Text Types

The way we write and say things

depends upon:

▸who we are
▸why we are writing or speaking
▸the topic we are writing or speaking about
▸the context in which we are writing or
speaking
The way we write and say things
depends upon:

▸in other words text types having similar

features in their structure and language are
grouped under one text type
 Text Types (1/2)

▸Information Reports
▸Personal Recounts – Diaries / Journals
▸Factual recounts – Newspaper Reports
▸Explanations Texts – How / Why
▸Poems – Acrostic/Rhyming/Haiku/Limericks
 Text Types (2/2)

▸Narratives - Fables/Folk Tales/Novels

▸Procedural Text – Recipe/Instruction
▸Letters
▸Postcards and E-mail
▸Expositions – Book Reviews/Movie Reviews
 1. Information Reports

▸ as the name suggests they give information

▸ provide facts and descriptions about a topic
▸ may compare and contrast two or more
things and inform readers about similarities
and differences between them
 Information Reports

▸found in non-fiction
books/textbooks/encyclopaedias/articles in
newspapers and magazines
 Grammatical Features (1/8)

1. Use simple present tense when writing

about general facts and things that happen

 The giant anteater comes from South

America.
 Grammatical Features (2/8)

2. Use action verbs to show how the topic

of the report moves

 The anteater feeds on ants and termites.

 Grammatical Features (3/8)

3. Use of common nouns to name people,

things or processes in the report

 The anteater lives in tropical forests and

on grassy plains.
 Grammatical Features (4/8)

4.Use of third person pronouns such as

he, she, it or they because we are providing
information about the topic rather than giving
our own ideas.
 People hunt anteater for its meat and kill
it because they wrongly believe that it
kills their animals.
 Grammatical Features (5/8)

5. Use adjectives to describe the topic and

features of the report

 The anteater has a coat of coarse, black

hair on its body.
 Grammatical Features (6/8)

6. Use of technical terms which help to talk

about the topic

 The anteater is an insectivore.

 Both the Tundra and the forests are
biomes of the Earth.
 Grammatical Features (7/8)

7. Use words that show similarities to

compare the topics

 All forests receive plenty of water though

it may be in different forms – rain / fog or
snow.
 Grammatical Features (8/8)

8. Use words that show differences to

contrast the topic

 Animal life in the tundra is unlike that of

the forests.
 Information Reports
Language Features (1/3)

▸ a title – topic of information report

▸ an opening statement – in the first
paragraph to tell the reader what the text is
going to be about
▸ a series of paragraphs – point-by-point
details and each paragraph focussed on
one point
 Information Reports
Language Features (2/3)

▸ subheading for each paragraph

▸ paragraph begins with a topic sentence
▸ end with a concluding paragraph –
concludes the report
▸ diagrams, photographs and
illustrations accompanied by labels and
captions - to explain text better
 Information Reports
Language Features (3/3)

▸ glossary – to provide definitions and

explanations of difficult terms/technical
terms used

▸See example