What is text?
Text is any piece of writing,
something that has been
written down.
Try and think of some examples of
different types of text:
magazine
newspaper
e-mail
poem
timetable
dictionary
encyclopaedia
report
memo
letter
recipe
Menu
shopping list
novel
phone text
 When sitting the Functional English
tests you will be required to answer
a variety of questions based on
identifying the main purpose of
text. So it is important to
understand that texts have
different purposes and that some
texts have more than one purpose.
Audience and Purpose
 All text is written for a reason – that is the
purpose of the text.
 When an author writes he/she will have an
intended audience in mind.
Sometimes it is easy to tell why
something has been written.
 You can tell that a set of instructions has been written
to instruct you how to do something.
 A leaflet from a political party is trying to persuade
you to do something. (vote for them).
 A descriptive text wants you to picture what is being
described e.g a travel book wants you to picture the
country it is describing.
Sometimes it may be harder to tell
why something has been written. E.g.
Some newspaper articles may be
informing, entertaining and
persuasive.
Main purposes of text
 INFORM
 ENTERTAIN
 PERSUADE
 INSTRUCT
 DESCRIBE
(matching exercise)
Depending on the purpose of the
text writers will use different
methods to get the message
across to the reader.
INFORM
Informative text gives you
the facts about something.
E.g train timetable
leaflet
INFORMATIVE TEXT USUALLY
 Avoid repetition.
 Contain facts.
 Give information in a clear way.
 E.g The movie will start at 7:30 and finish at
10:30.
 Your course will start on the 28th
September and run for 30 weeks.
PERSUADE
Persuasive text is written
to try and change or
influence the readers way
of thinking. E.g.
 adverts , political leaflets,
charity leaflets.
Persuasive Text May Use
 Repeated words
 Capital letters
 Exclamation marks
 Rhetorical questions (questions that don’t
need an answer)
 One sided argument
 Humour
e.g.
 SPECIAL OFFER!
 Do you need a break?
INSTRUCT
Instructive text tells you
how something should be
done through a series of
sequenced steps. E.g
recipes, directions,
instructions with flat pack
furniture.
Instructive Text Sometimes
 Use verbs at the beginning of a sentence.
 Use must or must not
 Use diagrams
 Use numbers or bullet points.
e.g.
 Stand the ladders against a wall.
 You must add the egg and butter together.
DESCRIBE
Descriptive writing paints
a picture with words. Uses
sensory language, how
something looks, feels ,
smells etc. E.g
travel books, novels.
Descriptive Text
 Use adjective and adverbs
 Use comparisons (saying something
is like something else)
 E.g
The pavement was wet
beneath his feet like a slimy wet
fish.
ENTERTAIN
A piece of text that has
been written to entertain
in some way, to give
pleasure or enjoyment E.g
A novel, a play, a poem