Cayman Islands Writing Exemplar

Text Form

Purpose

Organisation

Language 

Features

Traits of Writing

Text Features

Forms / Genres

Recount 

(Personal 

Narrative/ 

Retell)

• 

To retell an  

experience 

or event in 

sequence 

• 

Can be 

personal,  

factual, or 

fictional

• 

Title

: States the event 

• 

Beginning:

 Generally 

answers who, what, when, 

where, why (and  

sometimes how) 

• 

Middle:

 Give sequential 

details about the event 

• 

End:

 A personal comment 

(for a personal  

recount) or the outcome 

(for a factual recount)

• 

Specific 

 

participants 

– very little 

character  

development 

• 

Events linked 

by time-order 

words (e.g., 

first, then, 

later, after, 

before) 

• 

Simple past 

tense (e.g., 

went, said)

• 

(AF 2, 3, 4) 

Organisation: 

Chronological 

order of events 

• 

(AF 1) Ideas: 

Clear and precise; 

details directly 

related to the 

event 

• 

(AF 1) Voice: 

Writer’s personal 

voice, matches 

audience 

• 

(AF 7) Word 

Choice:

 Strong 

verbs, some 

• 

descriptive  

language 

• 

(AF 6, 8)  

Conventions: 

Appropriate for 

the writer’s level 

• 

(AF 5) Sentence 

Fluency: 

Varied, 

logical flow

 

• 

Presentation: 

May be supported 

with illustrations/

graphics

Text may 

include:

- Charts

- Photos

- Captions

- Labels

- Headings 

- Index

- Table of  

contents

- Glossary

- Illustration

  *timelines

  *maps

  *diagrams

  *photos

• 

Journals, logs, 

newspaper 

eye witness 

accounts,  

diary entries,  

memoir, 

biography, 

autobiography 

 

Visual Texts: 

Storyboard, 

timeline

Recount (Personal Narrative/ Retell)

Recounts tell the reader what happened. Recounts are the most common text type we encounter as readers and  

listeners because they are the basic form of many storytelling texts and conversations. The primary purposes of  

recounts are to inform or entertain, but that will depend on the forms being used and the intended effect on the  

reader/listener. As a non-fiction text-type, recounts are used to provide an account of events of a personal experience, 

the lives of specific people, and/or a specific, factual occurrence. Recounts can also be fictional, e.g., a recount of a 

day from the perspective of a pet. Recounts can be written in several forms.  

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5

Text Form

Purpose

Organisation

Language 

Features

Traits of Writing

Text Features

Forms / Genres

Procedural

• 

To retell an  

experience 

or event in 

sequence 

• 

Can be 

personal,  

factual, or 

fictional

• 

Title

: States the event 

• 

Beginning:

 Generally 

answers who, what,  

when, where, why (and 

sometimes how) 

• 

Middle:

 Give sequential 

details about the event 

• 

End:

 A personal comment 

(for a personal recount) or 

the outcome (for a factual 

recount)

• 

Specific 

 

participants 

– very little 

character  

development 

• 

Events linked 

by time-order 

words (e.g., 

first, then, 

later, after, 

before) 

• 

Simple past 

tense (e.g., 

went, said)

• 

(AF 2, 3, 4) 

Organisation: 

Chronological 

order of events 

• 

(AF 1) Ideas: 

Clear and precise; 

details directly 

related to the 

event 

• 

(AF 1) Voice: 

Writer’s personal 

voice, matches 

audience 

• 

(AF 7) Word 

Choice:

 Strong 

verbs, some de-

scriptive language 

• 

(AF 6, 8)  

Conventions: 

Appropriate for 

the writer’s level 

• 

(AF 5) Sentence 

Fluency: 

Varied, 

logical flow

 

• 

Presentation: 

May be supported 

with illustrations/

graphics

Text may 

include:

- Charts

- Photos

- Captions

- Labels

- Headings 

- Index

- Table of  

contents

- Glossary

- Illustration

  *timelines

  *maps

  *diagrams

  *photos

• 

Journals, logs, 

newspaper 

eye witness 

accounts,  

diary entries,  

memoir, 

biography, 

autobiography 

 

Visual Texts: 

Storyboard, 

timeline

Procedural

The primary purpose of a procedural text is to explain to the reader how to do something through a series of precise 

steps. Many procedural texts are accessible to even the youngest writers.  Examples of procedural text may include: 

rules for games, recipes, instructions for making something, and directions.  Procedural texts may be visual (e.g. a 

series of diagrams with an image for each step in the process), a combination of words and images, or words only.

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6

Text Form

Purpose

Organisation

Language 

Features

Traits of Writing

Text Features

Forms / Genres

Persuasive

• 

To convince 

the reader 

to take 

certain 

action and/

or accept 

a particular 

point of view

• 

Title:

 Poses a question or 

states a position 

• 

Beginning:

 Gives a  

statement of position 

• 

Middle:

 Gives writer’s 

perspective and provides 

support for the position 

in order to influence the 

reader 

• 

Ending:

 A summary or 

repetition of position, may 

include a call to action

• 

Addressed 

to specific 

audience 

• 

Lining words 

related to 

cause and 

effect and/

or order (e.g., 

also, first, for 

one thing, 

therefore, 

because) 

• 

Verbs related 

to taking a 

position (e.g., 

should, need, 

must) 

• 

Persuasive 

devices, facts, 

opinions, 

rhetorical 

questions, 

pleading and 

exaggeration

• 

(AF 2, 3, 4) 

Organisation: 

Position stated 

clearly; logical; 

ends with strong 

statement 

• 

(AF 1) Ideas: 

Opinion stated 

clearly with 

supporting details/

facts/evidence 

• 

(AF 1) Voice: 

Strong voice of 

writer; matches 

audience 

• 

(AF 7) Word 

Choice:

 Powerful 

and passionate 

• 

(AF 5) Sentence 

Fluency:

 Balance 

of sentence 

types; some short 

sentences of 

emphasis 

• 

(AF 6, 8)  

Conventions: 

Appropriate for 

level of writer 

• 

Presentation: 

May include 

illustrations, fact 

boxes, charts 

that support the 

writer’s position

Text may 

include:

 - Title

 - Illustrations

 - Photographs

 - Labels

 - Captions

 - Graphs, 

 - Charts, 

 - Tables

 - Diagrams

• 

Essays,  

editorials, 

speeches,  

letters of 

request  

(e.g., letter to 

the editor), 

debates, 

advertise-

ments,  

opinion pieces,  

brochure 

 

Visual Texts: 

Venn diagram, 

t-chart

Persuasive

The primary purpose of a persuasive text is to persuade the reader of a particular position/belief, or to take  

action. Some persuasive texts may include more than one point of view. Many persuasive texts may aim to inspire  

a certain behaviour or action in the reader such as: making healthy choices, getting more play time, passing a law,  

or participating in an event. Even the youngest readers have experienced a variety of persuasive texts in the form of 

advertisements or an appeal to their parents. Forms vary considerably according to context (e.g. ads, bumper stickers, 

letters to the editor) and the audience must be taken into consideration when developing supporting details and when 

selecting a text form. As students mature, positions may be supported by facts and/or statistics.  

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7

Text Form

Purpose

Organisation

Language 

Features

Traits of Writing

Text Features

Forms / Genres

Report

• 

To present 

related 

pieces of 

information 

about a 

topic 

• 

Title: 

Tells the main 

subject 

• 

Beginning:

 Introduces 

the subject; provides an 

overview 

• 

Middle: 

Provides facts 

about the subject

 

• 

End:

 Provides a general 

statement about the topic

• 

Generalised