| No. | Genre | Social Function | Generic Structure | Language feature |
| 1 | Recount | To retell events for the purpose of informing or entertaining. | Orientation
Event 1, 2, 3, etc.. Reorientation |
Focus on specific participants.
Use of material processes. Circumstances of time and places. Use of past tense. Focus on temporal sequences. |
| 2 | Procedure | To describe how some things accomplished trough a sequence of action or steps. | Goal
Materials Step 1, 2, 3, etc… |
Focus on generalized human agents.
Use of simple present tense, often imperative. Use mainly of temporal conjunction (or numbering to indicate sequence). Use mainly of material processes. |
| 3 | Narrative | To amuse , entertain and to deal with actual or vicarious experience in different ways:
|
Orientation
Evaluation Complication Resolution Re-orientation |
Focus on specific and usually individualized participants.
Use of material process (Behavior and verbal process). |
| 4 | Descriptive | To describe a particular person, place or thing. | Identification
Description |
Focus on specific participants.
Use of attributive and identifying processes. Frequent use of Euphrates and classifiers in formal groups. Use of simple present tense. |
| 5 | News Item | To inform readers, listeners or viewers about events of the day which are considered newsworthy or important. | Newsworthy event
Background events Sources |
Short telegraphic information about story captured in headline.
Use material processes to retell the event ( in the text bellow, many of the material processes are nominally). Use of projecting verbal processes in sources stage. Focus on circumstances ( e.g., mostly within qualifiers ).
|
| 6 | Report | To describe the way things are, with reference to a range of natural, man-made and social phenomena in our environment. | General classification
Description |
Focus on generic participants.
Use of relational processes to state what is and which it is. Use of simple present tense ( Unless extinct ). No temporal sequence.
|
| 7 | Analytical / Exposition | To persuade the reader or listener that something is the case. | Thesis
Argument Recommendation |
Focus on generic human and non-human participants.
Use of simple past tense. Use of relational processes. Use of internal conjunction to state argument. Reasoning through casual conjunction or nominalization. |
| 8 | Exposition / Hortatory | To persuade the reader or listener that something should or shouldn’t be the case. | Thesis
Arguments Recommendation |
Focus on generic human and non-human participants, except for speaker or writer referring to self.
Using Mental processes : To stated what happens. Using Relational processes : To stated what should or shouldn’t be. Use of Simple Past Tense |
| 9 | Spoof | To retell an event wit a humorous twist. | Orientation
Event Twist |
Focus on specific participants.
Use of material processes. Circumstances of time and places. Use of past tense. Focus on temporal sequences |
| 10 | Explanation | To explain the processes involved in the formation or workings of natural or socio-cultural phenomena. | General statement
Sequenced explanation |
Focus generic non human participants.
Use mainly of material and relational processes. Use mainly of temporal and causal circumstances and conjunctions. Some use of passive voice to get theme right. |
| 11 | Discussion | To present ( at least ) to point of view about an issue. | Issue
Arguments for and against Conclusion/Recommendation |
Focus on generic human and non-human participants.
Using Material processes. E.g. has produced, have developed. To feed. Using Relational processes. E.g. Is, could have, cause, are. Using Mental processes. E.g. feel. Use of comparative : contrastive and consequential conjunctions. Reasoning expressed as verbs and nouns (Abstractions) |
| 12 | Review | To criticize (comment) an art work, event for a public audience. Such : work of art included movies, TV shows, books, plays, opera, recording, exhibitions, concerts and ballets | Orientation
Interpretative Recount Evaluation Evaluation Summation |
Focus on particular participants.
Direct expression of option through use of attitudinal epithets in nominal groups; qualitative attributes and effective mental processes. Use of elaborating and extending clause and group complex to package the information. Use of metaphorical language ( e.g., the wit was there, dexterously ping panged to and fro …. ). |