Report Text

A. DEFINITION OF REPORT

Report Text is one of the 13 types of English texts (genres) that presents information about things like nature, animals, plants, products of human endeavor and social phenomena, as it is. The information presented in the Report Text is the result of systematic observation and analysis. A report is essentially a description that classifies and describes things in general and specific terms.

B.  PURPOSE OF REPORT.

        -to inform (Hardy dan Klarwein, 1990)

       - to provide information about natural and non-natural phenomena (Hammond, dkk.,1992)

       - to document, organize and store factual information on a topic, classify and
         describe the phenomena of our world - about a whole class of things
         (not about one specific thing) - about living things like plants and animals, and non-living things like

         phones, bikes, or oceans. (Derewianka, 1990)

       - to describe the way things are, with reference to a range of natural, man-made and 

         social phenomena in our environment (Gerot dan Wignell, 1994)

       - to describe the way things are, with reference to a whole range of phenomena,
         natural,  synthetic and social in our environment (Callaghan dan Rothery, 1988)

There are the elements of usefulness of that can be extracted from the above statements.

· Provide factual information to

· Non-natural and natural phenomena

· Whole class of Things

· To classify

· To describe

C. GENERIC STRUCTURE OF REPORT

1.    General classification:

Stating classification of general aspect of thing; animal, public place, plant, etc which will be discussed in general.

2.    Description:

Describing the thing which will be discussed in detail; part per part , customs or deed for living creature and usage for materials

There are also some generic information about the report text structure, that is:

1.      General information:

the part that mentions the general information of literary themes.

2.      Bundles of Specific Information:

the elaboration of this general information.

D. LANGUAGE FEATURE OF REPORT

§  Using conditional logical connection; when, so, etc

§  Using simple present tense

§  Use of general nouns, eg hunting dogs, rather than particular nouns, eg our dog;

§  Use of Relating verbs to describe features, eg Molecules are tiny particles;

§  Some use of action verbs when describing behavior, eg Emus can not fly;

§  Use of timeless present tense to indicate usualness, eg Tropical cyclones always begin over the sea;

§  Use of technical terms, eg Isobars are lines drawn on a weather map;

§  Use of paragraphs with topic sentences to organise bundles of information; repeated naming of the topic as the beginning focus of the clause.

E.   DIFFERENCES IN THE REPORT AND DESCRIPTIVE TEXT

1. Report:

- General Structure:

a. General Statement

b. Description

2. Descrition:

- General Structure:

a. Identification

b. Description

• Part of unity of thing

Description is a type of text that contains a description of something. To describe that describes the means, then type this text tells something obvious, so regardless of the object described, the reader

or listener could almost see the object clearly. Almost similar to the text genre REPORT. But of course there are differences. Report tells something general, but Description text  tells only one of the specified object.

In short, the Report Text describing something that usually refers to the phenomena of nature, animals, and scientific objects. Report Text written after getting careful observation. This scientific tekhnikal makes a clear difference of Descriptive Text.

F.   EXAMPLE OF REPORT TEXT

Hello friends, thank you for the time given to me. Here I want to tell you about the king of the jungle. Do you know the Lion? Well, I think you have seen a Lion in the television or in the zoo. Well guys, Lion is a carnivore, and it is a wild animal. You can find a Lion in the African jungle, you also can find it in the savannah and forest.

A Lion looks like a cat but it is bigger than a cat. The male Lion has mane, it is bigger than the female. Friends? Do you know that Lion is a great hunter? They can run very fast like a horse. They have strong and sharp claws to catch their prey. Its fangs are very strong. Emmm. . . Lion likes to eat zebra, buffaloes, or deer. And guys, you must know that Lion is a good listener because it can hear voice from until 100 until 150 meters.

Well friends, I think that’s all about the king of the jungle. And it’s time for me to leave. I hope this short report will be useful for you. Ok guys, thank you for your attention. See you bye, , bye. .

What Is Thunder and Lightning?

Lightning is a sudden, violent fl ash of electricity between a cloud and the ground, or from cloud to cloud. A lightning fl ash, or bolt, can be several miles long. It is so hot, with an average temperature of 34,000° Centigrade, that the air around it suddenly expands with a loud blast. This is the thunder we hear.

Lightning occurs in hot, wet storms. Moist air is driven up to a great height. It forms a type of cloud called cumulonimbus. When the cloud rises high enough, the moisture freezes and ice crystals and snowfl akes are formed. These begin to fall, turning to rain on the way down. This rain meets more moist air rising, and it is the friction between them which produces static electricity. When a cloud is fully charged with this electricity, it discharges it as a lightning flash.

KANGAROO         

                              

A kangaroo is an animal found only in Australia, although it has a smaller relative, called a wallaby, which lives on the Australian island of Tasmania and also in New Guinea.

           

Kangaroos eat grass and plants. They have short front legs, but very long, and very strong back legs and a tail. These are used for sitting up and for jumping. Kangaroos have been known to make forward jumps of over eight metres, and leap across fences more than three metres high. They can also run at speeds of over 45 kilometres per hour.

            

The largest kangaroos are the Great Grey Kangaroo and the Red Kangaroo. Adult grow to a length of 1.60 metres and weigh over 90 kilos.

           

Kangaroos are marsupials. This means that the female kangaroo has an external pouch on the front of her body. A baby kangaroo is very tiny when it is born, and it crawls at once into this pouch where it spends its first five months of life

ANALYTICAL EXPOSITION

Definition

Exposition is a text that elaborates the writer‘s idea about the phenomenon surrounding. Its social function is to persuade the reader that the idea is important matter.

Examining or liking to examine things very carefully (Cambridge).

Purpose of Analytical Exposition

To attempt to persuade the reader to believe something by presenting one side of the argument.

To reveal the readers that something is the important case.

Generic Structure of Analytical Exposition

Thesis: Introducing the topic and indicating the writer's position.

Arguments: Explaining the arguments to support the writer’s position.

Reiteration: Restating the writer’s position.

Language Features of Analytical Exposition

Focus on generic human and non-human participants, (e.g.: car, pollution, leaded petrol car)

Use abstract noun, (e.g.: policy, government)

Use of relational processes, (e.g.: It is important)

Modal verbs, (e.g.: we must preserve)

 Modal verbs, (e.g.: we must preserve)

Connective or Use of internal conjunction to state argument, (e.g.: first, secondly, then, finally)

Evaluative language, (e.g.: important, valuable, trustworthy, etc.)

Giving reasons through causal conjunction
(e.g. so, thus, therefore, hence)

Use of present tense

Passive sentence

              The difference of analytical and hortatory exposition

Text	Definition	Purpose	Generic structure
Analytical Exposition	Exposition is a text that elaborates the writer‘s idea about the phenomenon surrounding. Its social function is to persuade the reader that the idea is important matter.	To reveal to the readers that something is the important case	Thesis, (I personally think, In my opinion, I believe, etc. ) Arguments,(First, Second, Furthermore, In addition, The last, etc) Reiteration (In my conclusion, Based on the arguments above, )
Hortatory Exposition	Hortatory exposition is a text which represent the attempt of the writer to have the addressee do something or act in certain way.	To persuade the readers that something should or should not be done	Thesis, (I personally think, In my opinion, I believe, etc) Arguments,(First, Second, Furthermore, In addition, The last, etc) Recommendation (should, should not,     ought to, ought not to, )

Example Text

Laptop as Student’s Friends

Thesis

Conventionally, students need book, pen, eraser, drawing book, ruler and such other stuff. Additionally, in this multimedia era, students need more to reach their progressive development. Students need mobile keyboards to record every presented subject easily. Of course it will need more cost but it will deserve for its function.

Argument 1

First, modern schools tend to apply fast transferring knowledge because the school needs to catch the target of curriculum. Every subject will tend to be given in demonstrative method. Consequently students need extra media cover the subject. Since there is a laptop on every student’s desk, this method will help student to get better understanding.
Argument 2

Secondly, finding an appropriate laptop is not difficult as it was. Recently there is an online shop which provides comprehensive information. The best is that the shop has service of online shopping. The students just need to brows that online shop, decide which computer or laptop they need, and then complete the transaction. After that the laptop will be delivered to the students’ houses. That is really easy and save time and money.

Reiteration

From all of that, having mobile computer is absolutely useful for students who want to catch the best result for their study. Buying laptop online is advisable because it will cut the price. This online way is recommended since online shop also provides several laptop types . Students just need to decide which type they really need.

Noun Clause

Noun clause is does the work of a noun in a sentence or phrase, It is a group of words containing a subject and a finite verb of its own. Some rules :noun clauses usually begin with words like how.

Giving Advice

# Definition

Giving Advice is any kind of suggestion regarding a possible course of action for another person.

There are lots of different ways to give advice in English.

We are going to look at three:

1. Imperatives

                   An imperative is a command or an order. To form an imperative, you use the bare infinitive form of the verb without a subject – it should be clear to the person you are speaking to that the imperative is about them.

For example:

- Wear warm clothes when you visit the UK.

- Don’t be afraid to talk to people.

2. Using modal verbs

          There are three useful words/phrases we use to give advice. These are called modals.

If you think something is a good idea, you can use the word: should

If you think something is a bad idea, you can use the word: shouldn’t

For example:

- You should eat fruit and vegetables every day to stay healthy.

- You shouldn’t eat too much spicy food.

3. Why don’t you. .

Another way to give advice is to use the question form ‘why don’t you…?’ This is a nice way of making a suggestion – if you are not sure about the advice, you can use this form.

For example:

- Why don’t you take an English course before you go to the UK?

- Why don’t you give her a chocholate?

There are several different structures that you can use when giving advice

# Should

                   This is probably the most common of the structures for giving advice. After should, and its negative - shouldn't - we use the base form of the infinitive of the verb:

You should wise up
We shouldn’t cheat
It is common to use 'I think' and 'I don’t think' with should:
I think you should put the answers back
She doesn't think they should use them

# Had better

This structure is common in spoken English and it is usually used in the contracted form. After had better, and its negative - had better not, we use the base form of  the infinitive of the verb

-You'd better return the answers to the lecturer
-You'd better not tell anyone that you found them

# Ought

This is the most formal of the structures used for giving advice, and so it isn't so common.
After ought, and its negative - ought not (oughtn't), we use the full infinitive of the verb:

You ought to contact the police
You ought not to cheat in exams

# If I were you

This version of the second conditional is often used when giving advice, especially in spoken English. Note the use of were with I in the first clause.
In the second clause, we use would - contracted to d - and wouldn’t.

After would and wouldn’t, we use the base form of the infinitive of the verb:

If I were you, I’d give them back to the lecturer
If I were you, I wouldn’t use the answers

Example dialogue :

Mariona: Hi Clàudia, You look worried. What's the matter?
Clàudia: Er.. it's nothing.
Mariona: Is it the exam tomorrow? You shouldn't worry. You'll pass easily.
Clàudia: I know.
Mariona: Come on, tell me. What are you worried about?
Clàudia: OK... it's Mark. I think he has started smoking. I was talking to him   yesterday about this topic and he says me that isn't smoking.
Mariona: That's serious. What are you going to do?
Clàudia: I'm not sure. I should tell someone. What do you think I should do?
Mariona: If I were you, I'd speak to his older sister. She's really friendly.
Clàudia: I've never met her. Can you com with me?
Mariona: Yes, of course. Let's go and find her.

DEFINITION OF ASKING FOR AND GIVING OPINION

Asking for opinion is a skill in a good manner will mean that you get more information. This section will help students to think about how they can best put questions in a forum like a meeting, class discussion or question time type event.

In general, questions need to be: 

1. Put politely

2.Clear

3. About one issue

4. Encourage a response:

- What do you think about periodic table of elements ?

- What’s your opinion?

- What are your ideas?

- Do you have any thoughts on that?

- How do you feeling about organization level of the cell ?

- What about your physic homework ?

- What is your view ?

- Don’t you think …. ? (very polite)

Asking	Giving
What do you think ...?	Well, I think ...
What's your opinion about ...?	In my opinion I think ...
How do you feel about ...?	I feel that we should ...
What's your reaction to that?	My reaction is that we should ...
Any comments, John?	May I make a comment on that?

Other examples

Those expressions are used to ask for opinions.

·        What do you think of this refrigerator?

·        So, do you think I should buy those florescent light bulbs?

Those expressions are used to give opinions.

·        I think the other one’s better.

·        In my opinion, you should buy the florescent light bulbs

Here are other expressions that you can also use:

Asking opinion	Giving opinion
·        What is your opinion…?	I think…
·        What do you think of..?	I believe..
·        How do you feel about..?	I fell…
·        How do you see…?	It seems to me…

DIALOG ASKING OPINION AND GIVING OPINION

Daniel   : Hey Lara ! Do you know the hot news in our school ?

Lara      : Yes, I know. About the minimum score, isn’t it ?

Daniel    : Yes, exactly. What do you think ?

Lara       : I think it so high. I believe that is bad idea.

Daniel     : I don’t think so. Precisely with the 80 score, we can go into the University easily. With PMDK
                 program.

Lara        : Yes, I know it. But, for everyday it so hard.

Daniel      : Maybe, it can be the pole for us to be better than yesterday. I hope we can do it. Although it so
                 hard.

Lara        : Ok. Amin. :)

 example 2
Kent : What do you think about that film?
Joe : I think that film is very interesting

1.1.     Expressing Relief

When we have problem and we can solve it, we will feel relief. In other situation, when we feel worried about something that we will face it, we will also feel relief. a relief is lessening or ending of pain and worry. for example :
-   What a relief!
-   That's a relief!
-   I'm very relieved to hear that (it)
-   I'm glad everything's running well.
-   I'm glad it's done.
-   Thank God for that.
-   Thank goodness.
-   Thank heaveness.
-   Oh, good!
-   Oh, marvelous!

-    It’s great relief

Example dialog:

Deananda : Hey guys , score list mathematics test is out, I have 79

Olvie: I have 83

Puput: What ? I don't know about that, what score do I have ?I afraid it is notcomplete

Ira :  Don't  worry put , you get 80 , I see there  , i get 80 too

Puput:That's a relief , thanks Ira

Ira : ok ,you’re welcome

2.     Expressing Pain
When we get sick, we must feel pain on part of our body. When we get an accident, and we get injured because of it, we must feel pain. Some expression of pain :
-  It’s very painful. I can't stand it.
-  The pain hurts me very much.
-  That's hurts!-Oh, my headache!
-  My back pains me.
-  I'm not feeling well.
-  I have a bad cough.
-  I feel terrible.
-  I'm really sick.
-  I can no longer stand.

-   Ouch. It hurts!

-        Oh, it’s killing me!
We can also add it with some interjection, such as : Oh!, Ouch! and Aw!

Example dialog :

Made  : Vitalis , how your condition today ? Yesterday you are absent right?

Vitalis  : Hmm , not bad , because I have fever yesterday. it's very painful

Made  : Ohh, don't be over tired vitalis

      Vitalis : Ya , you're alright , thanks Made

      Made  :It's ok , no problem

A.     PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENTS

DEFINITION

A public service announcement is an advertisement that a television or radio station airs for a cause or a charity.

The objective of a public service announcement is to educate and create awareness of significant social issues in an effort to change the public’s attitudes and behaviours and stimulate positive social change.

Public service announcements (PSA's) can be utilized in three mediums:

·         Newspaper (print PSA's);

·         Radio (audio PSA's); and

·         Television (video PSA's).

Techniques Used in PSA’s

•      Humour.  Humour tends to catch one’s attention, especially for kids and teens, but humour may trivialize serious issues.  Sometimes irony (or in its extreme, satire) can be very effective in conveying an important message.

•      Shock treatment.  Such campaigns provide a realistic look at an issue, but may turn people off entirely because of their graphic nature. Also, broadcasters may be reluctant to broadcast PSA’s they feel may be too controversial.

•      Preaching.  This technique involves an individual or group pleading with an audience for greater awareness of the issue.  Note: there’s a fine line between earnestness and appearing to be patronizing.

•      Using a celebrity. Celebrities do get favourable attention, but sometimes people are so distracted by the celebrity they forget the message.

EXAMPLE :

Hey, students! Are you concerned about violence at school? Do you know of students threatening to hurt or bullying someone? Well, there’s something you can do about it. Just call 1-866-SPEAK-UP to report a threat. The call is free and completely anonymous. If you know about a student threatening violence, don’t take chances, call 1-866-SPEAK-UP. That’s 1-866-SPEAK UP. It could be the most important call you’ll ever made.

B.      POSTERS

DEFINITION

A posters is an informative and decorative way to attract the attention to the information it contains. It is usually displayed in a public place. It is often decorated with designs or illustrations.

Here are some ways to use posters in a literacy program :

•       To advertise events or products;

•       To display information or instructions; and

•       To each about some kinds of information

You will create a Public Service Announcement poster that will address the issue in the following way:

·         The topic is simple and clear.

·         The PSA gets attention and is eye catching.

·         It includes a slogan and a visual that is memorable.

·         The PSA is creative and entertaining.

·         It provides accurate information on the topic’s importance.

·         The PSA effectively reaches its target audience.