ENGLISH TEXT TYPES

A. Continuous Texts

1. NARRATIVE

A narrative is a piece of writing that tells a story. The story can be imaginary or based on a real
incident. A narrative always deals with some problems which lead to the climax and then turn into a
solution to the problem
Communicative Purpose
To tell a story about something or someone
To amuse or entertain the readers or listeners
Examples of Narrative Texts
Short stories, folk tales, legends, myths, fables, novels, cartoon strips, picture books
Text Organization
Orientation sets the scene (where and when the story happen) and introduces the participants of
the story (who and what is involved in the story).
Complication tells the beginning of the problem which leads to the crisis (climax) of the main
participants.
Resolution provides solution to the problem either in a happy ending or in a sad (tragic) ending.
Re-orientation (optional) gives a closing remark to the story. It consists of a moral lesson or
advice.
Note: Sometimes, a writer puts his judgment on a certain participant or a certain event. This is
called Evaluation, e.g. There was once a mouse traveling through the forest . He was small but
kind-hearted (evaluation).
Language Features
Past tense, e.g. The lion woke up and grabbed the mouse in his sharp claws.
Nouns, e.g. lion, mouse, hunter, etc
Pronouns, e.g. it, you, he, etc.
Noun phrases, e.g. a sleeping lion, the grateful mouse, a strong net, etc
Time connectives and conjunctions, e.g. one day, some time later, then, a long time ago, first,
finally, etc.
Adjectives, e.g. small, helpless, etc.
Adverbs, e.g. sadly, angrily, etc
Adverbial phrases of time and place, e.g. a few days ago, in the forest, etc.
Material processes (action verbs), e.g. grabbed, rail, arrived, ate, went, laughed, etc
Verbal processes (saying verbs), e.g. asked, said, told, etc.
Thinking verbs, feeling verbs, verbs of senses, e.g. The lion felt hungry; The mouse thought he
was clever; The hunter smelt something burning.
Direct speech, e.g. "Please dont eat me!" begged the mouse.
Indirect speech, e.g. The mouse begged the lion not to eat him.
CONTOH SOAL DAN PEMBAHASAN
Cinderella

Once upon a time there was a beautiful girl called Cinderella. She lived with her stepsister and
stepmother. They were very bossy. She had to do all the housework.
One day an invitation to the ball came to the family. Her stepsister did not let her go. Cinderella
was very sad. The stepsister went to the ball without her.
Fortunately, the fairy godmother came and helped her to get to the ball. At the ball, Cinderella
danced with the prince. The prince fell in love with her, and then he married her. They lived happily
ever after.
1. Which of the following is NOT TRUE according to the text'?
a. Cinderella lived with her stepsister.
b. Cinderella felt happy with her husband.
c. Cinderella felt annoyed with her stepsister.
d. Cinderella was helped by a fairy to get to the ball.
e. Cinderella was helped by her stepsister to do all the housework.
2. The communicative purpose of this text is to ....
a. entertain the readers with a fairy tale
b. describe how Cinderella went to the ball
c. persuade the readers to read the story
d. inform the readers about Cinderella's marriage
e. explain to the readers why Cinderella's stepsister hated her so much
3. "They were very bossy." (Paragraph I)
The word `bossy' means . . . .
a. furious d.offensive
b.arrogant e. domineering
c. sensitive
4. The type of the text above is a....
a.report d.description
b.recount e.news item
c.narrative

SOAL LATIHAN

There was once a mouse traveling through the forest. Before he knew, it was trotting over the
paws of a sleeping lion. The lion woke up and grabbed the mouse in his sharp claws.
"Please don't eat me!" begged the mouse. "I'll never bother you again. And who knows? I may
be able to do you a good turn one day."
The lion laughed, "You're too small to help a big lion! But I like your spirit. Run along now, and
stay out of trouble in the future." The grateful mouse scampered off.
Some time later, the lion ran into a trap and found himself caught in a strong net. The more he
struggled the tighter the rope became. Soon the poor lion lay completely helpless.
Suddenly he heard a little voice. "Can I help you?" It was the mouse.
The lion shook his head sadly. "I'm afraid the hunters will be along soon. That will be the
end of me."
"No, it wont," said the mouse. He started chewing through the rope. Bit by hit the net fell off, and
at last the lion was free.
"How can I thank you?" asked the lion.
"One good turn deserves another," replied the mouse. "But just remember, size isn't everythin g."

1 . What was the mouse doing in the forest'?

a. It was disturbing the sleeping lion. d. It was hunting.
b. It was traveling through the forest. e. It was looking for food.
c. It was stepping on the lion's paws.
2. Why did the lion let the mouse go'?
a. The mouse was too small to fight the lion.
b. The lion liked the mouse's spirit.
c. The lion felt sorry for the mouse.
d. The Lion doesn't eat mouse.
e. Mice taste bad.
3. We can replace the word 'grateful' with the word ....
a. afraid d. small
b. pitiful e. beautiful
c. thankful
4. Who set up the trap for the lion?
a. the mouse d. the other forest animals
b. the hunters e. the enemies of the lion
c. the forest people
5. Here are what we can learn from the story, EXCEPT ....
a. never underestimate small creatures or small people
b. one good deed deserves another good deed
c. hunters hate lions
d. watch out where we are going so we will not be in trouble
e. size isn't everything