Text types

For text types of the New Testament, see Categories of New Testament manuscripts.

Textual types refer to the following four basic aspects of writing: descriptive, narrative, expository, and argumentative.

Descriptive text type

Based on perception in space. Impressionistic of landscapes or persons are often to be found in narratives such as novels or short stories. Example: About fifteen miles below Monterey, on the wild coast, the Sido family had their farm, a few sloping acres above the cliff that dropped to the brown reefs and to the hissing white waters of the ocean...

Purpose

Description is used in all forms of writing to create a vivid impression of a person, place, object or event e.g. to:

Descriptive writing is usually used to help a writer develop an aspect of their work, e.g. to create a particular mood, atmosphere or describe a place so that the reader can create vivid pictures of characters, places, objects etc.

Features

Description is a style of writing which can be useful for a variety of purposes:

Language

Narrative text type

Based on perception in time. Narration is the telling of a story; the succession of events is given in chronological order.

Purpose

The basic purpose of narrative is to entertain, to gain and hold a readers' interest. However narratives can also be written to teach or inform, to change attitudes / social opinions e.g. soap operas and television dramas that are used to raise topical issues. Narratives sequence people/characters in time and place but differ from recounts in that through the sequencing, the stories set up one or more problems, which must eventually find a way to be resolved. The common structure or basic plan of narrative text is known as the "story grammar". Although there are numerous variations of the story grammar, the typical elements are:

The graphic representation of these story grammar elements is called a story map. The exact form and complexity of a map depends, of course, upon the unique structure of each narrative and the personal preference of the teacher constructing the map.

Types of Narrative

There are many types of narrative. They can be imaginary, factual or a combination of both. They may include fairy stories, mysteries, science fiction, romances, horror stories, adventure stories, fables, myths and legends, historical narratives, ballads, slice of life, personal experience.

Features

Structure

In a Traditional Narrative the focus of the text is on a series of actions:

Orientation
(Introduction) in which the characters, setting, and time of the story are established. Usually answers who? When? Where? E.g. Mr. Wolf went out hunting in the forest one dark gloomy night.
Complication or problem
The complication usually involves the main character(s) (often mirroring the complications in real life).
Resolution
There needs to be a resolution of the complication. The complication may be resolved for better or worse/happily or unhappily. Sometimes there are a number of complications that have to be resolved. These add and sustain interest and suspense for the reader.

Further more, when there is plan for writing narrative texts, the focus should be on the following characteristics:

Expository text type

It aims at explanation, i.e. the cognitive analysis and subsequent syntheses of complex facts. Example: An essay on "Rhetoric: What is it and why do we study it?"

Argumentative text type

Based on the evaluation and the subsequent subjective judgement in answer to a problem. It refers to the reasons advanced for or against a matter.

See also

Literature

External links

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