Trip to Bandung

Last Month, My friends and I had a wonderful tip Bandung. We had three days trip there, from Friday to Sunday. We left to Bandung on Friday Afternoon and it only took about three and half an hour by car from Tangerang, our home town. We started at 2 P.M and arrived around 5.30 P.M in Bandung. As soon as we arrived in Bandung, we took a rest in a hotel downtown Bandung. After taking a rest and a shower, we had dinner and prepared for a night tour in Bandung.

Around 7.30 P.M, we drove to Ciampelas to buy some jeans and t-shirts. After 2 hours shopping there, we dropped at Ciwalk for half an hour to relax and enjoy the beauty of Ciwalk. Our next destination is Ciwidey and Cimangu. It took about one and half an hour to be in Ciwidey and Cimangu. Unfortunately, we couldn't visit Ciwidey because of the bad weather and continued to Cimangu, around one kilometer from it. In Ciwidey, we had a warm water bathing. All of us jumped into the warn water and enjoyed it a lot. Our body soaked in a big warm swimming pool for about an hour before we stopped. At 2 A.M on Saturday, we took a rest in of villager's house there near Ciwidey.

On Saturday we had a great activity because we did many things. First we went to Ciwidey. We enjoyed the nature of Ciwidey's View. We stayed there for about one hour. Around 10 o'clock, we went to Strawberry Park located in Ciwidey, too. We learnt how to plant the strawberry and of course ate some products made of strawberry, such as fried rice, cake and juice. On Saturday afternoon around 2 P.M, we came back to hotel to drop our luggage. After 2 hours in hotel, we went to Cibaduyut for shoes shopping. At around 7 P.M, we went to Dago Street to enjoy Saturday night there. On Sunday Morning, we packed up and went back to Tangerang.

(http://www.text-types.com/2011/01/sample-of-recount-trip-to-bandung.html)

Function of Recount Text

A recount is a text that contains of retelling events that happened in the past. A Recount Text usually uses the Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense in its content and its sequence of events told. Its generic structure are the Orientation, Series of Events, and Re-orientation. The Orientation is a part of recount text that tells the introduction of the interesting event being told. The series of event is the sequence of things that happen from the beginning until the end. Lastly, a re-orientation is the feeling and impression after doing the events.

Is there any function in using a recount text as a writing composition? The answer is Yes, there is. For those who like writing diaries, you can use the recount text to write the story. When using the recount text in dairy, you will be able to organize the writing well. Besides, you can improve the content of your diary in terms of the grammar, diction, and content. For instance, a diary is supposed to use pas tense in its writing, and in writing a recount text you have to use Past Tense and Past Continuous Tense temporarily. It means that when you already know what recount text is, you will absolutely improve the content of your beloved diary. However, when you have not known what recount text is, the diary will not be organize well and it may impact in your interest in reading it someday.

Therefore, learning a recount text is important. You can also make some articles using recount text. The articles' content will be your interesting and funny stories that may be people love. Then you can share it on web-blog so many people will get entertained and they can feel what you experienced in the past.

Another Example of Recount Text

Joining the Traditional Dance Competition

I joined the Traditional Dance Competition in Jakarta last year. I represented my Junior High School. It was my biggest competition. I practiced hard with my teacher for a month. We also prepared the best costume we had.

We only had one day in Jakarta. We went there by plane. We left at 6 a.m. and arrived in Jakarta at 7 a.m. We took a taxi to take us to the place where the competition was held. It took an hour to get there. There were already some participants when we arrived. The competition would start in an hour.

First, my teacher and I went to the dressing room. My teacher helped me do the make-up and the costume. We spent almost an hour for the preparation. I told my teacher that I was really nervous. I was not ready for this. However, she told me that everything was alright, and I felt better.

Then, the time came for me to perform on stage. There were five judges and about two hundred people watching me. However, I did not feel nervous anymore. I performed on the stage confidently. I really did the best I could. I was glad when it ended smoothly.

After that, we waited for the announcement of the result. It was 4 p.m. when the judges finished making their final decision. I was so impatient to hear the result. I still could not believe when they called my name as the first winner. I was so happy to be given the trophy. My teacher was also proud of my achievement. Finally, we went back to Yogyakarta in the evening. We were so tired. However, we were satisfied because our effort was not useless.

Example of a Simple Recount Text

A Possum in the House

Once there was a small possum that went to visit my house. The possum was very tired and hungry. He went to different places to find food, so he made a big mess around the house.

First, he went into the cupboard in the big kitchen. After that he went to the small washing basket. The possum's next stop was the study room. Here he perched on the top of the bookshelf. Next, he went to lounge and hid in the stereo. After visiting the lounge he went to the bathroom. In the bathroom he squirted all the toothpaste out. Then he hid in the toilet.

Finally, the possum went to the bedroom and slept on the bed. He looked very cute when sleeping.

Question: Can you guess the generic structure of the text above?

Cloze Text of Recount (Example)

Feel in the blanks with the word provided below!

(travel, held, write, food, saw, drink, limited, plenty, done, visit, spend, fearing, departed, success)

My Rush Time as a Journalist

I usually woke up at eight o'clock a.m. and went to the Press Center to check the daily schedule of briefings and press conferences. It was usually (11) ____________ by the United Nation officials or disaster mitigation team.

It was challenging to (12) ___________ different refugee camps to find soft stories, human interest stories. After that I went back to the Press Center to cover the press conferences of the day.

It was heart breaking when I (13) ____________ these survivors fight for food and secondhand clothing. Unfortunately as they said, the food and clothing were (14) __________ and inadequate. Emerging to glaring, fool noon, it was time to go back to Press Center to (15) __________ stories and race against time. I was always (16) __________ that the internet would come crushing down.

After everything was (17) ___________, only then I remembered to eat. Most times, I only ate once a day because I always had to rush and again it was difficult to find (18) __________. I had to (19) ___________ quite far. I needed to (20) ___________ a 30 to 45 minutes by car just to find fresh food.

Generic Structure of Recount Text

The generic structure of Recount text consist of 3 main parts which its examples are show as follows:

1) Orientation

• Last year, I joined the one of SMAN 3 Malang annual events called Bedol Desa 2010. The event's purpose was to introduce the Bhawikarsu students of how we live in simplicity and how we respect the society.

2) Series of Events

• The first day, we went to the location by bus.
• We came to the village and unpacked our belonging.
• We had a pray events in the evening.
• On the second day, we had some exhibition games with the people there, including the football and volley game.
• The last day, we experience what so-called the ''If I were'' or in Indonesia it's commonly named as "Jika Aku Menjadi".

3) Re-orientation

• We were sad of leaving the village and we could not wait to join the next Bedol Desa as Bhawikarsu's annual event.

What is a Recount Text?

A recount tells about something that happened in the past. The details in a recount can include what happened, who was involved, where it took place, when it happened and why it occurred.

A writer or speaker uses a recount to tell us about a story or an event. Recounts are usually given in the order that the event occurred. Recounts can be:

• factual, such as a news story
• procedural, such as telling someone how you built something
• personal, such as a family holiday or your opinion on a subject.

Examples of a recount

Recounts can be either written or spoken. Examples of recounts include:

• biographies and autobiographies
• newspapers or the television news
• letters and postcards
• textbooks
• conversations with friends

Structure

A well-structured recount includes details of the event or topic and personal opinions.

Written recounts often start with a heading or title. Letters and journal entries do not usually have a title. Oral recounts might have a title if you are giving a presentation. If you are just talking with friends a title is not usually needed.

The introductory paragraph, or orientation, of a written recount introduces the topic or event. This paragraph introduces who, what, where, when, why and possibly how.

The following body paragraphs will recount the sequence of events. This is where the recount is told in chronological order (the order that the events happened).

The conclusion, or re-orientation, is where the writer or speaker can give personal opinions about the topic or event. The writer or speaker may also comment on how this event or topic may affect other things in the future.

Preparing a recount

The factual information in a recount must be accurate. Recounts can also include the speaker's or writer's personal thoughts on the event or topic. Recounts are written in the past tense because they tell about something that has already happened.

When writing your own recount, it is important to write everything down in the order that it happened. Use words that show when something happened as well as action words to tell how it happened. You may also include other people's opinions or quotes on the topic or event.

Always check your text for correct spelling, grammar and punctuation.

(Adapted from http://www.skwirk.com)

Example of Recount Text (Simpler Form)

What a Bad Day!

I had a terrible day yesterday. First, I woke up an hour late because my alarm clock didn't go off. Then, I was in such a hurry that I burned my hand when I was making breakfast. After breakfast, I got dressed so quickly that I forgot to wear socks. Next, I ran out of the house trying to get the 9:30 bus, but of course I missed it. I wanted to take a taxi, but I didn't have enough money. Finally, I walked the three miles to my school only to discover that it was Sunday! I hope I never have a day as the one I had yesterday.

Helping a Blind Man (Example of Recount Text)

I had the most unforgettable experience in my life when I was 18, as senior high student. It is an experience about helping a blind man to cross the street.

I still remember that day vividly. That night I had studied at school library; it was around 10 o’clock, and I prepared to go back home. As I passed through the school gate, I said goodbye to my friends. Suddenly I saw a strange thing in front of me.

There was a male standing beside the cross-walk; the traffic light was green, he could walk forward, but he didn’t. He was just standing there and made no actions. I was confused at this sight. Out of curiosity, I decided to walk over to him and to see what was happening. I felt perplexed until I walked next to him. Standing beside him, I could see he was wearing sunglasses and holding a white stick; then I knew this man was blind.

In this cold winter day, pedestrians all wore heavy coats, including him and me. His was gray and mine was black. I also noticed that there was a sign around his neck. The sign said “I am virtually deaf and blind; please help me cross the street. Tap me on the shoulder.” I knew I must help him. So I tapped him on the shoulder, and then he put his left hand on my right shoulder and I led him across the street. All the process was quiet; the only thing I could hear was the sounds of our steps. It was a chilly night too, but I knew he would feel warm at this moment. When we got across the street, he bowed in thanks, and started walking up the block, to the next corner, then the next. While he walked past me, I couldn’t help but start to weep. I wanted to walk him home. It was not a very busy street, almost deserted. He could have been there, on that corner, for 10 minutes. Maybe he is still at another corner, now, waiting. How does he get home? How does he know where his home is? Thinking of this, I cried more loudly.

I can’t image being deaf and blind. You would be so helpless and dependent on other people. Can you imagine going home like that every day: walking a block, then waiting for someone to help you get across the street, then walking another block, and waiting, relying on the kindness of strangers? After this incident, I realized how blessed I am. I should cherish every day and do my best to help the people who need help in my life.