RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
• The purpose of a recount is to list and
describe past experiences by
retelling events in the order in which
they happened (chronological order).
• Recounts are written to retell events
with the purpose of either informing or
entertaining their audience (or both).
RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
• Recounts normally start by setting the scene
(orientation), what, where, when, how
• This is followed by a series of events, in the order they
happened (chronological order). These are important
events, not irrelevant details
• The final paragraph should bring the reader back to the
subject. This may in the form of an evaluation or
reorientation
RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
• Personal Recount
These usually retell an event that the writer
was personally involved in. Use of first
person pronouns (I, we)
• An author writes a retelling or an
interpretation of an event or a series of
events that are memorable in his /her life
• Personal responses to the events can be
included, particularly at the end.
• Details are often chosen to add interest or
humour.
RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
• Imaginative Recount
Writing an imaginary role and giving
details of events, eg. A day in the life of a
drama queen, How I invented...
• Usually written in the first person.
• It may be appropriate to include personal
reactions.
RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
Factual Recount
Factual recounts tell us ‘what happened’ by
documenting a series of events and
evaluating their significance. They might be
historical recounts, autobiographical or
biographical recounts.
• Factual recounts may also be used to record
events and observations from field trips
and excursions.
RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
Factual Recount
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Use of third person pronouns (he, she, it, they).
Details are usually selected to help the reader reconstruct the
activity or incident accurately.
Sometimes the ending describes the outcome of the activity (e.g.
in a science experiment).
Mention of personal feelings is probably not appropriate
Details of time, place and manner may need to be precisely stated
(e.g. at 2.35 pm, between Johnson St and Park Rd, the man drove at
80 kph).
Descriptive details may also be required to provide precise
information (e.g. a man with a red shirt, brown shoes and long hair,
weighing 75 kilos and approximately 189 cm tall).
The passive voice may be used (e.g. the beaker was filled with
water).
It may be appropriate to include explanations and justifications.
RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
• Structure
• a title, which usually summarises the text
• specific participants (boyfriend, the
bartender, the zookeeper)
• The basic recount consists of three parts:
– the setting or orientation –
– events are identified and described in
chronological order.
– concluding comments express a personal
opinion regarding the events described
RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
• write in PAST TENSE and the ACTIVE VOICE
• focus on specific people or events, not general
topics
• use the FIRST PERSON ( I, we, mine, ours) in
autobiography and fiction
• otherwise use the THIRD PERSON
( they, their, them, he, she)
RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
PAST TENSE (she yelled, it nipped, she walked)
• recounts describe events, so plenty of use is
made of VERBS (action words), and of
ADVERBS (which describe or add more detail to
verbs)
• details are often chosen to add interest or
humour to the recount.
• use of personal PRONOUNS (I, we) (Personal
Recount)
• the PASSIVE VOICE may be used, eg. the
bottle was filled with ink (Factual Recount)
RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
PAST TENSE
• Simple past is formed for regular verbs by
adding –ed to the root of a word
• Simple past is used for describing acts that have
already been concluded and whose exact time
of occurrence is known.
• simple past is used for retelling successive
events. That is why it is commonly used in
storytelling.
RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
PAST TENSE
• Past perfect simple is formed by combining the
simple past form of to have with the simple past
form of the main verb: We had shouted
• Past perfect simple is used for describing
secluded events that have occurred before
something else followed. The event that is
closer to the present is given in simple past
tense: After we had visited our relatives in
New York, we flew back to Toronto.
•
RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
PAST TENSE
• Past perfect progressive is formed by had, the participle
been and the present participle of the main verb: You
had been waiting. For negation, not is included before
been: I had not been waiting. A question sentence is
formed by starting with had: Had she been waiting?
• If emphasis is put on the duration of a concluded action
of the past, since and for are signal words for past
perfect progressive: We had been waiting at the
airport since the 9 P.M. flight. / They had been
waiting for three hours now.
RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
• use critical vocabulary appropriate to the subject to be
clearly stated, eg. At 11.15 pm, between Reid Rd and
Havelock St a man drove at 140 kms toward the
shopping centre (Factual Recount)
• descriptive details may also be required to provide
information, eg. He was a skinny boy with a blue shirt,
red sneakers and long tied back hair (Factual Recount)
• includes personal thoughts/reactions (Imaginative
Recount)
RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
 effectively use adverbial phrases to
indicate time and place:
 It was the summer of 2003; The Sydney
New Year’s Eve fireworks exploded
over the Harbour Bridge
• frequent use is made of words which link
events in time, such as next, later, when,
then, after, before, first, at the same
time, as soon as she left, late on Friday
RECOUNT
TEXT PRODUCTION
• use CONNECTIVES related to
time: after, then, next, meanwhile,
to cause: because, since
to contrast: however, although, nonetheless
whoever whatever
if
meanwhile moreover
for
while
when
as
therefore
so
and
with
although
besides
but
since
consequently
until furthermore henceforward notwithstanding
whereas
because
whenever
nevertheless
yet
alternatively