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The non-linear behaviour of reinforced concrete structures stronglydepends on abrupt cracking phenomena. The crack pattern prediction is fundamental tothe reliable assessment of the structure, both at the service and at the ultimate limitstates. The Non-linear Finite Element (NLFE) analysis is the common tool to performthese verifications. Unfortunately, the constitutive models for RC material arecharacterized by softening stress-strain relationships, which involve negative tangentstiffness. Therefore, the incremental-iterative solution procedure often leads tonumerical instability and divergence problems, especially when the energy dissipatedby cracking and crushing phenomena is little compared with the elastic energy stored inthe structure. In this paper, the sequentially linear approach is proposed as analternative to incremental convergence methods. The robustness and effectiveness of themethod is proved through plane concrete and RC case studies.