how to compose and understand spoken and written english text, kinds of text and short functional text especially for elementary and secondary students
John slumped in the armchair, his arms crossed and his face with with a gloomy frown. He was a new kid in town, but no-one knew he was even there. John didn’t like anybody and they didn’t like him. All day he sat in the armchair, staring out the window.
who?
where?
mental process
action verb
Complication
Through the window he saw a gigantic hollow tree in vacant lot. The tree seemed to call him. He stood slowly up, then started to walk towards the tree. Its branches were very thin and its roots dug into the ground like claws. The tree had thorns all over it. John tried to turn away from the tree but he couldn’t. A mysterious force was pulling him into the hollow.
linking words
specific participants
Resolution
John never reappeared ... but no-one noticed or cared.
The HangingGardens of Babylon was a man-made structure that was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The HangingGardens originated in approximately 605 B.C.
Description of purpose
Babylon, the capital of Babylonia, was built between the Euphrates and TigrisRivers, where modern Baghdad, in Iraq, stands today. King Nebuchadnezzar built the HangingGardens for his wife, Amytis, who was the Princess of the Medes.
Description of features
and their use
The HangingGardens was built on arches overlooking the city walls. The lowest terrace was twenty-four metres off the ground and each succeeding terrace was three metres higher. There were about six terraces, so that the topmost terrace was forty metres off the ground.
Description of physical
Features (appearance)
The first stage of the building was a series of brick archways that were the same height as the city walls. Underneath them lay a shaded courtyard. On top of these arches, the Babylonians built long brick terraces in rows. These terraces were lined with lead, to hold the water, then covered with thick layers of fertile soil. Many exotic plants and trees were planted. Each of flower-bed was the size of a tennis court and the area of each terrace was thirty metres long by five metres long by five metres wide.
The aim of descriptive text is basically to give information. The social context of this text is to describe a specific thing, animal, or human being ( certain thing, our pets or someone we know well), it is different from report text which describes something in general ( for example a specific of animal species, an architect of certain era, and so on).
We use the descriptive text to describe a particular person, place or thing. It focuses on specific participants. The description includes parts, qualities and characteristics.
The relation between the writer/the author and the readers in a descriptive text is as the authority and the unknown readers/listeners. The medium of a written descriptive text can be an encyclopedia, scientific magazines, text books, and history texts.
The generic structure of a descriptive text is as follows :
• Classification or Definition
• Description of features in order of importance.
The vocabularies often used in a descriptive text are the words which are related to names of places : locations, destinations, the functions, the appearances and the evidences if needed (for building). For animals, the words are used to describe the classification, the physical appearances, habitats, behaviour, life cycles, and the function. The language is neutral or objective.
Descriptive Text often usesthe form of be : present or past and one of have form. The present tense is often used in this kind of text, but sometimes we can also use the past tense to describe a certain thing which is extinct or not available nowadays. The passive form is also often used here.
The language functions, the grammar and also the words which are often used in a descriptive text are :
• Defining : a/the .......was a .....
• Describing features (properties) : adjectives
• Expressing cause and effect : because, so, as a result
Descriptive text is often equipped with photos, diagrams, maps and so on.
Hello everybody. It is my pleasure to be able to write something for you. In this blog I would like to motivate you to be fond of reading and writing in English. I realize that there are still many students complaining about their English competence. They still get difficulties to understand English texts and to express their ideas in English even though they have started studying English from elementary school. They still can't read and write well.
OK don't worry! Don't be afraid of making mistakes. Just write what you want to write. Express your ideas in English. I will read your writing and you can consult me anything. There must be something valuable in your sentence. I'd appreciate it. We can study together.
Through this blog I want to share my experiences and my knowledge for you. I will give you examples of kinds of text and some short functional texts which are very useful to master.
Genre or Kinds of Text which are very familiar with students are : 1. Descriptive 2. Narrative 3. Recount 4. Procedure 5. Report We will discuss each of the text above, analyze the generic structure of the text, the grammar or the structure of the sentence used in the text and more. I will also give some questions related to the text for you. And there will be some exercises of grammar concerning with the text for you to complete.
Please feel free to ask your questions, give your opinion or consult your difficulties. I will try to help your problem. You can give your comment in English or in Indonesian.
I hope this will be useful especially for students of elementary and secondary schools.
You may give me respond or criticize for the shake of our English improvement.I also a human being. It is normal if I make mistakes sometime but please remind me if do something wrong. I'm sure you can perfect your English.
Come on everybody! Express your idea in English. Don't be afraid of making mistakes in the structure or the grammar of your sentence. I will try to help you. Let's start from the simple and easy sentences.
