1. A Recount Writing about the past.

2. Purpose The purpose of a recount is to list and describe past experiences by retelling events in the order in which they happened (chronological order). Recounts are written to retell events with the purpose of either informing or entertaining their audience (or both).

3. Types of recount Personal recount These usually retell an event that the writer was personally involved in. Factual recount Recording an incident, eg. a science experiment, police report. Imaginative recount Writing an imaginary role and giving details of events, eg. A day in the life of a pirate; How I invented...

4. Features of recounts Focuses on individual participants/events- what is the most interesting Written in Chronological order Written in first person Written in past tense (regular verbs add ‘ed’ irregular vowel sounds will change) Recounts are usually written in the order in which they happened. This is called chronological order.

5. Structure The recount has a title, which usually summarises the text Specific participants (Mum, the crab) The basic recount consists of three parts: – the setting or orientation - background information answering who? when? where? why? – events are identified and described in chronological order. – concluding comments express a personal opinion regarding the events described details are selected to help the reader reconstruct the activity or incident (Factual Recount) The ending may describe the outcome of the activity, eg. in a science activity. Details of time, place and incident need to be clearly stated, e.g.. At 11.15 pm, between Reid Rd and Havelock St a man drove at 140 kms toward the shopping centre. Descriptive details may also be required to provide information, eg. He was a skinny boy with a blue shirt, red sneakers and long tied back hair Includes personal thoughts/reactions

6. Language Is written in the past tense (she yelled, it nipped, she walked) Words which link events in time are used often, such as: next, later, when, then, after, before, first, at the same time, as soon as she left, late on Friday. Recounts describe events, so use plenty of verbs (action words), and adverbs (which describe or add more detail to verbs) Details are often chosen to add interest or humour to the recount. Use of personal pronouns (I, we) (Personal Recount) The passive voice may be used, eg. the bottle was filled with ink (Factual Recount)