Report Text, Definition, Function, Structure, Features, Diferences and Examples

                                                            REPORT TEXT

Definition of a Report Text
A report text is a type of document written by someone or group of people to announce the result of an investigation or announce something to the proper authorities. The information given in a report text is very general information.
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Social Function of a Report Text
The purpose of a report text is to present information about something generally. It generally describes the way things are with reference to arrange of natural, manmade and social phenomenon in our environment, such as: mammals, the planets, rocks, plants, countries of region, cultures, transportations, and so on .

The General Characteristics of a Report Text
The characteristics of a report text can be seen from its generic structures and linguistic features. Those characteristics will be explained below.

A. Generic structures

• Title

A title of a report text indicates the topic of the text and it is a very general thing.

• General Classification

A general classification is a part that state classification of general aspect of things, such as: animals, public places, plants, etc. It will be discussed in general.

• Description

This part gives describing of the things which will be discussed in detail, in terms of: parts (and their function), qualities, habits and behavior.

B. Linguistic features

• Focus on generic participant.

A report text always introduces group or general aspect and focus on general nouns, such as: ‘Platypus’, ‘Bees’, etc.

• A report text uses relating verb and action verb, for example:

Relating verb : Reptiles are scalyanimal,etc.
Action verb : Birds fly in the sky, etc.

• A report text uses of simple present tense, for example: Platypus lives in streams, male platypus does not need any burrow, etc
• The language used in a report text is a scientific language, for example: water contains oxygen and hydrogen, etc.
• A report text uses Conditionals and logical connectives, such as: but, in other hand, etc.

Differences between Report Text and Descriptive Text

Some text types are quite difficult to differ. Such a report and a descriptive text have the similarities in the social function and generic structure. However, if they are analyzed carefully, the slight difference between the two text types will reveal.
The purposes of the two texts are to give the live description of the object/participant. Both of a report and a descriptive text try to show rather than tell the reader about the factual condition of the object. Readers by themselves will catch the impressive point of the object through that showing writing style. What makes different, between report and descriptive text is the scope of the written object. If we talk about, e.g.: bicycle, it belongs to a report text. It will talk about bicycle in general in terms of its parts, physical strength, and function for certain people or other general characters of bike. In the other hand, descriptive text will convey more focus, for example "my bicycle" with its specific characters, such as: color, length, wheel style, etc.
In short, a report text describes the way of certain things and frequently refer to phenomenon of nature, animal and scientific object. Mostly, a report is written after getting careful observation. This scientific and technical sense makes clearer difference from descriptive text. The way of descriptive text in showing thing is based on the objective fact of the thing. It describes the specific thing simply as the thing is.


Example of a Report Text

Venice

          Venice is a city in northern Italy. It is the capital of region Veneto. Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area. Venice has been known as the “Queen of the Adriatic”, “City of Water”, “City of Bridges”, and “The City of Light”. The city stretches across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy.

          Venice is world-famous for its canals. It is built on an archipelago of 117 islands formed by about 150 canals in a shallow lagoon. The islands on which the city is built are connected by about 400 bridges. In the old center, the canals serve the function of roads, and every form of transport is on water or on foot.

You can ride gondola there. It is the classical Venetian boat which nowadays is mostly used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies. Now, most Venetians travel by motorized waterbuses (“vaporetti”) which ply regular routes along the major canals and between the city’s islands. The city also has many private boats. The only gondolas still in common use by Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger ferries crossing the Grand Canal at certain points without bridges.

            You can see the amusing city’s landmarks such as Piazza San Marco, Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, Saint Mark’s Cathedral or villas of the Veneto. The villas of the Veneto, rural residences for nobles during the Republic, are one of the most interesting aspects of Venetian countryside. They are surrounded by elegant gardens, suitable for fashionable parties of high society. The city is also well known for its beautiful and romantic view, especially at night.