Guide · Purposes, Structures & Features · ~4,000 words

The Complete Guide to Text Types

Every major text type: purpose, audience, structure, language features and model openings.

1. Imaginative Texts

Type	Purpose	Structure	Key features
Narrative / short story	Entertain, explore experience	Orientation → complication → climax → resolution (or fractured variants)	Show-not-tell, sensory imagery, dialogue, motif, narrative voice
Descriptive / setting sketch	Create vivid impression	Spatial or sensory organisation	Adjective stacking, prepositional layering, pathetic fallacy
Poetry	Compress feeling/idea	Form-driven (see Poetry pack)	Lineation, sound patterning, metaphor
Drama script	Performable conflict	Acts/scenes, dialogue + stage directions	Subtext, dramatic irony, blocking notes
Multimodal story	Combine modes	Non-linear often	Image-text interplay, sound design, hypertext links

Model opening (narrative): "The kettle screamed before she did." — in medias res, personification, domestic stakes implied in six words.

2. Informative Texts

Type	Purpose	Structure	Key features
Report	Classify & describe generally	General classification → aspects → conclusion	Present tense, technical vocab, no time sequence
Explanation	Explain how/why processes occur	Phenomenon identification → explanation sequence	Causal connectives (because, therefore, as a result)
Procedure	Direct action	Goal → materials → steps	Imperative verbs, numbered steps
Recount		Orientation → chronological events → reorientation	Past tense, time markers (first, later, finally)
News report	Inform on event	Inverted pyramid: lead (who/what/when/where) → detail → background	Third person, attribution ("police said"), headline compression

3. Persuasive Texts

Exposition (one-sided argument): thesis → arguments with evidence → reinforcement. Language: modality, emotive diction, inclusive pronouns.
Editorial/opinion column: hook → stance → concession ("granted…") → rebuttal → call to action. Voice matters more than objectivity.
Speech: address audience directly, signpost orally ("firstly", "imagine"), anaphora and tricolon for rhythm, memorable closing line.
Advertisement: visual salience + slogan + appeal mix (ethos/pathos/logos).
Debate speech: define terms, team split, rebuttal structure.

4. Discursive Texts

The NESA-favoured hybrid (Standard Module C): explores perspectives without campaigning. Structure is associative rather than argumentative: scene → reflection → counter-perspective → earned insight. Voice is personal but controlled; techniques borrowed from both fiction (anecdote, imagery) and essay (evidence, logic). The controlling idea must be traceable even while the path wanders.

Discursive vs persuasive test

If the piece demands agreement, it's persuasive. If it invites consideration, it's discursive.

5. Reflective Texts

Metacommentary on your own composing/learning: situation → choices made → evaluation against purpose → forward look. Markers reward specificity: name your actual techniques and why you chose them over alternatives ("I chose second person to implicate the reader, though I considered first person because…").

6. Choosing the Right Type: Purpose × Audience Matrix

If your goal is…	Audience expects…	Choose
To move	Emotional truth	Imaginative / poetry / reflective
To convince	Evidence + passion	Persuasive exposition / speech / editorial
To explain	Clarity	Report / explanation / procedure
To explore	Honest complexity	Discursive

Citations

McLuhan, Marshall. Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964.
NESA. English K–10 Syllabus (2022); Stage 6 English Standard Module C. educationstandards.nsw.edu.au.
Derewianka, Beverley. Exploring How Texts Work. Sydney: PETA, 1990.