Example of a personal recount

Wow! Did I have a smashing weekend! My name is Jamie and I am 12 years old. When I got home
from school on Friday my mum was at the door with a rucksack in her hand. “These are the clothes
you need for your surprise trip!” she said.

Well at that moment a taxi arrived and I climbed in. There was my best friend Clive. He didn’t
know what the surprise was either.

Within forty five minutes we arrived at Portsmouth ferry port. Then we met a man called Mr
Adams, who told us that we had won a competition to sail to France as a VIP guest of the captain!

Next we were shown on board and met the captain who took us up to the bridge. Clive had hoped to
see a wheel, like the one on the old pirate ships so he was a little disappointed when he only saw
two handles that they used for steering.

Soon afterwards the ship was underway. The wind had picked up and a crewman said we were in for
a rough passage!

Two hours later we were heading for the middle of the channel and the waves were breaking over
the bow. The ship was thrown up and down, side to side. It was like a giant roller-coaster ride.
Fortunately, neither of us was sick but lots of passengers were.

After a while we made our way back to the bridge, where we found the captain, he was looking
worried. “We have had an SOS from a yatch and we are the nearest ship. They want us to stand
by in case the lifeboat can’t reach them.”

We had never expected to have a real adventure but Clive and I were allowed to stay on the
bridge. We were all looking out of the windows trying to spot the yatch.

“There she is!” I screamed and they all rushed to see what I was pointing at. Sure enough there in
the distance was what appeared to be a tiny yatch being thrown around by the wind. Waves were
rolling over the decks and a lone helmsman was struggling to keep the boat heading into the wind.

Meanwhile, the lifeboat was racing to our position and soon we caught sight of it as it drew
alongside the battered boat. We heard the lifeboat say that they had the situation in hand and so
our ferry turned towards port and headed for home.
When we got back to Portsmouth our Mums were there to and we raced down the gangway to tell
them all about our trip.

Finally, we got home and a reporter was there to ask us about our prize trip. Did we have something
to tell him!
Recount Example
Floods in Pakistan

The summer of 2010 produced Pakistan’s worst flooding in 80 years. The number of people

affected, who need food, shelter and clothing to face a harsh Pakistani winter, is 20

million.

Flooding began on July 22, 2010, in the area of Baluchistan. The swollen waters then

poured across in the northwest before flowing south into Punjab and Sindh. Estimates of

the death toll of the floods range from 1,300 to 1,600.

Even as Pakistani and international relief officials scrambled to save people and property,

they despaired that the nation’s worst natural calamity had ruined just about every

physical strand that knit the country together — roads, bridges, schools, health clinics,

electricity and communications.

The flooding, which began with the arrival of the annual monsoons, eventually affected

about one-fifth of the country — nearly 62,000 square miles — or an area larger than

England.

Six weeks after the floods began, as rivers continued to devour villages and farmland in

the southern province of Sindh, aid workers warned of a triple threat: loss of crops, loss

of seed for the next planting season and loss of a daily income. There was widespread

worry that the disaster will destabilize the country and aggravate its problems.

Poorly handled relief efforts have added to the distrust that many Pakistanis already feel

for their political leaders, while the armed forces have performed rescue and relief

missions along the length of the flooded areas.

Recount example: Newspaper article

The family of a man who died after trying to rescue his dogs from a frozen river
have paid tribute to a "much loved uncle and brother".

John Butterfield was trying to reach the two dogs which had fallen through ice on the
Tees at Stockton on Sunday.
The 51-year-old, of the town's Portrack estate, was dragged under after the ice gave way.
He died later in hospital.
One rescuer said he tried to reach Mr Butterfield with logs but he would not let go of his
pets.
The two animals are still missing and are also presumed to have died.
Mr Butterworth's brother and niece urged people to stay off ice.
In a statement, Gerry Butterfield and Christina Whitfield, said: "Our family are
devastated about what has happened.
"We have lost a much-loved uncle and brother and two loved family pets. We would urge
and warn people to stay off the ice to stop this tragedy happening again."

Steve Canham tried to rescue Mr Butterfield from the frozen river.

Mr Butterfield's dogs strayed on to the ice close to the town's Infinity Bridge, police
said.
The coastguard, the Cleveland Police fire boat and a police helicopter were involved in a
rescue operation.
Attempts were made to revive him at the scene but he was confirmed dead at
Middlesbrough's James Cook Hospital.
Passer-by Steve Canham said he and another man tried to reach Mr Butterworth with a
log.
He said: "He had hold of the log with one hand and had the dogs in the other.
"We shouted for him to let go of the dogs and grab it with both hands, but he just
wouldn't."
The police boat was used because the incident happened above the river barrage.