Text Types and Their Features

British & IGCSE › Checkpoint 8 English (Cambridge Lower Secondary 0861)

Every reading text in Checkpoint 8 belongs to a text type (also called a genre). Paper 1 always gives you non-fiction (real information, real people, real events). Paper 2 always gives you fiction (an extract from a novel or short story). If you can recognise the text type quickly, you already know what the writer is trying to do, how the text will be organised and which features the examiner expects you to spot. This page gives you every genre you need, the features of each one, and a method for the questions that ask you to name a text type or give its features.

1. Fiction or non-fiction?

Before you name a genre, decide which family the text belongs to. The one-line test: if the writer’s job is to report what really happened or what is really true, it is non-fiction. If the writer’s job is to invent what could happen, it is fiction — even when it is set in a real place.

2. What counts as a “feature”?

A feature is something you can point to in the text. There are two kinds. When a question says “give two features”, the safest answers name the feature and give a short example from the text.

3. All non-fiction genres and their features

Learn this table well. The left column is the genre, the middle is why people write it, and the right column lists the features that prove it. In the exam you only need two features, but knowing four or five gives you choice.

4. Genres that students confuse

Many wrong answers come from mixing up two genres that look similar. Learn the one difference that separates each pair.

5. Formal and informal features

A common question asks for features that make a text formal (or informal). Use this table. Remember to quote an example for each feature you give.

6. Fiction genres and their features

Paper 2 extracts come from stories and novels. You may be asked what kind of story the extract seems to come from, or which features show this. Look at the setting, the characters and the kind of events.

Whatever the genre, every story extract also has the features of narrative: a narrator (first person “I” or third person “he/she”), a setting, characters, dialogue in inverted commas, description, and a plot that builds towards a problem or a turning point. If a question asks for “two features of a story”, these are safe answers.

7. Method: name the text type and prove it

1. Look at the layout first. Headline? Bullet points? Date? Numbered steps? “Dear…”? A subject line? Layout often gives the answer in five seconds.
2. Check the person and tense. I/past = autobiography, recount, diary. She/past = biography, report. Present/third person = non-chronological report or information text. Imperatives = instructions or leaflet.
3. Ask what the writer wants. To inform, persuade, advise, entertain? The purpose narrows the genre.
4. Name the genre exactly. Write “a newspaper report”, not “an informative text”, unless the question asks for the purpose.
5. Prove it with features. For each mark: name the feature + quote a short example. One feature per mark, clearly separated.

8. Worked examples

Example 1. Read this extract:

“FLOODS CLOSE COASTAL ROAD. Residents of Ras El Bar were moved to safety yesterday after heavy rain flooded the main coastal road. ‘The water rose faster than anyone expected,’ said local official Karim Fawzy. The road will remain closed until Friday.”

Question: What type of text is this? Give two features that show this. (2 marks)

Answer: It is a newspaper report. It has a short headline in capital letters, “FLOODS CLOSE COASTAL ROAD”, and it includes a quotation from an official: “The water rose faster than anyone expected”.

Why it works: the genre is named exactly, and each feature is named and then proved with a quotation. Other correct features: the opening sentence tells who, what, where and when · it is written in the past tense and the third person.

Example 2. Read this extract:

“Feeling anxious before exams? You are not alone. Try breaking your revision into short sessions with breaks in between. It might also help to talk to someone you trust. Remember: a good night’s sleep is worth more than an extra hour of panic.”

Question: Give two features of advice writing used in this text. (2 marks)

Answer: It speaks directly to the reader with a question, “Feeling anxious before exams?”. It uses gentle suggestions with modal verbs, “It might also help to talk to someone you trust”.

Why it works: “direct address” and “modal verbs” are features, not topics. A weak answer would say “it is about exams”, which earns nothing.

Example 3 (comparing two texts). Text A is a leaflet for a science museum. Text B is a student’s diary entry about visiting the same museum.

Question: Give one way the two texts are similar and one way they are different. (2 marks)

Answer: Similar: both describe the museum’s exhibits, for example the planetarium. Different: Text A is formal and uses bullet points and opening times, while Text B is informal and uses the first person to share feelings, “I couldn’t stop smiling”.

9. Practice questions

Each extract below is short and original. Answer in full sentences, then check.

1. “Born in a small village near Aswan in 1931, Hamid Ali taught himself to read by candlelight. By the age of twenty, he had opened the town’s first library.” What type of text is this? Give one feature that proves it.

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   A biography. It is written in the third person about someone else’s life (“he had opened the town’s first library”). It also gives dates (“in 1931”) and follows time order.

2. “I was seven when my family moved to Alexandria. I remember hating the noise at first. Later, the sea became the best friend I had.” Biography or autobiography? Explain.

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   Autobiography: the writer tells the story of their own life in the first person (“I was seven”, “my family”).

3. “1. Fill the pot with soil. 2. Push the seed two centimetres down. 3. Water gently every morning.” Name the text type and give two features.

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   Instructions. Features: numbered steps in order (“1.”, “2.”, “3.”) and imperative verbs at the start of each step (“Fill”, “Push”, “Water”).

4. “Sea turtles are reptiles that live in warm oceans. Diet: most adults eat seagrass. Lifespan: many live for over fifty years.” Name the text type and give two features.

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   A non-chronological report. It uses the present tense for general facts (“are reptiles”, “live”) and is organised by topic with sub-headings (“Diet”, “Lifespan”).

5. “Monday 4th March. What a disaster! I forgot my PE kit AGAIN and Mr Samir gave me that look. Tomorrow I’m packing my bag the night before. I mean it this time.” Name the text type and give two features.

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   A diary entry. It has a date at the top (“Monday 4th March”) and an informal, emotional first-person voice with exclamations (“What a disaster!”).

6. “Are you tired of boring weekends? Then come to the Green Valley Farm Festival! Pick fresh strawberries, meet friendly animals and taste homemade bread. Don’t miss out — book today!” Give two persuasive features.

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   A rhetorical question to the reader (“Are you tired of boring weekends?”) and an imperative call to action (“book today!”). Also accept: rule of three (“Pick…, meet…, taste…”), positive adjectives (“friendly”, “fresh”).

7. “Some people believe school should start later because teenagers need more sleep. On the other hand, a later start would mean finishing later in the afternoon.” Is this persuasive, argument or discursive writing? Explain.

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   Discursive (balanced): it presents both sides fairly and links them with the contrast connective “On the other hand”, without taking a side yet.

8. “The acting is superb, but the story drags in the middle. Overall, I would give it three stars and recommend it to anyone who enjoys slow, thoughtful films.” Name two features of a review.

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   A first-person opinion with evaluative words (“superb”, “drags”) and a final verdict with a rating and recommendation (“three stars”, “recommend it to anyone who…”).

9. “From: Laila Adel. Subject: Missing library book. Dear Mr Nabil, I am writing to explain why my book is late…” Name the text type and say whether it is formal or informal, with one reason.

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   An email (it has From and Subject lines). It is formal: it uses a polite greeting with a title, “Dear Mr Nabil”, and the full form “I am writing” instead of a contraction.

10. Give two features that make this sentence formal: “Visitors are requested not to feed the animals as this may cause them serious harm.”

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    The passive voice (“Visitors are requested”) and formal vocabulary with no contractions (“requested”, “may cause them serious harm”). It is also impersonal (no “I” or “you”).

11. “The ferry chugged into the harbour as the sun melted into the sea. I could smell grilled fish and hear fishermen shouting prices. Top tip: arrive before nine to beat the crowds.” Name the text type and give two features.

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    Travel writing. It uses sensory description (“smell grilled fish”, “hear fishermen shouting”) and gives practical advice to the reader (“Top tip: arrive before nine”). It is also written in the first person.

12. “The fox praised the crow’s beautiful voice. The crow opened its beak to sing, and the cheese fell straight into the fox’s mouth. Never trust a flatterer.” Name the fiction genre and give two features.

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    A fable. It has animals that behave like people (a fox and a crow who talk and think) and it ends with a moral (“Never trust a flatterer”).

13. “The airlock hissed open. Beyond it, the red dust of the third colony stretched to the horizon, and the dome’s computer announced that oxygen reserves were at nine per cent.” Which fiction genre is this? Give two clues.

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    Science fiction. Clues: advanced technology (“airlock”, “the dome’s computer”) and a setting on another planet or colony (“the red dust of the third colony”).

14. “Thunder shook the shutters of the empty house. Somewhere upstairs, a door creaked open by itself.” Which genre and which features?

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    Horror (or Gothic). It has a dark, isolated setting (“the empty house”), stormy weather that creates fear (pathetic fallacy, “Thunder shook the shutters”) and an unexplained, frightening event (“a door creaked open by itself”).

15. Text A is a newspaper report about a new metro line. Text B is a blog post by a commuter about her first ride. Give one difference in the way they are written.

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    Text A is written in the third person with a formal, factual tone and quotations from officials, while Text B is written in the first person with an informal, personal tone that shares the writer’s feelings.

16. Why is a novel about a real ancient battle, with invented soldiers as main characters, called fiction?

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    Because the main characters, their thoughts and their conversations are invented by the author. The real battle is only the background.

17. A student writes: “Two features of this leaflet are that it is about healthy eating and it is interesting.” Why does this score 0? Rewrite it.

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    Both are about the topic or the student’s opinion, not features. Better: “It uses sub-headings such as ‘Five a day’, and bullet points to list the tips.”