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TEXT TYPES

In this web we are going to deal with four of the main text types as they are the ones which a learner of a foreign language may need to use. Let's see some examples of narrative, descriptive, argumentative and directive texts.

NARRATIVE TEXT

Once upon a time, there was a young girl named Cinderella. She lived with her stepmother and two stepsisters.
The stepmother and sisters were conceited and bad tempered. They treated Cinderella very badly. Her stepmother made Cinderella do the hardest works in the house; such as scrubbing the floor, cleaning the pots and pans and preparing the food for the family. The two stepsisters, on the other hand, did not work about the house. Their mother gave them many handsome dresses to wear.
One day, the two stepsisters received an invitation to the ball that the king’s son was going to give at the palace. They were excited about this and spent a long time choosing the dresses they would wear. At last, the day of the ball came, and away went the sisters to it. Cinderella could not help crying after they had left.
“Why are crying, Cinderella?” a voice asked. She looked up and saw her fairy godmother standing beside her, “because I want so much to go to the ball” said Cinderella. “Well” said the godmother, ”you’ve been such a cheerful, hardworking, uncomplaining girl that I am going to see that you do go to the ball”.
Magically, the fairy godmother changed a pumpkin into a fine coach and mice into a coachman and two footmen. Her godmother tapped Cinderella’s raged dress with her wand, and it became a beautiful ball gown. Then she gave her a pair of pretty glass slippers. “Now, Cinderella”, she said; “You must leave before midnight”. Then away she drove in her beautiful coach.
Cinderella was having a wonderfully good time. She danced again and again with the king’s son. Suddenly the clock began to strike twelve, she ran to the door as quickly as she could. In her hurry, one of her glass slippers was left behind.
A few days later, the king’ son proclaimed that he would marry the girl whose feet fitted the glass slipper. Her stepsisters tried on the slipper but it was too small for them, no matter how hard they squeezed their toes into it. In the end, the king’s page let Cinderella try on the slipper. She stuck out her foot and the page slipped the slipper on. It fitted perfectly.
Finally, she was driven to the palace. The king’s son was overjoyed to see her again. They were married and lived happily ever after.

DESCRIPTIVE TEXT

It was a cold grey day in late November. The weather had changed overnight, when a backing wind brought a granite sky and a mizzling rain with it, and although it was now only a little after two o'clock in the afternoon the pallor of a winter evening seemed to have closed upon the hills, cloaking them in mist.
 

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

ARGUMENTATIVE TEXT

Private cars are becoming a very controversial issue these days but they are important in our modern lives for two main reasons, poor public transport and business. Many people in the world live in towns, villages and even cities that do not have good buses or trains. Without cars these people could not travel to work, to the shops or do many other important things. Besides, in many towns and cities buses stop before midnight but in today's world people are busy twenty-four hours a day. The next point is that cars help the economy in two ways. Firstly, the car industry gives many people in the world jobs and it also helps countries to develop. Secondly, many people today need cars in their work: doctors need to visit patients, salespeople need to visit customers, technicians need to visit businesses... In conclusion, although cars can cause problems, it is impossible to live without them in modern life.

DIRECTIVE TEXT

VEGETARIAN CHILLI

 

Ingredients

  • 400g pack oven-roasted vegetables

  • 1 can kidney beans in chilli sauce

  • 1 can chopped tomatoes

  • 1 ready-to-eat mixed grain pouch

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Method

Heat oven to 200C/180C. Cook the vegetables in a casserole dish for 15 mins. Tip in the beans and tomatoes, season, and cook for another 10-15 minutes until piping hot. Heat the pouch in the microwave on High for 1 min and serve with the chilli.

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