Steps to Learn
Genre
for Senior High School Students
Created by Lena Rozach
English Teacher of Islamic Senior High School
Bontang
RECOUNT
SPOOF
REVIEW
DISCUSSION
ANECDOTE
NARRATIVE
PROCEDURE
GENRE
(JENIS TEKS)
NEWS ITEM
H. EXPOSITION
A. EXPOSITION
REPORT
DESCRIPTION
EXPLANATION
SPOOF
A. SOCIAL FUNCTION
To retell events which sound serious at the beginning but have a
funny thing at the end.
B. GENERIC STRUCTURE
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Orientation : provides the setting and introduces
participants.
Evens
: tell what happened, in what sequence.
Twist
: change of atmosphere from serious to funny
condition.
C. SIGNIFICANT LEXICOGRAMMATICAL FEATURES




Focus on specific participants
Use of material process
Circumstances of time and place
Use of Past Tense
Material Process :
a. Material Processes are verbs that show activities
which can be seen, such as write, eat, walk, etc.
b. Material Processes consist of DOING and HAPPENING.
c. DOING
: create, make, build, develop, send,
throw, strew, pour, dissolve, etc.
d. HAPPENING : move, fall, rise, come, go, soften,
harden, melt, etc.
►
Adverb of time is a word or phrases indicating when the
event happened. e.g. last week, last month, last year,
last holiday, after lunch, on the first day.
►
Temporal sequence is a word or phrase indicating order
of event, e.g. next, after that, before that, then, the next
day, etc.
►
Adverb of place is a word or phrase indicating where the
event happened, e.g. in the shed, in the yard, etc.
• Specific participant is a word
indicating a specific agent not
general, e.g. he, she, the man,
the woman, the girl, etc.
 Simple
Past Tense
 The second form of verbs, e.g.
walked, went, did, said, sang, had,
etc.
An Example of Spoof
Penguin
EXAMPLE OF A SPOOF
Penguin
Once a man was walking in a park when he
came across a penguin. He took him to a policeman
and said, I have just found this penguin. What should
I do? The policeman replied, take him to the zoo. The
next day the policeman saw the same man in the
same park and the man was still carrying the penguin
with him. The policeman was rather surprised and
walked up to the man and asked, “Why are you still
carrying that penguin about?” Didn’t you take it to the
zoo?” “I certainly did, “ replied the man. ‘and it was a
great idea because he really enjoyed it, so today I’m
taking him to the movies!
ANALYSES OF A SPOOF
Orientation
Once a man was walking in a park when he came across a
penguin.
Event 1
He took him to a policeman and said, I have just found this
penguin. What should I do? The policeman replied, take him to
the zoo.
Event 2
The next day the policeman saw the same man in the same park
and the man was still carrying the penguin with him. The
policeman was rather surprised and walked up to the man and
asked, “Why are you still carrying that penguin about?” Didn’t
you take it to the zoo?” “I certainly did, “ replied the man.
Twist
‘and it was a great idea because he really enjoyed it, so today
I’m taking him to the movies!
EXERCISE ON A SPOOF
“We don’t subscribe newspaper”
Jack was a university student. He studied history. At the end of his
first year, he failed in his examinations and he was told to leave the
university.
The next day Jack’s father went to see the professor. He urged the
professor to let Jack continue his studies the following year. “He’s
a good boy,” said Jack’ father, “and if you let him pass this time,
I’m sure he’ll improve a lot next year and pass the examination at
the end of year well”.
“No, No! That’s quite impossible!,” replied the professor, “Do you
know, last month I asked him when Napoleon died, and he could
not answer it”.
“Please, Sir, give him another chance,” said Jack’s father, “You
see, we don’t subscribe any newspaper in our house, so none of us
even know that Napoleon was ill”.
Questions:
Part 1
Mention the orientation, the events and
the twist of the text.
Questions:
Part 2
A. 1. Why did Jack have to leave the university?
2. What did his father try to do?
3. What example did the professor give to show how bad a
student Jack was?
4. Which part is funny? Why is it funny?
B. Find words in the story that mean similar to the following
words.
1. Answered
2. Get better
3. opportunity
4. persuade
RECOUNT
A. Social Function
To retell events for the purpose of informing or entertaining
B. Generic Structure of the text
Orientation : provide the setting and introduces participants.
Events
: tell what happened, in what sequence.
Reorientation : optional – closure of events.
C. Lexicogrammatical Features
Focus on specific participants
Use of material process
Circumstances of time and place
Focus on temporal sequences
Use of Past Tense
Material Process :
a. Material Processes are verbs that show activities
which can be seen, such as write, eat, walk, etc.
b. Material Processes consist of DOING and HAPPENING.
c. DOING
: create, make, build, develop, send,
throw, strew, pour, dissolve, etc.
d. HAPPENING : move, fall, rise, come, go, soften,
harden, melt, etc.
Adverb of time is a word or phrases
indicating when the event happened. e.g.
last week, last month, last year, last
holiday, after lunch, on the first day.
Adverb of place is a word or phrase
indicating where the event happened,
e.g. in the shed, in the yard, etc.

Specific participant is a word
indicating a specific agent not
general, e.g. he, she, the man, the
woman, the girl, etc.
• Simple Past Tense
• The second form of verbs, e.g.
walked, went, did, said, sang,
had, etc.

Temporal sequence is a word or
phrase indicating order of event,
e.g. next, after that, before that,
then, the next day, etc.
An Example of a Recount
Australian Shearing shed
The Shearing Shed
Shearing Shed at Lake Mungo
Example of a Recount
A visit to a sheep property
Last holidays I visited a sheep property. I helped in the shearing
sheds and in the yards. On the first day the Merino wethers were
crutched. I helped by sweeping up after the rouse about picked up the
wool pieces. Shearers started early (at 7.30 am). After lunch, we
started shearing the lambs. There were more than 400 so we didn't
finish until the next day. Once again I was sweeping and picking up
dags. I was tired by the end of the day in the shed but our work wasn't
finished. We all had to help to get the wethers and lambs back into the
paddocks. As well, we had to get a mob of ewes and their lambs into
the yards for shearing the next day. Then it was time for tea (that's what
my nanna calls dinner). This was a very long day but I enjoyed it a lot.
Vocabularies
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Property : things owned or possessions
Shearing : cut the wool off with shears
Shed : home for sheep
Wether : castrated ram (sheep)
Crutched : supports used under the arms
Lambs : young sheep
Dags : wool pieces
Paddocks :small grass field
Mob : disorderly crowd or masses
Ewes : female sheep
Nanna : a woman who takes care of the children
Analyses of a Recount
title
orientation
A visit to a sheep property
Last holiday I visited a sheep property. I helped in the
shearing shed and in the yard.
On the first day the Merino wethers were crutched. I
helped by sweeping up after the rouseabout picked up
the wool pieces. Shearers start early (at 7.30 am).
sequence of
events
reorientation
After lunch, we started shearing the lambs. There were
more than 400 so we didn't finish until the next day.
Once again I was sweeping and picking up dags.
I was tired by the end of the day in the shed but our
work wasn't finished. We all had to help to get the
wethers and lambs back into the paddocks. As well, we
had to get a mob of ewes and their lambs into the yards
for shearing the next day. Then it was time for tea
(that's what my nanna calls dinner).
This was a very long day but I enjoyed it a lot.
Exercise on a recount
Writing a recount
When writing a recount you should:
Focus on individual people e.g. use the words I
or we.
Use words which indicate when (after lunch)
and where the event took place (in the shed).
Write in the past tense (had, visited).
Use action verbs (helped, crutched).


Know an action verb when you see one.
Dance! Sing! Paint! Giggle! Chew! What are these words
doing? They are expressing action, something that a
person, animal, force of nature, or thing can do. As a
result, words like these are called action verbs. Look at
the examples below:
 Clyde sneezes with the force of a tornado.

Sneezing is something that Clyde can do.
 Because of the spoiled mayonnaise, Ricky vomited potato
salad all day.

Vomiting is something that Ricky can do--although he might not
enjoy it.
 Sylvia always winks at cute guys driving hot cars.

Winking is something that Sylvia can do.
 The telephone rang with shrill annoying cries.

Ringing is something that the telephone can do.
 Thunder boomed in the distance, sending my poor dog
scrambling under the bed.

Booming is something that thunder can do.
ANECDOTE
Social Function :
 To share with others an account of an unusual or amusing incident.
Structure of the Text :
 Abstract: signals the retelling of an unusual incident.
 Orientation: see the scene.
 Crisis: provide details of the unusual incidents.
 Reaction: reaction to crisis.
 Coda: optional reflection or evaluation of the incident.
Lexicogrammatical Feature :
 Use of exclamation, rhetorical questions and intensifiers to point up the
significance of the events.
 Use of Material Processes to retell what happened.
 Use of Temporal Conjunctions
Exclamation
An exclamation is a word, phrase, or sentence spoken with
great emotion or intensity.
 An exclamation is normally punctuated with an exclamation
point at the end.
 A sentence ending in an exclamation mark is either an actual
exclamation ("Wow!", "Boo!"), a command ("Stop!"), or is
intended to be astonishing in some way ("They were the
footprints of a gigantic hound!").

Rhetorical Questions


Rhetorical Question is a question asked solely to produce an effect or to make an
assertion and not to elicit a reply.
Examples of Rhetorical Question :
 Why is a carrot more orange than an orange?
 “What is so rare as a day in June?”
 Why are there 5 syllables in the word "monosyllabic"?
 Why do scientists call it research when looking for something new?
 When I erase a word with a pencil, where does it go?
 Why is it, when a door is open it's ajar, but when a jar is open, it's not a door?
 Why do we put suits in a garment bag and put garments in a suitcase?
 If con is the opposite of pro, does that mean that congress is the opposite of
progress?
Intensifiers
► Intensity Indicator. Modifies
the meaning of the preceding
word to indicate that it is particularly intense. Highest part of
a seven point scale.
► A modifier that has little meaning except to intensify the
meaning it modifies
"'up' in 'finished up' is an intensifier"; "'honestly' in 'I
honestly don't know' is an intensifier“
► Other examples of intensifiers are really, very, quite, etc.
Material Process :
a. Material Processes are verbs that show activities
which can be seen, such as write, eat, walk, etc.
b. Material Processes consist of DOING and HAPPENING.
c. DOING
: create, make, build, develop, send,
throw, strew, pour, dissolve, etc.
d. HAPPENING : move, fall, rise, come, go, soften,
harden, melt, etc.
►Temporal
sequence is a word or phrase
indicating order of event, e.g. next,
after that, before that, then, the next
day, etc.
An Example of Anecdote
Example of Anecdote
Quick Decisions
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

A game warden noticed how a particular fellow named Sam consistently caught more fish
than anyone else, whereas the other guys would only catch three or four a day. Sam would
come in off the lake with a boat full. Stringer after stringer was always packed with freshly
caught trout. The warden, curious, asked Sam his secret. The successful fisherman invited
the game warden to accompany him and observe. So the next morning the two met at the
dock and took off in Sam's boat. When they got to the middle of the lake, Sam stopped the
boat, and the warden sat back to see how it was done.
Sam's approach was simple. He took out a stick of dynamite, lit it, and threw it in the air.
The explosion rocked the lake with such a force that dead fish immediately began to
surface. Sam took out a net and started scooping them up.
Well you can imagine the reaction of the game warden. When he recovered from the shock
of it all, he began yelling at Sam. "You can't do this! I'll put you in jail, buddy! You will be
paying every fine there is in the book!" Sam, meanwhile, set his net down and took out
another stick of dynamite. He lit it and tossed it in the lap of the game warden with these
words, "Are you going to sit there all day complaining, or are you going to fish?"
The poor warden was left with a fast decision to make. He was yanked, in one second, from
an observer to a participant. A dynamite of a choice had to be made and be made quickly!
Life is like that. Few days go by without our coming face to face with an uninvited,
unanticipated, yet unavoidable decision. Like a crashing snow bank, these decisions
tumble upon us without warning. Quick. Immediate. Sudden. No council, no study, no
advice. Pow!
Vocabularies
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Warden = someone whose job is to take care of wild animal in a game reserve
Fellow = a man who works with us
Whereas = while (sebaliknya)
Stringer after stringer = a number of things coming one after another
Trout = common river fish
Curious = want to know or learn
Accompany = to go somewhere with someone
Dock = port
Approach = method of doing something
Lit = the second form of the verb light
Explosion = the action of something exploding
Scooping = taking up something with scoop ( round deep spoon for food, sugar, flour )
Recovered = become better
Yelling = shout or say something very loudly
Buddy = a friend ( informal )
Fine = money that you have to pay as punishment
Lap = make someone else deal with something difficult that it is your responsibility
Yanked = suddenly pull something quickly and with force
Crashing = hitting
Bank = land along the side of a river
Tumble = fall down quickly and suddenly
Council = a group of people who give advice
Pow = interjection used to represent the sound of a gun firing or an explosion
Questions
Part 1
Title
Abstract
Orientation
Crisis
Incident
Coda
Quick Decision
Questions
Part 2

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Why did the warden ask Sam the secret?
How did the warden know the secret?
When they got to the middle of the lake, what did
Sam do?
What was the effect of the dynamite explosion?
How was the warden when he heard the
explosion?
Did he agree with Sam’s approach?
How did he show his disagreement?
What happened to the warden at the end?
NARRATIVE

Social Function :
 To amuse, entertain and to deal with a actual or vicarious experience
in different ways.


Generic Structure :





Orientation : sets the scene and introduce the participants
Evaluation : a stepping back to evaluate the plight.
Complication : a crises arises
Resolution : the crises is resolved, for better or for worse.
Re-orientation : optional





Focus on specific and usually individualized participants
Use of Material Processes (Behavioral and verbal processes)
Use of Relational Processes and Mental Processes
Use of Temporal Conjunctions and Temporal circumstances
Use of Past Tense
Lexicogrammatical Features :
 Specific participant is a word indicating a
specific agent not general, e.g. he, she,
the man, the woman, the girl, etc.
Material Process :
a. Material Processes are verbs that show activities
which can be seen, such as write, eat, walk, etc.
b. Material Processes consist of DOING and HAPPENING.
c. DOING
: create, make, build, develop, send,
throw, strew, pour, dissolve, etc.
d. HAPPENING : move, fall, rise, come, go, soften,
 If material processes are those of doing and
mental processes those of sensing, the other
main category, relational processes, are those of
being; for example 'Sarah is wise', 'Tom is the
leader'. The central meaning of clauses of this
type is that something is. But every language
accommodates, in its grammar, a number of
distinct ways of being, expressed as a different
types of relational process in the clause.
- Halliday (1985), a pag.112
 Relational Process is a predicative verb
which relates the subject and the object, or
complement of the sentence.
 Example Relational Process are : is,
consist of, function as, derive from, to be
classified into, to be identified as, etc.

Temporal sequence is a word or
phrase indicating order of event, e.g.
next, after that, before that, then,
the next day, etc.


Simple Past Tense
The second form of verbs, e.g.
walked, went, did, said, sang, had,
etc.
An Example of Narrative
Example of a Narrative
Snow White
Once upon time there lived a little girl named Snow White. She
lived with her aunt and uncle because her parents were dead. One day
she heard her uncle and aunt talking about leaving Snow White in the
castle because they both wanted to go to America and they didn’t have
enough money to take Snow White. Snow White did not want her uncle
and aunt to do this so she decided it would be best if she ran away.
The next morning she ran away from home when her aunt and uncle
were having breakfast. She ran away into the woods. She was very
tired and hungry. Then she saw this little cottage. She knocked but no
one answered so she went inside and fell asleep. Meanwhile, the
seven dwarfs were coming home from work. They went inside. There
they found Snow White sleeping. Then Snow White woke up. She saw
the dwarfs. The dwarfs said, what is your name? Snow White said, ‘My
name is Snow White’. Doc said, “if you wish, you may live here with
us”. Snow White told the dwarfs the whole story and Snow White and
the 7 dwarfs live happily ever after.
Vocabularies
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Castle = a very large strong building as a
safe place
Cottage = a small house in the country
Meanwhile = while something else is
happening
Dwarfs = an imaginary creature that looks
like a small man
Doc = spoken a doctor
An Analysis of Snow White
Title
Snow White
Orientation
Once upon time there lived a little girl named Snow White. She lived with her
aunt and uncle because her parents were dead.
Major Complication
One day she heard her uncle and aunt talking about leaving Snow White in the
castle because they both wanted to go to America and they didn’t have enough
money to take Snow White.
Resolution 1
Snow White did not want her uncle and aunt to do this, so she decided it would
be best if she ran away. The next morning she ran away from home when her
aunt and uncle were having breakfast. She ran away into the woods.
Complication 2
She was very tired and hungry.
Resolution 2
Then she saw this little cottage. She knocked but no one answered so she went
inside and fell asleep.
Complication 3
Meanwhile, the seven dwarfs were coming home from work. They went inside.
There they found Snow White sleeping. Then Snow White woke up. She saw
the dwarfs. The dwarfs said, what is your name? Snow White said, ‘My name is
Snow White’.
Resolution 3
Doc said, “if you wish, you may live here with us”. Snow White told the dwarfs
the whole story and Snow White and the 7 dwarfs live happily ever after.
Exercise on Narrative
Why do Hawks hunt chicks?
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Once upon a time, a hawk fell in love with a hen. The hawk flew
down from the sky and asked the hen, “Will you marry me?”
The hen loved the brave, strong hawk and wished to marry him.
But she said, ”I cannot fly as high as you can. If you give me
time, I may learn to fly as high as you. Then we can fly together.”
The hawk agreed. Before he went away, he gave the hen a ring.
“This is to show that you have promised to marry me, ”said the
hawk.
It so happened that the hen had already promised to marry a
rooster. So, when the rooster saw the ring, he became very
angry. “Throw that ring away at once!” shouted the rooster. The
hen was so frightened at the rooster’s anger that she threw away
the ring immediately.
When the hawk came a few months later, the hen told him the
truth. The hawk was so furious that he cursed the hen, “Why
didn’t you tell me earlier?” Now, you’ll always be scratching the
earth, and I always be flying above to catch your children, “said
the hawk.
Vocabulary
A hawk
A rooster
A hen
furious = extremely angry
curse = to swear
Questions
Part 1
1. What is the purpose of the text?
2. Does the story begin with:
a. Who was involved?
b. What happened?
c. Where and when it happened?
3. On paragraph 2 and 4, did the hen face any problems to marry the
hawk?
4. How did she solve the problems?
5. In which paragraphs can you find the hen’s solution?
6. Does the story end in happy or sad ending?
7. Does the story happened in the past or present?
8. The words used to tell the past event are: ……… and ………
9. The words used to tell the order of events are: ……….
10. Write several action verbs that you can find in the text.
Questions
Part 2
• Read the story carefully to find out
its text structure. Then discuss
with a partner to label the parts of
narrative structure.
What are they doing?
PROCEDURE

Social Function
• To describe how something is accomplished through a
sequence of actions or steps.

Generic Structure
• Goal
• Material (not required for all procedural texts).
• Steps 1 – n (1.e., goal followed by a series of steps oriented to
achieving the goal).

Lexicogrammatical Features
• Focus on generalized human agents.
• Use of simple present tense, often Imperative.
• Use mainly of temporal conjunctions (or numbering to indicate
sequence).
• Use mainly of Material Processes.

Generalized human agent is a word
or a phrase indicating a general
agent not specific, e.g. a man, a
woman, a doctor, a policeman, etc.


Simple Present Tense is the first
form of verb e.g. goes, plays, sings
for the third person singular (she,
he, it) and study, work, write for the
first, the second, and the plural third
person (I, you, we, they).
Imperative is the first form of verb or
infinitive used in front of a sentence.
 Temporal
conjunction is a word or
phrase indicating time to connect
two sentences, e.g. when, while,
at the time, etc.
 Numbering is used to indicate
sequence, e.g. one or first, two or
second, etc.
Material Process :
a. Material Processes are verbs that show activities
which can be seen, such as write, eat, walk, etc.
b. Material Processes consist of DOING and HAPPENING.
c. DOING
: create, make, build, develop, send,
throw, strew, pour, dissolve, etc.
d. HAPPENING : move, fall, rise, come, go, soften,
harden, melt, etc.
Example of Procedure
The Hole Game
►
Materials needed : A hole in ground and a line (distance) to start
from.
Two players : one marble per person
►
Method (step 1- n)
►
First you must dub (click marbles together). Then you must check that
the marbles are in good condition and are nearly worth the same
value. Next you must dig a hole in the ground and draw a line a fair
distance away from the hole. The first player carefully throws his or
her marble toward the hole. Then the second player tries to throw his
or her marble closer to the hole than his or her opponent. The player
whose marble is closest to the hole tries to flick his or her opponent’s
marble into the hole. The person flicking the last marble into the hole
wins and gets to keep both marbles.
►
Analysis of a Procedure
Title
The hole game
Goal
Materials
flicking the marble into the hole
A hole in ground and a line
(distance) to start from.
1. Click the marble
2. Check the marble
3. Dig a hole and draw a line
4. Throw the marble
5. Flick the opponent’s marble
Steps
Exercise on a Procedure
Germinating petunia seeds
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Follow these instructions to germinate petunia seeds.
You will need:
• a packet of petunia seeds
• a seed tray or small pots
• loamy friable soil or potting mix
• water
• fertilizer.
Fill seed tray with soil.
Incorporate fertilizer into soil.
Scatter seeds on the surface of the soil.
Cover seeds with a 3 mm layer of soil. Press firmly.
Spray water to moisten the seed bed.
Place seed tray in warm, sunny position (at least 25 deg. C).
Keep soil moist by watering gently while seeds are germinating. Seeds
will germinate in approximately 10 - 14 days.
Questions
Part 1
► Work
with your partner to find the structure
of the text.
Title
Goal
Mate
rials
Steps
Example of Procedure
REPORT
Social Function of the text
 To describe the way things are, with reference to a range of
natural, man made and social phenomena in our environment.
The Structure of the text
 General classification: tells. what the phenomenon under discussion
is.
 Description: tells what the phenomenon under discussion is like in
terms of (1) parts, (2) qualities, (3) habits or behaviors, if living;
uses, if non natural.
Lexicogrammatical Features
 Focus on Generic human and generic non human Participants.
 Use of:

Material Processes, e.g. has produced, have developed, to feed.

Relational Processes, e.g. is, could have cause, are.

Mental Processes, e.g. feel.
 Use of Comparative: Contrastive and Consequential Conjunction.
 Reasoning expressed as verbs and nouns (abstraction).
Material Process :
a. Material Processes are verbs that show activities
which can be seen, such as write, eat, walk, etc.
b. Material Processes consist of DOING and HAPPENING.
c. DOING
: create, make, build, develop, send,
throw, strew, pour, dissolve, etc.
d. HAPPENING : move, fall, rise, come, go, soften,

If material processes are those of doing
and mental processes those of sensing,
the other main category, relational
processes, are those of being; for example
'Sarah is wise', 'Tom is the leader'. The
central meaning of clauses of this type is
that something is. But every language
accomodates, in its grammar, a number of
distinct ways of being, expressed as a
different types of relational process in the
clause.
- Halliday (1985), a pag.112


Contrastive is a word showing
contrast, comparison or different
from the other, e.g.
Consequential conjunction is a word
or phrase showing as a result of
doing something, e.g. therefore, as a
result, etc.
Example of a Report
Image of whale
Example of a Report
Whales
Whales are sea – living mammals. They therefore
breathe air but cannot survive on land. Some species are
very large indeed and the blue whale, which can exceed 30 m
in length, is the largest animal to have lived on earth.
Superficially, the whale looks rather like a fish, but there are
important differences in its external structure: its tail consists
of a pair of broad, flat, horizontal paddles (the tail of a fish is
vertical) and it has a single nostril on top of its large, broad
head. The skin is smooth and shinny and beneath it lies a
layer of fat (blubber). This is up to 30 cm in the kitchen and
serve to converse that heat and body fluids.
Vocabularies

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






Breathe = take air into the lungs and send out again
Survive = continue to live or exist
Indeed = really; to intensify
Exceed = be greater than; go beyond what is allowed
Superficially = adv on the surface
External = outside; situated on the outside
Flat = smooth and level; even
Paddles = short oar with a broad blade at one or both ends
Nostril = either of the two external openings in the nose
Layer = thickness of material
Blubber = fat of whales
Fluids = liquid substance
Analysis of a Report
Title
Whales
General
Classification
Whales are sea –living mammals.
Qualities
Parts
Behavior or
Use
They therefore breathe air but cannot survive
on land. Some species are very large indeed
and the blue whale, which can exceed 30 m in
length, is the largest animal to have lived on
earth. Superficially, the whale looks rather like
a fish, but there are important differences in its
external structure: its tail consists of a pair of
broad, flat, horizontal paddles (the tail of a fish
is vertical) and it has a single nostril on top of
its large, broad head. The skin is smooth and
shinny and beneath it lies a layer of fat
(blubber). This is up to 30 cm in the kitchen
and serve to converse that heat and body
fluids.
Exercise on a Report Text
Part 1
Camp Splash
Camp Kiss
Camp handshake
Dolphin Camp
Dolphin Camp is a seven-day program that
introduces children to the amazing world of dolphins.
Students meet DRC‘ s resident dolphin population,
learning to respect each dolphin as an individual
through observation of their unique behavioral and
physical characteristics. The course includes a unique
blend of classroom discussions, observation time,
and hands-on activities and proves that learning can
be fun! Games and activities are also scheduled
every evening at our comfortable dormitory,
conducted by the DRC Dolphin Camp chaperone.
Class sizes average twelve to fourteen students to
ensure individualized instruction. Dolphin Camp
learning activities differ each year to ensure a new
experience for returning students. Dolphin Camp
courses available for the 2006 season are Team
Tanner (For campers age 10-11), Delphi’s
Discoverers (For campers age 12-14).
Vocabularies







Resident = someone who lives in a house or
hotel
Blend = a mixture of different people
Proves = show that something is true by
providing facts
Dormitory = a large room in a boarding school
Conducted = carried out
Chaperone = parent or teacher
Ensure = make it sure that something will happen
Analysis of Dolphin Camp
Questions Part 1
Title
General
Classification
Qualities
Parts
Behavior or use
Questions Part 2
1. Mention the material processes and the
relational processes used in the text
above.
2. Mention parts, qualities or uses used in
the text above.
3. Does the writer use the mental
processes? If any, mention the mental
processes used in the text.
Analysis of Dolphin Camp
Title
Dolphin Camp
General
Classification
Dolphin Camp is a seven-day program that introduces
children to the amazing world of dolphins.
Qualities
Parts
Use
Students meet DRC's resident dolphin population,
learning to respect each dolphin as an individual through
observation of their unique behavioral and physical
characteristics. The course includes a unique blend of
classroom discussions, observation time, and hands-on
activities and proves that learning can be fun! Games
and activities are also scheduled every evening at our
comfortable dormitory, conducted by the DRC Dolphin
Camp chaperone. Class sizes average twelve to fourteen
students to ensure individualized instruction. Dolphin
Camp learning activities differ each year to ensure a
new experience for returning students. Dolphin Camp
courses available for the 2006 season are Team Tanner
(For campers age 10-11), Delphi’s Discoverers (For
campers age 12-14),
Exercise on a Report
Harvesting machines




Headers harvest crops such as wheat, barley and oats.
These machines are also known as combine harvesters.
Headers combine the three operations needed to harvest a
crop -- reaping, threshing and winnowing.
The comb on the front of the header cuts the heads off the
stalks (reaping). The auger pulls the heads into the
machine. The stalks left standing in the paddock are called
stubble.
Threshing involves separating the grains from the head.
The drum rotates, beating the heads. Straw and chaff (bits
of stalk) are fed out the back of the header. Straw is spread
over the ground. Stock can graze on this and the standing
stubble left after harvest.
There are a number of screens in the header. Grain passes
over these and fans blow the husks away. This is called
winnowing. The clean grain is stored in the box. When this
is full the grain is augured out into a chaser bin or truck.
Vocabularies

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





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
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


Barley = plant producing grain for food or alcohol
Oats = grain eaten by people or animals
Reaping = cut and gather a crop of grain
Threshing = separate the grain from the rest of corn
Winnowing = blow the chaff (outer part) away from grain
Stalks = a long narrow part of a plant that supports leaves,
etc.
Auger = a tool for making a hole in wood or in the ground
Paddock = a small field near a house or stable
Stubble = short stiff hairs that grow on a man’s face
Straw = the dried stems of wheat used for animals to sleep
on
Chaff = outer seed cover
Bits = a little
Graze = eat grass
Husks = outer seed cover
Chaser = a stronger alcoholic drink
Questions
Part 1
Title
General
statement
Series of
description
Questions Part 2
1. What is the machine called?
2. What is the other name of the machine?
3. How many activities can be done by the
machine and what are they?
4. In what operation is ‘the head is cut off”?
5. What is the function of the screen in header?
DESCRIPTION

Social Function
 To describe a particular person, place or thing.

The Structure of the Text
 Identification: Identifies phenomenon to be
describe.
 Description: describe parts, qualities,
characteristics.

Lexicogrammatical Features
 Focus on specific participants.
 Use of Attributive and Identifying Processes.
 Frequent Use of Epithets and Classifiers in nominal
groups.
 Use of simple present tense.

Specific participant is a word
indicating a specific agent not
general, e.g. he, she, the man, the
woman, the girl, etc.
An attributive adjective comes before
a noun and not after a copula verb,
like BE, SEEM, etc.
 A predicative adjective comes after a
copula verb (linking verb) and not
before a noun.

Technical terms


An epithet (Greek - επιθετον and Latin - epitheton;
literally meaning 'imposed') is a descriptive word or
phrase
Some epithets are known by the Latin term
epitheton necessarium because they are required to
distinguish the bearers, e.g. as an alternative to
ordinals after a prince's name—say Richard the
Lionheart, or Charles the Fat alongside Charles the
Bald. Still the same epithet can be used repeatedly,
in different spheres of life and/or joined to different
names, say Alexander the Great as well as Suleiman
the Great.
An Example of Description
London
London, the capital city of England, has been one of the major cities
in Europe for centuries. Because of its long history, it has many old
buildings.
The historical center of London is now a relatively small area still
known as the City, which covers only about 2,6 sq km (about 1 sq mi). The
city is capitalized, to distinguish it from the larger metropolis. This is where
London began as a Roman colonial town around AD 50, at the point where
the Roman built the first bridge in London. Today this area is one of the
world’s leading financial centers. Most of the financial activities are
crowded along Threadneedle Street, near the intersection known as Bank,
which include the huge bank of England complex, the Royal Exchange,
and the Stock Exchange. The permanent residential population of the city
is now less than 6000, but about 350, 000 commute here daily to work.
The only large residential portion of the city is the Barbican Center, a
concrete complex of towers, parking garages, and pedestrian walkways
located on the northern edge of the city. The Barbican was built to replace
older building destroyed in World War II (1939 – 1945), when the Germans
heavily bombed London.
Vocabularies
 Covers = include
 Distinguish = able to understand, recognize the





difference
Intersection = a place where roads cross each other
Huge = extremely large
Commute = regularly travel a long distance to get to
work
Concrete = clearly based on facts rather than beliefs
Pedestrian = someone who is walking
Natural Bridge Natural Park
Exercise on a Description
Natural Bridge Natural Park
Natural Bridge Natural Park is a luscious tropical rain
forest. It is located 110 kilometers south of Brisbane and is
reached by following the Pacific Highway to Nerang and then
by traveling through the Numinbah Valley. This scenic roadway
lies in the shadow of the Lamington National Park. The
phenomenon of the rock formed into a natural ‘arch’ and the
cave through which a waterfall cascades is a short 1 kilometer
walk below a dense rainforest canopy from the main picnic
area. Swimming is permitted in the rock pools. Night-visitors to
the cave will discover the unique feature of the glow worms.
Picnic areas offer toilets, barbecues, shelter shed, water and
fire places; however, overnight camping is not permitted.
Vocabularies







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Luscious = extremely good, interesting
Scenic = surrounded by views of beautiful
countryside
Arch
= something with a curved top
Cave
= a large natural hole in the side of a cliff or hill or
under the ground
Waterfall = water that falls straight down over a cliff or big
rock
Cascades = something that hangs down in large quantities
Dense
= a lot of mass
Glow worms = an insect which gives out light from its body
Analysis of Natural Bridge Natural Park
Title
General statement
Series of description
EXPLANATION
Social Function
To explain the processes involved in the formation or workings
of natural or sociocultural phenomena
Generic Structure
A general statement to position the reader.
A sequenced explanation of why or how something occurs.
Lexicogrammatical Features
Focus on Generic, non human participants.
Use mainly of Material and Relational Processes.
Use mainly of Temporal and Causal Circumstances and
Conjunctions.
Some use of Passive Voice to get theme right.
• use of non-human participants (the sea,
the mountains, the computers, the engine)
• use of action verbs (falls, rises, changes)
• uses time relationships (first, then,
following, finally)
• use of cause/effect relationships (then, as a
consequence, so, if)
• conjunctions (when, then, first, after this
so)
• some passives (is saturated, are changed)
• Explanations involve the stating of reasons
for an activity or process.
Example of Explanation
Tsunami
Tsunamis occur when a major fault under the ocean floor
suddenly slips. The displaced rock pushes water above it like a
giant paddle, producing powerful water waves at the ocean
surface. The ocean waves spread out from the vicinity of the
earthquake source and move across the ocean until they
reach the coastline, where their height increases as they reach
the continental shelf, the part of the earth’s crust that slopes,
or rises, from the ocean floor up to the land.
Tsunamis wash ashore with often disastrous effects such as
severe flooding, loss of lives due to drowning, and damage to
property.
A tsunami is a very large sea wave that is generated by
disturbance along the ocean floor. This disturbance can be an
earthquake, a landslide, or a volcanic eruption. A tsunami is
undetectable far out in the ocean, but once it reaches shallow
water, this fast-traveling were grows very large.
Analysis of Tsunami
Title
Tsunami
General
Statement
Tsunamis occur when a major fault under the ocean floor
suddenly slips.
Sequence
The displaced rock pushes water above it like a giant paddle,
Explanation producing powerful water waves at the ocean surface. The ocean
waves spread out from the vicinity of the earthquake source and
move across the ocean until they reach the coastline, where their
height increases as they reach the continental shelf, the part of the
earth’s crust that slopes, or rises, from the ocean floor up to the
land. Tsunamis wash ashore with often disastrous effects such as
severe flooding, loss of lives due to drowning, and damage to
property.
Closing
A tsunami is a very large sea wave that is generated by
disturbance along the ocean floor. This disturbance can be an
earthquake, a landslide, or a volcanic eruption. A tsunami is
undetectable far out in the ocean, but once it reaches shallow
water, this fast-traveling were grows very large.
Questions
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



Which of these is the purpose of the text?
a. To describe the way things are.
b. To explain the natural phenomenon
How many action verbs are there used in the text?
What are they?
Are the any abstract words in the text? What are
they?
How many sentences are there written in the passive
form? Write them.
Are there any conjunctions used in the text? Mention
them.
Is the text mostly written in present tense?
Is there any adverbial phrase?
Do you find many noun phrases used in the text?
Exercise on Explanation
A brief Summary of Speech Production
Speech production is made possible by the specialized
movements of our vocal organs that generate speech sounds
waves. Like all sound production, speech production requires a
source of energy. The source of energy for speech production
is the steady stream of air that comes from the lungs as we
exhale. When we breathe normally, the air stream is
inaudible. To become audible, the air stream must vibrate
rapidly. The vocal cords cause the air stream to vibrate. As we
talk, the vocal cords open and close rapidly, chopping up the
steady air stream into a series of puffs. These puffs are heard
as a buzz. But this buzz is still not speech. To produce speech
sounds, the vocal tract must change shape. During speech we
continually alter the shape of the vocal tract by moving the
tongue and lips, etc. These movements change the acoustic
properties of the vocal tract, which in turn produce the
different sounds of speech.
Analysis of Explanation
Title
General
Statement
Sequence
Explanation
Closing
ANALYTICAL EXPOSITION

Social Function
 To persuade the reader or listener that something should
or should not be the case.

Generic Structure
 Thesis


Position: Introduces topic and indicates writer’s position.
Preview: Outlines the main arguments to be presented.
 Arguments


Point: restates main arguments outlined in Preview.
Elaboration: develops and supports each point/ argument.
 Reiteration: restates writer’s position.

Lexicogrammatical Feature





Focus on Generic human and non- human participants.
Use of simple present tense.
Use of Relational Processes.
Use of Internal Conjunction to state argument.
Reasoning through Causal Conjunction or Nominalization


Generic Human participant is a word
or a phrase indicating a general
agent not specific, e.g. a man, a
woman, a doctor, etc.
Generic non-Human agent is like one
way, a method, etc.


Simple Present Tense is the first
form of verb e.g. goes, plays, sings
for the singular third person (she,
he) and study, work, write for the
first, the second, and the plural
third person (I, you, we, they).
Imperative is the first form of verb
or infinitive used in front of a
sentence.


Relational Process is a predicative
verb which relates the subject and
the object, or complement of the
sentence.
Example of Relational Process are :
is, consist of, function as, derive
from, to be classified into, to be
identified as, etc.
EXAMPLE OF A. EXPOSITION
Integrated pest management
There is no one best way to deal with pest agriculture.
Pesticides are commonly used, but this may cause many
problems. Combining different management operations is the
most effective way to control pest. Firstly, the chemical in
pesticides may build up as residues in the environment. This
reduces the quality of farm produce. As well, pest can
gradually become resistant to pesticides. This means that
newer and sometimes stronger one have to be developed.
Some pesticides affect non target animals such as fish and
bees. This affects the natural balance. Also aiming to
completely wipe out agricultural pests may be very expensive.
Sometimes pest damage costs less than the method of
control. Lastly, understanding the ecology of the area helps a
lot in pest control. Natural enemies can be used to control a
pest. Pesticides should be chosen that don’t affect the natural
enemies. Therefore, integrated pest management is a safe
and more affective option in agriculture.
Analysis of Integrated Pest Management
Title
thesis
Integrated pest management
Position
preview
There is no one best way to deal with pest agriculture. Pesticides
are commonly used, but this may cause many problems. Combining
different management operations is the most effective way to
control pest.
Argument
1
assertion
elaboration
Firstly, the chemical in pesticides may build up as residues in the
environment. This reduces the quality of farm produce.
Argument
2
assertion
elaboration
As well, pest can gradually become resistant to pesticides. This
means that newer and sometimes stronger one have to be
developed.
Argument
3
assertion
elaboration
Some pesticides affect non target animals such as fish and bees.
This affects the natural balance.
Argument
4
assertion
elaboration
Also aiming to completely wipe out agricultural pests may be very
expensive. Sometimes pest damage costs less than the method of
control.
Argument
5
assertion
elaboration
Lastly, understanding the ecology of the area helps a lot in pest
control. Natural enemies can be used to control a pest. Pesticides
should be chosen that don’t affect the natural enemies.
reiteration
Therefore, integrated pest management is a safe and more affective
option in agriculture.
EXERCISE ON A. EXPOSITION
In Australia there are three levels of government, the
federal government, state governments and local
governments. All of these levels of government are
necessary. This is so for a number of reasons. First, the
federal government is necessary for the big things. They
keep the economy in order and look after things like defense.
Similarly, the state governments look after the middle sized
things. For example they look after law and order, preventing
things like vandalism in schools. Finally, local governments
look after the small things. Thus, for reasons above we can
conclude that the three levels of government are necessary.
QUESTIONS
Part 1

Mention the generic structure of the
text by finding the title, the thesis,
the arguments (the point and the
elaboration), and the reiteration of
the text.
QUESTIONS
Part 2
HORTATORY EXPOSITION

Social Function
 To persuade the reader or listener that something should
or should not be the case.

Generic Structure
 Thesis: announcement of issue concern.
 Arguments: reason for concern, leading to
recommendation.
 Recommendation: statement of what ought or ought not
to happen

Lexicogrammatical Feature
 Focus on Generic human and non- human participants,
except for speaker or writer referring to self.
 Use of:



Mental Processes: to state what writer thinks or feels about
issue, e.g. realize, feel, appreciate.
Material Processes: to state what happens, e.g., is polluting,
drive, travel, spend, should be treated.
Relational Processes: to state what is should be, e.g., doesn’t
seem to have been, is.
 Use of simple present tense.
• Generic Human participant is a word or a
phrase indicating a general agent not
specific, e.g. a man, a woman, a doctor,
etc.
• Generic non-Human agent is like one way,
a method, etc.

If material processes are those of doing
and mental processes those of sensing,
the other main category, relational
processes, are those of being; for
example 'Sarah is wise', 'Tom is the
leader'. The central meaning of clauses
of this type is that something is. But
every language accommodates, in its
grammar, a number of distinct ways of
being, expressed as a different types of
relational process in the clause.
- Halliday (1985), a pag.112

Simple Present Tense is the first form of
verb e.g. goes, plays, sings for the
singular third person (she, he) and study,
work, write for the first, the second, and
the plural third person (I, you, we, they).
EXERCISE ON H. EXPOSITION
Country Concern
In all the discussion over the removal of lead from
petrol (and the atmosphere) there doesn’t seem to have
been any mention of the difference between driving in the
city and the country. While I realize my leaded petrol car is
polluting the air wherever I drive, I feel that when you travel
through the country, where you only see another car every
five to ten minutes, the problem is not as severe as when
traffic is concentrated on city road. Those who want to
penalize older, leaded petrol vehicles and their owners don’t
seem to appreciate that, in the country, there is no public
transport to fall back upon and one’s own vehicle is the only
way to get about. I feel that country people, who often have
to travel huge distances to the nearest town and who
already spend a great deal of money on petrol, should be
treated differently to the people who live in the city.
Analysis of H. Exposition
Title
Country Concern
Thesis
In all the discussion over the removal of lead from petrol
(and the atmosphere) there doesn’t seem to have been
any mention of the difference between driving in the city
and the country.
Argument
1
While I realize my leaded petrol car is polluting the air
wherever I drive, I feel that when you travel through the
country, where you only see another car every five to
ten minutes, the problem is not as severe as when
traffic is concentrated on city road.
Argument
2
Those who want to penalize older, leaded petrol vehicles
and their owners don’t seem to appreciate that, in the
country, there is no public transport to fall back upon
and one’s own vehicle is the only way to get about.
Recommen I feel that country people, who often have to travel huge
dation
distances to the nearest town and who already spend a
great deal of money on petrol, should be treated
differently to the people who live in the city.
NEWS ITEM

Social Function


Generic Structure




To inform readers, listeners or viewers about events of the
day which are considered newsworthy or important.
Newsworthy Event (s) : recounts the event in summary form.
Background Events: elaborate what happened, to whom, in
what circumstance.
Sources: comments by participant in, witnesses to and
authorities expert on the event.
Lexicogrammatical Feature




Short, telegraphic information about story captured in headline.
Use of Material Processes to retell the event (in the text
below, many of the material processes are nominalized).
Use of Projecting Verbal Processes in sources stage.
Focus on Circumstances (e.g. mostly within Qualifiers).
Example of News Item
Town Contaminated
Moscow – A Russian journalist has uncovered evidence of another
Soviet nuclear catastrophe, which killed 10- sailors and contaminated
an entire town. Yelena Vazrshavskya is the first journalist to speak to
people who witnessed the explosion of a nuclear submarine at the naval
base of shkotovo – 22 near Vladivostok. The accident, which occurred
13 months before the Chernobyl disaster, spread radioactive fall-out
over the base and nearby town, but was covered up by officials of the
then Soviet Union. Residents were told the explosion in the reactor of
the Victor-class submarine during a refit had been a ‘thermal’ and not a
nuclear explosion. And those involved in the clean up operation to
remove more than 600 tones of contaminated material were sworn to
secrecy. A board of investigators was later to describe it as the worst
accident in the history of the Soviet Navy.
Analysis of News Item
Title
Town Contaminated
Newsworthy Moscow – A Russian journalist has uncovered evidence of
Event
another Soviet nuclear catastrophe, which killed 10- sailors
and contaminated an entire town.
Background
Events
Yelena Vazrshavskya is the first journalist to speak to
people who witnessed the explosion of a nuclear submarine
at the naval base of shkotovo – 22 near Vladivostok. The
accident, which occurred 13 months before the Chernobyl
disaster, spread radioactive fall-out over the base and
nearby town, but was covered up by officials of the then
Soviet Union. Residents were told the explosion in the
reactor of the Victor-class submarine during a refit had
been a ‘thermal’ and not a nuclear explosion. And those
involved in the clean up operation to remove more than
600 tones of contaminated material were sworn to secrecy.
Sources
A board of investigators was later to describe it as the
worst accident in the history of the Soviet Navy.
DISCUSSION

Social Function
 To present (at least) two points of view about an issue.

Generic Structure
 Issue:
 Statement
 Preview
 Arguments for and against or Statement of differing points of view:
 Point
 Elaboration
 Conclusion or Recommendation

Lexicogrammatical Feature
 Focus on Generic human and generic non human Participants.
 Use of:
 Material Processes, e.g. has produced, have developed, to feed.
 Relational Processes, e.g. is, could have cause, are.
 Mental Processes, e.g. feel.
 Use of Comparative: Contrastive and Consequential Conjunction.
 Reasoning expressed as verbs and nouns (abstraction).
Example of Discussion
Gene Splicing
Genetic research has produced exciting and frightening
possibilities. Scientists are now are able to create new forms of
life in the laboratory due to the development of gene-splicing. On
the one hand, the ability to create life in the laboratory could
greatly benefit mankind. For example, because it is very
expensive to obtain insulin from natural sources, scientists have
developed a method to manufacture it inexpensively in the
laboratory. Another beneficial application of gene splicing is in an
agriculture. Scientists foresee the day when new plants will be
developed using nitrogen from the air instead of from fertilizer.
Therefore food production could be increased. In addition, entirely
new plants could be developed to feed the world’s hungry people.
Not everyone existed is about gene splicing, however. Some
people feel that it could have terrible consequences. A laboratory
accident, for example, might cause an epidemic of an unknown
disease that could out humanity. As a result of this controversy,
the government has made rules to control genetic experiments.
While some members of the scientific community feel that these
rules are too strict, many other people feel that they are still not
strict enough.
Analysis of Discussion
Title
Gene Splicing
issue
Genetic research has produced exciting and frightening possibilities. Scientists are
now are able to create new forms of life in the laboratory due to the development
of gene-splicing.
point
On the one hand, the ability to create life in the laboratory could greatly benefit
mankind.
elabo
ration
For example, because it is very expensive to obtain insulin from natural sources,
scientists have developed a method to manufacture it inexpensively in the
laboratory.
Argume
nt
point
for
elabo
ration
point
Argume
nt
against elabo
ration
Conclusion
Another beneficial application of gene splicing is in an agriculture.
Scientists foresee the day when new plants will be developed using nitrogen from
the air instead of from fertilizer. Therefore food production could be increased. In
addition, entirely new plants could be developed to feed the world’s hungry
people.
Not everyone existed is about gene splicing, however. Some people feel that it
could have terrible consequences.
A laboratory accident, for example, might cause an epidemic of an unknown
disease that could out humanity.
As a result of this controversy, the government has made rules to control genetic
experiments. While some members of the scientific community feel that these
rules are too strict, many other people feel that they are still not strict enough.
REVIEW

Social Function
 To critique an art work, event for a public audience. Such works of art
include movies, TV shows, books, plays, operas, recordings, exhibitions,
concerts and ballets.

Generic Structure
 Orientation: places the work in its general and particular context, often by
comparing it with others of its kind or through analogue with a non-art
object or event.
 Interpretative Recount: summaries the plot and/ or provides an account
of how the reviewed rendition of the work came into being; is optional, but
if present, often recursive.
 Evaluation: provides an evaluation of the work and/ or production; is
usually recursive.
 Evaluation Summation: provides a kind of punchline which sums up the
reviewer’s opinion of the art event as a whole; is optional.

Lexicogrammatical Feature
 Focus on particular participants.
 Direct expression of options through use of Attitudinal Epithets in
nominal groups; Qualitative Attributes and Affective Mental Processes.
 Use of elaborating and extending clause and group complexes to package
the information.
 Use of metaphorical language (e.g. The wit was there, dexterously ping
ponged to and fro …).
Example of Review
Private Lives Sparkle
Since the first production of ‘Private Lives’ in 1930, with the theatre’s
two leading sophisticates Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence in the
leads, the play has tended to be seen as a vehicle for stars. QUT
academy of the Arts’ production boasted no ‘stars’, but certainly
fielded potential stars in a sparkling performance that brought out
just how fine a piece of craftsmanship Coward’s play is. More than 60
years later, what new could be reduced from so familiar of theme?
Director Rod Wissler’s highly perceptive approach went beyond the
glittery surface of Witty banter to the darker implication beneath.
With the shifting of attitudes to social values, it became clear that
Victor and Sibyl were potentially the more admirable of the couples,
with standards better adjusted than the volatile and self-indulgent
Elyot and Amanda. The wit was there, dexter ously ping-ponged to
and fro by a vibrant Amanda (Catherine Jones) and a suave Elyot
(Daniel Kealy). July Eckersley’s sibyl was a delightful creation, and
Philip Cameron-Smith’s more serious playing was just right for
Victor. Judie Levesconte was a superb French maid. James Maclean’s
set captured the Thirties atmosphere with many subtle touches. All
involved deserve the highest praise.
Analysis of Review
Title
Private Lives Sparkle
Orientation
Since the first production of ‘Private Lives’ in 1930, with the theatre’s two leading
sophisticates Noel Coward and Gertrude Lawrence in the leads, the play has
tended to be seen as a vehicle for stars.
Evaluation
QUT academy of the Arts’ production boasted no ‘stars’, but certainly fielded
potential stars in a sparkling performance that brought out just how fine a piece of
craftsmanship Coward’s play is.
Evaluation
More than 60 years later, what new could be reduced from so
familiar of theme? Director Rod Wissler’s highly perceptive
approach went beyond the glittery surface of Witty banter to the
darker implication beneath.
Interpretative
Recount
With the shifting of attitudes to social values, it became clear that Victor and Sibyl
were potentially the more admirable of the couples, with standards better
adjusted than the volatile and self-indulgent Elyot and Amanda.
Evaluation
The wit was there, dexter ously ping-ponged to and fro by a vibrant Amanda
(Catherine Jones) and a suave Elyot (Daniel Kealy).
Evaluation
July Eckersley’s sibyl was a delightful creation, and Philip Cameron-Smith’s more
serious playing was just right for Victor. Judie Levesconte was a superb French
maid. James Maclean’s set captured the Thirties atmosphere with many subtle
touches.
Evaluative
Summation
All involved deserve the highest praise.