Recount Text

Definition of Recount
Recount is a text which retells events or experiences in the past. Its purpose is either to inform or to entertain the audience. There is no complication among the participants and that differentiates from narrative

Generic Structure of Recount
1. Orientation: Introducing the participants, place and time
2. Events: Describing series of event that happened in the past
3. Reorientation: It is optional. Stating personal comment of the writer to the story

Language Feature of Recount
• Introducing personal participant; I, my group, etc
• Using chronological connection; then, first, etc
• Using linking verb; was, were, saw, heard, etc
• Using action verb; look, go, change, etc
• Using simple past tense

Recount text:
a. Purpose
The purpose of a recount is to retell events.
The prefix re means again. So to recount is to state again.
• to tell what happened
• To retell someone’s experience

b. Generic Structure
There is often an opening or setting a of a scene. E.g. I went to the park.
The events in a recount are often in the order that they happen (Chronological order):
I went to the park and I saw a pond. The pond had ducks sitting at the side of it.
A recount will often have a closing statement. E.g. I left the park and went home.
• Orientation = who, where, when, what
• Series of events = events in order
• Reorientation = conclusion, impression, or recommendation

c. Characteristics (Language features)
Recounts are written in the past tense.
They can be written in the first or the third person
1st person It is happening to the person writing the recount i.e. I went to the park.
3rd person. An observer is telling it. Tom went to the park, there he saw a pond.
The connectives in a recount are often: Next, then, after that.
Recounts focus on what an individual or a group of people were doing.
The following are examples of recounts.
• Using simple past or past continuous, except for direct speech.
• There are characters (tokoh) and main character (tokoh utama)
• The story told in order, sequence (berurutan)
recount is almost the same with narrative(some give opinion that recount is a part of narrative). But narrative is stressing on fable, legend and folktale

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