Anecdote

Definition
Anecdote is a text which retells funny and unusual incidents in fact or imagination. Its purpose is to entertain the readers.

GENERIC STRUCTURE OF ANECDOTE TEXT



1. ABSTRACT
2. ORIENTATION
3. CRISIS
4. REACTION
5. CODA


LANGUAGE FEATURES OF ANECDOTE TEXT


- USE OF PUNCTUATIONS: !, “…”, ?, ETC.
- ADDITIVE CONNECTORS: AND, AS WELL AS, ETC.
- TEMPORAL CONNECTIVES: FIRST, THEN, EVERSINCE, ETC.
- CAUSAL CONNECTIVES: BECAUSE, AS, FOR, ETC.
- VERBS OF ACTION: SIT,  LAUGH, SCREAM, ETC.
- VERBS OF THINKING AND FEELING: FEEL, THINK, SEEM, ETC.
- WORDS REFLECTING THE WRITER’S ATTITUDE: FIND OUT, SHOCK, SURPRISE, ETC.


Example of Anecdote text

There was a black family in Scotland years ago. They were Clark family with nine children. They had a dream to go to America. The family worked and saved. They were making plan to travel with their children to America. It had taken several years but finally they had saved enough money. They had gotten passport. They had booked seats for the whole family member in a new liner to America.

The entire family was full of anticipation and excitement with their new life in America. However few days before their departure, the youngest son was bitten by a dog. The doctor sewed up the boy. Because of the possibility of getting rabies, there were being quarantined for long days. They were in quarantine when the departure time came. The family dreams were dashed. They could not make the trip to America as they had planned.

The father was full of disappointed and anger. He stomped the dock to watch the ship leaved without him and his family. He shed tears of disappointment. He cursed both his son and God for the misfortune.

Five days latter, the tragic news spread throughout Scotland. The ship, the mighty Titanic, had shank. It took hundreds of passenger and crew with it. Titanic which had been called the unsinkable ship had sunk. It was unbelievable but it was.

The Clak family should have been on that ship, but because of the bitten son by a dog, they were left behind. When the father heard the news, he hugged the son and thanked him for saving the family. He thanked God for saving their lives. It was a blessing behind a tragedy. (Adapted from Look Ahead 2)