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2 Inserting a missing grammatical form.
3 Composing sentences from tabular information, with a model
provided. 4
Joining sentences to make a short paragraph, inserting supplied conjunctions but, and, however, because, although….
c. Guided Writing
It is an extension of controlled writing; it is less controlled than controlled writing. In using this kind of writing to teach writing, students
are given a first sentence, a last sentence, an outline to fill out, a series of question to respond to, or information to include in their piece of writing.
Students should be able to discuss, make notes, and share finding together before they begin to write. In guided writing, the students will
not make serious errors if they follow the instruction, which are given by their teachers.
C. Paragraph
1. The Definition of Paragraph
In written form, English is divided into paragraph to distinguish one main idea. According to Brown
“A paragraph is a group of sentences that work together as a team to discuss a single main idea.”
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Cowan said paragraph is composed of a sentence or a chunk of sentences which the
writer has grouped together for some definite reason.
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In addition, Oshima and Hogue said paragraph is a group of related statement that a writer
develops about a subject. Each paragraph is separate unit marked by indenting the first word from the left-hand margin, or by living extra space
above and below the paragraph.
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63
Ann Cole Brown, et. al., Grammar and Composition, Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1984, p. 276
64
Elizabeth Cowan, Writing, Glenview: Scott, Foresman and Company, 1983, p. 119
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Oshima, Writing Academic English …., p. 4
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The definition above can be conclude that a paragraph is a basic unit of organization in writing in which a group of related sentences develop one
main idea.
2. The Types of Paragraph
a. Descriptive
A description describes a particular person, place or thing. Its purpose is to tell about the subject by describing its features without
including personal opinions.
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The steps for constructing a description are:
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1 Identification: Identifies phenomenon to be described
2 Description: describe parts, qualities, characteristics, etc.
Descriptions usually include the following grammatical features:
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1 Verbs in the present tense
2 Adjectives to describe the features of the subject
3 Topic sentences to begin paragraphs and organize the various aspects
of the description 4
Proper nouns e.g.: Hana, my dog 5
Action Verbs e.g. dance, go. Below is the example of descriptive paragraph that oriented from
general to specific:
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My name is Hana. This is my favorite place. It is called Nishiyu.
It is a small village. There is a good harbor. There are a lot of fishing boats in
the harbor. There are some hotels and two restaurants on the road to Nishiyu
and a house near the bridge into Nishiyu.
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Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3, South Yarra: MacMillan, 1998, p. 26
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Kistono, dkk., The Bridge English Competence for SMP Grade VIII, Surabaya: Ghalia Indonesia, 2007, p. 9
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Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3 …, p. 26
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Kistono, dkk., The Bridge English Competence for SMP Grade VIII …, p. 9
Identification
Description
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b. Narrative
According to Oshima and Hogue, Narration is story writing. When you write a narrative paragraph, you write about events in the order that
they happen.
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Moreover, Mark and Kathy Anderson propose that narrative is a text that tells a story and, in doing so, entertains the
audience. The purpose of a narrative, other than providing entertainment, can be to make the audience think about an issue, teach them a lesson, or
excite emotions.
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Narratives can be presented as written or spoken texts. Written narratives often take the form of novels. The story is usually told by a
narrator. If the narrator is one of the characters in the story, 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. Narrative text
can be found in diaries journals, newspapers, biographies, and autobiographies. The examples of narrative text are: myths, fairytales,
aboriginal dreaming stories, science fiction, historical fiction, and romance novels.
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The steps for constructing a narrative text are:
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1 Orientation
The beginning of the story that tells who are characters are, when and where the story takes place.
2 Complication
The middle of the story tells what happened to the characters. 3
Resolution The end of the story tells how the characters solve the problems.
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Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue, Introduction to Academic Writing …, p. 24
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Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3 …, p. 3
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Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3 …, p. 3
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Ali Akmali and Ida Safrida, Smart Steps: The Smartest Way to Learn English for Junior High School, Jakarta: Geneca Exact, 2007, p. 174
43
4 Coda
Narrator includes a coda if there is to be a moral or message to be learned from the story an optional step
Narratives usually include the following grammatical features:
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1 Nouns that identify the specific characters and places in the story
2 Adjectives that provide accurate descriptions of the characters and
settings 3
Verbs that show the actions that occur in the story 4
Time words that connect events, telling when they occurred 5
Mostly use verbs in past forms 6
Use speech marks when the characters are speaking. Below is the example of narrative paragraph:
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Long time ago, there was a boy in a small village. That boy was me, Guller.
One day when I sailed, my ship sank. I swam ashore to the island of Liliput. I was very tired, so
I fell asleep. Hundreds of tiny people pulled me to the ground with rope.
When I woke up, I made friends with the tiny people. They untied the rope and gave me
food. Their bread was so tiny. In one meal, I ate a thousand loaves of bread, a hundred plates of
chicken, a hundred cows, and a hundred sheep.
The tiny people took me to meet their king and queen. The king’s hand was so tiny that I
used only one finger to shake it. Everything was so small. I felt like a giant
among them.
c. Recount
A recount is a piece of text that retells past events, usually in the order in which they occurred. Its purpose is to provide the audience with
a description of what occurred and when it occurred.
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In addition to Jan said that a recount consists of the reconstruction of a past experience or
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Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3 …, p. 3
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Kistono, dkk., The Bridge English Competence for SMP Grade VIII …, p. 100
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Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3 …, p. 24
Orientation
Complication
Resolution
Coda
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event; usually one in which the author has been involved, although there are some recounts that are imaginative and are not written within the
author’s experiences. The information in all recounts is arranged in a time sequence with appropriate language usage to link the events and to
show the passing of time. A recount may involve the stating of observations and the inclusion of a personal comment.
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A recount text usually has three main sections. The first paragraph gives background information about who, what, and when called an
orientation. This is followed by a series of paragraphs that retell the events in the order in which they happened events. Some recounts have
a concluding paragraph however, this is not always necessary Re- orientation.
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Recounts usually include the following grammatical features:
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1 Proper nouns to identify those involved in the text
2 Descriptive words to give details about who, what, when, where and
how 3
The use of the past tense to retell the events 4
Words that show the order of the events for example, first, next, then
5 The elimination of irrelevant details so that only the important
aspects of the event are included 6
The use of personal pronouns in recounts in which the author was a participant.
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Below is the example of recount paragraph:
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In the Hospital
When I was in hospital last year, I looked forward to visiting times.
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Lesley Wing Jan., Write Ways: Modeling Writing Forms, New York: Oxford University Press, 1991, p. 78
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Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3 …, p. 24
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Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3 …., p. 24
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Lesley Wing Jan., Write Ways: Modeling Writing Forms …, p. 79
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Kistono, dkk., The Bridge English Competence for SMP Grade VIII …, p. 27
Orientation
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I was cheered up by visitors who talked and joked with me. My teacher
knew how boring it was to be alone. She brought me a game set on one of her visits.
Some of my classmates gave me fruit and flowers when they visited me. Allan
sent me a get-well card. He could not visit me because he was also ill.
I am lucky to have caring friends.
3. The Effective Paragraph
