The Texts in Writing - Essay Example

Texts in writing Name Institution Date Introduction It is important to understand the meaning of “text” in order to know the various types of texts. Without such know how it will be difficult to demarcate the limits of a reading; what meaning is derivative from the text and what meaning does it imply to the readers. Many researchers have attempted to come up with the definition of the word “text”. For instance, Eugene et al (2003) defines “text” as an extract or complete piece of writing which can be used for both written and spoken language. Cornbleet & Carter (2001) adds that text generally subscribes to a range of conventions and guidelines which determine the language and structure used in particular text types. Barthes (1977) drives the point home in his argument that often, “text” can be equated with “literature” or “literary work”, and the two terms can be used interchangeably. However, he made a distinction between two in his explanation that “work” whereas work can be held in the hand, “text” on the other hand is held in language.  Text therefore refers to the linguistic structure; whereas the work refers to the entire product.  There are different types of texts that can be used in literacy work. Identifying the text type in a passage helps the reader acknowledge the purpose for reading a particular work. This works hand in hand with recognizing the choice of language as well as the textual features that reflect the purpose of the text (such as instruct, persuade, describe, narrate, explain e.t.c.) and thus know the different types of texts. To comprehensively understand text in writing, let us briefly discuss a few genres and the kind of text use therein ; Essay An essay is usually more detailed and is prose form. Through a detailed elaboration in an essay, a writer may seek to explain phenomena, compare, or even contrast phenomena. Therefore there are several types of essays. The type of essay that an author would settle for would largely be determined by his intended purpose. Does the author want to share a personal experience, explain an issue, describe something or persuade the reader into accepting a given point of view? Based on the above explanation, we would classify essays into four major types, namely; narrative, descriptive, persuasive and expository essays. Narrative Essays/Texts Narrative essays usually entail writing a story based on actual life experiences. While a verbal sharing of a story may seem so easy, putting a story down in writing can be so demanding. The author must strive to share an account of events as clearly as possible lest his information gets distorted (Leitch, Thomas M 1986,). To drive the point home, the author should try to involve the reader as much as possible and make him/her part of the story through use of the first person tense. A well written story drifts towards making a conclusion or a personal statement. Narrative essays are ideal in answering the question when. A narrative story vividly captures how events systematically unfolded over time. Narrative text play a key role in children’s learning. It is a tool that assists authors to organize their ideas and to explore new ideas and experiences. Rotter & Bendl (1978) suggested that when composing stories, whether told or written, it involves a set of skills and authorial knowledge but is also an essential means for children to express themselves creatively and imaginatively. Descriptive texts Eugene et al (2003) explains that descriptive texts give details on the location of a thing or person in space; such texts tell us what lies to the left or right, in the foreground or background, as well provide background information, perhaps, to set a stage for narration. Essentially, descriptive texts list the characteristics of something. When using descriptive texts in writing, the author does not tell the reader what was felt, seen, smelled, tested, or heard.  Rather, he/she describes the experience and, through his choice of words, makes it seem real. In other words, descriptive writing is vivid, colorful, and detailed. Descriptive text is usually used in novels and short stories to help a writer develop an aspect of their work, such as to describe a place or create a particular mood so that the reader can create vivid pictures of places, characters, or objects (Rotter, 1978). Descriptive texts utilize adverbs and adjectives and at the same time incorporating comparisons to help readers picture the scene. Often, the writer employs the reader’s five senses when describing something thus making the reader imagine how something feels, smells, tastes, looks or sounds. Persuasive Texts In persuasive text, the author tries to sway the reader into accepting a certain opinion or perform a certain action .An example is an advert that may want you to buy something. These texts may use repetitive words, text in uppercase, humor or emotional one sided argument (Barthes, 1977) Many a time advertisements, reviews, discussions, expositions, and biographies involve use of persuasion to accomplish their overall "goal", therefore authors would use a range of persuasive devices and persuading language choice. This is done in-order to; to provide their opinions on issues, give judgments about a topic, give emphasis to an argument, show an issue or item in a positive or negative light, indicate probability, certainty or obligation, and stimulate the emotions of the audience and to directly appeal to the audience for action (Scott, 2005). Expository Texts Expository texts form another category of texts used in literacy work. In most cases, it entails explaining the series of steps involved in what happens or why something happens. The definition by Eugene et al (2003) indicates that Expository texts explain how or why something happens. Jim, (2009) explains that an author should not assume that a reader or listener has prior understanding or knowledge of the topic in question. When these texts are used in writing, the role of the author is to explain, describe, inform, or define his theme to readers. Some of the expository texts include; textbooks, journals, atlases, guides, newspapers, encyclopedias etc. Fiction writing /texts Fiction writing refers to writings that are invented by the author based on his imagination and theoretical understanding of life phenomena (Freud, Sigmund 1991). Fiction writing is not factual; many a time it’s only meant to entertain or simply pass an author’s point of view. Examples here include; novels, short stories and drama. The underlying fundamentals of fiction writing include; plot, character, theme, style and setting- setting would answer the question when and where , character would answer the question who, plot would answer the question what, and style is the how of a story (King, Stephen 2000). The author stretches his thinking beyond the ordinary; alternatively he may explore the ordinary phenomena in an extra ordinary manner. For instance to create a story out of the animal kingdom, the author of a story may decide to give animals verbal ability in order to build a plot and explain why something happens to be the way it is . Poetry While fiction writing emanates from mere imagination, poetry is intertwined with imagination that stems out of real life experiences. Poetry gives opportunities to the author to incorporate art and graphic design skills and play around with language in various novel ways. To that extent, poetry would involve use aesthetic and musical qualities of language—such as, phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, satire and metres —to evoke meanings in addition to the prosaic perceived meaning (Strachan, John R; Terry, Richard, G 2000). Poetry tends to focus on use of various conventions to give a diverse interpretation to words, or even to induce emotional responses (Ford, Mark 2009). Poetic devices like alliteration, assonance, rhythm, and onomatopoeia are used not only attain a musical effect, but also incantatory . Employing other stylistic devices of poetic diction such as irony, symbolism and ambiguity often results to a poem that is open to several interpretations. Equally, use of simile, metaphor, and metonymy would produce resonance amid otherwise contrasting images— thus a creating connections that were not previously perceived. In some cases, poetry may be specific to certain cultures or genres, and therefore would respond to the characteristics of the language used by the poet. Conversely, in the contemporary world poets have become flexible to adapting styles, forms and techniques from a sundry of languages and cultures. As a result of life experiences and challenges, people may get philosophical-as a way of expressing their feelings. Consequently, poetry provides a platform through which such people can share their inner feelings or even sensitive information that they would otherwise not express in plain words. A good example of sensitive information that would not openly be aired is an oppressive regime where people are denied freedoms of speech; a poet would opt for political satire through poetry to air his grievances. In addition, some inner feeling e.g. love would better be expressed through poetry than just plain words; poetry gives one the liberty to paint a detailed picture of his feelings. Therefore in poetry it essential to note that it is the message that is vital, not just the rhyming or format. Playing with line breaks and white space, exploring repetition and font choices for emphasis and focusing on descriptive language that carries meaning are all ways to enhance the information conveyed. Which texts from this course would you take to a desert island if you could only choose three or four, and why? The term desert connotes a place that is desolate, sparsely populated or unoccupied. A desert island would therefore refer to an island that is yet be populated by mankind. Desert islands have often been used in stories or movies on shipwrecked people; on the other hand they have also been used as typecast to build the idea of a “paradise". An experience on a desert island can be can be very exiting if planned or scary if accidental. Despairingly, if you find yourself in a deserted island by accident, then the challenges faced can be so scary. Being desolate a place you stand the risk of dying thus you would need draft a survival strategy. On the other hand if such a visit is planned, an inhabited island would be full of new experiences and new discoveries that would not be worth missing. For instance as your day begins, you are pleasantly confronted with many appealing options: should you take a scenic pedal boat trip? Enjoy a leisure walk right under the trees, beautiful flowers as well as other natural phenomena that surround you? Whatever the experience, such unique situations are worth recording. Therefore I would take the following texts to a desert island; Fiction writing Give me a desert island context and I would create a captivating fiction story. In folk tales desert islands are believed to be the home of monsters. Therefore using a desert island context, I would write an entertaining and educative ogre story. Just imagine of a situation where you are stranded in a desert Island inhabited by a monster and you have to find your way out; adventurous, isn’t it? A good example of fiction writing over time history is the protagonists’ novels i.e. Hayy in Philosophus Autodidactus where feral children lived in seclusion on a deserted island, till they finally come across the castaways from the outside world that were stranded on the island. The desert island setting provides a perfect ground to explain the federal children naivety, however the story continues beyond the desert island as the castaways take the children with them to civilization. Poetry Though isolated, a desert island provides an ideal environment for unwinding. Maybe this may explain why many individuals on holiday (especially lovers) would opt for such places. The isolation and thus a siren atmosphere create a conducive environment for relaxing and evoke soft feelings. In such an environment people get philosophical, therefore I wouldn’t live my poetry behind. Imagine writing a poem to a capture the “paradise’’ in the island; the swaying trees, the singing birds, sand bathing on the shores of the island, venturing into the caves of the island to make new discoveries. Wow, what a poem? Such a poem would leave you yearning for an opportunity to visit the island. Shakespeare serves as a perfect example of an author who has produced perfect works of writing in desert island context. William Shakespeare's 1610-11 play (The Tempest), utilizes the idea of being left high and dry on a desert island as a pretext for the action of his captivating play. Prospero in company of Miranda (his daughter) are set a part by Prospero's deceitful brother Antonio, in quest to become the Duke of Milan, and Prospero in turn shipwrecks his own brother as well as other men of sin onto the island. Essay A desert island being secluded and inhabited, new discoveries and experiences would be expected. Usually people would want to get in touch with such new realities, and these can best be achieved through use of essays. This is because essays vividly explain an issue, describe something or even persuade a reader into accepting a suggested point of view. In a desert island, I would explore the narrative, descriptive, persuasive and expository essays. To begin with, a narrative essay would serve me well in explaining the unique desert island features; for instance their origin. Secondly, a descriptive essay would further give an orderly account of events on when the island came to being and how it happened. Sometimes there can be different accounts to explanation the phenomena, therefore persuasive and expository essays cannot be ignored. For instance, the existence of the island can be explained by both traditional and scientific sources, it would be prudent to provide both accounts and gives the reader an opportunity to make his own judgment. Many stories have been created out of desert the island setting. Just to illustrate, the theme of being trapped on a desert island has stirred many movie stories e.g. Cast away, series on TV e.g. Lost , comedies e.g. Gilligan's Island and reality shows e.g. survivor. Diary writing I like adventure, therefore if I had an opportunity to visit a desert island may diary would not be left behind. A desert island provides a unique environment full of new experiences and new discoveries worth exploring. Diaries would be ideal in recording personal experiences, thoughts, feelings, and even comments on events as they unfold in the island. My life has been one long monologue, and diaries have come in hand to save my situation; I will go insane only if I am ever incapable of talking to myself. My diary is proof of this effort. Diaries give me perfect space for critical reflection, where I struggled to understand myself and the world around me. Keeping a journal of such unique moments keeps my memory fresh on the highs and the lows of life. My diaries usually include photos, poems, a myriad of images and jottings. I jot down a range of issues; those that make me laugh and those that make me cry. These all become fodder for additional stories. Conclusion There are many categories of texts in writing. They include; fiction writing, poetry, narratives and diaries. Suitability of a genre therefore would be determined by the purpose of the writings or even the existing circumstance. For instance in a desert island setting , depending on the purpose of the information the writer would want to convey; he may decided to use fiction, poetry, essays, or even a diary. Bibliography Abbott, Jillian 2005. How to keep tabs on your novel’s progress. The Writer, p. 39. Barthes, Roland, 1977. Image, Music, Text: Essays selected and translated by Stephen Heath. London: Fontana. Carver, Raymond 1996. Migration’ in All of Us: The Collected Poems, London. The Harvill Press, 188-89. Cavafy, CP 2011. Ithaca’ in Poems: The Canon. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 19 and 21. Cornbleet and Carter, 2001. The Language of Speech and Writing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Dillard, Annie 1990. The Writing Life. New York: Harper Perennial, 17-19. Eugene E. Loos, Paul C. Jordan & Douglas J. Wingate 2003. Glossary of linguistic terms: LingualLinks Library. Version 5.0. Forster, EM 1972. Flat and Round Characters and “Point of View”’ in David Lodge (Ed), 20th Century Literary Criticism: A Reader. London: Longman, 136-145. Freud, Sigmund 1991. Creative Writers and Daydreaming’ in the Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works of Sigmund Freud, Vol. XXII, James Strachey (Trans), London: The Hogarth Press and the Institute of Psycho-analysis, 24-28. Frey, James N. 1987. How to Write a Damn Good Novel, New York: St. Martin's Press, p. 164. ISBN 0-312-01044-3. Ford, Mark 2009. A Poet among Painters’ in Greil Marcus and Werner Sollors (eds), A New Literary History of America, Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 814-19 Writer’s Digest Books. Handbook of Novel writing p. 324, ISBN 1-58297-160-9. Harmanci, Reyhan (2005-02-20). Time to get a life — pioneer blogger Justin Hall bows out at 31", SFgate. Retrieved 2006-06-09. King, Stephen 2000. On Writing pp. 153–, –154. Scribner. ISBN 0-684-85352-3. Leitch, Thomas M 1986. What Stories Are: Narrative Theory and Interpretation. University Park, Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania State University Press, p. 127. Monteleone, Tom 2004. The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Writing a Novel p. 51. Scribner. ISBN 1-59257-172-7. Manguel, Alberto 2010. How Pinocchio Learned to Read’ in A Reader on Reading. New Haven: Yale University Press, 155-63 Makdisi, George 1986. The Diary in Islamic Historiography: Some Notes. History and Theory (Blackwell Publishing) 25 (2): 173–85. doi:10.2307/2505304. JSTOR 2505304. Martin Wainwright. Desert island scripts. The Guardian, 22 March 2003. Merriam-Webster Online, "desert" definition 2. Neruda, Pablo 1993. Tonight I Can Write’ in Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair (Trans WS Merwin), San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 69-7. Rotter, Bendl 1978. Your Companion to English Texts: Comprehension - Analysis - Appreciation – Production” München: Manz pp. 91 – 102 . Woolf, Virginia 1972. Modern Fiction’ in David Lodge (ed), 20th Century Literary Criticism: A Reader, London: Longman, 86-91. Wolfreys, Julian 2011. Critical Approaches’ in the English Literature Companion, London: Palgrave Macmillan, 265-330. Wood, James 2008. Detail’ in How Fiction Works. London: Jonathan Cape, 48-74. Strachan, John R; Terry, Richard, G 2000. Poetry: an introduction. Edinburgh University Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-8147-9797-6 Read More

Narrative text play a key role in children’s learning. It is a tool that assists authors to organize their ideas and to explore new ideas and experiences. Rotter & Bendl (1978) suggested that when composing stories, whether told or written, it involves a set of skills and authorial knowledge but is also an essential means for children to express themselves creatively and imaginatively. Descriptive texts Eugene et al (2003) explains that descriptive texts give details on the location of a thing or person in space; such texts tell us what lies to the left or right, in the foreground or background, as well provide background information, perhaps, to set a stage for narration.

Essentially, descriptive texts list the characteristics of something. When using descriptive texts in writing, the author does not tell the reader what was felt, seen, smelled, tested, or heard.  Rather, he/she describes the experience and, through his choice of words, makes it seem real. In other words, descriptive writing is vivid, colorful, and detailed. Descriptive text is usually used in novels and short stories to help a writer develop an aspect of their work, such as to describe a place or create a particular mood so that the reader can create vivid pictures of places, characters, or objects (Rotter, 1978).

Descriptive texts utilize adverbs and adjectives and at the same time incorporating comparisons to help readers picture the scene. Often, the writer employs the reader’s five senses when describing something thus making the reader imagine how something feels, smells, tastes, looks or sounds. Persuasive Texts In persuasive text, the author tries to sway the reader into accepting a certain opinion or perform a certain action .An example is an advert that may want you to buy something.

These texts may use repetitive words, text in uppercase, humor or emotional one sided argument (Barthes, 1977) Many a time advertisements, reviews, discussions, expositions, and biographies involve use of persuasion to accomplish their overall "goal", therefore authors would use a range of persuasive devices and persuading language choice. This is done in-order to; to provide their opinions on issues, give judgments about a topic, give emphasis to an argument, show an issue or item in a positive or negative light, indicate probability, certainty or obligation, and stimulate the emotions of the audience and to directly appeal to the audience for action (Scott, 2005).

Expository Texts Expository texts form another category of texts used in literacy work. In most cases, it entails explaining the series of steps involved in what happens or why something happens. The definition by Eugene et al (2003) indicates that Expository texts explain how or why something happens. Jim, (2009) explains that an author should not assume that a reader or listener has prior understanding or knowledge of the topic in question. When these texts are used in writing, the role of the author is to explain, describe, inform, or define his theme to readers.

Some of the expository texts include; textbooks, journals, atlases, guides, newspapers, encyclopedias etc. Fiction writing /texts Fiction writing refers to writings that are invented by the author based on his imagination and theoretical understanding of life phenomena (Freud, Sigmund 1991). Fiction writing is not factual; many a time it’s only meant to entertain or simply pass an author’s point of view. Examples here include; novels, short stories and drama. The underlying fundamentals of fiction writing include; plot, character, theme, style and setting- setting would answer the question when and where , character would answer the question who, plot would answer the question what, and style is the how of a story (King, Stephen 2000).

The author stretches his thinking beyond the ordinary; alternatively he may explore the ordinary phenomena in an extra ordinary manner.

Read More