2.
Finger Pointing
Finger pointing has only traditionally been considered a problem because of the misconception that it slows the reader down as reading.
However, the finger pointing is considered an excellent method of maintaining concentration and focus. And the only disadvantage is that the
physical size of the finger and hand block the view 3.
Regression and Back Skipping
Regression and back skipping are similar but distinct. Regression is a conscious returning to words, phrases or paragraph the reader feel and have
missed or misunderstand. Many readers feel they must return to them to understand the material.
On the other part, back skipping is a kind of visual tic, an unconscious skipping back to words or phrases that have just been read. The readers are
almost never aware that they are back skipping. In conclusion, those problems area may no longer are seen as the main
problems so that the readers have made them out to be because those problems give significant affects in reading ability and reading rate. In addition, one of the
most crucial problems that influence reading ability is poor vocabulary. Based on the writer’s observation, there were many students got hard to understand the text,
especially the longer text, because they do not know the meaning of the certain word and even, they are lazy to find out the meaning in dictionary. When they
find the difficult words in the text they stop and think about them, it can slow their reading rate. To solve this problem the reader should exercise themselves to read a
lot, the more they read the more vocabulary will develop.
B. Narrative Text
1. Definition of Narrative Text
There are several types of text, included narrative text. Before talking about the definition of narrative text, it is necessary to know the definition of text
itself. According to Beaugrande and Dressler, text is a communicative event that
must satisfy several conditions. For example, a traffic sign, a newspaper article and a novel are all texts that correspond to the differing rules of particular genres
of text. All the genres mentioned before have particular linguistic features, fulfill particular functions and are bound to specific production and reception
situations.
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After knowing the definition of text, there are some definitions of narrative text that will be discussed in this paper. Chatman and Attebery stated that
“narrative is the telling of a story or comunication of a chain of events, fictive or real. Aspects of narrative include how the story is told, the context in which it is
presented, and the construction of the story. ”
20
In other words, narrative text is a text which communicates the readers about a number of sequences of a story, either fiction or non-fiction texts that have
each own structure. Narrative text is one of the texts that should be learnt by High School students. It is regarded as the most interesting text among the others by
some students. Phelps- Gunn said that “The least difficult is narration. Narration
involves a simple time ordering of events into an organized plot or pattern.”
21
Another definition about narrative text is stated by Anderson as follows: A narrative is a text that tells a story to entertain the audience.
Narrative 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 it 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.
22
According to McMahan and Day, a narrative is a story told from beginning to end.
23
19
Stefan Titscher, et. al., Methods of Text and Discourse Analysis, London: SAGE Publications, 2000, p. 21.
20
Chatman, S. and Attebery, Reading Narrative Fiction, New York: McMillan, 1993, p. 15.
21
Trisha Phelps-Gunn, Written Language Instruction, London: Aspen Publication, 1982, p. 184.
22
Mark Anderson and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 3, South Yarra: Macmillan, 1997, p. 3.
23
Elizabeth McMahan and Susan Day, The Writer’s Rhetoric and Handbook, New York:
McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1984, p. 125.
There are many genres of narrative, such as imaginary, factual, or combination of both. They may include fairy stories, mysteries, science, fiction,
romances, horror stories, adventure stories, fables, myths and legends, historical narratives, ballads, slice of life, personal experience.
24
From the definitions above, it can be defined that narrative text is a text that has a purpose to entertain the readers. A narrative text consists of a number of
characters, events, and time sequences.
2. Language Features of Narrative Text
Each text type has each characteristic included its language features. By knowing and understanding the language features, it is expected to help students
learn easier. In narrative text itself, there are some language features that usually found as follow:
a. Specific characters
b. Time words that connect events to tell when they occur; the use of simple past
tense and past continuous tense c.
Verbs to show the actions that occur in the story d.
Relational verbs to describe the characters and settings e.
Connectives or conjunctions to sequence the story f.
Descriptive words to portray the characters and settings
25
In another source, language features of narrative text are as the following: a.
Using noun phrase e.g. a beautiful princess, a cruel witch, a huge temple b.
Using adverbial of time and phrase e.g. last year, two days ago, in the castle, or in a jungle
c. Using Simple Past Tense e.g. “A mouse was having a very bad time”
d. Using action verbs e.g. walked, slept, ran
e. Using adjective phrases long black hair, bad time, and small hole
26
24
Mark and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 2, South Yarra: Macmillan, 2003, p. 18.
25
Mark and Kathy Anderson, ibid., p. 8.
26
http:www.bermacam.info20120422contoh-narrative-text.html
3. Generic Structure of Narrative Text
In narrative text, there are some elements that are provided to guide the readers read the narrative text.
a. Orientation
This is the part in which the narrator tells the audience about who is in the story, when the story is taking place and where the action is happening.
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It can also be called as introductory part of a story. So the reader can figure out what
will happen next and who are involved in it. b.
Complication This is the part of the story where the narrator tells about something that
will begin a chain of events. These events will affect one or more of the characters. The complication is the trigger.
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From this part the story begins. This is the part where the characters totally play their role.
c. Sequence of Events
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 flashbacks. The audience is given the narrator’s point of view.
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d. Resolution This is the part that can be found in the end of the story. In this part of the
narrative where the complication is sorted out or the problem is solved. In some narrative texts, some narrator includes the part which is called by
„coda’ if there is a moral or message to be learned from the story. That is only the optional part of a story.
27
Mark and Kathy Anderson, Text Types in English 2, op.cit., p. 12.
28
Mark and Kathy Anderson, ibid., p. 12.
29
Mark and Kathy Anderson, ibid., p. 12.
