many subjects that the US constitution. For example, some States Constitution has articles that defend the environment.
The major government structure is given by the US Constitution, this way State Constitutions focus more on limiting power. Both of them structure the government with three branches - legislative, judicial and executive - and both of them have bicameral legislatures - except Nebraska -.
The Judicial Branch is very different in the States Constitutions than in the US Constitution. The Federal judiciary is simple, has only three levels of court - district court, appeals courts, and the US Supreme Court -. The States courts vary states to states, for example, Texas established six types of courts.
The Amendment system is also very different. The US Constitution is very hard to amend and it was projected to make frequent amendment unnecessary. States Constitutions, on the contrary, are easier to amend.
