Kinds of Texts: Narrative Text

A narrative is a story. It can be factual or something imaginary and the events in the story are told in chronological order. There are always characters. Usually, there is one main character and some minor characters.

Types of narrative text:

There are many types of narrative. They can be imaginary, factual or a combination of both. They may include fairy stories, mysteries, science fiction, romances, horror stories, adventure stories, fables, myths and legends, historical narratives, ballads, slice of life, personal experience.

Features

• Characters with defined personalities/identities.
• Dialogue often included - tense may change to the present or the future.
• Descriptive language to create images in the reader's mind and enhance the story.

A narrative text constists of three main parts or often known as the generic structure:
1. Orientation
Here readers are introduced with the situation, the time, the place and the characters to help them understand the person and the events.

For examples:
A. The knights left their swords outside the door and came to the round table.

This must be a period in old history.

B. The men well armed arrived in jeeps to meet their commander.

This situation is in modern times. Most likely the men were a unit in an army.

2. Complication.
This part of the narrative tells us of an event involving the main character. Either the character goes against tradition or does something quite unexpected.

For example:
But one knight entered the room with his sword and kept the sword on the round table.

3. Resolution
Here the writer tells the readers how the complication is resolved.

For example:
An old knight sittingbeside the young knight with the sword said, " King Arthur has ordered that no knight must bear arms in the Great Hall. I suggest you go and leave the sword outside."

The young knight took hos sword and went outside and left the sword with his friend. King Arthur entering the Hall saw what happened and smiled at the young knight.

Note:

When there is plan for writing narrative texts, the focus should be on the following characteristics:

• Plot: What is going to happen?
• Setting: Where will the story take place? When will the story take place?
• Characterization: Who are the main characters? What do they look like?
• Structure: How will the story begin? What will be the problem? How is the problem going to be resolved?
• Theme: What is the theme / message the writer is attempting to communicate?

An example of a narrative text

Richard Mann's father is an architect and his mother is a dress designer. His mother had been a great influence in his life. From his young days his mother took him to and from school. She always told him that he had to go to a university. So Richard studied and passed all his exams. He got a place in Cambridge University. His mother selected a course in Computer Studies for him. She told him that the computer was going to be the most important equipment in business.

After one term, Richard was unhappy. He was doing badly. He dropped out and went to work with a gardener. He worked as a labourer, digging and planting.

Richard enjoyed watching the plants grow and do well. He decided that he was going to work with plants. He went back to the university and studied Agriculture Science. Today Richard Mann is a landscape gardener and a tree surgeon. He is doing a job that he loves. Not only does he design landscapes but he also works on the landscapes. He specialises in planting full grown trees.

Reference: wikipedia.com