Text Types in Non-Fiction Writing

Text types is generalized in two kinds; fiction and no-fiction. Fiction will be close relating to literature while non-fiction is deal more in technical usage of daily life.
Browsing over the Internet, I find a very useful source to learn text types in non-fiction summary. They are:
1. Report text, this kind of text is to describe the way things are, give detail description as they are
2. Procedure, this instructional text is to instruct or describe how to make something or how something is done through a series of sequenced steps or phases.
3. Recount, this text tries to retell events. Commonly the events happened in the past
4. Explanation, this kind of text surely explains the process involved in nature and how something works. Explanation text is composed a lot in natural phenomena.
5. Persuasion, as its word root, persuasive text tries to argue the case for a point of view and in higher point it makes to convince and persuade readers. Persuasion text is studied in two types; analytical exposition and hortatory text.
6. Discussion, a type of text which present argument and information from different points of view. Generally discussion text is accomplished with a recommendation
7. The other types of non-fiction text such as Internet material, leaflet, interview, diary, journalistic writing, biography and autobiography can be seen at lancsngfl.ac.uk

TEXT TYPES; a complete overview

Based on generic structure and language feature dominantly used, texts are divided into several types. They are narrative, recount, descriptive, report, explanation, analytical exposition, hortatory exposition, procedure, discussion, review, anecdote, spoof, and news item. These variations are known as GENRES.

NARRATIVE
Purpose: To amuse/entertain the readers and to tell a story
Generic Structure:
1. Orientation
2. Complication
3. Resolution
4. Reorientation
Dominant Language Features:
1. Using Past Tense
2. Using action verb
3. Chronologically arranged

RECOUNT
Purpose: to retell something that happened in the past and to tell a series of past event
Generic Structure:
1. Orientation
2. Event(s)
3. Reorientation
Dominant Language Features:
1. Using Past Tense
2. Using action verb
3. Using adjectives
Narrative and recount in some ways are similar. Both are telling something in the past so narrative and recount usually apply PAST TENSE; whether Simple Past Tense, Simple Past Continuous Tense, or Past Perfect Tense. The ways narrative and recount told are in chronological order using time or place. Commonly narrative text is found in story book; myth, fable, folklore, etc while recount text is found in biography.
The thing that makes narrative and recount different is the structure in which they are constructed. Narrative uses conflicts among the participants whether natural conflict, social conflict or psychological conflict. In some ways narrative text combines all these conflicts. In the contrary, we do not find these conflicts inside recount text. Recount applies series of event as the basic structure

DESCRIPTIVE
Purpose: to describe a particular person, place or thing in detail.
Dominant Generic Structure:
1. Identification
2. Description
Language Features:
1. Using Simple Present Tense
2. Using action verb
3. Using adverb
4. Using special technical terms


REPORT
Purpose: to presents information about something, as it is.
Generic Structure
1. General classification
2. Description
Dominant Language Feature
1. Introducing group or general aspect
2. Using conditional logical connection
3. Using Simple Present Tense

EXPLANATION
Purpose: To explain the processes involved in the formation or working of natural or socio-cultural phenomena.
Generic Structure:
1. General statement
2. Explanation
3. Closing
Dominant Language Features:
1. Using Simple Present Tense
2. Using action verbs
3. Using passive voice
4. Using noun phrase
5. Using adverbial phrase
6. Using technical terms
7. Using general and abstract noun
8. Using conjunction of time and cause-effect.

ANALYTICAL EXPOSITION
Purpose: To reveal the readers that something is the important case
Generic Structure:
1. Thesis
2. Arguments
3. Reiteration/Conclusion
Dominant Language Features:
1. Using modals
2. Using action verbs
3. Using thinking verbs
4. Using adverbs
5. Using adjective
6. Using technical terms
7. Using general and abstract noun
8. Using connectives/transition

HORTATORY EXPOSITION
Purpose: to persuade the readers that something should or should not be the case or be done
Generic Structure:
1. Thesis
2. Arguments
3. Recommendation
Dominant Language features:
1. Using Simple Present Tense
2. Using modals
3. Using action verbs
4. Using thinking verbs
5. Using adverbs
6. Using adjective
7. Using technical terms
8. Using general and abstract noun
9. Using connectives/transition
Then what is the basic difference between analytical and hortatory exposition. In simple word. Analytical is the answer of "How is/will" while hortatory is the answer of "How should". Analytical exposition will be best to describe "How will student do for his examination? The point is the important thing to do. But for the question" How should student do for his exam?" will be good to be answered with hortatory. It is to convince that the thing should be done

PROCEDURE
Purpose: to help readers how to do or make something completely
Generic Structure:
1. Goal/Aim
2. Materials/Equipments
3. Steps/Methods
Dominant Language Features:
1. Using Simple Present Tense
2. Using Imperatives sentence
3. Using adverb
4. Using technical terms

DISCUSSION
Purpose: to present information and opinions about issues in more one side of an issue (‘For/Pros’ and ‘Against/Cons’)
Generic Structure:
1. Issue
2. Arguments for and against
3. Conclusion
Dominant Language Features:
1. Using Simple Present Tense
2. Use of relating verb/to be
3. Using thinking verb
4. Using general and abstract noun
5. Using conjunction/transition
6. Using modality
7. Using adverb of manner

REVIEW
Purpose: to critique or evaluate an art work or event for a public audience
dominant Generic Structure:
1. Orientation
2. Evaluation
3. Interpretative Recount
4. Evaluation
5. Evaluative Summation
Dominant Language features:
1. Focus on specific participants
2. Using adjectives
3. Using long and complex clauses
4. Using metaphor

ANECDOTE
Purpose: to share with others an account of an unusual or amusing incident
Generic Structure:
1. Abstract
2. Orientation
3. Crisis
4. Reaction
5. Coda.
Dominant Language Features:
1. Using exclamations, rhetorical question or intensifiers
2. Using material process
3. Using temporal conjunctions

SPOOF
Purpose: to tell an event with a humorous twist and entertain the readers
Generic Structure:
1. Orientation
2. Event(s)
3. Twist
Dominant Language Features:
1. Using Past Tense
2. Using action verb
3. Using adverb
4. Chronologically arranged

NEWS ITEM
Purpose: to inform readers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important
Dominant Generic Structure:
1. Newsworthy event(s)
2. Background event(s)
3. Sources
Dominant Language Features:
1. Short, telegraphic information about story captured in headline
2. Using action verbs
3. Using saying verbs
4. Using adverbs : time, place and manner.

More Explanation on the Difference between Report and Descriptive Text

 I have a short post discussing the differences between report and descriptive text. However some comments are still intentionally proposed to ask what is report text, what is descriptive text and how they differ from each other. I believe they are good to build the better understanding about the variety of text types which this blog has been concerning since it published it first post years ago. The comments which are given in responses for some example of particular text types really attract me, especially who make note whether some texts given as the example belong to report or descriptive. As stated in the previous posts, both descriptive and report present the caught picture of some thing for other. Both descriptive and report text functionally describe things, what and how they are.
Due to some comments in this blog, I have browsed to find more vivid definition what descriptive and report texts are. Bellow are the sources which hopefully give more understanding of report and descriptive text and what the easy way to differ them:

lessonplanspage.com explains that Information Report is classifying and describing general classes of phenomena. While Factual Description is describing a particular living, non-living or natural phenomenon.
portals.aisnsw.edu.au has more complex explanation. Descriptive reports give information about something; they describe what something is or does. They characteristically use technical terms and present tense, and they build technicality through noun groups. The structure of a descriptive report is General statement followed by Description.
awesome-reviews.info clearly states that If the thing which is mentioned in the text is clear about its name. We can make it sure as Descriptive text. But if the thing which is described in the text just the representative of the whole group of the thing mentioned, we can judge it as Report Text.
So what is the easy way to differ report form descriptive text? Well there is not easiest way to see the difference between report and descriptive text since a text is possibly built from several types of text. Frequently, a text is combined from several genres. However taking a look at the participant of the text is very helpful to define whether the text belongs to report or descriptive. The particularity of the participant is a key to see the difference between report and descriptive.

What is Descriptive Text?

The Definition and Purpose of Descriptive Text
Descriptive text is a text which say what a person or a thing is like. Its purpose is to describe and reveal a particular person, place, or thing.


The Generic Structure of Descriptive Text
Descriptive text has structure as below:
Identification; identifying the phenomenon to be described.
Description; describing the phenomenon in parts, qualities, or/and characteristics.

The Language Feature of Descriptive Text
Using attributive and identifying process.
Using adjective and classifiers in nominal group.
Using simple present tense

Borobudur Temple; a descriptive text

Borobudur is Hindu - Budhist temple. It was build in the nineth century under Sailendra dynasty of ancient Mataram kingdom. Borobudur is located in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia.
Borobudur is well-known all over the world. Its construction is influenced by the Gupta architecture of India. The temple is constructed on a hill 46 m high and consist of eight step like stone terrace. The first five terrace are square and surrounded by walls adorned with Budist sculpture in bas-relief. The upper three are circular. Each of them is with a circle of bell shape-stupa. The entire adifice is crowned by a large stupa at the centre at the centre of the top circle. The way to the summit extends through some 4.8 km of passage and starways. The design of borobudur which symbolizes the structure of universe influences temples at Angkor, Cambodia.
Borobudur temple which is rededicated as an Indonesian monument in 1983 is a valuable treasure for Indonesian people.


Analyzing the Text
Generic Structure Analysis
Identification; identifying the phenomenon to be described in general; Borobudur temple
Description; describing the Borobudur temple in parts; eight terraces of Borobudur temple and its characteristics
Language Feature Analysis
Using adjective and classifiers; valuable
Using simple present tense; Borobudur is well-known,The temple is constructed, etc

The Differences between Report and Descriptive Text

Some text types are quite difficult to differ. Such report and descriptive text have the similarity in the social function and generic structure. However if they are analyzed carefully, the slight difference between the two text types will reveal.
The purpose of the two texts are to give the live-description of the object/participant. Both the report and descriptive text try to show rather than tell the reader about the factual condition of the object. Readers by themselves will catch the impressive point of the object through that showing writing style.
What make different, between report and descriptive text, is the scope of the written object. If we talk about, eg: bicycle, it belongs to report text. It will talk about bicycle in general; its parts, physical strengh, function for certain people or other general characters of bike. In the other hand, descriptive text will convey more focus, for example "my bicycle" with its specific characters; colour, lengh, wheel style, etc.
In short, report text describes the way of certain things and frequently refer to phenomenon of nature, animal and scientific object. Mostly, report is written after getting careful observation. This scientific and technical sense make clearer difference from descriptive text. The way of descriptive text in showing thing is based on the objective fact of the thing. It describe the specific thing simply as the thing is.

My Friend's New Shoes

I have a close Friend. She is beautiful, attractive and trendy. She always want to be a trend setter of the day. She always pays much attention on her appearance. Recently, she bought a new stylist foot legs from blowfish shoes products. This shoes really matches on her.

Her new blowfish women's shoes are wonderful. When she are walking on that shoes, all her friends, including me watch and admire that she has the most suitable shoes on her physical appearance. The style, bright color, and brand represent her as a smart woman of the day. She really have perfect appearance.

She is really mad on that shoes. She said that the products covered all genders. The blowfish men's shoes are as elegant as she has. The products provide varieties of choice. Ballet, casual, boot athletic shoes are designed in attractive way. The products are international trader mark and become the hottest trend.

Marsupial Mammal; EXAMPLE OF DESCRIPTIVE TEXT

Descriptive text is a text which describes a person, thing, place and certain condition in particular. According to www.sil.org, the example of descriptive text can be the appearance of a person, detail of location or requirement for employment. Commonly a descriptive text uses the first and third person pronoun as point of view.
The following example of descriptive text is best in describing the appearance of a marsupial mammal. What a marsupial mammal looks like is the clearest example of descriptive text. This marsupial description is taken from Jenny Eather's example of descriptive text.

What am I?

I inhabit a small area in south-western Western Australia. My species was quite widespread in Australia before European settlement but now we are endangered.
I prefer areas of open woodland. I forage for my food in the mornings and afternoons. At night I sleep in hollow logs or under fallen timber.
My body is about 25 centimeters long. My bushy tail is nearly as long as my body. I am covered in a reddish-brown coat with white stripes. My front legs are shorter then my back legs and I have small claws.
My ears are short but my snout is long I have a very long, sticky tongue for eating termites I can eat over 10000 termites in one day.
I am a marsupial mammal. What animal am I?

Descriptive Text on Jatim Park

For people in East Java, Jatim Park may have been heard many times as it is one of the famous tourism object in East Java province. Jatim Park offers a recreation place as well as a study center.

Jatim Park is located at Jl. Kartika 2 Batu, East Java. To reach the location is not too difficult because the object is only 2, 5 kilos meters from Batu city. This Jatim Park tourism object is about 22 hectares width.

Visitor can enjoy at least 36 kinds of facilities which can attract them as well as give new knowledge. Just after the pass gate, the visitors will find an interesting view of ‘Galeri Nusantara’ area. This study offering continues to step on ‘Taman Sejarah’ area, which contains of miniature temple in East Java like Sumberawan temple, customhouse of Kiai Hasan Besari Ponorogo and Sumberawan Statue.


The other facility which is able to be enjoyed is ‘Agro Park’ area. It presents crop and rareness fruits, animal diorama which consists of unique animals that have been conserved, and supporting games like bowling, throw ball, scooter disco, etc

Jatim Park is suitable for family and school recreation. The recreation area sites offer precious tour and can used as alternative media of study.
Suited from:www.eastjava.com/tourism/batu/jatim-park.html

Contoh/Example of Descriptive Text about Taj Mahal

THE AMAZING TAJ MAHAL IN INDIA
Taj Mahal is regarded as one of the eight wonders of the world. It was built by a Muslim Emperor Shah Jahan in the memory of his dear wife at Agra.
Taj Mahal is a Mausoleum that houses the grave of queen Mumtaz Mahal. The mausoleum is a part of a vast complex comprising of a main gateway, an elaborate garden, a mosque (to the left), a guest house (to the right), and several other palatial buildings. The Taj is at the farthest end of this complex, with the river Jamuna behind it.
The Taj stands on a raised, square platform (186 x 186 feet) with its four corners truncated, forming an unequal octagon. The architectural design uses the interlocking arabesque concept, in which each element stands on its own and perfectly integrates with the main structure. It uses the principles of self-replicating geometry and a symmetry of architectural elements.

Its central dome is fifty-eight feet in diameter and rises to a height of 213 feet. It is flanked by four subsidiary domed chambers. The four graceful, slender minarets are 162.5 feet each. The central domed chamber and four adjoining chambers include many walls and panels of Islamic decoration.
Taj Mahal is built entirely of white marble. Its stunning architectural beauty is beyond adequate description, particularly at dawn and sunset. The Taj seems to glow in the light of the full moon. On a foggy morning, the visitors experience the Taj as if suspended when viewed from across the Jamuna river.

The Best Example of Descriptive Text about a Cat

What is a descriptive text? I think it is important to recall before we go further about this example of descriptive text. The way descriptive text composed is similar to report text. Both try more to show less than tell. However descriptive text tends to specify the described object while report text will describe the object in general. The goal of the descriptive text is transferring the experience of the writers. The experience can be what they see, read, or feel. Descriptive text commonly tries to reveal the image of certain person, place, animal, or thing. Bellow is the best example of descriptive text I find. This descriptive passage which focuses on the cat's habit and less physical appearance is written by Barbara Carter. Read the sample bellow, you will see the clear understanding about descriptive text.

My Cat Gregory

Gregory is my beautiful gray Persian cat. He walks with pride and grace, performing a dance of disdain as he slowly lifts and lowers each paw with the delicacy of a ballet dancer. His pride, however, does not extend to his appearance, for he spends most of his time indoors watching television and growing fat.
He enjoys TV commercials, especially those for Meow Mix and 9 Lives. His familiarity with cat food commercials has led him to reject generic brands of cat food in favor of only the most expensive brands.
Gregory is as finicky about visitors as he is about what he eats, befriending some and repelling others. He may snuggle up against your ankle, begging to be petted, or he may imitate a skunk and stain your favorite trousers. Gregory does not do this to establish his territory, as many cat experts think, but to humiliate me because he is jealous of my friends.
After my guests have fled, I look at the old fleabag snoozing and smiling to himself in front of the television set, and I have to forgive him for his obnoxious, but endearing, habits.

The Descriptive Facts about the Moon

Moon is the earth's satellite which we often see in the night. The Moon is the one place in our solar system where humans have visited. For the firs time on July 20, 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin landed the Lunar Module of Apollo 11 on the surface of the Moon. Neil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the Moon. However do you know what descriptive facts about the Moon are?

The moon rises in the east and sets in the west. It moves toward the east in our sky by about 12 degrees each day. The Moon is about 384,400 kilometers from Earth. The Moon has a diameter of 2,000 miles which is like to 3,476 kilometers.

The surface of the Moon has many things, such as craters, lava plains, mountains, and valleys. Scientists believe the craters were formed around 3.5 to 4.5 billion years ago by meteors hitting the moon's surface. The Moon does not have atmosphere, wind and weather that is why the footprints left there on the Moon by the Apollo astronauts will remain there for millions of years.

The Moon is not a light source. It mean that Moon does not make its own light. It reflects light from the sun. All of us can can see the Moon especially in the night because light from the Sun bounces off it back to the Earth. If the Sun wasn't there, we can not see the Moon.

The moon influences many of the tides in the oceans. This is because of the gravity force between the Earth and Moon. At full Moon and new Moon, the Sun, Earth and Moon are lined up, producing the higher than normal tides. When the Moon is at first or last quarter, it forms smaller neap tides.

This example of descriptive text about the moon facts is arranged from nasa.gov and kent.sch.uk

Descriptive Text about Cleopatra

One of the most famous women in world history was Cleopatra VII. She was the brilliant and beautiful last Pharaoh of Egypt. Historically, she became queen of Egypt in 51 B.C. at the age of eighteen. She was a Ptolemy, descended from one of Alexander the Great's generals. When she was twenty-one, Julius Caesar became her lover. Seven years later she met Antony. The romantic tragic relationship continued until they died by suicide in 30 B.C.

Cleopatra was legendary. She was famous not only for her breathtaking beauty but also for her great intellect. She had brown eyes and they were shaped like cat eyes. Her skin was in fact an olive shade, darker than Hollywood actress Liz Taylor who potrayed her in the film 'Cleopatra' in 1963. She had medium dark brown hair, about to the middle of her shoulder blades. She had a reputation as an extraordinarily sensuous woman.

Cleopatra was a woman of remarkable poise and unusual intelligence. She was highly educated. She spoke proficiently in nine languages and also skilled in mathematics. She is often considered to be a stunning seductress though she was studying to be a nun. Cleopatra was a very intelligent queen and a politician with a great charisma.

Note: The story of Antony and Cleopatra involved true characters and later was dramatized by William Shakespeare. This example of descriptive text depicthing what Cleopara looks likes is arranged from enote.com, theholidayspot.com, and current.com

More Explanation on the Difference between Report and Descriptive Text

I have a short post discussing the differences between report and descriptive text. However some comments are still intentionally proposed to ask what is report text, what is descriptive text and how they differ from each other. I believe they are good to build the better understanding about the variety of text types which this blog has been concerning since it published it first post years ago. The comments which are given in responses for some example of particular text types really attract me, especially who make note whether some texts given as the example belong to report or descriptive. As stated in the previous posts, both descriptive and report present the caught picture of some thing for other. Both descriptive and report text functionally describe things, what and how they are.

Due to some comments in this blog, I have browsed to find more vivid definition what descriptive and report texts are. Bellow are the sources which hopefully give more understanding of report and descriptive text and what the easy way to differ them:
lessonplanspage.com explains that Information Report is classifying and describing general classes of phenomena. While Factual Description is describing a particular living, non-living or natural phenomenon.
portals.aisnsw.edu.au has more complex explanation. Descriptive reports give information about something; they describe what something is or does. They characteristically use technical terms and present tense, and they build technicality through noun groups. The structure of a descriptive report is General statement followed by Description.
awesome-reviews.info clearly states that If the thing which is mentioned in the text is clear about its name. We can make it sure as Descriptive text. But if the thing which is described in the text just the representative of the whole group of the thing mentioned, we can judge it as Report Text.
So what is the easy way to differ report form descriptive text? Well there is not easiest way to see the difference between report and descriptive text since a text is possibly built from several types of text. Frequently, a text is combined from several genres. However taking a look at the participant of the text is very helpful to define whether the text belongs to report or descriptive. The particularity of the participant is a key to see the difference between report and descriptive.