Text Types – English B Study Guide

Article (newspaper/magazine)
● adopt a consistently semi-formal or formal register depending on the audience

● have a suitable tone for the audience

● show an awareness of the target audience (teenage audience will include direct address like
“you” and teenage type of vocabulary)
● have a relevant headline/title/byline

● have an engaging and distinct introduction, development, and conclusion

Blog
● adopt a semi-formal register

● have an engaging title for the entry, i.e. not just a general name for the blog overall

● include first person statement and/or narration

● show an awareness of the reader, eg through direct address, a lively and interesting style
etc.
● have a closing statement, eg invitation to comment, a conclusion drawn etc.

Brochure/Leaflet/ Pamphlet
● a semi-formal to informal register

● an engaging title

● short introduction and a conclusion

● identify ideas with format features, eg sub-headings, bullet points, numbering etc

● include practical aspects of the text type eg “contact us”, or a phone number and/or an
email address

Email/letter
● clear identification of recipient (by name, address or role/title etc)

● date (sender’s address for formal letters)

● email – statement of subject in the heading

● adopt an informal to formal register depending on the audience

● adopt a suitable sensitive and concerned tone, perhaps with moments of liveliness

● maintain a sense of address to a specific purpose

● have an appropriate opening salutation

● have an appropriate closing salutation

 ● some limited use of textese (eg “4” for “four/for” and “u” for “you”) and/or emoticons is
permissible.

Essay
● adopt a semi-formal to formal register

● adopt a serious tone

● will use techniques that enable the reader to follow the arguments easily

● have a relevant title

● have a distinct introduction and conclusion

Interview (embedded)
● relevant headline/title/byline/date

● style aimed at involving and interesting the reader

● references to the interview, including direct quotations and/or reported speech (Jack said
that he wanted to finish all his IA’s on time. )

News Report
● adopt a semi-formal to formal register

● have a headline/relevant title/ byline

● use a neutral/objective style eg presents ideas and facts without embellishment

● will have a conclusion or recommendation

● have a clearly structured layout eg clear introduction, sub-headings, short briefe

paragraphs/sections

Opinion Column/Letter to the editor

● have a relevant title

● have a semi-formal to formal register

● an appropriately serious tone

● introduction to catch the reader’s attention

● give opinions in an interesting and engaging style

● will include an opening and closing salutation (eg Dear Editor, Sincerely..)

● refer to the original article/issue raised

Proposal
● title summarizing the overall subject
 ● clearly set-out format, eg subheadings, short clear paragraphs, bullets, numbering, insetting,
etc
● state the reason for the proposal and justify the plan in the proposal

● style aimed to persuade the audience

Report (official)
● adopt a formal register

● have a relevant title

● use a neutral/objective style, eg present ideas and facts without embellishment

● clearly structured layout through sub-headings, short brief paragraphs/sections, etc

● have a conclusion or recommendation

● it is acceptable for the report to be presented within the framework of a letter/email

provided the above features are present. The handling of such a framework should not
affect the mark

Review
● adopt a semi-formal register

● use a tone and style to engage the reader

● have a title intended to attract and interest the reader

● have an introduction and a clear conclusion

● include the name of the reviewer

● include a rating system if appropriate

Set of instructions/guidelines
● adopt an informal to semi-formal register

● directly address the intended audience

● have a clear and focussed heading/title

● set out guidelines/instructions clearly, using eg bullet points, sub-headings, numbering, etc

● include a short introduction and conclusion

Social media posting/online forums

● First person narration/statement

● Seek to engage the reader, eg direct address, lively and interesting style

● May include typical online communication techniques, eg references to other postings,

members and forums, hashtags (#), @references, and “likes” etc.
Speech/presentation/debate
● adopt a semi-formal register with flashes of informality

● adapt an appropriately serious tone

● address the audience and keep contact with them throughout, eg the use of “we”and “you”
etc
● set out to catch the audience’s attention at the beginning, leave a clear impression at th end

● include speech rhetoric eg rhetorical questions, repetition, ethos, logos, pathos

Personal Statement/Cover Letter

Personal Statement

● a type of essay to be produced by a student applying for e.g. a university / scholarship /

programme, OR by a professional applying for a job.
● a response to a specific question

● an essay of a general autobiographical nature

● an essay requesting the applicant to discuss a certain situation and their reaction to it

Cover Letter

● formal letter written by someone applying for something (e.g. a job, an internship, a course,
etc)
● have the conventions of a formal letter

● usually a letter to introduce other attached documents, probably explaining who you are and
what the context is, and possibly referring to other documents attached.
“For both of these text types, the only advice I can suggest is you should pay close attention to
what the task requires, and use common sense to decide what would be both relevant and
useful. “(from Inthinking website)

Diary (private)/journal

● adopt a generally informal register in a consistent manner

● have a date and/or day

● use first person narration ( use “I”)

● have a closing statement to round off the entry

● the diary may begin “Dear Diary”, multiple entries may also be done

“A 'diary' is fundamentally intended to be private - notice the use of the parenthesis “(private)” to
describe the diary in the text type list. In contrast, a 'journal' may well be made public - for example,
a scientist may keep a journal of data and observations, and be conscious that extracts from that
journal may be published in the future”. (from Inthinking website)

The following are excerpts from IB official guidelines