Descriptive Text
Descriptive texts are the texts which are used to describe about a
particular place, person or thing. Descriptions are almost the same as report
text. A descriptive text focuses on a specific thing and its specific features.
A report usually deals with things in general. Descriptions can be used in
textbook, encyclopedias, scientific magazines, historical texts, factual
reading book, magazines etc
A. Generic Structure of
Descriptive text
1.
Identification : identifies the phenomenon to be described
2.
Description of Features : describes features in order of importance
• Parts/ things,
it is about physical appearance
• Qualities, it
can be the degree of beauty, excellence, value or worth
• Characteristic,
it can be prominent aspects that are unique
NOTES:
1. Difference
between descriptive and reports can be seen as follow: descriptive texts talk
about one specific person, place or thing, e.g. “My Car” and reports classify
and describe a whole class of thing, e.g. “Cars” (in general). In short,
reports deal with general classification and description of thing while
descriptive texts describe a particular thing.
2.The description
can cover the facts about various aspects of an object (parts, colour, shape,
habits, behaviour, personalities etc
B.Generic Features of
Descriptive
1.Descriptive
texts usually use Simple Present Tense
2.Frequent use of
Passive sentences.
3.Use of be (is,
am, are, was, were) for the identification and showing qualities
4.Use of verb
“Have” (have, has, had) in order to give detail description of the object’s
features.
5.Use of action
verbs related to the topic, especially when describing behaviours or
personalities (for persons)
6.Use of
adjectives in describing especially the qualities.
Read This Text of Descriptive !
Around Bali
Identification:
Bali, the fabled “Island of the Gods” has been enchanting visitors for
centuries with its rich cultural traditions and spectacular panoramas.
description:
Bali offers many things, from lofty, mist enshrouded volcanoes and cool
mountain lakes down through terraced rice fields to a golden strand lapped by
azure waters, every square inch of Bali offers a fresh and unforgettable image.
description:
No less enchanting are its people. Some 2,7 million souls whose
artistry and piety are recognized throughout the world. Balinese Hinduism, a
complex fusion of Indian cosmology, Tantric Buddism and homegrown mythology, is
the primary faith of Bali’s inhabitants, and so deeply woven into the fabric of
their daily lives that the line between the spiritual and the material is
blurry at best.
Explanation Text
An explanation text explains the processes involved in the formation or
workings of natural or non natural/ sociocultural phenomena. In addition, An
explanation text gives you a step by step explanation. The explanation sequence
contains a sequenced explanation of why or how something occurs. This
explanation is written in paragraphs.
The concept of an explanation text:
Purpose: To explain the processes involved in the formation and working
of natural or socio cultural phenomena
Text Organization/ structure:
1. A general statement to position the reader (introductory paragraph)
2. A sequenced explanation of why or how something occurs
3. Closing or concluding statement/ paragraph (optional)
Language Features:
· Focus on generic, non-human participants
· The use of general and abstract nouns
· The use of action verbs
· The use of simple present tense
· The use of passive voice
· The use of conjunctions of time and cause
· The use of noun phrases
· The use of complex sentences
· The use of technical language
Read the example of an explanation text below!
Tsunami
A general Statement:
A tsunami is a very large sea wave that is generated by a disturbance
along the ocean floor. This disturbance can be an earthquake, a landslide, or a
volcanic eruption. A tsunami is undetectable far out in the ocean, but once it
reaches shallow water, this fast-traveling wave grows very large.
Explanation:
Tsunamis occur when a major fault under the ocean floor suddenly slips.
The displaced rock pushes water above it like a giant paddle, producing
powerful water waves at the ocean surface. The ocean waves spread out from the
vicinity of the earthquake source and move across the ocean until they reach
the coastline, where their height increases as they reach the continental shelf,
the part of the Earth’s crust that slopes, or rises, from the ocean floor up to
the land.
Closing:
Tsunamis wash ashore with often disastrous effects such as severe
flooding, loss of lives due to drowning, and damage to property.
Narrative Text
A narrative is a type of spoken or written text that tells a story of
one character or more who face certain situations. There are various kinds of
narratives such as fairy stories, mysteries, science fictions, romance, horror,
etc. This type of text can be found in short story books, magazines, novels,
movies etc. Narrative is popular because they present a plot which consists of
complications and resolutions. They make people feel curious and anxious with
the ends of the stories. The generic structure of narrative usually has four
components (but the one is optional): (1) Orientation, (2) Complication (3)
Resolution and (4) Re-orientation (it is optional).
A.Generic Structure of Narrative
1. Orientation : sets the scene and introduces the participants
(characters) of the
story, the time and place the story happened (Who, what, when
and where)
2. Complication : a crisis arises. A series of events in which the main
character
Attempts to solve the problem
3. Resolution : the crisis is resolved, for better or worse
4. Re-orientation: it is optional. The ending of story. It sometimes
contains the –
solution
B. Generic Features
1.A narrative focuses on specific participants.
2.There are many action verbs, verbal and mental processes
3.Direct and indirect speeches are often used
4.It usually uses Past Tense
5.Linking words are used, related with time
6.There are sometimes some dialog and the tense can change
7.Descriptive language is used to create listener’s or reader’s
imagination
8.Temporal conjunctions are also used.
Now read this text of narrative!
When Love is Blind
Orientation:
There was once a beautiful girl living in a city. She was known as
Shinta, a nice and friendly girl. She studied at a popular senior high school
in the city. She always followed the trend of young people life style. She got
dressed as how the trend was at the time. In her idea, western modern life was
the ideal model for all people. She thought that everybody should be free to do
anything he or she liked.
She had a handsome boyfriend, Deo. Having a boy or girl friend was like
a must for the young people in the city. Parent’s advice to get away from
western culture was considered as old-fashioned.
Shinta loved his boyfriend very much. On Saturday evening they made a
date, going to a theatre, café or party. Shinta’s parents were worried about
her. They have warned her but she ignored them.
She thought, “Though my parents don’t agree with me, the show must go
on. I love him very much. Whatever happens to me, I will face it”. Yes love was
blind. She got blind. Since then, she often quarreled with her father and
mother. She became uncontrolled. She more often went out at night with the
boyfriend. But, her parents could do nothing but only wait, see and pray.
Complication:
Days went by. One morning, Shinta got a serious stomachache and wanted
to throw up. She got dizzy; she went to the bathroom and threw up some contents
of her stomach. Shinta was very worried. “Am I getting pregnant?” she asked
herself. Her worries grew stronger until she decided to buy a pregnancy tester
in a shop. She tested her urine. And … what a shock! The tester showed a
positive pregnancy. Shinta got fainted in her room for some minutes. She was
very afraid that her mother knew what happened.
Shinta tried to hide her pregnancy. Her face got pale every day and
looked unhealthy. She tried to contact Deo. Knowing her girlfriend got
pregnant; he was also frustrated and didn’t want to admit that he was the
father of the baby. He tried to avoid meeting Shinta. He was not responsible
for the consequence. He asked her to abort the baby, but she refused.
The stomach became bigger and bigger, but she was successful to hide it
from other’s sight. She was very depressed, and more and more. Four months
later, in one evening, when she could no longer be able to keep the burden, she
decided to do abortion. In her bedroom, she took a chair and jumped from it to
the floor. When her feet touched the floor, a bloody clod of a red fetus
covered with placenta was dropped, cried and move several seconds, then stopped
moving. The blood was running out of her skirt, making the floor wet. Shinta
could see what happened in front of her eyes, didn’t know what to do. She tried
to stand up. But then she got unconscious.
The next day, in the morning when she didn’t get out of the room,
Shinta’s mother called her name several times. No answer made the mother open
the room door and looked inside. She saw blood everywhere in the floor and
walls. The horror was shocking her when she found her daughter lying near the
dead small fetus. She was upset but could control herself.
Resolution:
Shinta’s mother quickly took her to the hospital. But, it’s too late.
On the way Shinta died before she got a help. On the same day, the news about
Shinta spread throughout the city.
Written by Cahyono
To make it clear, please remember the concept of narrative below:
Purpose:
To amuse or entertain
To deal with actual or imaginative experiences in different ways
Text Organization of Narrative
Orientation
Complication
Resolution
Language Features of Narrative
Focus on specific and individualized participants
The use of material process (action verbs)
The use of some behavioral and verbal processes
The use of relational and mental processes
The use of past tenses
The use of temporal conjunctions and circumstances
Recount Text
In our life, time goes by until some of us die. We surely go through
this life passing the time. During the whole of life, we have many happened
experiences that we left behind. Sometimes we remember those experiences and
sometimes we forget about them. In fact, we keep some of the events in our
memory. They become our unforgettable experiences. Some are nice and some are
bad experiences.
What is Recount?
A recount is a type of spoken or written text that deals with past
experiences. The function is to retell some events that happened in the past
for certain purposes; to inform and or to entertain the listeners or readers. A
recount text has a generic structure, having three components (one is
optional). They are: (1) Orientation, (2) Events and (3) Reorientation (
optional).
Recounts are principally not the same as Narratives although both talk
about past events. Narratives deal with problematic events which lead to a
crisis or turning point which in turn finds a resolution while recounts do not
have to come to a serious crisis or complication.
A. Generic Structure of Recount
Text
1. Orientation : an introduction that provides the setting and
introduces participant
2. Events : account that tells what happened, in a sequence
· Event 1
· Event 2
· Event 3
· Etc
3. Reorientation (optional) : Closing of events
B. Generic Features of Recount
text
1. The recount focuses on a sequence of events all of which relate to a
particular occasion
2. It introduces specific participants
3. frequent uses of Simple Past Tense
4. Past continuous tense is sometimes used
5. Temporal sequencers are also used in the sentences to show the
events. They are listed below:
· Before
· After
· When
· While
· … until …
· During …
· As …
· At that time …
· At that moment …
· After that …
· After then …
· Firstly …
· Secondly …
· Finally
Etc
Now read this text!
Title
How could I Hide my face?
Orientation:
One afternoon a month ago, I was very hungry. As I didn’t cook anything
to eat lunch, I decided to go to a café about a hundred meters from my boarding
house.
Events:
I changed my trousers and shirt then left for the café by myself
because my roommate hadn’t come yet from the school. As soon as I got to the
café, I ordered the meal with fresh vegetable soup that seemed very delicious
in the hot day, and also a glass of tea. When they were served, I ate up
eagerly the meal and soup and drank the tea. I was satisfied and it was the
time to pay. I grabbed my trousers pocket and I was shocked. My hands didn’t
feel there was any wallet there. I felt so embarrassed that I didn’t dare to see
the faces of the customers. My body stayed still on the chair and began
sweating.
I tried to control myself in front of the people. I collected my
courage to come to the cashier to say something. Feeling uneasy, I told her
that I left my wallet in the other trousers at the boarding house and promised
to take it and come back soon. Some customers looked at me. I thought I must
hide my face. She nodded and said it was not a matter.
Reorientation:
Finally, I ran to the house and got back with the money. I gave it to
her and came out of the café. What a relief! It should not happen again to me
To make it clear, please
remember the concept or recount below:
Recounts tell the reader what happened. They retell a past event e.g. a
visit to a farm two months ago.
Recounts begin by telling the reader who was involved, what happened,
where this event tool place and when it happened. This is called the
orientation.
The sequence of events is then described in some sort of order e.g.
time.
There may be a reorientation at the end which summarizes the event.
Writing recount:
When writing a recounts you should:
· Focus on individual people, i.e. use the words, “I”, or “we”
· Use words which indicate when, (e.g. after lunch) and where the
events took place (e.g. in the afternoon)
· Write it in the past tense
· Use action verbs e.g. helped, walked, enjoyed
Procedure Text
Procedure is the set of steps which should be completed in the right
sequence to get the goal. In our daily life, we often have to perform some
steps to make or get something done. For example, early in the morning, you
help your mother prepare cups of tea for all members of your family. In making
cups of tea, you have to follow certain procedure in order to get a nice drink.
Most of our daily activities are related with procedures. That is why, you
should understand what a procedure text is, how to make and use it. The generic
structure of procedure has three principal components namely (1) the goal, (2)
materials and (3) steps.
A. Generic Structure of
procedure
1. Goal : Title of the text (especially for a recipe)
2. Materials : Optional, not for all procedural texts
3. Steps : a series steps oriented to achieving the Goal
B. Generic Features
1. The use of Simple Present Tense, often in an imperative form e.g.
Add some sugar, prepare it,.
2. The use mainly of temporal conjunction (or numbering to indicate
sequence especially in written text)
a. As the sentence
introducers (sequencers) especially in spoken text:
First … Firstly …
Second … Secondly …
Then … Thirdly …
After that …
Afterwards …
Finally … Lastly …
e.g. Firstly,
prepare some water!
b. As time
introducers, especially in written text
… before …
After …
When …
While …
… until …
During …
e.g. While you are
boiling the water, grind the chilies, onions and salt
Now read this text!
Goal:
How to activate a Handphone
Nowadays, we need a handphone to connect to our colleagues. We can get
it easily in the shop. When we buy it we shall get a handphone, a SIM card, a
battery and a charger
steps:
This is the way to activate the handphone:
· First, open the cover of the handphone
· Second, insert the SIM card after being installed
· Third, insert the battery inside
· Fourth, close the battery with a cover of handphone
· Fifth, connect the lead from the charger to the bottom of the phone.
· Sixth, connect the charger to an AC wall outlet. Charging the battery
supplied with the phone may take four up to six hours.
Seventh, when the battery is fully charged, the bar stops scrolling.
Disconnect the charger from the AC outlet and the phone. Then, we are ready to
make a phone call.
To make it clear, please
remember the concept of procedure below:
Purpose:
Procedures help us do a task or make something. They can be a set of
instruction or direction
Text Organization:
Title
Goal
Materials and equipment needed (optional)
Steps
Language Features:
The use of imperative
Include technical terms
Use words that tell the reader how, when and where to perform the task
Report Text
Reports are used for many purposes. They are to provide information
about natural and non-natural phenomena, to document, to organize and store
factual information on a topic, to classify and describe the phenomena about a
whole class of things –living and non living, to describe the way things are.
Reports can be used in textbooks, encyclopedias, scientific magazines,
historical texts, factual reading books, reference books, classroom lesson,
environment program, TV documentaries, magazines etc. a report text has its own
generic structure. It has two components namely (1) general classification, (2)
description.
Reports are principally not the same as descriptions although they can
be used interchangeable.
A.Generic Structure of Report:
1.General Classification : tells what the phenomenon under discussion
is
2.Descriptions : tells what the phenomenon under discussion is like in
terms of: Parts (and their function), Qualities and Habits or behaviour
Notes:
1. Difference between reports and descriptions: Repots classify and
describe a whole class of things e.g. “Houses”. By contrast, descriptive texts
talk about on specific person, place or thing e.g. “My houses”. In short,
reports deal with general classification and description of a thing while
descriptions describe a particular thing.
2. The description can cover the facts about various aspects of the
object (colour, shape, habits, behaviour etc), giving examples, comparing and
contrasting, describing components and their functions.
B. Generic Features of Report
1. Report texts usually used Simple Present Tense, and seldom use past
tenses (if the thing is extinct)
2. The language is neutral or should be objective: no expression of
opinions, no reference to the reader (not using “I”, “we” or “you”).
3. Frequent use of “Passive Sentence”.
4. Use of “be”: is, am, are, was, were for the classification.
5. Use of verb “have”: have, has, had, in order to give detail
description.
6. Use of action verbs related to the topic, especially when describing
behaviours.
7. Use of adjectives in describing especially the qualities.
8. Often accompanied by photos, diagrams, maps and illustrations.
Now read this text of Report!
What is Apiculture?
General Classification
Apiculture is also called a bee-farming, the cultivation of bees on a
commercial scale for the production of honey. Royal jelly and bee pollen are
the other products of it. There are many species of bee. Some of them are Apis
Cerana, Apis Dorsata, Apis florae and Apis Malifera. Among those species, Apis
Malifera is the most productive and the easiest to be cultivated.
Description
A bee colony consists of one queen, a lot of worker bees and some
drones, stingless male bees in a colony of social bees (especially honeybees)
whose sole function is to mate with the queen. Each group has its specific
duty. The queen, for example, only lays eggs, the drones have duty to copulate
the queen, and the workers have to take care of the queen, drones and larvae.
They are also responsible for seeking flowers and nectar.
Description
To obtain good production, the farmers have to be able to provide the
most productive flowers nearby the cultivation or they have to travel through
forests, bushes, and plantations to find them. The best flowers can produce
ample material for bee products. Many people like to consume honey because it
is believed to give benefit for health, The Holy Koran says that the bee
stomach produces some liquid that is very beneficial for human health.
To make it clear, please remember the concept of Report text below!
Social Function:
To describe the way things are, with reference to a range of natural,
man-made and social phenomena in our environment.
Schematic Structure:
General statement/ classification: introduces the topic of the reports
Description : provide details of topic such as physical appearance,
behaviour, landform and uses (typically organized in paragraph)
Notes:
1. Simple Present Tense is mostly used in the report text either in
active sentences or in passive sentences.
2.The use of Relational process, such as: is, consist of, function as,
derive from, to be classified into, to be identified as etc.
3.The use of special nouns that denotes the characteristics of the
thing such as: features, forms, functions, species etc.
4.The use of special technical terms such as: the parts of the body
(e.g: brain, vein, vascular), the parts of the tree (e.g: stem, root, leaf,
branch), the parts of machine (e.g: gear, screw, bolt etc).
5.No temporal sequences are used. If there is (e.g: first, second,
third, the last etc). it only indicates numbering not an event.
