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Recount Writing Features

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Recount Writing Features

Read each question carefully. For the writing tasks, use past-tense verbs and time connectives to show the order of events. Check your work when you finish.

Recognising Recount Features

1.What is the main reason people write a recount?

To explain how to make something
To retell events that have already happened
To describe what something looks like
To convince readers to choose something

2.Select the four features commonly found in a recount.

A title
An orientation introducing who, what, where and when
A sequence of events
A personal comment or conclusion
Rhyming couplets
A set of commands

3.Which verb tense is usually used to tell about events that have finished?

Past tense
Present tense
Future tense
A question form

4.Choose the four time connectives that can help put recount events in order.

Afterwards
Perhaps
Before long
Because
Later
Eventually
Although

Using Recount Language

5.Write the past-tense form of each verb: a) visit b) carry c) see d) take e) bring f) stop

6.A class went on a trip to a wildlife centre. Read the recount, then put these events in the order they happened by writing 1–5 beside each one. First, the students arrived at the centre and met their guide. Next, they watched a kiwi being fed. Afterwards, everyone ate lunch beside the pond. Before leaving the centre, they packed their bags. Finally, the class boarded the bus to return to school. ___ The class boarded the bus to return to school. ___ Everyone ate lunch beside the pond. ___ The students arrived and met their guide. ___ They watched a kiwi being fed. ___ They packed their bags before leaving the centre.

7.Write one orientation sentence for a school sports day recount. Include who took part, what happened, where it was, and when it took place.

8.Match each recount feature to what it does.

Title
Orientation
Sequence of events
Time connective
Personal comment

Tells what happened in the order it happened
Shares the writer’s thoughts or feelings about the experience
Introduces who, what, where and when
Names or hints at the event being retold
Signals when an event happened or what came next

Plan and Write a Recount

9.Read this recount opening: “On Saturday morning, Maia and her cousins explored the Ōhope shoreline. First, they collected shells near the rocks. Later, they watched tiny crabs scuttle between the pools. Maia loved discovering so many creatures.” Identify the orientation, two events in order, and the personal comment.

10.Write a short recount about an enjoyable day out. Add a title, an orientation that says who, what, where and when, at least three events in time order using past-tense verbs and time connectives, and a personal comment at the end.

11.Use this checklist to review the recount you wrote: Does it have a title and an orientation? Are the events in order? Did you use past-tense verbs and time connectives? Did you finish with a personal comment?