Recount
Definition of Recount Text
– Recount text is a text that is telling the reader about one story, action, or
activity.
– Recount text is a text which retells event or experiences in the past
Generic Structure
– Orientation : It gives the readers the background information needed to
understand the text, such as who was involved, where it happened, and when it
happened.
– Events : A series of events, ordered in a chronological sequence.
– Re-orientation :A personal comment about the event or what happened in the
end.
Language Features
– Using the simple past tense, past continuous tense, past perfect tense, and past
perfect continuous tense.
– Using temporal sequence, e.g. On Saturday. On Monday, On Sunday
– Focus on specific participant, e.g. I (the writer)
– Using the conjunctions, such as: then, before, after, etc.
– Using action verb, e.g. went, stayed
Biographical Recount
The purpose of a biographical recount is to
inform by retelling past events and
achievements in a person’s life.
Generic Structure
– Part 1: Orientation; it gives the reader the background information as two why
this person is noteworthy and should have a biography written about. The
opening paragraph should answer the questions; who, what, where, when, and
how.
– Part 2: Series; it presents a series of events, usually told in chronological order.
Here the writer might refer to a certain time on line.
– Part 3: Re-orientation; it consists of a type of conclusion with a comment on the
contributions this person has made or a summary and evaluation of the
person’s achievement.
Language Features
– A biographical recount uses specific names of the people involved in the
biography.
– It is mainly written in simple past tense (the final paragraph could also include
the present tense).
– A biographical recount also uses linking word to do with time.
– A biographical recount describes events, so it uses many verb or action verb
Characteristics of Biographical
Recount Text
– It is not written by the subject. It means that a biography is written by someone
else who wants to write about the subject. It usually will be written based on
the need. Some writer could write it in either short or long biography.
– It is always written in the third person.
– It is based on the research not on imagination. When someone wants to make a
biography, she or he must do some researches. What kind of researches are
they? Reading all books related to the subject is one of ways of the research,
besides reading, interviewing subject relation ( if it is possible) also can be as a
research before writing a biography.
– Describing the subject’s surroundings (where, when, and how the person lived)
– Showing how the person affected other people’s life through their behavior,
discoveries, social reform, etc.
– Supplying details that illustrate the person’s individuality.
– Using vivid language to narrate the events.
– It is arranged chronologically.