NARRATIVE TEXT

Definition

Narrative text is an article that is usually delivered chronologically. The target audience for narrative text is different.  If it is targeted for children under five to elementary school, usually the story will have positive values ​​that can be learned.  If the target audience is teenagers and adults, the stories tend to be longer and more complex. 

 The genre of narrative text also varies, including:

•  Fairytale
•  Fable
•  Myth
•  History
•  Romance
•  Horror

Characteristics of Narrative Text

 To better understand the use of narrative text, let's dive into its characteristics.

•  Specific character

 In a narrative, the author will create a specific character as the main character in the story.  Not only the main character, but all the characters in the story will be written clearly, starting from their name, shape, color and character.  For example Ariel the mermaid, the dwarves who have different characteristics, Dana the brave Moana.

•  past tense

 Because writing in narrative text is a fiction or imagination, the grammar that is more commonly used is the past tense.  Usually this grammar is very obvious if you read legends or fairy tales that have ancient settings.

•  Time conjunction and adverb of time

 As explained above, narrative text is written sequentially based on time chronology.  Therefore, time conjuction is needed as a link of time such as when, before, after, and others to explain the chronology of an event.  Meanwhile, adverb of time is needed in writing narrative text with the aim of showing the time when an event occurred, for example once upon a time, one day, and others.

•  Action verb

 The use of action verbs in narrative text is one of the characteristics that need to be remembered.  This action verb is a verb that shows an action by a character.  Because the grammar used in narrative text is in the form of past tense, action verbs are also written in the second form, for example laughed, cried, walked, swam, said, married, and others.

•  Direct speech

 If you read a narrative, you will definitely notice that there are quotes taken from the conversations of characters in the story.  This is also known as direct speech.  Dialogue between characters is very important to write so that important information can be conveyed attractively and the story will have a more "life" impression.  In addition, this will also make it easier for readers to understand the contents of the story.

Narrative Text Structure

 Not only with a sequential time series, narrative text is also written in a sequential structure.  What are they?

•  Orientation

 Orientation is one of the characteristics or structure of narrative text that must be written at the beginning of a story.  Orientation usually begins with the introduction of the characters, when an event occurs, the background of the story, and other explanations so that readers understand and are familiar with the dimensions of the story.

•  Climax / Complication

 After the introduction, the story will immediately be followed by conflicts and problems, also known as climax or complication.  Problems that are conveyed in the narrative usually involve the main character in a story.  In this section the reader usually begins to know who the antagonists and protagonists are.

•  Resolution

 The problem has occurred, finally we come to the conclusion of a story called a resolution.  Usually in this section there is a solution to the problem in the complication section.  Problems that are resolved can get better or worse.  Later a story will have a happy ending or sad ending.  However, sometimes a story can also end with a twist ending and even a "cliffhanger" ending to maintain interest and tension for the reader.  Usually, texts that have this ending are in the mystery, thriller, or horror genre.

•  Re-orientation

 Even though there has been a closing or resolution of a problem, there is also an optional re-orientation section.  This section does not always exist in a writing fiction because it usually only contains moral lessons, suggestions, or teachings from the author.

Example of narrative text

Once upon a time, there lived a girl named Cinderella. She lived with her stepmother and two stepsisters. The stepmother and stepdaughters didn’t like Cinderella and treated her badly. Cinderella did the hardest works in the house such as cleaning the house and preparing the food for the family.

One day, a ball was being held by the royal family of the kingdom to find a spouse for the Prince. Cinderella wanted to go but her stepmother forbade her. Cinderella cried. But then a fairy godmother appeared beside her.

“Why are you crying, Cinderella?” the fairy godmother asked.

“Because I want to go to the ball but my stepmother insists me that I stay at home,” said Cinderella.“Besides, I don’t have any beautiful dresses.”

The fairy then turned Cinderella’s ugly clothes became the most beautiful dress complete with glass slippers. The fairy had also turned a pumpkin into a coach and the mice into six white horses. Cinderella finally could go to the ball but had to come back before midnight before the spell broke.