Understanding Text Types: Narrative, Descriptive, Expository, Argumentative, Predictive, and Instructional
Narrative Text
Such narrative text tells fictional stories or stories based on facts. The reality experienced by a series of characters in a space and time. The structure of these texts can be divided into two: the external and internal. The first is based on the way to distribute the text, its parts, and how it is composed. The second concerns the events of the story it tells. Within the internal structure, the narrative is usually divided into three parts: introduction, middle, and denouement. Narratives are found in both daily life and reality: when people report any event, a joke, or notionally: legends, novels, stories, etc.
Description
The descriptive text is a type that tries to express a concrete or abstract reality more or less accurately. In this type of text, the representative or referential function of language prevails and aims to inform about the status of things. Descriptions are usually static, showing an identity in the simultaneity: the elements are arranged in space, and time seems to have stopped. But there are also descriptions of actions, in which there is some momentum, and things are described as the events unfold.
Expository Text
The exhibition has a role in providing knowledge and information on a particular topic. Its main intention is didactic: to understand an idea, a concept, or expand the knowledge of the receiver. This type of text, whose function is referential, has several properties: it is clear, objective, and structured in an orderly fashion. They usually consist of an introduction at the beginning, a second part that develops the theme, and ends with a conclusion. The expository text is grouped, usually into two types: informative expository text, clearly and objectively reporting on a topic of general interest, and scientific expository text, which are of a very specialized subgenre, with a high degree of difficulty and that has the function to understand various phenomena.
Argumentative Text
An argumentative text whose main function is to persuade the receiver, which is situated in favor or against an opinion or choice, by the expression of opinions. The referential function and appeal are those that make up this alternative text. The argumentative essay is structured in three sections: introduction, and ends with a conclusion. To convince the receiver, the sender has to make assumptions about the other’s perspective and provide counterarguments.
Predictive Text
Predictive text aims to announce that some event will occur in the future. The use of the verb in the future is central to the composition of such texts, even though that is not the only option because you can use other tenses or paraphrases of possibility. Conditional forms are also used, as this type of text is about uncertain things, so these texts are not categorical assurance that what they have predictive text will happen. Some examples are horoscopes, prophecies, budgets, weather reports, etc.
Instructional Text
Instructional texts (including the directors) have as their goal to teach the receiver through advice, orders, etc. and also regulate their behavior. This type of text maintains similarities with expository, argumentative, and predictive: to inform the recipient, but, instead, the instruction has the peculiarity that tries to modify the performance of the receiver uses a predictive future. Precise vocabulary and verb forms, conative or appellate periphrasis, and the second person singular as it conveys an order or advice to another person. Another important feature is that it is usually reinforced by typographic resources, it is the case of traffic signs.
Scientific and Technical Text
Scientific text explains the fact that the recipient can acquire the information. Instead, the technician uses knowledge of the subject to act on reality. Both texts have a didactic role. In terms of composition, they both use a precise, clear, and denotative language, without figures of speech or ambiguities. For getting information to the receiver using the exhibition texts and argumentation. They may also include descriptions and narrations. As with other types of text, both are formed by a scheme consisting of: introduction, development, and conclusion.