Teaching Grammar

Through TEXT TYPES

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 UNIVERSITY of CAMBRIDGE
Local Examinations Syndicate

What is a text type?

The phrase ‘text type’ is a way of

classifying and defining different types
of language interaction, both spoken and
written.
It refers to the purpose of a text
and the way it is written.

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 UNIVERSITY of CAMBRIDGE
Local Examinations Syndicate

CLASSIFICATION OF TEXT TYPES

• Instructions
• Explanations
• Recounts
- personal
- factual
• Information reports
• Expositions
• Narratives

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 UNIVERSITY of CAMBRIDGE
Local Examinations Syndicate

What does ‘text form’ mean?

Texts can also be defined or classified
according to their form: the overall
shape and structure they take or the
context in which they are found.

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 text type and text form
t y p e

narrative explanation instruction recount

diary
f
short story
o
letter
r recipe
m play
essay

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 What are the key features of different
kinds of texts?

When considering a text we need to think

about its:
– topic (what about?)
context – purpose (why?)
– audience/writer-reader relationship (who?)

– text structure
language – grammatical features
– vocabulary
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 features of a text type
example
Topic what the text is about • Manila’s history
Purpose what text producer • to give information
wants to achieve
Audience who the consumer is • visitors to Manila
• producer & consumer
Relationship who producer and
unknown to one
between P&C consumer are vis-à-vis
another.
one another

What might be a form of the text type in the example?

What text type is the example?

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 language features
example

structure pattern of organization •chronological

grammar tense, person, form of •past tense; 3rd person;
clauses etc etc declarative clauses
vocabulary words used - depends on •conflict; resolution;
topic and audience government policies

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 UNIVERSITY of CAMBRIDGE
Local Examinations Syndicate

INSTRUCTIONS

The purpose of instructions is

to tell/inform in sequential
order the steps which need to
be taken to do or make
something.

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The structure of instructions often
includes (some of) the following:
• a clear/bold heading or a statement
of what is to be achieved (the goal);

• a list of materials/equipment;

• a set of sequenced points laid out as

numbered or bullet pointed steps;

• an illustration/diagram (optional).

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How to Make Stained Glass Figures GOAL

1 First take a piece of cardboard and one piece

of chalk. MATERIALS
2 Then draw something on the cardboard. & STEPS

3 Next cut it out where you want light to go

through
4 Then use a texta to trace around the thing you
drew.
5 Stick different coloured cellophane paper
over the areas that have a hole.
6 When you have finished this, stick it on the
window. 11
Language features of instructions

• connectors to show chronological

order and cause and effect;

• use of the personal pronoun you

in more formal instructions;

• quantifiers to aid clarity and

precision.

• imperative form

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 Explanations
An explanation is given to account for how
things are.

In other words, the purpose of an explanation

is to explain how and why something is made,
or works in a particular way.

In the school curriculum, explanations are

often found in Science and Social Studies

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 The structure of explanations often
includes the following:

• a general statement to introduce the

topic;

• a series of logical steps to explain the

stages of a process;

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An explanation may also include a diagrammatic
layout of paragraphs to support the
organisation of points.

In other words,
there may be a new paragraph
for each step in the process or
thing being explained.

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 Floods
general After flash floods, desert streams
statement from upland areas carry heavy loads
of silt, sand and rock fragments. As
they reach the flatter area of the
Stage 1 desert basins they slow down and
their waters soak quickly into the
basin floor. Then the streams drop
their loads; first they drop the
Stage 2 heaviest material – the stones, then
they drop the sand and finally they
drop the silt. Soon these short-lived
streams become choked by their own
Stage 3 deposits and they spread their load
in all directions. After some time,
fan or cone-shaped deposits of
Stage 4 gravel, sand, silt and clay are formed
around each valley or canyon outlet.
These are called alluvial fans. 16
Some language features of explanations

• focus on generalized non-human

things;

• use of the simple present tense;

• use of temporal (or chronological)

connections;

• use of impersonal style/passive voice.

• use of causal (or logical) connections;

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 How Blood Moves Around the Heart
general
The heart is a muscle that pumps blood
statement
around the body. The blood flows through
the vena cava into the right atrium and
Stage 1
when the right atrium is filled, the blood
enters the right ventricle through a valve.
It is then pumped to the lungs where it
Stage 2
gets oxygen put into it. It then goes back
to the heart and enters the left atrium and
Stage 3 flows into the left ventricle through a
valve. It is pumped from the left ventricle
through the aorta and around the body
Stage 4
where it takes nutrients and oxygen to the
body’s cells. 18
 Recounts

A written or spoken
narrative of an event
that
happened in the past.

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 Three kinds of recount

Factual Personal Imaginative

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 Structure of recount
Orientation (setting the scene: who,
when, where, why)

Series of events - Re-orientation or

evaluation (optional)

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Features of factual recount

• third person (impersonal) voice &

& • use of the past and past perfect
tenses

• passive verbs often used

• use of indirect speech

&
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 Features of personal recount
• first person voice

• use of a wide range of tenses, often in the past

• a range of verbs and verb phrase. In/direct speech

In/direct speech • use of direct and indirect speech

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 Features of imaginative
recount
• First or third person voice.

• Narrator is not necessarily the same

person as the writer.

• The characters’ experiences have been

imagined rather than experienced.

• The background to the story (e.g.

historical context) may be factual.

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 Information\ Reports

Reports are factual texts

which describe and classify
the way things are.

The things described and

classified can be a range of
phenomena in our natural or
cultural environment

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General classification where the phenomenon
is identified and assigned to a general
classification, e.g. Dolphins are mammals. This
opening statement may be expanded in some
following sentences

Description of the phenomenon in a series of

paragraphs each of which focuses on a feature:
*parts and their functions
*qualities (e.g. appearance, size, colour, shape)
*habits / behaviours (or uses if a non-living
phenomenon) 26
 Snakes
Snakes are reptiles (cold blooded
General creatures). They belong to the same group as
Classification lizards but form a sub-group of their own.
Snakes have a scaly skin and no legs. They
can wriggle and slide out of their old skin and
grow a bright new one.
Female snakes lay eggs. When the baby
Description snakes hatch out of the eggs they are small,
sticky and have a bright scaly skin. They look
just like a tiny version of the mother. Baby
snakes have to look after themselves and find
their own food.
Some snakes kill animals such as frogs,
fish, rabbits, rats and mice. They can kill these
animals in two ways. Firstly by squeezing them,
to death and secondly by injecting them with
poison.
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 language features
• some action verbs especially when describing
behaviour, e.g. Some snakes kill animals

• the verb “to be” is used often in order to link

bits of information, e.g. Snakes are reptiles.

• the verb “to have” is also used often to

describe attributes of the phenomenon, e.g.
Snakes have a scaly skin and no legs.

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 Report writing activities
• Find the facts: Read a factual text to the student’s
and they must write down two or three of the important
facts. Order these according to the student’s ideas of
importance.
• Text Titles: on OHP display a short report. After the
students have read it, ask them to provide a heading for
the text.
• Text analysis: use the text as above but this time ask
the students to suggest what each part of the text is
about. This will enable them to see how the text is
constructed.
• Ask the expert: The students prepare an oral report to
be presented to the class on a topic of their choice.
They must be prepared to answer questions about their
chosen topic so they need to read up on it. This is a
meaningful way of encouraging them to read for
information. 29
• Beat the Panel: a group of students is given a
report to read on a chosen subject (perhaps
related to a topic being studied in the
classroom). The group is then given a nominated
time to read the report and to become ‘experts’
on the subject. At the same time, the rest of
the class is required to read the same article
and compose questions to ask “The Experts”
about the article. The panel gains points for
each correct answer and the class gains points
for those questions that the panel cannot
answer. This activity encourages the reading of
factual texts and develops the ability to
recognise important facts in a report.
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• News reports: individuals or a small group of
students are given the task of presenting a
report on the week’s news. Emphasis is on
reporting the facts and not opinion.

• Write, Read, Write: students are given a

picture from a report or a copy of a report
with the text blocked out and only the
pictures, diagram and title visible. They write
their own report for the pictures and share
these with partners. The original text is
uncovered and read by the students who then
rewrite their reports to include the facts in
the original text.

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• Writing to headings: The students can
compose their own reports using guided
headings. This is a very good way to help
children organise their information for
reports. For example: If the students are
writing about a class topic on animals, the
headings may be:
– Description;
– Habitat;
– Food;
– Enemies; etc

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• Grouping Information:
– provide the students with a series of
facts related to a particular topic. The
students must group related facts ready
for writing.
– The students brainstorm all the
information related to a set topic and
group this information into related
facts. They then provide a heading for
each of these groups of information.

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Expository texts are concerned with the
analysis, interpretation and evaluation of
the world around us.

You and I may analyse, interpret and

evaluate the world differently. Our
differences depend on our point of view.
Because of this, we may try to justify
our point of view, in order to:
1. persuade others that our point of view
is right.
2. persuade others to take certain action.
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Purpose UNIVERSITY of CAMBRIDGE
Local Examinations Syndicate

So the purpose of an
expository text is:

• to get a point across

• to develop an
argument

• to persuade

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 structure of exposition

• thesis: an introduction where the write/speaker

states his/her position

• arguments: where the position taken is justified

• summary of the position

OR

• two points of view, with pros and cons of each (as

in a debate)
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 some grammatical features of
exposition
• generalised nouns (unless the issue is about
a particular event).

• timeless present tense when presenting

position and points in the argument;

• expressions of obligation/determination,
e.g. modal auxiliaries; imperative clauses.

• conjunctions to do with reason.

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Ladies and Gentlemen, modals (obligation)

Our native bush is being destroyed – destroyed

by the wilful dumping of unwanted
domesticated cats by careless and cruel people.
Our native flora and fauna are being rapidly
destroyed by these people who always put their
own desires ahead of the good of this
community.

Wilful dumping of kittens is a crime. It must be

stopped. And it is you who must stop it.

From tonight you will patrol the local bush areas

with torches and you will arrest any offenders
who continue to put our precious heritage at 38
 narratives

Purpose – to entertain;
- to teach/inform;
- to nourish/extend the reader’s
imagination;
- to present the writer’s
reflections on experience.

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 text organisation (structure)
• Orientation: - characters introduced;
- setting in time and place.

• Complication – some unexpected problem

arises.

• *Resolution - the problem is resolved.

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 language features
• characters are specific with defined
identities.
• may be written in the first person or the
third person
• mainly action verbs
• usually past tense;
• many linking words to do with time;
• dialogue often included;
• descriptive language to create images in the
reader’s mind;
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 Buttons
In a small village called Columpton there was a
boy called Harry. Harry was always fighting and
Orientation during fights his buttons were ripped off. His
mother always nagged him about sewing on his
buttons but Harry never did.
One day all his buttons had been ripped
off so he had to hold his trousers up. The bell
Complication
went to go home from school and Harry raced
out of the classroom and his pants fell down.
All the other children laughed.
Now Harry sews his buttons on all the
Moral time, without even being asked.

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summary of the text type: narrative

language narrative
features
content about specific people and events
structure orientation ^ complication ^ resolution
cohesion time conjunctives and adverbials: e.g.
then, later, meanwhile, a few months later
‘other’ ‘emotive’ vocabulary to get the reader to
respond in certain ways; probably past
tenses; variety of verbs

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 summary of text types:
purpose & typical grammatical features
Recount Recount narrative explanat report exposition procedure
personal factual -ion
speaker specific specific general general specific addressee
(1st person) 3 person 1st or 3 class class
rd rd
3rd person (2nd
or general person or general person)
class class
past past usually timeless timeless timeless, imperative
past obligation + future
future
temporal temporal causal various causal temporal/
causal

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 5, Stamford Estate
Dear Sir,
As I was going to work yesterday I noticed 3 youths
personal
walking to school after 8 a.m. They were talking and
recount laughing and seemed to be in no hurry to get there. It was factual
reported in yesterday’s Inquirer that today’s young people recount
had never worked harder at school. This was certainly not
borne out by my observations. I believe that punctuality is
exposition a crucial aspect of working life. All young people need to
learn this before they leave school.
As parents, people must:
– set a good example;
instruction
– insist on punctuality;
– support schools in their campaigns to promote punctuality.

Yours faithfully

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 TEXT 1

1. OPERATION. Connect the main lead to the

BROWN and push in the POWER button. A
green light will immediately appear next to the
button.
2. Two small dashes will appear on the display
which will then revert to the setting in which the
pre-amplifier was last used. The BROWN will
then unmute and operate at the last used
volume level. Full performance will be achieved
within minutes.
3. To switch off the pre-amplifier, press and release
the POWER button.

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Topic setting up an amplifier
text type instruction (procedural)
text form non-fiction manual
Purpose tell how to set up amplifier
Relationship writer = expert
between P&C reader = novice

Tone impersonal; neither the writer nor

the reader is referred to
Structure separate numbered paragraphs
Grammar imperatives, infinitives, future tense
when referring to results of actions
Vocabulary subject-specific, technical, e.g., unmute
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 TEXT 2

All English-speaking communities are diverse, and

Singapore is no exception. Singapore is even more diverse than
some other places because for most people English is only one of
several languages they know, and because many people learned
English as a second language.
Nearly all Singaporeans who are proficient in English
choose to speak SCE (Singapore Colloquial English) in certain
social setting and Standard English in others. They do this to
express their relationship to the situation and to the people they
are speaking to . SCE has a grammar very different from Standard
English for example, tense and number are not marked and there
are syntactic rules which are different from those in Standard
English.

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Topic English in Singapore

text type information report

text form non-fiction information text

Purpose give factual information

Relationship writer = expert
between P&C reader = novice
Tone impersonal; neither the writer nor
the reader is referred to
Structure non-chronological, general to specific
Grammar simple present tense, adjectives for
classification,
Vocabulary topic-specific & technical, e.g., syntactic;
formal language, e.g., proficient
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 TEXT 3
HOW BALL-POINT PENS ARE MADE

The heart of a ball-point pen is a metal ball, which is usually

made of stainless steel.
The ball is fitted into a steel or brass housing, designed so
that it can rotate in all directions. The tip of the housing is
then bent over so that the ball cannot droop out.
The ink is fed from a reservoir to the ball housing through a
narrow tube. The ink reservoir must be open to the air, or
have a hole in it, otherwise, as the ink level falls, a partial
vacuum would be created preventing the ink from flowing.
Ridges in the metal housing distribute the ink evenly around
the ball, so that when it is moved over a surface it rotates and
draws a line.

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Topic ball-point pens
text type explanation
text form non-fiction, general interest book
Purpose to inform the reader
Relationship writer = expert; reader=novice
between P&C
Tone distant, impersonal
Structure moving from the key element of the pen to
those parts that connect to this element
Grammar clear reference and cohesive links from one
sentence to the next; passive voice; causal
conjunctions
Vocabulary technical, e.g., brass housing

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 TEXT 4
Burger outlet loses earnings
A BURGER KING about P5,000.
outlet along Taft Holding a paper
Avenue lost a bag containing the
appeared from money in her left
behind and hand, she headed
snatched the bag towards the PNB at suspect.
day’s earnings to a Padre Faura,
thief on Wednesday police said. A man But he made off
morning. on a motorcycle
suddenly appeared
parked at the back
The assistant from behind and
of a store on
manager of the snatched the bag.
Roces Street.
outlet, Miss Marie She shouted for
Amboy, 21, was on Police later
help and several
her way to the bank passers by tried to discovered that the
with the previous motorcycle had
chase the fleeing
day’s earnings of been stolen
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Topic a robbery
text type factual recount
text form newspaper article
Purpose to provide information/sell newspapers
Relationship writer and reader unknown to each other
between P&C
Tone brisk and clear, not formal.
Structure summary followed by chronological report of
the incident, paragraphs, columns, picture,
caption
Grammar Concise style, densely constructed sentences

Vocabulary some colloquial phrases, e.g., made off, facts,

figures, names, places
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