The 5 Text Types

There are five text types that will be taught in class this year: poetry, narrative, expository, technical, and persuasive. Knowledge of all these text types except poetry are tested on the standardized tests.

Poetry: a short text that tells about an experience, place, person, or item. Poetry uses creative, colorful language. It can rhyme but it does not have to rhyme. Our national anthem and Jack Prelutsky's Something Big Has Been Here are examples of poetry.

Narrative: a story. Narratives are the bedtime stories we most often read to children. A narrative has a setting (where the story is taking place), characters, and a plot (the events in the story). "The Very Hungry Caterpillar," "Make Way for Ducklings," "Shiloh," and the books in the Babysitter's Club Seriers are examples of narratives.

Expository: a true text that gives information. Expository texts tell about a topic. Students will use expository texts when they research a subject to write a report about an event in history. "S is for Sunflower" is a mixture of poetry and expository texts. "Henry's Freedom Box" and a biography about the Jonas Brothers are examples of expository texts.

Technical: a text that describes how to do something. Technical text is written in steps with short, concise sentences. Technical texts usually have diagrams or pictures that show each of the steps. A book that describes how to draw pictures of cars or how to make friendship bracelets is a technical text.

Persuasive: a text that tries to convince the reader to believe or do something. Persuasive texts use facts to support a particular point of view. The writer is trying to convince the reader to take an action or to hold a certain belief. Letters to the editor in newspapers or speeches given by politicians are examples of persuasive texts.