Genre of Reading Text
constructs this text is the aimgoal the introductory statement or title, materials things that needed to complete the goal, and steps it is needed to achieve the
goal. Procedure text also has different grammatical features from other text such as the sentence begin with the verb and stated as command, time words or number
that show the order for carrying out the procedure, adverbs to describe how the action should be performed, and precise terms and technical language.
16
Meanwhile, Knapp and Watkins also add the grammatical features of this text such as the addressee may be referred to either directly or indirectly, using
action verb to represent the process, using simple present tense and imperative, adverbs are used to provide the information how the task is completed, using
temporal connectives to ensure the task is completed in the order time, using conditional connectives, using modality to state the obligation in completing
task.
17
The following is the example of procedure text:
How to Play Snakes and Ladders
What you need Snakes and Ladders board game
1 dice 2, 3, 4 players
Counters of different colors. 1 for each player How to Play
Put all counters on start. First person rolls the dice and moves his counter in counting order the
number of places shown on the dice. Other players take their turns.
If a counter lands on the bottom of a ladder, the player moves the counter to the top of that ladder.
16
Mark Anderson Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3, South Yarra: Macmillan Education, 2003, p. 28
17
Peter Knapp Megan Watkins, Genre, Text, Grammar: Technologies for Teaching and Assessing Writing, Sydney: University of New South Wales Press, 2005, p. 153
If a counter lands on a snake’s head, the player moves the counter
down to the bottom of that snake’s tail. The winner is the first player to reach Finish.
18
b. Descriptive text Descriptive text is a text that describes a particular person, place or thing. The
social function of this text is to tell about the subject by describing its feature without including personal opinions. The structure that constructs the text is a
typical of description opening paragraph that introduce the subject and it is followed by a series of each paragraph it describe a feature of subject and
conclusion as the signal the text ends. This text also has grammatical features which consist of the use of present tense, adjective to describe the feature of the
subject and topic sentence to begin paragraphs and organize the various aspects of the description.
19
The following is the example of descriptive text:
Deinonychus
The model of Deinonychus, a dinosaur of the Cretaceous period, can be found in the Museum of Natural Science.
Deinonychus is small by dinosaur standards. It is about 2.5 metres in length and stands about one metres high at the shoulder.
This reptile has a long tail, spindly legs and slender neck. The head is large and the jaws are lined with sharp teeth.
The tall, approximately 3 metres in length, has vertebrae surrounded by bundles of bony rods so the whole tail can be held stiff.
The toes of Deinonychus are unusual. The first toe is small and points backwards. The second toe has a huge sickle-shaped claw and is raised. The third
and fourth toes are in the normal position. Deinonychus is an interesting example of a fast-running dinosaur.
20
18
Ibid., p. 158
19
Mark Anderson Kathy Anderson, op. cit., p. 26
20
Ibid., p. 27
c. Recount text Recount text is a piece of text that retells past events, usually in the order
in which they occurred. The social function is to provide the audience with a description of what occurred and when it occurred. The structure of the text is the
introductory paragraph which tells who, what, where, and when. It is followed by a sequence of events retell the events in the order in which they happened and
conclusion it is an optional. The grammatical of this text is the use of proper noun, use of descriptive words, the use of past tense, and words that show the
order of events.
21
The following is the example of recount text:
My Adolescence
I had my adolescence when I was thirteen. It started with acne that showed up on my face. It was very annoying. It
lowered my self-esteem and I was embarrassed to come out of my house and play with friends.
Fortunately, my Mom gave me a good medicine. In three weeks, the acnes started to vanish although those showed some black spots in my face.
That was my bad experience with adolescence, though there was lots of good experience too.
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d. Report text Report text is a text that reports information about a subject. According to
Mark Anderson Kathy Anderson, report text is a piece of text that presents information about a subject. The social function of this text is to classify andor
describe using facts about the subject’s parts, behavior, and qualities. The generic structure of this text is, the first is general classification tells what the
phenomenon under discussion is and then it is followed by the description tells what the phenomenon under discussion is like in term of part, qualities, habits
behaviors. Mark Kathy Anderson also add that the grammatical features
21
Ibid., p. 24
22
http:www.englishindo.com201403recount-text-full-materi-contoh.html
usually found in a report text are the use of term that related to the subject, general term, and use of present tense.
23
This is the example of report text:
Galaxies
A galaxy is a collection of stars and other astronomical bodies, including planets, comets and asteroids, held together by gravity.
Galaxies come in different shapes and sizes. These include the spiral, barrel- spiral and elliptical. Our galaxy, alled the Milky Way, is approximately 100 000
light years in width and contains over 100 billion stars. The centre of galaxies can contain many young, very hot stars as well as older
stars. Swirling clouds that have been energized by magnetic forces also exist in the centre.
At this point in time, no one knows the exact number of galaxies in the universe. Astronomers are, however, learning more and more about them
everyday.
24
e. Narrative text Narrative text is a text that tells the story or experience to the reader. Based
on Mark Anderson Kathy Anderson, a narrative is a text that tells a story and, in doing so, entertains the audience. The social function of this text is to entertain
or to amuse the reader. The generic structure of this text is orientation, complication, sequence of events, resolution and coda. They also mention that the
grammatical features of narrative are nouns that identify the specific characters and places in the story, adjectives that provide accurate descriptions of the
characters and setting, verbs that show the actions that occur in the story, and time words that connect events, telling when they occurred.
25
According to Knapp and Watkins that narrative does not only have one purpose to entertain the reader, but also narrative is a medium of entertainment
23
Mark Anderson Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 2, South Yarra: Macmillan Education, 2003, p. 88
24
Mark Anderson Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3, op. cit., p. 19
25
Ibid.,
and medium for changing the social opinions and attitudes. The grammatical features of this text are using action verb, temporal connectives, action verb are
used, narrative often use rhythm and repetition to create particular effects, play with sentence structure a short phrase is used to create poignant effects.
26
This is the example of narrative text:
The Legend of Rawa Pening
Once upon a time, there was a little poor boy came into a little village. He was very hungry and weak. He knocked at every door and asked for some food,
but nobody cared about him. Nobody wanted to help the little boy. Finally, a generous woman helped him. She gave him shelter and a meal.
When the boy wanted to leave, this old woman gave him a “lesung”, a big wooden mortar for pounding rice. She reminded him, “please remember, if there
is a flood you must save yourself. Use this “lesung” as a boat”. The “lesung” was happy and thanked the old woman. The little boy
continued his journey. While he was passing through the village, he saw many people gathering on the field. The boy came closer and saw a stick stuck in the
ground. People challenged each other to pull out that stick. Everybody tried, but no
body succeeded. “Can I try?” asked the little boy. The crowd laughed mockingly. The boy wanted to try his luck so he stepped forward and pulled out
the stick. He could do it very easily. Everybody was dumbfounded. Suddenly, from the hole left by stick, water spouted out. It did not stop
until it flooded the village. And no one was saved from the water except the little boy and the generous old woman who gave him shelter and meal. As she told him,
he used the “lesung” as a boat and picked up the old woman. The whole village became a huge lake. It is now known as Rawa Pening Lake in Salatiga, Central
Java, Indonesia.
27
The table below is the summary of the characteristics of genre. It tells the social function, generic structure, and grammatical feature of each genre.
26
Ibid., p. 221-222
27
http:www.englishindo.com201308narrative-text.html
Table 2.1 The Characteristics of Texts G
E N
R E
SOCIAL FUNCTION
GENERIC STRUCTURE
GRAMMATICAL FEATURES
P R
O C
E D
U R
E To provide
instructions for making something,
doing something or getting somewhere
The Aimgoal : the title
of the text or an introductory paragraph
Materials
: things that needed to achieve the
goal The steps
: some steps accomplished to
achieve the goal - Use simple present tense
and imperative - Use mainly of temporal
conjunctions numbering to indicate sequence
- Use mainly of precise terms
and technical
language - Adverbs to describe how
the action should be performed
D E
S C
R I
P T
I V
E To tell about the
subject by describing its
features without including personal
opinions
Typical Description: introduce the subject of
the description Series of Paragraph
: to describe one feature
of the subject Conclusion
: to signal the end of the
description - Use verb in the present
tense - Adjective
- Topic sentence
R E
C O
U N
T To provide the
audience with a description of what
occurred and it occurred
Introductory Paragraph:
tells who, what, when, and where
Sequence of Events: retell the event in the
order in which they happened
Conclusion:
it is an optional
- Use proper noun - Use descriptive words
- Use of past tense - Use words that show the
order of the events
R E
P O
R T
To classify andor describe using
facts about the subject’s parts,
behavior and qualities
General Classification
: tells what the phenomenon
under discussion is Description
: tells what the phenomenon under
discussion is like in term of part, qualities,
habits behaviors Conclusion
: optional - Focus on general noun
- Use simple present tense - Technical
Language related to the subject
N A
R R
A T
I V
E To entertain, to
amuse, to stimulate emotion, and to
deal with actual or various experience
Orientation : sets the
scene and introduce the participants
Complication
: a crisis arises
Sequence of events
: how the character react
to the complication Resolution
: the crisis is resolved, for better or
for worse Coda
: a moral message to be learned from the
story optional - Focus on specific and
usually individualized
participant and place - Time words used to
connect events - Action
words predominate
in complication
and resolution
- Adjectives that provide accurate descriptions of
characters and settings - Use past tense