The Flesch, as the founder of Flesch-Reading Ease formula, also provided the level of reading grade based on the reading ease score. The data shows in the Table
2.2 below.
Table 2.2 Reading Ease Score-Grade
17
Reading Ease Score Estimated Reading Grade
0 to 30 College Graduate
30 to 50 13
th
to 16
th
Grade 50 to 60
10
th
to 12
th
Grade 60 to 70
8
th
to 9
th
Grade 70 to 80
7
th
Grade 80 to 90
6
th
Grade 90 to 100
5
th
Grade United States of America people’s level in 1949
C. Definition of Texts
In reading activity, text is playing an important role. The reason of why text is important in reading activity, because text as one of the written materials is becoming
the media of a writer to explain their idea. As stated by Daiek that two elements in reading activity is the reader and the written materials.
18
Text, as one of the important parts in reading activity, has been defined by lot of experts. Literally based on Dictionary of Language Testing text is defined as
17
Ibid.
18
Daiek. Loc. Cit.
Any piece of written or spoken language, of variable length. It may be as short as a single word eg. „Help’, but is more often considered to consist of two or more
utterences or sentences joined together according to rules of cohesion and rhetorical organisation, and may include an extended piece of spoken discourse or any number
of pages of writing.
19
Siahaan and Shinoda in their book Generic Text Structure describe text as a meaningful unit in a context.
20
In line with Siahaan, Mark and Kathy Anderson describe text as a meaningful of constructed words to communicate.
21
Based on all definitions above then the researcher can conclude that in simple definitions text is all written form that is constructed by systematic words order, has
meaning, and able to use to communicate, from the author to the reader. By that definition there will be lots of texts appear in this world. The result of it, is the
categorization of text that made by experts. One of the categorizations of text is what has been explained by Jeremy Harmer.
He explains that text in language teaching term can be divided into two types based on its function: authentic and non-authentic. Authentic is a kind of text that is created
with no pedagogy purposes, such as: magazine, newspaper, advertisement, etc. Non- authentic text is, on the other hand, all texts that are created for language teaching and
learning
22
. In writing there are several patterns of development of texts. According to John
Langman
23
that traditionally writing has 4 patterns of development: Exposition, Description, Argumentation, and Narration or in abbreviation as EDAN.
19
Davies, op. cit., p. 210.
20
Sanggam Siahaan and Kisno Shinoda. Generic Text Structure, Yogyakarta: Graha Ilmu, 2008, p. 1.
21
Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson. Text Types in English 2, London: Macmillahn Education Australia PTY Ltd, 2003, p. 1.
22
Jeremy Harmer. The Practice of English Language Teaching, New York: Longman Publishing, 1991 p. 185.
23
John Langman. English Skills with Readings, New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc., 2002, pg. 161.
In UN there are several patterns that use. Based on Standard Content Kompetensi Standar Isi of UN the texts use in UN are
24
: -
Letter or E-mail -
Advertisement -
News Item -
Narration -
Explanation -
Exposition -
Review -
Discussion -
Report -
Announcement
1. Letter
Based on Oxford dictionary, letter is defined as A message that is written down or printed on paper and usually put in an
envelope and sent to somebody.
25
In writing formal letter, such letter for requesting something, there are some elements that the writer need to put in his or her letter, those are:
- The writer’s address
- The date
- The name, title, and address of the receiver
- A greeting
- The body
- A closing
26
24
Kompetisi Standar Isi 2012-2013, 2014, http:gusschool.files.wordpress.com201211kisi-
kisi-un-sma-ma-2012-2013.pdf.
25
A S Hornby, Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English, New York: Oxford
University Press, 2003, p. 769.
The sample of letter is written below: 17 Text Road,
Texttwn NSW 2999 1 July 1999
Ms. H. Ealthy Community Information Unit
NSW Department of Health 73 Miller Street
North Sydney NSW 2060 Dear Ms. Ealthy,
I am writing to request information on infectious diseases. Would you please send me any brochures your department has on infectious diseases
and a list of the most common infectious diseases in Australia. I would also appreciate any other factual information that can help me with my assignment on this
subject.
Yours Faithfully
Katrina Faros
27
2. Advertisement
Advertisement is a persuasive text that is created in order to persuade people to do something, usually to buy a product.
Here an example of advertisement:
“Life or death for them means a 10 km walk…” “Every day kids like Evangeline walk up to 10kms to fetch water. It’s a dirty,
dangerous water, infected with disease. She must drink to live. But to drink it means certain illness and possibly death.”
26
Mark, op. cit., p. 106.
27
Ibid.
Give a child a future for 1 a day
28
3. News Item
News item is defined as a text which contain information about a news or an important thing, it could be a condition, event and so on. This kind of text use a clear
language.
29
Here an example of News Item: Breaking News English
– Apple has overtaken Google to become the most valuable brand in the world. This is according to the analyst Brandz,
who compile their annual Top 100 ranking of the world’s most valuable brands. Apple’s brand is estimated to be worth more than 153 billion. The
tech company knocked Google off the number one position. Google had occupied the top spot for the previous four years. Apple’s new ranking
consolidates its position as the top-valued technology company on the stock market. Apple’s success is due to the popularity of its pioneering and market-
leading products. It released its iPad 2008 and the tablet become one of the most popular gadgets on the planet.
The Brandz ranking covers companies across the world, making everything from baby food to power plants, as well as financial services and
telecommunications. It calculates its brand value by analyzing several factors, including the value of a company’s balance sheet, the loyalty of customers,
and prospects for future growth. Apple has grown remarkably in the past decade with a series of hugely iconic and popular products. Its brand value
has increased by 859 per cent since 2006. Peter Walsh, a director at Brandz,
said Apple’s success was due to the desirability of its products. He said Apple had succeeded in becoming a luxury goods brand, making its products more
desirable by increasing quality, reliability and price.
30
4. Narration
Narration, is a kind of text that tells a story. The story itself has several purposes, mostly to entertain the reader, but other than that a narration text could also contain
28
Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson. Text Types in English 1, South Yarra: Macmillan Education Australia PTY Ltd., 2003, p. 153.
29
Bustanul Arifin, et. al. Menyimak, Jakarta: Universitas Terbuak, 2010, p. 516.
30
Tim Studi Guru SMA-IPS, Persiapan Menghadapi Ujian Nasional SMA-IPS 2014, Bandung: CV. Pustaka Setia, 2013, p.479.
