Anecdote

PURPOSE
To share with others an account of an unusual or amusing incident.
Anecdote usually deals with something unexpected or out of the ordinary.

GENERIC STRUCTURE
1. Abstract : signals the retelling of an unusual incident
2. Orientatiton : sets the scene (when and where)
3. Crisis: provides details of the unusual incident
4. Reaction: reaction to crisis
5. Coda (optional) : reflection on or evaluation of the incident

LANGUAGE FEATURES

• Use of exclamations, rhetorical question and intensifiers (realy, very, quite, etc) to point up the significance of the events.
• Frequent use Simple Past Tense.
• Past continuous tense is sometimes used.
• Use of material processes/action verbs to tell what happened
• Use of exclamations (e.g. ‘guess what?!’ ; ‘I couldn’t believe it!’)
• Use of intensifiers (e.g. ‘really?!’; ‘very amazing’)
• Use of temporal conjunctions (e.g. and, then)

Example of Anecdote / Contoh Anecdote

A Boy or Girl?

Abstract 

A lot of boys and girls in Western countries are wearing the same kinds of clothes, and many of them have a long hair, so it is often difficult to tell whether they are boys or girls.

Orientation 

One day, an old gentleman went for a walk in a park in Washington, and when he was tired, he sad down on a bench. A young person was standing on the other side of the pond.

Crisis 

“My goodness”. The old man said to the person who was sitting next to him on a bench. “Do you see the person with the loose pants and long hair? Is it a boy or agirl?”. “A girl,” said his neighbour. “She’s my daughter.”

Reaction

“Oh!” the old man said quicly. “Please forgive me. “I didn’t know that you were her mother.”

Crisis

“I’m not,” said the other person. “I’m her father,” he added.

Coda

The old gentleman could say nothing to know the fact.

*resource

Example/Contoh Anecdote lebih banyak lagi:

Spoof

PURPOSE
retells an event with a humorous twist ; It is used to tell an odd and funny event based on the real life. Spoof is aimed at entertaining the readers and It is usually ended by an unexpected event (TWIST).

GENERIC STRUCTURE
1. Orientation (Pengenalan): who were involved in the story (the characters), when, and where
2. Events: tell what happened in chronological order
3. Twist (Unexpected Ending ; Funny) : provide the funniest part of the story

LANGUAGE FEATURES

• Focus on person, animal, certain thing.
• Use of action verbs, e.g.: run, eat, etc.
• Using adverbs of time and place
• Use of Simple Past Tense
• The use of connectives (e.g. first. Then, finally etc)
• The use of adverbial phrases of time and place (e.g. in the garden, two days ago)
• Told in chronological order
• Action verbs/material processes (went, slept, ran, caught, arrived, bought, looked at) e.g. He went to the zoo; She was happy.
• Temporal sequence (on Friday, one day, at the beginning, in the end, first, then, next, before, later, finally, etc)

NOTES:
Material processes are verbs that show activities which can be seen, e.g. write, eat, walk etc
Material processes consist of DOING and HAPPENING.
DOING : create, make, build, develop, send, throw, strew, pour, dissolve etc
HAPPENING : move, fall, rise, come, go, soften, harden, melt etc

Example of Spoof / Contoh Spoof

Green, Pink and Yellow

Orientation:
Can you name the colors in English? Yes, you are right. They are blue, red, yellow, green, white, brown, purple, black and so on. I have a funny story about the colours. Do you want to know it? ok let me tell you.

Events:

One day, an English teacher talked about colours to his students. After he had been explaining, he asked his students, “Who can make a sentence using the word, Green, Pink and Yellow?”

James, the smartest student in the class quickly raised his hand and answered, “When the yellow morning Sun comes, I see a beautiful girl wearing a pink clothe walking through the green grass”.

“Excellent. James, you are a very good student” the teacher said.

Twist:

“Me, me Sir”. Johny, the lazy student in the class said while raising his hand. And then he said, “I heard telephone ringing green, green, then I pink up the receiver and I said, “Yellow, who is speaking there?

*resource

Example/Contoh Spoof lebih banyak lagi:

Review Text

PURPOSE
To critique an art work, event for a public audience.
Examples: work of arts include: movies, TV shows, books, plays, operas, recordings, exhibitions,
concerts and ballets

GENERIC STRUCTURE
Orientation:
Place the work in its general and particular context, often by comparing it with others of its kind or
through analogue with a non-art object or event.
Interpretive Recount:
Summarizes the plot and/or provides an account of how the reviewed rendition of the work came into
being; is optional, but if present, often recursive.
Evaluation (It can be more than one evaluation):
provides an evaluation of the work and/or its performance or production; is usually recursive
Evaluative summation (Summary):
provides a kind of punch line which sums up the reviewer’s opinion of the art event as a whole; is
optional.

LANGUAGE FEATURES:

• Focus on Particular Participants (Participant tertentu)
• Direct expression of options through use of Attitudinal Epithets in nominal groups; qualitative Attributes and Affective Mental Processes
• Use Adjectives showing attitude, e.g.: good, bad, etc.
• Use of long and complex clauses
• Use of metaphorical language (e.g., the wit was there, dexterously pingponged to and fro …)

Example of Review Text/ Contoh Review Text

In Persuit of Dreams

Orientation

Dreams, symbol, sighns, and adventure follow the reader like echoes of ancient wise voices “The Alchemist”, a novel that combines an atmosphere of Medieval mysticism with the song of the desert. With this symbolic masterpiece Coelho states that we should not avoid our destinies, and urges people to follow their dreams, because to find our “Personal Myth” and our mission on Earth is the way to find “God”, meaning happiness, fulfillment, and the ultimate purpose of creation.

Interpretative

Recount The novel tells the tale of Santiago, a boy who has adream and the courage to follow it. After listening to “the signs” the boy ventures in his personal, Ulysses-like journey of exploration and self-discovery, symbolically searching for a hidden treasure located near pyramids in Egypt.

When he decides to go, his father’s only advice is “Travel the world until you see that our castle is the greatest, and our women the most beautiful”. In his journey, Santiago sees the greatness of the world, and meets al kinds of exciting people like kings and alchemists. However by the end of the novel, he discovers that “treasure lies where your heart belong”, and that the treasure was the journey itself, the discoveries he made, and the wisdom he acquired.

Evaluation

“The Alchemist”, is an exciting novel that bursts with optimism; mit is the kind of novel that tells you that everything is possible as long as you really want it to happen. That may sound like an oversimplified version of new-age philosophy and mysticism, but as Coelho states “simple things are the most valuable and only wise people appreciate them”.

Coelho also suggests that those who do not have the courage to follow their “Personal Myth”, are doomed to a life of emtiness, misery, and unfulfillment. Fear of failure seems to be the greatest obstacle to happiness. As the old crystal-seller tragically confecess: “I am afraid that great disappointment awaits me, and so I prefer to dream”. This is where Coelho really captures the drama of man, who sacrifices fulfillment to conformity, who knows he can achieve greatness but denies to do so, and ends up living a life of void.

Evaluative summation

Summatio “The Alchemist” is a novel that may appeal to everybody, because we can all identify with Santiago: all of us has a dream, and are dying for somebody to tell us that they may come true. The novel skillfully combines words of wisdom, philosophy, and simplicity of meaning and language, which makes it particularly readable and accounts for its bestselling status.

Taken from bookreviews.nabou.com

Example/Contoh Review Text lainnya:

Explanation Text

PURPOSE
to explain the process involved in the information or workings of natural or sociocultural phenomena.

The writer's purpose is to explain how something works or state reasons for some phenomenon. Explanations answer the questions "how" or "why". There are two basic types of explanation which focus on:

• "How" (How does a pump work? How does a computer work? How are mountains formed? How does a spider spin a web?)

• "Why" (Why do some things float or sink? Why is the ozone layer getting thinner? Why does iron go rusty? Why do living things need food?)

GENERIC STRUCTURE
1. General statement: stating the phenomenon issues which are to be explained.
2. Sequenced Explanation: stating a series of steps which explain of why or how something occurs.

LANGUAGE FEATURES

• focus on generic, non human Participants.
• use mainly of Material and Relational Processes.
• use mainly of temporal and causal Circumtenses and Conjunctions.
• some use of Passive voice to get Theme right. written in the 'timeless' present tense (are, turns, happens)
• use of action verbs (falls, rises, changes)
• use of non-human participants (the sea, the mountains, the computers, the engine)
• conjunctions (when, then, first, after this so)
• some passives (is saturated, are changed)
• use of nouns tends to be general rather than specific (cars, boats, spiders, schools)
• use of pronouns (their, they, them)

Example of Explanation Text / Contoh Explanation Text

Tsunami

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.

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Example/Contoh Explanation Text lainnya:

Analytical Exposition

PURPOSE: To persuade the readers/listeners that something is the case.

GENERIC STRUCTURE
1. Thesis : Introduces the topic and shows speaker or writer’s position; Outlines of the arguments are presented.
2. Arguments : It consists about Point and Elaboration;
Point ➜ states the main argument
Elaboration ➜ develops and supports each point of argument
3. Conclusion : Reiteration (restatement), restates speaker or writer’s position

LANGUAGE FEATURES

• Focus on generic human and non-human participants, e.g.: car, pollution, leaded petrol car
• Use abstract noun, e.g.: policy, government
• Use of relational processes, e.g.: It is important
• Modal verbs, e.g.: we must preserve
• Modal adverbs, e.g.: certainly we
• Connective or Use of internal conjunction to state argument, (e.g.: first, secondly, then, finally)
• Evaluative language, (e.g.: important, valuable, trustworthy, etc.)
• Giving reasons through causal conjunction (e.g.: so, thus, therefore, however, hence)
• Use of present tense
• Passive sentence

Example of Analytical Exposition / Contoh Analytical Exposition

SAMPLE.1.

The Importance of English

Thesis { I personally think that English is the world’s most important language. Why do I say that?

Argument 1 { Firstly, English is an international language. It is spoken by many people all around the world, either as a first or second language.

Argument 2 { Secondly, English is also the key which opens doors to scientific and technical knowledge, which is needed for the economic and political development of many countries in the world.

Argument 3 { Thirdly, English is a top requirement of those seeking jobs. Applicants who master either active or passive English are more favorable than those who do not.

Conclusion { From the fact above, it is obvious that everybody needs to learn English to greet the global era.

SAMPLE.2.

Corruption and Indonesian Culture

Thesis:
Corruption has happened for many years and today it becomes a bad culture in Indonesia for three reasons
Argument 1:
Most adult Indonesian or foreigners have known and admitted that corruptions happen in many places. The daily newspapers, news programs on TV and radio have reported corruptions are done everywhere, almost in all departments or public services of this country. Corruptions happen in health, education departments and banks. When we manage to get some documents in public service offices, we usually need much money to pay. Manipulations happen everywhere
Argument 2:
The actions to eliminate corruption are weak. The ever stronger culture seems not to come to an end when the responsible institutions who have to reinforce the justice today commit corruption. This is the worst. Corruptions happen in police department, courts where judges, public prosecutors, lawyers make deals to do corruption. All of us also heard in the end of 2004, Probosutejo reported that he had bribed the Supreme Court, or called Mahkamah Agung which becomes the highest level where the justice can be obtained. Perhaps you have to try to come to the local courts and see what happen there. You will see practices of bribery and other kinds of corruption. Therefore, we can say that corruptions becomes our culture. Do you like it?
Argument 3:
The citizens have no goodwill to fight against the corruption. They create the situations in which people have opportunities to do corruptions. The citizens like to break the rules because they are not disciplined. For example, in the street when they drive a car or ride motorcycle, they do not have the driving license or necessary documents. Then, they are caught by the local policemen. To avoid more difficulties, they like to bribe the officer. The officer let them go then. In other words, the citizens and officers are the same, doing corruption together. If only the people were critical, disciplined, and obey the rules, and willing to report any wrong behaviors, this country will not be number one corrupting country in the world.
Reiteration/ conclusion:
Conclusion Based on the reasons, we can conclude that corruption is becoming a bad culture in Indonesia if it is not ended soon by all of us. It seems that there must be more severe penalty for the Corruptors. Do we still care about the future of this country?
More information:

1. Emotive language adds strong description to the facts and so help to create an extremely subjective tone of the text. It plays a role in persuading the readers toward the writer’s opinion e.g. Most adult Indonesian,


2. Evaluative language is another way to persuade people agree with the writer’s opinion e.g. This is the worst, It’s true, It’s important, It’s clear, I believe, It is obvious that etc.

Example/Contoh Analytical Exposition lainnya:

Hortatory Exposition

PURPOSE: to explain the listeners or readers that something should or should not happen or be done.

GENERIC STRUCTURE
1. Thesis : Statement or announcement of issue concern
2. Arguments : Reasons for concern that will lead to recommendation
3. Recommendation : Statement of what should or should not happen or be done based on the given arguments

LANGUAGE FEATURES

• focus on generic human and non human participants, except for speaker or writer referring to self.
• use of mental processes. It is used to state what the writer or speaker thinks or feels about something. (e.g.: realize, feel etc.)
• often needs material processes. It is used to state what happens, (e.g. ….has polluted… etc.)
• usually uses Simple Present Tense and Present Perfect Tense.
• Enumeration is sometimes necessary to show the list of given arguments: Firstly, secondly …, Finally, etc.

Example of Hortatory Exposition / Contoh HortatoryExposition

SAMPLE.1.

A Campaign of the Importance of Reading

Thesis:

Reading habit is poor among Indonesians because most people haven’t realized the importance of reading

Argument 1

Reading is important to transform knowledge and technology. By reading, one knows the world. He or she will understand what he doesn’t see by himself or herself. The lines of the paragraphs in an article contain pieces of knowledge. The knowledge is needed to improve the quality of human’s life. Technology transformation from other country can only be done by reading a lot various sources of literature. Valuable books in libraries and bookstores mean nothing if they are not read.

Argument 2

Realizing the importance of reading will make someone motivated to read. When we know that something is very important because it can give us valuable information, we will try to get or do the thing. For example, a businessman who always follows latest information or news, will know what to do in his/ her business. He will make a good decision to make a transaction. Most people in all developed countries have realized the importance or reading and they have good reading habits. In bus and train stations, vehicles, waiting rooms, parks, people like reading. They enjoy reading which gives them valuable knowledge and inspiration.

Argument 3

A good understanding toward the importance of reading can be achieved by well organized and effective campaign. To plant an understanding in a generation’s minds is not an easy job. It needs a hard work from all components of the nation, especially the government. A serious campaign which is organized by the central and local government can help common people wake up and stand to face the real competition. The campaign can be done through various kinds of mass media such as TV, radio, booklets, bulletins, newspapers, magazines. It can also be conducted by teachers, parents and all people who care.

Recommendation

Therefore, a nation-wide effective campaign of the importance of reading by all components of the nation should be done, facilitated by the government, to face the tighter competition. The world has forced globalization. Those people with little knowledge will be left behind. To speed up the better change in this country, a good reading habit is really important.

SAMPLE.2.

Corruption

Thesis

Do you know what the meaning of corruption is? What is the relation between money and corruption? Well, corruption is common everywhere in the world, even in the United States. It’s just a matter of intensity. However, it is quite shocking when one reliable survey claims Jakarta as the most corrupt place in Indonesia.

Argument 1

The survey has made me sad, actually, because I stay and earn a living here in the capital. As most people know, Tanjung Priok port smuggling is not a new thing at all. Entrepreneurs who want to minimize their tax payments tend to do such a thing more often. They even bribe the officials.

Argument 2

Well, I think the measures taken so far to overcome the problem by punishing the corruptors is still not far enough. We have to prevent the younger generations from getting a bad mentality caused by corruption.

Recommendation

I believe we should start at the earliest stages in school and I think everyone should be involved in the effort to eradicate corruption. We must not make any distinction.

Example/Contoh Hortatory Exposition lainnya:

*resource

Discussion Text

PURPOSE
to present (at least) two points of view about an issue.

GENERIC STRUCTURE
1. Issue:
✔ Statement
✔ Preview
2. Arguments for and against or statement of differing points of view.
✔ Point
✔ Ellaboration
3. Conclusion or Recommendation.

LANGUAGE FEATURES

• Focus on generic human and generic non-human participants.
• Use of Material Processes, e.g., has produced, have developed, to feed.
• Use of Relational Processes, e.g., is, could have, cause, are.
• Use of Mental Processes, e.g., feel.
• Use of comparative: Contrastive and Consequential conjunctions to relate argument, e.g.: similarly, on the other hand, however, etc
• Adverb of Manner: hopefully, deliberately
• Detailed noun group, like: the dumping of unwanted kittens, etc.

Example of Discussion Text / Contoh Discussion Text:


SAMPLE.1.

The Advantage and Disadvantage of Nuclear Power

Nuclear power is generated by using uranium which is a metal mined in various part of the world. The first large scale of nuclear power station was opened at Calder Hall in Cumbria, England in 1956.

Some military ships and submarines have nuclear power plant for engine. Nuclear power produces around 11% of the world's energy needed, and produces huge amounts of energy. It cause no pollution as we would get when burning fossil fuels. The advantages of nuclear plant are as follow:

• It costs about the same coal, so it is not expansive to make.
• It does not produce smoke or carbon dioxide, so it does not contribute to the greenhouse effect.
• It produces huge amounts of energy from small amount of uranium.
• It produces small amount of waste.
• It is reliable.

On the other hand, nuclear power is very, very dangerous. It must be sealed up and buried for many years to allow the radioactivity to die away. Furthermore, although it is reliable, a lot of money has to be spent on safety because if it does go wrong, a nuclear accident ca be a major accident.

People are increasingly concerned about this matter. In the 1990's nuclear power was the fastest growing source of power in many parts of the world.

SAMPLE.2.

Is Homework Necessary?

Issue

I have been wondering if homework is necessary.

Argument

Supported Point

I think we should have homework because it helps us to learn and revise or work.

Homework helps people who aren’t very smart to remember what they have learned. Homework is really good because it helps with our education.

Statement of different point of view/Contradicted idea:

But, my times, doing homework is not a great idea. I think we shouldn’t have homework because sometime the student must have their free time and enjoying them.

Sometimes homework is boring and not important. I think homework is bad if the teacher gives too many homeworks, and it made the student stressed.

Conclusion/Recommendation

As you can see, homework has negative effects and positive effect on the student today. Homework helps the student remind the lessons that given by the teacher, but I think homework should be given on weekend and with enough amount (not too many homework), so the students won't feel stressed.

Example/Contoh Discussion Text lainnya:

Recount

PURPOSE: To tell past experience (what we or someone did, what took place) that is aimed at informing and entertaining

       TYPES:

• Personal recount ( retelling of an activity that the speaker/writer has been personally involved) e.g. oral anecdote, diary entry, biography

• Factual recount (recording the particulars of an incident e.g. police report, news report)
• Imaginative recount (taking on an imaginary role and giving details of events) e.g. a day in the life of ………

GENERIC STRUCTURE

1. ORIENTATION: provides information about the setting (when & where) and introduces participants/character (who)
2. EVENTS: tell what happened, in temporal sequence (personal comment/expression of evaluation)
3. RE-ORIENTATION (optional): Its closeure of events (e.g. comments or conclusion)

LANGUAGE FEATURES: 

• Noun and pronoun as substitution of person, animal, involved thing, E.g.: David, the Monkey, We, etc.
• Specific participants (Mr./Mrs ……, our dog, the thief)
• Using Past Tense
• Action verbs/material processes (went, slept, ran, caught, arrived, bought, looked at) E.g. He went to the zoo; She was happy. 
• Temporal sequence (on Friday, one day, at the beginning, in the end, first, then, next, before, later, finally, etc)

Narrative and recount in some ways are similar. Both are telling something in the past so narrative and recount usually apply PAST TENSE; whether Simple Past Tense, Simple Past Continuous Tense, or Past Perfect Tense. The ways narrative and recount told are in chronological order using time or place. Commonly narrative text is found in story book; myth, fable, folklore, etc while recount text is found in biography.

The thing that makes narrative and recount different is the structure in which they are constructed. Narrative uses conflicts among the participants whether natural conflict, social conflict or psychological conflict. In some ways narrative text combines all these conflicts. In the contrary, we do not find these conflicts inside recount text. Recount applies series of event as the basic structure.

Example of Analytical Exposition / Contoh Analytical Exposition

Bali Bomb

The bomb, in the resort of Kuta, destroyed the Sari Club and a crowded nightspot. Many people have fallen victims to this blast. Many of them were foreign tourists, especially from Australia. They were burner beyond recognition. Some tourist who were at the scene of the blast said there were two explosions around the nightclub. One bomb had exploded outside Paddy’s Bar before a Bar bomb hit the Sari Club which was located some meters away.


Hundred were injured in the explosion and about 220 Australians remain unaccounted for. The U.K. Foreign Secretary, Jack Straw, said that 33 Britons were among those killed in the Bali attack. The Australian Primer Minister, John Howard, called its borders, saying it had been a problem for a long time.


Lists of missing people have been posted in Bali and official said that it could take days to identity all the victims, some of whom were trapped in the Sari Club by a wall of flames. A notice board at the hospital in Bali includes a section called “Unknown Identity” and detailed list on victims such as : “Young girl in intensive care, 11-14 years old, face burned, income, Causation,” or “Girl in intensive care, about 5 years old, 130 cm, fair skin, Caucasian with reddish brown hair. She has a purplish belly button ring.”


Many embassies, including the British and the American, are advising their people to cancel spending their planned holidays in Indonesia, and all U.S. citizens in the country have been told to leave including diplomats and non-essential government staff.

source:

Cambridge University press book - Interchange Acticvity 1 

Example/Contoh Recount Text lainnya:

Narrative Text

PURPOSE

• It is used to amuse/entertain the readers that is to gain and hold the reader’s interest in a story.
• It is used to teach and inform the writer's reflections on experience
• It can be imaginary or factual (fairy tales, mysteries, fables, romances, adventure stories, mythhs and legends), or it can also be a complicated event that leads to a crises that finally find a solution

GENERIC STRUCTURE
1. Orientation: introduces participants/character (who) ; sets the scene (when & where)
2. Complication: Development of a Crises: a crisis arises, something happened unexpectedly
3. Resolution: Solution of the crisis: for better or for worse
3. Re-Orientation: closing to the narrative (optional)
4. Coda: changes of characters, lesson taken from the story (optional)

LANGUAGE FEATURES

• Certain nouns are as pronoun of person, animal, certain thing in a story. e.g.: Stepsister, house work.
• Adjectives that form noun phrases, e.g.: long black air, two red apples, etc.
• Time connectives and conjunction to arrange the events, for example: then, before that, soon, etc.
• Adverb and adverbial phrase to point the place of event, for example: here, in the mountain, happily ever after.
• Action verbs are past tense: stayed, climbed, etc.
• Saying verbs that refer to what the human participants said, told, promised; and thinking verbs indicating thought, perception or feeling of the characters in a story, for example: felt, thought, understood
• Dialog often included and the tenses change according to the circumstances

Example of Narrative Text / Contoh Narrative Text

Snow White and the 7 dwarfs 

Orientation

Once upon the time the live a little girl named snow white.

Complication

One day she heard her uncle and Aunt talking about living snow white in the castle because they both wanted to go to American and they didn’t have enough money to take snow white.

Resolution

Snow white did not want her uncle and Aunt to do this so she decided it would be best if she run away. The next morning she ran away into the woods.

Complication

Then she saw this little cottage. She knocked but no one answered so she went inside and fell asleep.

Resolution

Mean while, she seven dwarfs were coming home from work they when inside. There they found Snow White sleeping. Then Snow White woke up she saw the dwarfs said, “What is your name? Snow White said, “My name is Snow White” and, one of the dwarfs, said, “If you wish, you my live here with us. Snow White said, “Oh could I? Thank you.” Then Snow White told the dwarfs the hole story and Snow White and the 7 dwarfs lived happily ever after.

Example/Contoh Narrative Text lainnya:

Procedure Text

PURPOSE

Procedures help us do a task or make something. They can be a set of instruction or direction

GENERIC STRUCTURE
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

LANGUAGE FEATURES

• The use of Simple Present Tense, often in an imperative form e.g. Add some sugar, prepare it,.
• 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


Example of Procedure Text / Contoh Procedure Text 
SAMPLE.1.

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.

SAMPLE.2.

How to boil an egg

Do you know how to boil an egg? Well, this is the way!

steps:

• First, heat a saucepan of water on the stove.
• Then put the egg in the boiling water.
• After that, heat it until it boils.
• Next, cook it for three minutes.
• Don’t leave the eggs until it gets burnt.
• Now, the egg is ready to serve.
• Finally, serve it with pepper powder and salt

Sources:

Cahyono, Kristiawan Dwi and Eka Purnama.2006. Communicative Competence 2B: A course in Acquiring English Communicative Competence, For Senior High School Level, Grade XI Semester 2. Jombang: CV Karunia Agung

Sudarwati and Eudia Grace.2007. Look Ahead: An English Course for Senior High School Students Year I, Science and Social Study Program. Jakarta: Erlangga

News Item

PURPOSE: to inform readers, listeners or viewers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important.

GENERIC STRUCTURE
1. Newsworthy Event(s) : recounts the event in summary form.
2. Background Events : Elaborate what happened, tell what caused the incident.
3. Sources : comments by participants in witnesses to and authorities expert on the event.

LANGUAGE FEATURES

• Short, telegraphic information about story captured in headline.
• Use of Material Processes to retell the event (in the text below, many of the Material Processes are nominalised)
• Use of projecting Verbal Processes in sources stage.
• Focus on Circumstances (e.g. mostly within Qualifiers).

Example of News Item/ Contoh News Item

Man Jailed for Striking RI Maid

Nesworthy event { SINGAPORE: A supervisor was jailed for two months repeatedly striking his Indonesian maid on the head and back with a television remote control, news reports said on Thursday.

Background Event 1 { Muhammad Shafiq Woon Abdullah admitted in a Singapore court he physically abused the woman on several occasions between June and October 2002, The Straits Times said.

Event 2 { The magistrate’s court heard that Shafiq, 31, began striking Winarti, 22, about a month after she atarted working for him.

Event 3 { He hit her on the head with the TV set’s remote control because he was unhappy with her work. On one occasion, he punched her on the back after accusing her of daydreaming.

Source { S.S Dhillon, Shafiq’s lawyer, said his client lost his “better sense” when he saw his daughter’s face covered as she lay in bed. He said his client thought the maid had put the child in danger.

Taken from: Singapore Strait Times 2004

Example/Contoh News Item lainnya:

Report Text

PURPOSE
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.

GENERIC STRUCTURE
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.

LANGUAGE FEATURES

• Generalized participants: a whole class of things (volcanoes, newspapers, the royal family)
• Action verbs/material processes
• Simple present tense. It states general thing, like: comodo dragon usually weight more tha 160 kg.
• Language for defining, classifying, comparing, contrasting (are called, belong to, can be classified as, are similar to, are more powerful than)
• May contain technical vocabulary e.g. water contains oxygen and hydrogen
• Is written in a formal and objective style

Example of Report Text / Contoh Report Text

Volcanoes

General Classification

A volcano is a mountain which is formed by the eruption of material from the earth’s interior through a central opening or groups of openings. Volcanoes are scattered over the world. Volcanoes can be divided into three categories based on volcano forms and type of volcanic activities. They are Shield, Composite and Explosion volcanoes

Description

A shield volcano is formed chiefly of layers of basalt (a dark, heavy lava). A few shield volcanoes are composed of andesite ( a related, less dense type of lava).

A composite volcano has more frequent and violent explosive eruptions than shield volcanoes do. Lava may be extruded from either central crater or fissures on a volcano’s sides.

Explosion volcanoes are composed of inclined layers of pyroclastic debris and contain no lava. During the eruption, debris is ejected from the crater. Most explosion volcanoes are formed during one period of eruption.

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Example/Contoh Report Text lainnya:

Descriptive Text

PURPOSE
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

GENERIC STRUCTURE
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 descriptions 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

LANGUAGE FEATURES

• Descriptive texts usually use Simple Present Tense
• Frequent use of Passive sentences.
• Use of be (is, am, are, was, were) for the identification and showing qualities
• Use of verb “Have” (have, has, had) in order to give detail description of the object’s features.
• Use of action verbs related to the topic, especially when describing behaviours or personalities (for persons)
• Use of adjectives in describing especially the qualities.

Example of Descriptive Text / Contoh Descriptive Text

sample.1.

Lesser Slow Loris (Nycticebus pygmaeus)

Identification:

The Lesser Slow Loris is a Mammal which can clampo onto branches for long period of time. To help it do this, the Loris has a network of blood vessels, called rate mirabile in its forearms and shanks.

Description of physical features:

It is a small mammal which is 7-10 in long (175-250 mm) and can weigh as musch as 12 ounces or 340 grams. Being nocturnal the Loris has large round eyes. The Loris has no tail but has broad grasping feet. On its second toe it has a sharp claw. It also has an enlarge thumb and a reduced index finger.

The Lesser Slow Loris is a plump animal with soft, thick fur ranging in color from light brown-grey to deep reddish-brown with a dark stripe down the back and neck. It has a long snout with comb like front teeth which are used in grooming.

Description of habitat, floor and behaviour It is found in Southern Asia, Vietnam, Borneo and Sumatra. As it is tree-living, it is restricted to tropical rain forest. The diet of the Loris is made up fruit and leaves, tender shoots, insect, birds, small mammals and reptiles. It is nocturnal and sleeps by day rolled up in a ball.

Description of interesting features:

The Loris is a solitary animal which belongs to the family of Lorisidea bush baby and potto. It is very slow but deliberate climber. An interesting fact about the Lesser Slow Loris is that it has a single-note whistle.

sample.2.

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.

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Example/Contoh Descriptive Text lainnya:

Genre of Text

GENRE	PURPOSE	INFO
Narrative	To entertain/amuse the reader.	GENERIC STRUCTURE Orientation: sets the scene and introduces the participants. Evaluation: a stepping back to evaluate the plight. Complication: a crisis arises. Resolution: the crisis is resolved, for better or for worse. Re-orientation: optional. LANGUAGE FEATURES: 1. Using Past Tense 2. Using action verb 3. Chronologically arranged
Recount	To retell events for the purpose of informing or entertaining.	GENERIC STRUCTURE Orientation: provides the setting and introduces participants Events: tell what happened, in what sequence. Re-orientation: optional-closure of events. LANGUAGE FEATURES: 1. Using Past Tense 2. Using action verb 3. Using adjective
Spoof	To retell something funny for the purpose of entertaining.	GENERIC STRUCTURE Orientation: provides the setting and introduces participants Events: tell what happened, in what sequence. Twist: the funniest part of the text. LANGUAGE FEATURES: 1. Using Past Tense 2. Using action verb 3. Using adverb 4. Chronologically arranged
Anecdote	To share with others an account of an unusual or amusing incident.	GENERIC STRUCTURE Abstract: signals the retelling of an unusual incident. Orientation: sets the scene. Crisis: provides details of the unusual incident Reaction: reaction to crises Coda: optional – reflection on or evaluation of the incident. LANGUAGE FEATURES: 1. Using exclamations, rhetorical question or intensifiers 2. Using material process 3. Using temporal conjunctions
News Item	To inform readers, listeners or viewers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important.	GENERIC STRUCTURE Newsworthy Event(s): recounts the event in summary form Background Events: elaborate what happened, to whom, in what circumstances. Sources: comments by participants in, witnesses to and authorizes expert on the event. LANGUAGE FEATURES: 1. Short, telegraphic information about story captured in headline 2. Using action verbs 3. Using saying verbs 4. Using adverbs : time, place and manner.
Description	To describe a particular person, place or thing.	GENERIC STRUCTURE Identification: Identifies phenomenon to be described. Description: describes parts, qualities, characteristics. LANGUAGE FEATURES: 1. Using Simple Present Tense 2. Using action verb 3. Using adverb 4. Using special technical terms
Report	To describe the way things are, with reference to a range of natural, man-made and social phenomena in our environment.	GENERIC STRUCTURE General classification: tells what the phenomenon under discussion is. Description: tells what the phenomenon under discussion is like in terms of (l) parts, (2) qualities, (3) habits or behaviors, if living; uses, if non-natural LANGUAGE FEATURES: 1. Introducing group or general aspect 2. Using conditional logical connection 3. Using Simple Present Tense
Explanation	To explain the processes involved in the formation or workings of natural or socio-cultural phenomena.	GENERIC STRUCTURE A general statement to position the reader. A sequenced explanation of why or how something occurs. LANGUAGE FEATURES: 1. Using Simple Present Tense 2. Using action verbs 3. Using passive voice 4. Using noun phrase 5. Using adverbial phrase 6. Using technical terms 7. Using general and abstract noun 8. Using conjunction of time and cause-effect.
Discussion	To present (at least) two points of view about an issue.	GENERIC STRUCTURE Issue Arguments for and against or Statement of differing points of view. Conclusion or Recommendation LANGUAGE FEATURES: 1. Using Simple Present Tense 2. Use of relating verb/to be 3. Using thinking verb 4. Using general and abstract noun 5. Using conjunction/transition 6. Using modality 7. Using adverb of manner
Hortatory Exposition	To persuade the reader or listener that something should or should not be the case or be done.	GENERIC STRUCTURE Thesis: announcement of issue concern. Arguments: reasons for concern, leading to recommendation. Recommendation: statement of what ought or ought not to happen. LANGUAGE FEATURES: 1. Using Simple Present Tense 2. Using modals 3. Using action verbs 4. Using thinking verbs 5. Using adverbs 6. Using adjective 7. Using technical terms 8. Using general and abstract noun 9. Using connectives/transition
Analytical Exposition	To reveal the readers that something is the important case.	GENERIC STRUCTURE Thesis: Position: Introduces topic and indicates writer’s position. Preview: Outlines the main arguments to be presented. Arguments: Point: restates main arguments outlined in Preview. Elaboration: develops and supports each Point/argument Reiteration: restates writer’s position. LANGUAGE FEATURES: 1. Using modals 2. Using action verbs 3. Using thinking verbs 4. Using adverbs 5. Using adjective 6. Using technical terms 7. Using general and abstract noun 8. Using connectives/transition
Review	To critique an art work, event for a public audience. Such works of art include movies, TV shows, books, plays, operas, recordings, exhibitions, concerts and ballets.	GENERIC STRUCTURE Orientation: places the work in its general and particular context, often by comparing it with others of its kind or through analogue with a non-art object or event. Interpretive Recount: summaries the plot and/or provides an account of how the reviewed rendition of the work came into being; is optional, but if present, often recursive. Evaluation: provides an evaluation of the work and/or its performance or production; is usually recursive. Evaluative Summation: provides a kind of punchline which sums up the reviewer’s opinion of the art event as a whole; is optional. LANGUAGE FEATURES: 1. Focus on specific participants 2. Using adjectives 3. Using long and complex clauses 4. Using metaphor