GENRE 3 NARRATIVE TEXTS
A. SOCIAL FUNCTION
The social function of the narrative texts is to amuse, entertain and to deal with actual or vicarious experience in different ways. Narratives deal with problematic events which lead to
a crisis or turning point of some kind, which in turn finds a resolution.
B. GENERIC STRUCTURE
Orientation: set the scene and introduce participants Evaluation: a sleeping back to evaluate the plight
Complication: a series of events in which the main character attempts to solve problem
Resolution: the crisis is resolved for better or for worse Re-orientation: optional.
C. LEXICOGRAMMATICAL FEATURES
Focus on specific and usually individualized participants Use of all kinds of processes material, behavioral, verbal, relational, mental
processes Use of temporal conjunctions
Use of past tense
D. SAMPLES
Generic Structure
SNOW WHITE
Lexicogrammatical Features
Orientation Once upon time there lived a little girl
named Snow White. She lived with her Aunt and Uncle because her parents were dead.
Past tense lived, wanted, ran …
Temporal conjunctions
then, the next
morning. … Human
participants Snow
White, Uncle, Aunt …
Material, relational, verbal,
behavioral processes.
Major Complication
One day she heard her Uncle and Aunt talking about leaving Snow White in the
castle because they both wanted to go to America 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 ran away. The next morning
she ran away from home when her Aunt and Uncle were having breakfast. She ran into
the woods.
Complication She was very tired and hungry.
Resolution Then she saw a little cottage. She
knocked but no one answered so she went
inside and fell asleep. Complication
Meanwhile, the seven dwarfs were coming home from work. They went inside.
There they found Snow White sleeping. Then, Snow White wake up. She saw the
dwarfs. The dwarfs asked, “what is your name?” Snow White said, “My name is
Snow White”. Major
Resolution Doc said, “If you wish, you may live
here with us”. Snow White said, “Oh, could I?. Thank you”. Then Snow White told the
dwarfs the whole story and Snow White and the 7 dwarfs lived happily ever after
GENRE 4 - RECOUNT TEXTS
A. SOCIAL FUNCTIONS
The social function of the recount texts is to retell events for the purposes of informing or entertaining
B. GENERIC STRUCTURES
Orientation: provide the setting and introduce participants Events 1 – n: tell what happened in what sequences
Re-orientation: optional closure of events
C. LEXICOGRAMMATICAL FEATURES