Composing Personal

and Factual Recounts

1. Can you recall a very unforgettable
experience you had that whenever you
remember it, you cannot help smiling?
2. What recent experience in your
community had a lot of impact on you?
Recount
- is a retelling of an event or an experience.
Often, it is based on the writer’s own
experience or an event that the writer
witnessed.
- The purpose of this type of text is to recall
the event and provide readers with details
about it in order to inform or entertain them.
- There are two types of recount texts:
personal recounts and factual recounts.
Personal recount
- is a text written to provide information
regarding an event or a series of events
that the author experienced.
- This type of recount makes use of the
first-person point of view. It also
typically features the writer’s thoughts
and reactions
Example:
- diary entry, biography
Factual recount
- is about an event or occurrence that the
writer was not involved in but may have
witnessed or heard about.
- This type of text is often written with an
objective tone.
- As such, it usually makes use of the third-
person point of view as well as the passive
voice.
Example:
Recording an incident, a science experiment,
police report.
Here are some guidelines you may follow
when composing personal and factual
recounts:
a. Use the past tense. Since the event
has already happened, use the past
tense in writing the text.
b. Provide a clear introduction. This
way, readers will have a clear idea of
what event you are retelling.
c. Write what happened in chronological
order. For the readers to follow the story
easily, start with what occurred first,
followed by what happened after that, and
so on.
d. Use logical connectors. Signal words
such as first, next, meanwhile, after that,
and finally help in establishing the
progression of events and the flow of your
ideas.
e. Use adjectives and adverbs. To
provide detailed descriptions and help
readers visualize what happened, make
use of adjectives and adverbs that best fit
the story you are trying to retell.
f. Use more specific verbs. Doing so will
help readers have a clearer idea of the
actions that happened. For example,
instead of making use of the word said,
you may write whispered instead.
 Twenty families are left homeless after a fire
ravaged 15 houses in GlimmerVille, Tagaytay,
on Tuesday morning. Smoke was first noticed in
the area at around 7:00 a.m. according to
emergency responder BantayUsok. At 7:15 a.m.,
the fire reached 2nd alarm. Firefighters arrived
at the vicinity at 7:17 a.m. At 8:20 a.m.,
firefighters declared the fire as being under
control. All the flames were put out at 9:15 a.m.
The Bureau of Fire Protection is still
investigating the cause of the said fire.