7 Kind of Texts In Reading

Reading is the process of looking at a series of written symbols and getting meaning from them.
When we read, we use our eyes to receive written symbols (letters, punctuation marks and spaces) and we
use our brain to convert them into words, sentences and paragraphs that communicate something to us.
Reading is the third of the four language skills.

In reading there are kind of text. They are narrative, recount, descriptive, report, explanation,
analytic exposition, procedure. And in here we will see the summary 7 of them.

1. Narrative
a. Definition
A narrative text is a text that tells a story. Stories belong to narratives. They can be imaginary, factual,
or combination of both.
b. Purpose:
To amuse/entertain the readers and to tell a story.
c. Generic Structure:
1. Orientation
2. Complication
3. Resolution
4. Reorientation (optional)
d. Dominant Language Features:
1. Using Past Tense
2. Using action verb
3. Chronologically arranged

We can easily identify narrative by look at the feature language. A narrative text always using past
tense. There are many genres in narrative text, personal experience, fairy tale stories or romance, fable
stories, myth and legend, slice of life, etc. We can easily find narrative text on our daily life, like when
 someone talk to you about their experience visit a place, that’s one genres of narrative texts, personal
experience.

2. RECOUNT
a. Definition :
A recount text is a text that tells you a part of experience. A recount text has an orientation, a
series of events in chronological order, personal remarks on the events and a reorientation that
“rounds off” the sequence of events.
b. Purpose:
To retell something that happened in the past and to tell a series of past event.
c. Generic Structure:
1. Orientation
2. Event(s)
3. Reorientation
d. 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.

3. DESCRIPTIVE
a. Definition :
 is a text which says what a person or a thing is like. Its purpose is to describe and reveal a
particular person, place, or thing. Description is about sensory experience—how something looks,
sounds, tastes.
b. Purpose:
To describe a particular person, place or thing in detail.
c. Dominant Generic Structure:
1. Identification
2. Description
d. Language Features:
1. Using Simple Present Tense
2. Using action verb
3. Using adverb
4. Using special technical terms

Descriptive text is based on the objective fact of the thing. It describes the specific thing simply
as the thing is. The difference between descriptive text and others is the text that explain things in very
detail way and specific involving our senses, purposely to made you feel how the subject in text felt.
Descriptive text try to ”show you” rather than “tell you”.

4. REPORT
a. Definition :
is a type of document written by someone or group of people to announce the result of an
investigation or announce something to the proper authorities. The information given in a report
text is very general information.
b. Purpose:
To presents information about something, as it is.
c. Generic Structure:
1. General classification
2. Description
d. Dominant Language Feature:
1. Introducing group or general aspect
2. Using conditional logical connection
3. Using Simple Present Tense
 Report text and descriptive is similarities in the social function and generic structure. If we anayzed
carefully, we can find the slight difference between the two of the texts. Descriptive text is the scoop of
the written object. If we talk about, example : bicycle in general terms of its parts, color, wheel, etc.
however report text describes the way certain things and frequently refer to phenomenon of nature,
animal, and science object. Mostly, a report is written after getting careful observation.

5. PROCEDURE
a. Definition :
a text that explains or helps us how to make or use something.
b. Purpose:
To help readers how to do or make something completely
c. Generic Structure:
1. Goal/Aim
2. Materials/Equipments
3. Steps/Methods
d. Dominant Language Features:
1. Using Simple Present Tense
2. Using Imperatives sentence
3. Using adverb
4. Using technical terms
A procedure text is a specified series of actions or operations which have to be executed in the same
manner in order to always obtain the sam result under the same circumstances. You will find this text is
less precisely speaking. This text usually induces a change. And we usually find this text in some kinds,
for examples : recipes, the way to use machine, rules of the games, or the way to operate computer.

6. REVIEW
a. Definition
Review is an evaluation of a publication, such as book; a piece of hardware like a car, home
appliance, or computer.
b. Purpose:
To critique or evaluate an art work or event for a public audience
c. Dominant Generic Structure:
1. Orientation
 2. Evaluation
3. Interpretative Recount
4. Evaluation
5. Evaluative Summation
d. Dominant Language Features:
1. Focus on specific participants
2. Using adjectives
3. Using long and complex clauses
4. Using metaphor
Review text places the work in its general and particular context, often by comparing it with other of its
kind or though an analog with a non-art object or event. In this text we shared our experience about using
something in summary way. Review text help us to know the thing before we have it. The example we
can found in daily basis like book review.

7. ANECDOTE
a. Definition :
is a text which retells funny and unusual incidents in fact or imagination
b. Purpose:
To share with others an account of an unusual or amusing incident
c. Generic Structure:
1. Abstract
2. Orientation
3. Crisis
4. Reaction
5. Coda.
d. Dominant Language Features:
1. Using exclamations, rhetorical question or intensifiers
2. Using material process
3. Using temporal conjunctions

An anecdote text is a brief or a very short interesting or amusing story. Often proposed to support
demonstrate some point, to make the auidience laugh. This primary purpose to stir up the laughter, to
disclose a truth in a general way, or to describe a feature of a character in such a way that it becomes
humorous, and at the end gives us a better understanding of the character.