Recount Text

Recount text is a text which retells events or experiences in the past. Purpose: to retell something that happened in the past and to tell a series of past event.

Generic structure of recount:

      Orientation      : introducing the participants, place and time.

      Events            : describing series of event that happened in the past.

   Re-orientation  : it is optional. Starting personal comment of the writer to the story.

Dominant language features:

      Using past tense

      Using action verb

      Using adjectives

      Using chronological connection: then, first, etc.

Narrative and recount text in some ways are similar. Both are telling something in the past so narrative and recount usually apply PAST TENSE; whether Simple Past Tense, Simple Continuous Tense, or Past Perfect Tense. The ways narrative and recount told are in chronological order using time or place. Commonly narrative text is found in story book; myth, fable, folklore, etc. while recount text is found in biography.

 The thing that makes narrative and recount different is the structure in which they are constructed. Narrative uses conflicts among the participants whether natural conflict, social narrative text combines all these conflicts. In the contrary, we do not find these conflicts inside recount text. Recount applies series of event as the basic structure.

Example of Recount Text:

A Visit to a Sheep Property

Orientation:

Last holiday I visited a sheep property. I helped in the shearing sheds and in the yards.

Event 1:

On the first day the Merino wethers were crutched. I helped by sweeping up after the rouse about picked up the wool pieces. Shearers star early (at 7.30 a.m).

Event 2:

After lunch, we started shearing the lambs. There were more than 400 so we didn’t finish until the next day. Once again I was sweeping and picking up dabs.

Event 3:

I was tired by the end of the day in the shed but our work wasn’t finished. We all had to help to get the wethers and lambs back into the paddocks. As well, we had to get mob of ewes and their lambs into the yards for shearing the next day. Then it was time for tea (that’s what my manna calls dinner).

Event 4:

This was a very long day but I enjoyed it a lot.