he recount text type retells an experience or an event that happened in the past. The purpose of a recount is to inform, entertain, and/or evaluate. A recount can focus on a specific section of an event or retell the entire story. The events in a recount are usually related to the reader in chronological order; That is, in the order they happened. Recounts are an excellent genre for emergent writers to cut their teeth on. Written mainly in the past tense, recounts offer younger student-writers the opportunity to tell a story in writing without placing cumbersome demands on their creative abilities to construct a well-structured storyline. To avoid the necessity for any research, personal recounts are often the best place for beginners to start. All they’ll need for their plot is a half-decent memory!
T here are many different styles of recounting. Let’s take a look at the five main types before studying the recount text structure and features. PERSONAL RECOUNT : A Personal Recount text retells an activity in which the writer has been personally involved. Personal recounts often build an intimate relationship between the writer and the reader. Some common types of personal recounts include anecdotes, diary & journal entries, personal letters, etc. While there are some differences, a personal narrative has much in common with a personal recount. WHAT ARE THE FIVE TYPES OF RECOUNT?
A Procedural Recount records the steps in an investigation or experiment, thereby providing the basis for reported results or findings. A procedural recount records events such as a science experiment or cooking. Procedural recounts present the events chronologically (in the order in which they happened). The purpose of procedural recounts is to inform the audience. They differ somewhat from a traditional procedural text . PROCEDURAL RECOUNT:
: Factual Recounts report the particulars of an incident by reconstructing factual information, e.g. police reconstruction of an accident, historical recount, biographical and autobiographical recounts. A factual recount is an objective recount of an actual event by someone not personally involved in the situation. Its purpose is either to inform, entertain or both. FACTUAL / NEWSPAPER RECOUNT / HISTORICAL RECOUNT
A Literary Recount retells a series of events for the purpose of entertainment. A literary recount is like a factual recount in many regards. Both provide details about what happened, including who was involved, when and where the event occurred, and what may have resulted. A literary recount can be about real or fictional events and characters LITERARY RECOUNT
Applies factual knowledge to an imaginary role to interpret and recount events, e.g. A Day in the Life of a German soldier, How I manned the first mission to the moon. An imaginative recount is retelling events, usually in the first person. This style of recount allows for embellishment beyond facts and events- perfect for creative writing. IMAGINATIVE RECOUNT :
In terms of structure, the 5-paragraph/hamburger essay framework is perfect for the beginning writer. This template suits most nonfiction writing genres and lays out a composition with one introductory paragraph, followed by three body paragraphs and one concluding paragraph. Check out our comprehensive article here to learn more about this effective format. When used in the context of writing a recount, the 5-paragraph essay will look something like this: HOW TO STRUCTURE A RECOUNT IN 5 PARAGRAPHS
The Orientation: Paragraph 1 In the introductory paragraph, the student will establish the setting and introduce the characters and the topic of the recount. The Events: Paragraphs 2-4 Using past tense verbs, the student will relate the events in chronological order in the body paragraphs. The Conclusion: Paragraph 5 In the final paragraph of their recount, the students should typically make some sort of evaluative comment on what they think or how they feel about the events they have just related. The 5-paragraph essay format is very flexible, as students can easily alter the number of body paragraphs according to their abilities and the complexity of the events they recount .
For beginning writers, graphic organizers are extremely helpful tools to assist during the planning process. These can be built around the 5-paragraph essay structure as described above. Another helpful planning tool to help students plan their recounts is employing The Five Pillars of a Recount . Essentially, the five pillars comprise five questions students must answer in their recount. These are THE 5 PILLARS OF WRITING A RECOUNT TEXT?
THE 5 PILLARS OF WRITING A RECOUNT TEXT?
Who? Who are the main characters? When? When did the events take place? Where? Where did the events happen? What? What happened? Why? Why do these events matter?
Keep the title simple to summarise the text’s central element, such as “ A trip to the Zoo.” Set the scene for the audience in terms of characters, setting and context. We refer to this as our orientation, and it will provide the reader with all the essential ingredients of the recount in the introduction by addressing the who, what, when and where. Keep everything in chronological order in a recount and use a variety of time transitional terms and phrases to keep your audience engaged throughout. Use a range of adjectives; try and avoid “And then, and then, and then.” TIPS FOR WRITING A GREAT RECOUNT TEXT
activity Provide an image of a significant event all students could recount as a group. For example, this could be a school camp, the Olympic games, or a photo of a significant event within your community. Get students to work through the Who ? When ? Where ? What ? and Why ? Once you have established these, students can start to place things in chronological order and prioritize what will be included in their recount draft. At this point, get your students to collaborate on a recount of this shared event. You can use these as a starting point for comparison and analysis before students write their individual recounts.