TEXT TYPES 

There are 5 major texts types:

Narrative

Descriptive

Directive

Expository

Argumentative

Narrative texts

Narrative texts have to do with real-world events and time.

They may be fictional (fairy tales, novels) or nonfictional (newspaper report).

They are characterised by a sequencing of events expressed by dynamic verbs and by adverbials such as “and then”, “first”, “second”, “third”

Example: First we packed our bags and then we called a taxi. After that we… etc.

Descriptive texts

Descriptive texts are concerned with the location of persons and things in space.

They will tell us what lies to the right or left, in the background or foreground, or they will provide background information which, perhaps, sets the stage for narration.

It is immaterial whether a description is more technical-objective or more impressionisticsubjective.

Directive texts

Directive texts are concerned with concrete future activity. Central to these texts are imperatives (Hand me the paper) or forms which substitute for them, such as polite questions (Would you hand me the paper?) or suggestive remarks (I wonder what the paper says about the weather).

Narrative, descriptive and directive texts have grammatical forms associated with them which may be expanded to form sequences of a textual nature

They are all centered around real-world events and things. In contrast, expository and argumentative texts are cognitively oriented, as they are concerned with explanation and persuasion, which are both mental processes.

Expository texts

may be subjective (essay) or objective (summary, explication, definition)

may be analytical (starting from a concept and then characterizing its parts; e.g. definitions) or synthetic (recounting characteristics and ending with an appropriate concept or conclusion; e.g. summaries)

are characterized by state verbs and epistemic modals (Pop music has a strong rhythmic beat; Texts may consist of one or more sentences) or by verbs indicating typical activities or qualities (fruitflies feed on yeast)

Argumentative texts

Argumentative texts depart from the assumption that the receiver’s beliefs must be changed

They often start with the negation of a statement which attributes a quality or characteristic activity to something or someone (esp. scholarly texts).

They also include advertising texts, which try to persuade their readers that a product is somehow better, at least implicitly, than others.

Few texts are pure realizations of a single type:
Advertisements may be both argumentativepersuasive (this is good because…) and directive (So buy now!)

Expository texts can be neutral or contain evaluative elements (reviews, references, letters to the editor…)

Laws regulate some aspects of society, directing the behavior of its members, but also inform on these aspects (they are both directive and expository)

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