Pengertian Biography text
Dalam bahasa, biography tersusun dari dua kata yaitu Bios yang artinya Hidup dan
Graphia yang artinya tulisan.
Dalam bahasa inggris dan secara istilahnya, Biography text is a detailed description or
account of a person’s life and written by someone else, it is non fiction text. Atau dalam
bahasa indonesia teks Biografi adalah suatu teks yang menggambarkan detail dari
riwayat hidup seseorang secara nyata dan ditulis oleh orang lain.
Function of Biography
To know a person’s story about his/her life outside of any accomplishments this
person may be known for.
To give many information easily and educate the readers.
Characteristics of Biography
Biography Is not written by subject and always written in third person. Dengan
kata lain teks biografi tidak dibuat oleh orang yang sedang diceritakan riwayat
hidupnya, tetapi diceritakan oleh oranglain dalam sudut pandang orang ketiga.
Based on research. Teks tersebut dibuat berdasarkan fakta pengalaman hidup
suatu tokoh berisi mengenai kisah atau cerita suatu tokoh dalam mengarungi
kehidupannya, entah itu berupa kelebihan, masalah atau kekurangan yang ditulis
oleh orang lain sehingga patut menjadi teladan.
describes the person's surroundings (where, when and how the person lived).
use vivid language to narrate events. Bahasa yang jelas harus benar-benar
diaplikasikan dalam sebuah teks biografi agar menghindari kesalahan dalam
informasi yang disajikan.
Generic Structure
ORIENTATION (INTRODUCTION)
It is the opening paragraph, gives the readers the background information of the person.
Biasanya berisi tentang biodata yang dinarasikan seperti nama lengkap, tempat dan
tanggal lahir.
EVENTS
In events, should be chronological order. Tahap ini adalah bagian kejadian atau
peristiwa yang dialami oleh tokoh. Berisi penjelasan suatu cerita baik itu berupa
pemecahan masalah, proses berkarir, dan berbagai peristiwa yang pernah dialami oleh
tokoh hingga mengantarkannya pada sebuah kesuksesan.
RE-ORIENTATION (CLOSING)
It consist of conclusion or a comment or the writer. Tell about the echievement or the
contribution of the person. Pada penutup, bagian ini berisi tentang pandangan penulis
kepada tokoh yang dikisahkan. Reorentasi ini bersifat opsional, jadi boleh ada maupun
tidak.
Grammar and language features
Use of simple past tense. Sebuah bentuk sederhana kejadian yang terjadi di
masa lampau. Menggunakan bentuk kata kerja kedua (verb 2).
e.g. : -The family then moved to his stepfather’s home country.
-He was born on August 4, 1961 in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Temporal sequence (urutan waktu) and temporal conjunction (konjungsi
temporal). Sebagai penghubung antara satu kalimat dengan kalimat lain dalam
urutan waktu.
e.g. : His parents separated when he was two years old.
Focus on Specific participants
Use of Action verbs. kelompok kata yang menjelaskan sesuatu hal yang secara aktif
dilakukan oleh tokoh.
e.g. : the family then moved to his stepfather’s home country.
Types of biography
Short biography (focuses only on highlights of a person’s life)
Long biography (about life and times of someone in a lot more detail)
EXAMPLE
Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 in Kentucky (USA). He worked on the farm of his
father. He attended school for less than a year, but taught himself to read and write. He
did different types of jobs before he settled as a highly successful lawyer. He was
gradually drawn to politics.
The country was having problems regarding the practice of slavery. The white men
owned large farms in the southern states, Blacks were brought from Africa to work on
these farms, They were kept as slaves. The people of northern states were against this
practice of slavery and wanted to abolish it, The Constitution of America is based on the
equality of man. Therefore, there was no place for slavery in that country,
At this difficult time, Abraham Lincoln was elected President of the USA in 1860. He
wanted to solve the problem of slavery. The southern states were against the abolition
of slavery. This brought the unity of the country in danger. The southern states were
prepared even to form a new country. Abraham Lincoln wanted all the states to remain
united.
He faced many problems. He wanted to preserve the unity of the country at any cost.
Finally a civil war broke out between the northern and southern states. He fought the
war bravely and declared, 'A Nation cannot exist half free and half slave.' He won the
war and kept the country united.
Lincoln was elected president for a second term. He was not against anybody and
wanted everybody to live in peace. He made sincere efforts to heal the people's wounds
caused by the war. In 1862, Lincoln declared that from then onwards all slaves would
be free. This made him very popular among the people. Lincoln was assassinated in
1865.
IDENTIFY STRUCTURE
ORIENTATION Abraham Lincoln was born in 1809 in
Kentucky (USA). He worked on the
farm of his father. He attended school
for less than a year, but taught
himself to read and write. He did
different types of jobs before he
settled as a highly successful lawyer.
He was gradually drawn to politics.
EVENTS The country was having problems
regarding the practice of slavery. The
white men owned large farms in the
southern states, Blacks were brought
from Africa to work on these farms,
They were kept as slaves. The
people of northern states were
against this practice of slavery and
wanted to abolish it, The Constitution
of America is based on the equality of
man. Therefore, there was no place
for slavery in that country,
At this difficult time, Abraham Lincoln
was elected President of the USA in
1860. He wanted to solve the
problem of slavery. The southern
states were against the abolition of
slavery. This brought the unity of the
country in danger. The southern
states were prepared even to form a
new country. Abraham Lincoln
wanted all the states to remain
united.
He faced many problems. He wanted
to preserve the unity of the country at
any cost. Finally a civil war broke out
between the northern and southern
states. He fought the war bravely and
declared, 'A Nation cannot exist half
free and half slave.' He won the war
and kept the country united.
RE-ORIENTATION Lincoln was elected president for a
second term. He was not against
anybody and wanted everybody to
live in peace. He made sincere efforts
to heal the people's wounds caused
by the war. In 1862, Lincoln declared
that from then onwards all slaves
would be free. This made him very
popular among the people. Lincoln
was assassinated in 1865.
Nah jadi begitulah penjelasan detail mengenai Biography Text, dari mulai pengertian,
karakteristik hingga mengidentifikasi struktur teks yang bisa dipelajari. semoga
pembahasan artikel kalI ini dapat bermanfaat!