involved.”
23
It is in line with Gillet et al., who state that reading is an active process of making meaning. Good readers can find the main ideas, summarize,
and draw a conclusion from the text.
24
Comprehension is evident when readers can: a. Interpret and evaluate events, dialogue, ideas, and information.
b. Connect information to what they already know. c. Adjust current knowledge to include new ideas or look at those ideas in a
different way. d. Determine and remember the most important points in the reading.
25
To comprehend reading materials successfully, fluent readers need some strategies to help them. Gebhard describes what they have to do in
comprehending reading text: a. Skip the unknown words
b. Predict meaning by relating the context of the text c. Do not translate each word
d. Have a schemata about the text e. Draw a conclusion by using pictures or illustration
f. Read things of interest g. Repeating reading activity to check comprehension
26
In sum up, from the explanations were given by linguists above related for understanding of reading, the writer conclude that reading comprehension is
an important skill that includes specific skills like comprehending, interpreting, organizing idea, recalling the experience and getting the meaning from the text.
Thus, the readers need to maximize their eyes and brain to grasp the author’s
23
Kristin Lems, et al., Teaching reading to the English Language Learners, New York: The Guilford Press, 2010, p. 170.
24
Jean Wallace Gillet, et al., Understanding Reading Problems, Boston: Pearson Education, 2012, p. 166.
25
Kristin Lems, op. cit., p. 170.
26
Jerry G. Gebhard, Teaching English as a Foreign or Second Language, USA: The University of Michigan Press, 1999, p. 199.
message while they are reading. Again, they have the schemata to get easily in comprehending the text.
B. Narrative Text
1. The Understanding of Narrative Text
Anderson and Anderson define that a narrative is a text that tells a story to entertain the audience. Narrative can be presented as written or spoken texts.
Written narrative often takes form of novels. The story is said to be told in the first person. If a person outside the story is the narrator, then the story is being
told in the third person.
27
Meanwhile, according to Siahaan and Shinoda, narrative text is a text which is written to entertain people and to tell a story or
experience in different ways.
28
It means that the narrator intended to make the story interesting to read by setting the characters, events, and something can be
learned from the story. From those explanations above, it can be concluded that narrative text is
a text which tells a story of series or events. It tells the readers about an amusing story. The components of narrative text are made to entertain the
readers.
2. The Purpose of Narrative Text
The aim of narrative, other than providing entertainment, it can also make the audience think about the issue, teach them a lesson, or excite their
emotion.
29
Its purpose is to present a view of the world that entertains or informs the reader or listener.
30
It is in line with Rudi Hartono who states that the social
27
Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, op.cit., p. 3.
28
Sanggam Siahaan and Kisno Shinoda, Generic Text Structure, Yogyakarta: Graha Ilmu, 2008, p. 73.
29
Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, op.cit., p. 3.
30
Ibid., p. 4.
function of narrative text is to amuse and to deal with actual or various experience in different ways.
31
3. Schematic Structures of Narrative Text
Generally, narrative text has a schematic structure, there are:
a. Orientation In this paragraph, the narrator tells the audience who is in the story,
when it is happening, where it is happening, and what is going on. b. Complication
This is the part of the story where the narrator tells about something that will begin in a chain of events. These events will affect one or more of the
characters. The complication is the trigger. c. Sequence of event
This is where the narrator tells how the characters react to the complication. It includes their feelings and what they do. The events can be
told in chronological order the order in which they happen or with flashback. The audience is given the narrator’s point of view.
d. Resolution In this part of the narrative, the complication is sorted out or problem is
solved. e. Coda
The narrator includes a coda if there is a moral or message to be learned from the story.
32
31
Rudi Hartono, Genres of Text, Semarang: UNNES, 2005, p. 6.
32
Ibid., p. 4
