REPORTREPORT TEXT TEXT

• Genre ConnectionReport writing belongs to non-fiction genre. Report writing aims to classify and describe the natural, cultural, scientific and technological phenomena of our world (e.g. computers, earthquakes, floods, animals, habitats etc.) in contrast to a description, which focuses on one specific thing.

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• Genre ConnectionWhen you write a descriptive text, you focus on describing one particular thing, for example, “my computer”, but when you write a report text, you write about computers in general, not only yours. Report texts are most common form of writing faced by students especially in science. The purpose of report writing is to give relevant and accurate information (Anderson, 1998).

REPORTREPORT TEXT TEXT

A report provides its reader with information about something, for example an object, an animal, or a natural or social phenomenon in an object and scientific manner. Just like a descriptive text, it describe things. However, as the name suggest, it only reposrt facts and does not cointain subjective descriptions of the things it describes.

Main part of ReportMain part of Report►Opening statement/GOpening statement/General Classificationeneral Classification : :

leads in sentences to introduce the topic leads in sentences to introduce the topic and get the reader interested, it may and get the reader interested, it may include the definition,a short description or include the definition,a short description or clasification of the subject. clasification of the subject.

►DescriptionDescription : : A report provides facts, not A report provides facts, not opinions. It describes the opinions. It describes the partsparts of the of the thingthing,,their functions,their functions,qualities, qualities, ((habits or habits or behaviors, if livingbehaviors, if living)); ; or (or (uses, uses, for in animate for in animate objects)objects)

SIGNIFICANT SIGNIFICANT LEXICOGRAMMATICAL LEXICOGRAMMATICAL FEATURESFEATURES

Focus on generic participantsFocus on generic participants Use of Relational Processes to state Use of Relational Processes to state

what is and that which it is.what is and that which it is. Use of simple present tense (unless Use of simple present tense (unless

extinct).extinct). No temporal sequence.No temporal sequence.

REPORT TEXTELEPHANTS

Elephants are the largest land animals in the world. Elephants are mammals. They have several distinctive features aside from their large side. Their long trunk is used for breathing, smelling, touching, feeding, drinking, lifting heavy objects, and trumpeting. No other animal has a nose with so many uses.

Elephants are equally remarkable for their tusks. They are enormously long teeth that continue to grow throughout the elephant’s life. They are made of bony material called ivory. Elephants have always been hunted for their tusks. The ivory is carved or shaped into sculptures, ornaments, and decoration.

Adult elephants have little hair on their thick, wrinkled skin, but their tails are tipped with wiry hair, and their eyelashes can be over 12 cm long.

Elephants need a great deal of food. A big male may eat up to 225 kg of plant material, such as leaves, bark, fruit, and grasses, a day, and drink between 75 – 150 l of water.

Most elephants live in herds of 10 to 50 animals. The female carries her unborn young for 20 to 22 months before birth, the longest period for any mammal. Several females usually help the mother with the baby during and after birth. The baby needs nursing for two or more years. An elephant can live 60 or 70 years.

Elephants have been tamed and used to serve the needs of people for at least 5,000 years. Their size and strength have been used to lift heavy objects, carry heavy loads, and even lead armies into battle. Killing elephants for their tusks is now forbidden, but illegal hunting still takes place. Also, human settlement leaves elephants with less space to roam.

DOGSDogs are members of the Canidae family of mammals. Most of

them are good runners, with muscular, deep-chested bodies and slender legs.

They have four toes on each paw, plus a thumblike toe on each forepaw and sometimes on the rear feet as well. They walk on their toes, which are well padded. Dogs have 42 teeth – some for gripping and tearing flesh, some for cutting, and others for grinding food.

Dogs have superb hearing and fairly good eyesight, but their keenest sense is smell, which can detect the faintest scent days or even weeks after its source has gone. Dogs use their voices regularly. They bark to raise an alarm, to show aggression or fear, or as a cry for help. Growling usually means “stay away” or “I’m going to bite”. They may also howl, whimper, or whine to show their feelings.

The dogs we know as pets are descended from wolves. They were domesticated, or tamed and raised by people, more than 12,000 years ago. Today dogs depend on people for food, shelter, and safety. They give a great deal in return. Some are trained to guard property. Others herd farm animals, work with hunters, sniff out bombs or drugs at airports, or search for survivors at disaster scenes. Specially trained dogs assist people who cannot see or hear, or who use a wheelchair.

SNAKESSnakes are long, slender reptiles without legs.

They do not have movable eyelids, which gives them a glassy, unblinking stare. Most of them live in the warmer parts of the world, although some, such as the rattlesnake, are found as far north as the Artic Circle.

Snakes have two main methods of killing their prey – constriction and poisoning. Constrictors coil around their prey and suffocate it. Venomous snakes produce venom in special glands and inject it into the victim through a grooved or hollow fang.

Many people think that snakes have slimy skins. However, a snake, like most reptiles, is dry to touch. A snake’s skin does not grow with the animal and has to be shed at regular intervals.Snakes are often hunted for their attractively patterned skins, which are made into purses, shoes, and belts. They are also captured for the pet and zoo trade.

TURTLESTurtles are reptiles with hard, bony shells

that live in water. They range in size from tiny bog turtles, about 7 cm long to massive leatherbacks that can reach almost 2.5 m in length and weigh 680 kg.

The shell is made of two parts joined by bony bridges. The upper part is called the carapace, and the lower part is called the plastron. The animal uses the shell for protection, drawing its head and legs inside when in danger. Some turtles can shut up their shells completely. Others squirt out unpleasant fluids or bite and claw their enemies. They can only move slowly on land.

CROCODILESCrocodiles are reptiles. They have long tails

and large jaws. They spend their lives in or close to water. Although they are strong swimmers, they are only able to run short distances. They feed mainly on fish and birds, but larger crocodiles can attack animals, including dogs, cattle, and people.

Crocodiles vary in size. American crocodiles can reach length of 7 m, and one specimen weighed 612 kg. Crocodiles have long, tapering snouts and triangular heads. Like many other reptiles, crocodiles lay eggs. When the mother hears the eggs hatching, she comes back to the nest to guard the young.

RAINFORESTRainforests are jungles that receive over 1,500

mm of rain evenly through each year. Rainforest trees usually have tall trunks and grow close to one another. Their leafy crowns form an almost solid canopy, like a ceiling, up to 40 m above ground. The canopy takes nearly all the sunlight. Vines and creepers reach up the tree trunks to the canopy, and branches are covered with plants whose roots absorb water from the humid air. Plants of the lower understory have broad leaves that capture as much light as possible.

On the ground fungi and invertebrates, such as ants and millipedes, break down fallen leaves into nutrients. Tree roots quickly absorb the nutrients.

Most rainforest animals, such as sloths, flying squirrels, and various monkeys, live in the canopy and seldom visit the ground. Colorful birds of the rainforest include toucans, hornbills, and parrots.

What is the difference between a computer and a calculator?

A calculator is a machine which has a memory in which it can register the necessary instructions to complete a mathematical problem. This memory cannot be changed or added to. The computer, on the other hand, holds a series of memories called a program.

Each program tells the computer which series of instructions it must use to write, draw, paginate a book, plan a list of addresses, put names in alphabetical order, play games, read a bar code, send signals for automatic functioning of machine, communicate with another computer to exchange information. A computer can do all the functions of a calculator, but a calculator can not do what a computer can.

A COMPUTERA programmable machine that performs high-

speed processing of numbers as well as of text, graphics, symbols and sound. Modern computers are digital. The computer’s physical components are called hardware; its programs and data are called software.

All computers include these components: a central processing unit, referred to as the CPU that

interprets and executes instructions. Input devices usually a keyboard and/or a mouse,

through which data and commands enter the computer. Memory that enables a computer to store programs and

data. Mass storage devices, such as disk drive and tape

drives that store large amounts of data; and Output devices, such as printers and display screens

that show the results after data has been processed by the computer.

CactusA cactus (plural: cacti) is a plant that has

adapted to very dry conditions. Cacti originated in North and South America.

Cactus roots spread out close to the surface of the ground, absorbing rainwater quickly before it dries up, or evaporates. The water is stored in the stem of the plant. The outside of the cactus is thick and waxy, which keeps the water from escaping. In other plants water is lost through the holes, or pores, in the leaves, but cacti have very few pores, helping keep water in. the cactus often has spines to protect it from animals.