B. Text
1. The Understanding of Text
According to Nuttall “the text is defined as the core of the reading
process, the means by which the message is transmitted from writer to reader
”.
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It means that the text is a mean to transfer a message from the writer to reader. Mark and Kathy Anderson add
“when you speak or write to communicate a message
, you are constructing a text”.
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In can be understood that a text according to them is what we speak and write to
communicate a message. Moreover, other explanation of a text is
that “a text is usually longer than just a word or a sentence
…. contains a series of sentences, as in a letter or postcard, in which the sentences are connected to one another by
grammar and vocabulary andor knowledge of the world. ”
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The writer agrees with that statement. We can find a text surrounding our life like in a
novel, letter, or announcement, etc. Sentences in them are put together to communicate a meaning in a text form, so a text consists of some words
and sentences. Furthermore, Hughes specifies a number of the parameters of the texts
as follow: a.
Text types include: textbooks, handouts, articles in newspapers, journals or magazines, poemsverse, letters, advertisements,
reviews, notices, signs, etc. b.
Text forms include: description, exposition, argumentation, narration, etc.
c. Graphic features include: tables, charts, diagrams, etc.
d. Topics may be listed or defined in general way or in relation to a set
of candidates whose background is known. e.
Style may be specified terms of formality.
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Christine Nuttall, Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language, Oxford: Heinemann International, 1982, p. 15.
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Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 2, Sout Yarra: Macmillan Education Australia, 1997, p. 1.
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Mary Spratt, Alan Pulverness, and Melanie Williams, The Teaching Knowledge Test Course, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005, p. 21.
f. Intended readership can be quite specific e.g. native speaking
science undergraduate students or more general e.g. young native speakers
g. Length is usually expressed in number of words.
h. Readability which measure difficulty of texts.
i. Range of vocabulary may be indicated by a complete list of words
j. Range of grammar may be a list of sentences.
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From the specification of the texts above, it could be synthesized that text is everything we hear or say in spoken language, and what we
read or write in written language.
2. Kinds of Text
Kategori