As humans, we’re easily entertained, influenced, and compelled by stories and narratives. This is why recount text is so effective: it gives us access to the mind of the writer from the comfort of our own surroundings.
But what is recount text, anyway? More importantly, what’s the purpose of recount text?
In this article, I’ll discuss everything you need to know about recount text, including structure, types, and examples.
What Is Recount Text?
Recount text, as the name suggests, recounts or retells an event that has happened in the past in story form.
Details are usually written in chronological order, and lists background information needed to understand the written text, like where the event happened, when it happened, and who was involved.
Recount text doesn’t stick to one specific writing genre. Likewise, it isn’t limited to personal events. Recount text can be literary, factual, procedural, or even imaginative.
Let’s discuss each type in more detail.
Personal Recount
As the name implies, personal recount retells an event that has personally happened to you, the writer.
This type of recount is especially useful in blog posts or articles, as it builds familiarity between you and the reader. It’s usually written in the form of diary/journal entries, personal letters, or anecdotes.
Since personal recount is based on your own thoughts, feelings, and experiences, it’s told in the first person. It’s a type of creative nonfiction that relies on real-life personal accounts.
Procedural Recount
Procedural recount outlines the steps of an experiment, study, or investigation in chronological order. It’s usually written in a scientific manner, with numbered steps and a passive voice.
Sometimes, procedural recount includes flow charts and other scientific/mathematical equations that lead to the conclusion of the experiment or report.
Imaginative Recount
Imaginative recount retells the story of a fictional character in the first person.
Title examples include “A Day in the Likeness of a 500-Year Old Scientist” or “How I Found the World’s Biggest Treasure in Under a Month.”
Imaginative recount allows you to write past facts and real-life events, making it ideal for creative writing.
Literary Recount
Literary recount retells a series of chronological events for entertainment purposes.
Unlike imaginative recount, literary recount discusses the details of an event, including when and where it took place, how it happened, and who was involved, in a factual manner. It can be about real or fictional events, but it must fall in the realm of reality.
Factual or Historical Recount
Factual or historical recount reports real-life events in story-form. It can be historical, biographical, or autobiographical in nature, or simply a reconstruction of an event by someone who wasn’t personally involved in the situation, such as a police officer, a scientist, or a reporter.
Purpose of Recount Text
In the simplest of ways, recount text is told for the purpose of informing, evaluating, or entertaining readers. In most cases, it serves all three functions.
Recount Text Structure
Recount text follows a simple yet effective three-act structure. Like any story, it must have a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Act I: Introduction
In the first act, the writer (you) introduces the readers to the story. It answers basic questions such as:
- Where’s the story set?
- Who are the participants involved?
- When do the events or experiences occur?
- What are the characters doing that lead up to the point of the second narrative?
It’s in this section that you, as the writer (and by extension, the reader) establish the tone of the story.
If you’re using serious, formal language from the get-go, your readers will adopt a more serious approach to your work.
If you start the story off with a witty, humorous remark, the readers can reasonably expect to be entertained or amused by what’s to come next.
Act II: Events
Once you’ve set the stage for the story, recount the events of the story you’re discussing in a chronological sequence.
Introduce the problem or conflict and how it has psychologically affected you, for personal recounts, or the characters, for factual, historical, or procedural recounts.
As the narrative develops, you can either add some tension or introduce additional problems to amp things up.
Act III: Resolution
The third and final act contains the lead-up to the climax of the story, the climax itself, and, of course, the resolution (if any). It’s the story’s “grand finale,” so to speak. It reorients the recounted sequence of events and finalizes the story.
How to Write Recount Text
When writing a recount, there are several guidelines to keep in mind.
- Write the recount in the first-person narrative, especially if you’re discussing a personal recount. Use the words “I” and “me.”
- As you’re recounting events that had already happened, always write in the past tense, past perfect tense, past continuous tense, or past perfect continuous tense. You can use the present tense if stating an analysis or an opinion.
- Write in the order in which the events had happened. Use temporal sequences such as, “on Saturday, on the 15th, yesterday” or conjunctions such as “then, before, after.”
- Be as descriptive as possible. Think back on the events. What did it smell like? How did it taste? How did it feel? What did you hear? What did you see?
- Keep the title simple and straightforward. It should summarize the main event of the story, such as “The Happiest Moment In My Life.”
Recount Text Example
Now that I’ve discussed the basic structure of a recount text, here’s an example of a personal recount text with tacked-in guides. To keep things short, I’ve only written an introductory section.
“The Day I Fell In Love” — Simple, straightforward title.
“I fell in love on a cold, rainy morning. It was a Saturday because I remember listening to the radio presenter announcing the date in that awfully cheerful voice of his.” — Past tense; temporal sequence. Written from a first-person point of view.
“I didn’t have any grand plans that day; I didn’t even know why I left the house, especially since it was about to rain. But I was compelled to go outside. Perhaps it was to smell the petrichor lingering in the wind, or to feel the cool air on my face.” — Sensory detail.
As you can see, the above personal recount text details the life of a person falling in love for the first time. The person recounting the events uses first-person writing, and explains the chronological events that occurred on that Saturday morning.
Conclusion
Recount text informs, evaluates, and entertains readers. It isn’t only about personal events; it can also retell factual or historical events that haven’t personally happened to you. Regardless of the subject, recount text should always be written in the past tense.
