Cara Membuat Pancake Sendiri di Rumah

Cara membuat pancake akan kami bahas disini beserta bahan dan alat yang digunakan saat memasaknya. Bagi seseorang yang gemar atau terbisa membuat kue dan roti tentu membuat pancake sangatlah mudah. Hal ini dikarenakan cara untuk membuat pancake juga sama dengan cara untuk membuat roti yang lain, yang membedakan adalah bahan dan cara memasaknya.

Bagi anda yang tidak bisa membuat pancake, anda bisa langsung membelinya pada toko roti atau toko kue yang dekat dengan rumah anda. Kalaupun anda ingin membuatnya sendiri, anda bisa mempraktekkan langkah-langkah di bawah ini.

Bahan dasar yang harus anda siapkan :

1. Tepung terigu 100 gram
2. Susu 200-250 ml
3. Telur 2 butir (pisahkan antara kuning dan putihnya)
4. Margarin
5. Garam
Untuk toppingnya anda bisa menggunakan sirup maupun es krim.

Alat yang harus disiapkan :
1. Mixer
2. Teflon
3. Wadah

Langkah atau cara membuat pancake :

1. Buatlah adonan dari terigu, susu dan telur (kuningnya saja). Aduk ketiga bahan tersebut hingga benar-benar tercampur secara merata. Anda bisa memakai mixer agar adonan lebih merata dan anda dapat melakukan aktivitas yang lain.

2. Setelah ketiga bahan tersebut dapat merata pada adonan, anda bisa memasukkan putih telur sedikit demi sedikit. Hindari putih telur tersebut mengental menjadi satu, gunakan teknik pancing untuk mencampur putih telurnya. Jika putih telur dapat tercampur dengan baik, maka adonan pun dapat mengembang dengan baik.

3. Ambil teflon yang sudah anda siapkan tadi, panaskan pada kompor anda. Usahakan anda memakai teflon yang paling kecil agar api dapat merata pada seluruh bagian. Bila sudah panas, anda bisa mengolesi permukaan teflon dengan margarin kemudian kecilkan apinya dan ratakan margarin pada setiap permukaan teflon. Jika teflon kecil tidak ada, gunakan teflon yang berukuran standart.

4. Tuang adonan pada teflon yang telah anda olesi margarin sedikit demi sedikit maksimal 2 sendok sayur, hal ini harus anda lakukan agar adonan tersebut dapat matang pada seluruh bagian. Lalu tutup teflonnya sampai salah satu bagian benar-benar matang, setelah itu buka tutupnya dan balikkan adonan tersebut agar kedua sisi dapat matang sempurna.

5. Bila kedua bagian sudah mengeras, silahkan diangkat dan disajikan kepada keluarga atau tamu yang ada dirumah anda. Jangan lupa untuk memberikan topping diatas pancake tersebut.

Report Text - Penjelasan & Contoh

Secara umum, report text adalah salah satu jenis teks yang masuk kategori  "factual texts." Teks jenis ini sering dikatakan sebagai "saudara kembar" descriptive text sehingga wajar banyak siswa "bingung" cara membedakan kedua teks tersebut.

Sebelumnya, secara singkat dan sederhana, sudah memberikan penjelasan aneh mengenai perbedaan keduanya [baca: bingung report text atau descriptive text]; lagi-lagi itu cuma perbedaan kecil dan hampir semua siswa bisa mencerna. Oleh karena itu, untuk mendalami apa itu report text, yuk kita simak bersama-sama keterangan di bawah ini:

• Pengertian Report Text
• Generic Structure Report Text
• Ciri-Ciri Report Text
• Contoh Report Text : Thanksgiving Day
• Contoh Report Text : Venice

Pengertian Report Text

Istilah report text sering juga dikenal dengan sebutan informational report. Report, dalam Concise Oxford Dictionary Edisi 10, diartikan sebagai 1) an account given of a matter after investigation or consideration. 2) a piece of information about an event or situation. Jika disimpulkan, secara bahasa report text adalah teks yang berfungsi untuk memberikan informasi tentang suatu peristiwa atau situasi, setelah diadakannya investigasi dan melalui berbagai pertimbangan.

Definisi report text ini juga hampir mirip dengan apa yang sering disebutkan dalam berbagai buku bahasa Inggris di tingkat menengah, "Report is a text which present information about something, as it is. It is as a result of systematic observation and analyses." [Report adalah sebuah teks yang menghadirkan informasi tentang suatu hal secara apa adanya. Teks ini adalah sebagai hasil dari observasi dan analisa secara sistematis.]

Dengan demikian, sebenarnya teks report dan descriptive mempunyai perbedaan yang cukup jelas, meski nampak keduanya dikatakan sebagai "saudara kembar" sekalipun.

Intinya, dalam report text itu biasanya berisi dengan fakta-fakta yang bisa dibuktikan secara ilmiah, Oke..

Generic Structure Report Text.

Seperti halnya dengan descriptive text, Report text juga hanya memiliki dua struktur umum [generic structure] yaitu :

1. General Clasification; Pernyataan umum yang menerangkan subjek laporan, keterangan, dan klasifikasinya. 
2. Description: tells what the phenomenon under discussion ; in terms of parts, qualities, habits or behaviors; Pada bagian ini biasanya memberikan gambaran fenomena-fenomena yang terjadi; baik bagian-bagiannya, sifat-sifatnya, kebiasaannya, ataupun tingkah lakunya. Intinya adalah penjabaran dari klasifikasi yang disajikan dengan ilmiah.

Ada juga beberapa keterangan mengenai generic structure report text, yang meliputi :

1. General information
2. Bundles of Specific Information

General information adalah bagian yang menyebutkan informasi umum dari tema tulisan yang. Sedangkan Bundles of specific information, adalah penjabaran dari informasi umum tersebut.

Saya sendiri lebih cenderung setuju dengan generic structure kedua; karena hal ini bisa membuat siswa lebih paham akan cara menulis report text.

Tujuan Report Text

Setiap tulisan pasti memiliki tujuan mengapa tulisan itu ditulis. Begitu juga dengan report text. Beberapa pakar menyebutkan bahwa tujuan teks report adalah :

Its social purpose is presenting information about something. They generally describe an entire class of things, whether natural or made: mammals, the planets, rocks, plants, countries of region, culture, transportation, and so on. 

Jika disimpulkan, tujuan report text adalah untuk menyampaikan informasi hasil pengamatan dan analisa yang sistematis. Informasi yang dijelaskan dalam report text biasanya bersifat umum, baik itu alamiah ataupun buata seperti binatang mamalia, planet, bebatuan, tumbuh-tumbuhan, negara bagian, budaya, transportasi, dan lain sebagainya.

Pola Tata Bahasa dalam Report Text

Setiap tulisan pasti memiliki ciri bahasa tersendiri; jika recount text dan narrative text cenderung memiliki ciri menggunakan simple past, lalu bagaimana dengan report text? Oke berikut adalah pola grammar yang umum digunakan dalam teks report, yang meliputi :

• Use of general nouns, eg hunting dogs, rather than particular nouns, eg our dog;
• Use of relating verbs to describe features, eg Molecules are tiny particles;
• Some use of action verbs when describing behaviour, eg Emus cannot fly;
• Use of timeless present tense to indicate usualness, eg Tropical cyclones always begin over the sea;
• Use of technical terms, eg Isobars are lines drawn on a weather map;
• Use of paragraphs with topic sentences to organise bundles of information; repeated naming of the topic as the beginning focus of the clause.

Keterangan :

• General nouns, maksudnya adalah, suatu benda (baik itu hidup atau mati) yang bersifat umum. Coba bandingkan : Hunting dogs >< My dog. Hunting dogs bersifat umum; sedangkan my dog bersifat khusus. 
• Relating verbs, dalam grammar disebut juga dengan linking verbs. Seperti to be [is, am, are: present], seem, look, taste dan lain sebagainya. 
• Timeless present tense adalah salah satu penanda waktu dalam simple present seperti "often, usually, always" dan lain-lain. 
• Technical terms, maksudnya adalah istilah-istilah yang meliputi teks report tersebut. Misalnya tentang "music" maka, istilah-istilah musik harus ada.

Contoh Report Text : Thanksgiving Day

Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Day is a celebration of harvest, thankfulness for peace, and the attempt of Native Americans. It is usually celebrated in late autumn. 

In the past, Thanksgiving was celebrated for their rich harvest in New England. In North America, however, it was originally held to thank God for their survival in the new land which was not easy for them. However, in Canada, it had been celebrated as in New England. Thanksgiving now is celebrated in United States of America and in Canada. Thanksgiving festivals are held every fourth Thursday of November in the U.S and on the second Monday of October in Canada. It is usually celebrated in four to five days in the North America and for three days in Canada.

It is celebrated through families and friends gathering to eat and give good luck. Turkey is the main dish in the thanksgiving dinner. Thanksgiving parades are also usually held. In Thanksgiving homes are decorated with wreaths, fresh and dried flowers. Lamps are lighted to brighten the environment. Tables are decorated with best china and antique silver dishes to mark the occasion.

Contoh Report Text : Venice

Venice Pictures - Reporting Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy. It is the capital of region Veneto. Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area. Venice has been known as the “Queen of the Adriatic”, “City of Water”, “City of Bridges”, and “The City of Light”. The city stretches across 117 small islands in the marshy Venetian Lagoon along the Adriatic Sea in northeast Italy.

Venice is world-famous for its canals. It is built on an archipelago of 117 islands formed by about 150 canals in a shallow lagoon. The islands on which the city is built are connected by about 400 bridges. In the old center, the canals serve the function of roads, and every form of transport is on water or on foot.

You can ride gondola there. It is the classical Venetian boat which nowadays is mostly used for tourists, or for weddings, funerals, or other ceremonies. Now, most Venetians travel by motorised waterbuses (“vaporetti”) which ply regular routes along the major canals and between the city’s islands. The city also has many private boats. The only gondolas still in common use by Venetians are the traghetti, foot passenger ferries crossing the Grand Canal at certain points without bridges.

You can see the amusing city’s landmarks such as Piazza San Marco, Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo, Saint Mark’s Cathedral or villas of the Veneto. The villas of the Veneto, rural residences for nobles during the Republic, are one of the most interesting aspects of Venetian countryside.

They are surrounded by elegant gardens, suitable for fashionable parties of high society. The city is also well known for its beautiful and romantic view, especially at night.

Descriptive Text (Full Materi + Contoh)

Inilah penjelasan dan contoh descriptive text untuk sobat yang sedang dan masih menempuh perjalanan panjang belajar bahasa Inggris. Tidak usah ragu untuk membaca tulisan descriptive text di bawah ini, semakin sering kita membaca semakin bisa kita memahaminya. Dan alangkah baiknya jika tidak saja paham, tapi juga bisa menulis descriptive text sendiri.

Mungkin sobat sudah "bosan" mempelajari narrative text, karena itu sekarang saatnya kita membahas descriptive text agar kepala kita tidak melulu berisi dongeng. Tidak lupa pula penjelasan mengenai descriptive text ini disertai contoh menarik tentang teks deskriptif yang semoga saja membantu sobat semua untuk bisa menulis descriptive text dengan baik.

Berikut adalah daftar materi tentang descriptive text yang bisa sobat pelajari

Pengertian Descriptive Text

Dalam artian luas, Description, seperti dijelaskan oleh Kane (2000: 352), diartikan seperti pada kalimat di bawah ini :

Description is about sensory experience—how something looks, sounds, tastes. Mostly it is about visual experience, but description also deals with other kinds of perception.

Jadi, jika disimpulkan dari penjelasan Kane di atas, tulisan deskriptif bermakna teks yang menjelaskan tentang pengalaman yang berhubungan dengan pancaindera, seperti apa bentuknya, suaranya, rasanya. Kebanyakan teks deskriptif memang tentang pengalaman visual, tapi nyatanya pengalaman selain dari indera penglihatanpun bisa digunakan dalam descriptive text.

Namun secara khusus, descriptive text adalah, "...... is a text which says what a person or a thing is like. Its purpose is to describe and reveal a particular person, place, or thing." [teks yang menjelaskan gambaran seseorang atau benda. Tujuannya adalah mengambarkan atau mengungkapkan orang, tempat atau benda tertentu]

Jadi, bisa dikatakan bahwa descriptive text ini adalah teks yang menjelaskan tentang seperti apakah orang atau suatu benda dideskripsikan, baik bentuknya, sifat-sifatnya, jumlahnya dan lain-lain. Tujuan (purpose) dari descriptive text pun jelas, yaitu untuk menjelaskan, MENGGAMBARKAN atau mengungkapkan seseorang atau suatu benda.

Generic Structure dalam Descriptive Text

Ketika menulis descriptive text, ada beberapa susunan umum / generic structure (sebenarnya tidak wajib) agar tulisan kita dianggap benar. Susunan tersebut adalah :

1. Identification : berisi tentang identifikasi hal / seorang yang akan dideskripsikan.
2. Description : berisi tentang penjelasan / penggambaran tentang hal / seseorang dengan menyebutkan beberapa sifatnya.

Ketika kita menulis descriptive text, hal yang wajib kita ketahui adalah cara kita menyampaikan deskripsi tulisan kita tersebut. Oleh karena itu pemahaman tentang adjective (kata sifat bahasa Inggris) wajib kita kuasai.

Selain adjective, beberapa struktur bahasa Inggris yang berfungsi sebagai adjective pun harus kita pahami agar penulisan descriptive text kita terlihat tidak kaku.

Contoh Descriptive Text

Banyak sekali contoh descriptive text yang tersebar di dunia maya. Cara mudah mendapatkan contoh descriptive text dalam sebuah situs yaitu dengan melihat about us sebuah situs. Mengapa demikian, karena suatu situs biasanya terdapat penjelasan atau gambaran tentang keberadaan mereka dalam dunia maya.

Oke, mari kita lihat contoh descriptive text yang belum pernah anda baca (mungkin) :

Contoh Descriptive Text tenang Ibu

My mother is a beautiful person. She is not tall but not short, and she has curly hair and brown. Her eyes color are like honey and her color skin color light brown, and she has a beautiful smile. Her weight likes 120 lbs.


She is a very kind person. She is very lovely, friendly, patient, and she loves to help people. I love my mom, because she is a good example to me. She loves being in the Church, and she loves sing and dance too. 

She is a very good child, wife and mother. She always takes care of her family. She likes her house to be clean and organized. She a very organized person, and all things in the house are in the right place. She doesn't like messes. 

She always has a smile on her face. She is so sweet and lovely. I like when I am going to sleep or went I wake up or when I am going to go to some places, she always give me a kiss, and when the family have a problem she always be with us to helps us and to give us all her love.

Bagaimana membuat Descriptive Text Keindahan Shangri-La? Indahnya....

Contoh Descriptive Text tentang Yuta, Teman Kelas

Yuta is one of the 150 International students at the ELC of Brigham Young University. He is from Japan. He grew up in Japan, and he is 19 years old. There are six people in his family, a father, a mother, three sisters and himself. He is the youngest in his family. He is also the only boy in his family, but now he is in Provo, Utah, studying English. Yuta likes the United States very much and he thinks everything is cheap. Yuta thinks his English classes are excellent and the teachers are professionals. Yuta thinks someone in his class is noisy so he doesn't like that. In his free time he spends too much time sleeping, so it seems that he has a sleeping sickness.

Contoh Descriptive Text tentang Provo

I have been in Provo for almost eleven months. I have seen winter, spring, summer, and fall. Provo's winter is so beautiful. The mountains are covered with a lot of snow. They look like many beautiful brides wearing wedding dresses, and veils. In spring, Provo doesn't have many trees; when the snow melts the mountains are bald as strong bald men. Summer in Provo is very hot in the daytime. Last summer when I was walking under the sky, it was like walking in an oven; the sun was like a fire that burned my skin. In spring and summer the weather was always clear. I never used my umbrella. Provo was like a huge clothes dryer; it is very dry in spring and summer. In the fall the weather in Provo is very strange. One late September morning when I woke up, the mountaintops was covered with snow. Provo is a lovely and strange place. I love it very much.

Contoh Descriptive Text tentang Gitar

written by Jeremy Burden 


My most valuable possession is an old, slightly warped blond guitar--the first instrument I taught myself how to play. 

It's nothing fancy, just a Madeira folk guitar, all scuffed and scratched and finger-printed. At the top is a bramble of copper-wound strings, each one hooked through the eye of a silver tuning key. The strings are stretched down a long, slim neck, its frets tarnished, the wood worn by years of fingers pressing chords and picking notes. The body of the Madeira is shaped like an enormous yellow pear, one that was slightly damaged in shipping. The blond wood has been chipped and gouged to gray, particularly where the pick guard fell off years ago. 

No, it's not a beautiful instrument, but it still lets me make music, and for that I will always treasure it.

Bagaimana? sudah tahu tentang Descriptive Text? dan ingin mencoba menulis descriptive text sendiri?

Narrative Text (Full Materi + Contoh)

Belajar bahasa Inggris di tingkat menengah, baik itu SMP ataupun SMA, kini tidak akan lepas dari pelajaran "wajib" tentang narrative text. Dalam pelajaran ini, siswa biasanya dituntut untuk bisa menceritakan sebuah kisah, dongeng ataupun cerita dalam bentuk tulisan.

Meski "storytelling" adalah salah satu komponen spoken English yang sekaligus meramaikan pelajaran ini, narrative text nyatanya lebih dominan diajarkan dalam bentuk tulisan, memahami generic structure sebuah cerita, ataupun menganalisa karakter, latar, ataupun alur cerita narrative.

Perlu diketahui bahwa narrative text, dalam mata kuliah writing and composition biasanya disebut narration, adalah salah satu jenis teks dalam sebuah bahasa sastra. Biasanya, narrative text (teks naratif) berisi tentang cerita--baik cerita fiksi, cerita non-fiksi, dongeng, cerita rakyat, cerita binatang / fabel dll, pokoknya semua hal tentang cerita ya narrative namanya... :-)

Mengacu pada keterangan di atas, contoh - contoh narrative text sebenarnya sudah banyak diterbitkan dalam blog ini, seperti :

1. Cerita Bahasa Inggris berisi kumpulan kisah / cerita rakyat bahasa Inggris yang melegenda di bumi nusantara Indonesia.
2. Dongeng Bahasa Inggris Pilihan berisi kumpulan dongeng-dongeng terkenal baik di dunia ataupun di Indonesia.
3. Cerita Binatang / Fabel Bahasa Inggris berisi kumpulan cerita tentang hewan atau disebut juga "fable" terpopuler.
4. Cerita Nabi berbahasa Inggris Pendek berisi cerita naratif islami tentang Nabi dan Rasul dalam bahasa Inggris.

Silahkan klik link-link di atas untuk memilih contoh narrative text pilihan anda sendiri. Sangat tidak sulit kan?

Sekarang sedikit serius, karena akan menjurus pada penjelasan, oke...

Pengertian Narrative Text

Disebutkan bahwa A narrative text is an imaginative story to entertain people (teks narasi adalah cerita imaginatif yang bertujuan menghibur orang). 

Jika melihat pada kamus bahasa Inggris, secara harfiah narrative bermakna (1) a spoken or written account of connected events; a story. (2) the narrated part of a literary work, as distinct from dialogue. (3) the practice or art of narration. 

Cerita Narrative Text

(Narrative bermakna : 1. sebuah cerita baik terucap atau tertulis tentang peristiwa-peristiwa yang berhubungan. 2. bagian yang diceritakan dalam sebuah karya sastra, berbeda dengan dialog. 3. Praktik atau seni bercerita) 

Jika disimpulkan, maka sebuah narrative text adalah teks yang berisi sebuah cerita baik tertulis ataupun tidak tertulis dan terdapat rangkaian peristiwa yang saling terhubung.

Generic Structure dari Narrative Text

Bagi sobat yang masih duduk di bangku sekolah tingkat menengah, penjelasan mengenai narrative texts tak usah sulit-sulit ya.. Intinya, narrative text ini mempunyai struktur / susunan seperti di bawah ini : 

• Orientation : It is about the opening paragraph where the characters of the story are introduced.(berisi pengenalan tokoh, tempat dan waktu terjadinya cerita (siapa atau apa, kapan dan dimana) 

• Complication : Where the problems in the story developed. (Permasalahan muncul / mulai terjadi dan berkembang)

• Resolution : Where the problems in the story is solved. Masalah selesai, --- secara baik "happy ending" ataupun buruk "bad ending".

Kadangkala susunan (generic structure) narrative text bisa berisi: Orientation, Complication, Evaluation, Resolution dan Reorientation. Meski “Evaluation” dan “Reorientation” merupakan optional; bisa ditambahkan dan bisa tidak. Evaluation berisi penilaian/evaluasi terhadap jalannya cerita atau konflik. Sedangkan Reorientation berisi penyimpulan isi akhir cerita.

Jika sudah mahir membuat cerita narrative, susunannya bisa diubah-ubah kok, yang terpenting bagian-bagian di atas masih tetap ada dalam tulisan narrative sobat. 

Grammar Used dalam Narrative Text

Grammar (tata bahasa) yang sering muncul dalam membuat narrative text adalah:

Menggunakan tenses "Past", baik simple, past perfect, past continuous, past perfect continuous, atau bisa saja past future continuous. (aturan ini bukan aturan wajib yang mutlak harus dipenuhi kok. Tidak percaya, tanyakan pada guru bahasa Inggris sobat)

Untuk lebih jelasnya, lihat contohnya di bawah ini :

Contoh Narrative Text (1)

Sincere Will Get a Great Return

Once upon a time, there was a kingdom named Auretto, all people lived peacefully there. One of them was Charlita, the king’s daughter who was assumed as the most beautiful and kindest Princess of Auretto.

One day, Charlita looked blue. Because of that her father got confused. “What’s the matter my beautiful daughter? Why are you so sad?” asked King Fernando. Charlita was just silent. She did not say anything.

Then, King Fernando decided to make a competition to cheer Charlita again. After that, the palace representative announce: “I will make a competition. The aim is to make my daughter, Princess Charlita to be happy and laugh again. Everyone who can do it, will get a prize. It will be held tomorrow when the sun rises. Sign: King Fernando.”

The following morning, everybody came to the palace, tried to give their best performance. They seemed happy and laugh, but not for Princess Charlita. She was just silent and still looked sad.

King Fernando started to give up. No one amused his daughter. Then, there came a young handsome man. “Excuse me King Fernando. I would like to join your competition. But, would you mind if I took Princess Charlita for a walk?” said the young man gently. “As long as you make my daughter be happy again, it will totally alright.” said King Fernando. The young handsome man took Princess Charlita for a walk in a beautiful blue lake with a green forest around it. Princess Charlita smiled and looked happy after that. Every body looked happy, too. “I know why are you so my beautiful daughter. Now, I promise I will environment green. I regret for always destroying it. Finally, the environment around the kingdom became so beautiful and green, full of plants. Then, the young handsome man got a prize from the king. “I will marry you off my daughter.” said him. “That is the prize I promise for you. Thanks for keeping our environment well. Thanks for making my daughter happy again.”

Contoh Narrative Text (2)

The Legend of Rawa Pening

Once upon a time, there was a little poor boy came into a little village. He was very hungry and weak. He knocked at every door and asked for some food, but nobody cared about him. Nobody wanted to help the little boy.

Finally, a generous woman helped him. She gave him shelter and a meal. When the boy wanted to leave, this old woman gave him a “lesung”, a big wooden mortar for pounding rice. She reminded him, “please remember, if there is a flood you must save yourself. Use this “lesung” as a boat”. The “lesung” was happy and thanked the old woman.The little boy continued his journey. While he was passing through the village, he saw many people gathering on the field. The boy came closer and saw a stick stuck in the ground. People challenged each other to pull out that stick. Everybody tried, but nobody succeeded. “Can I try?” asked the little boy. The crowd laughed mockingly. The boy wanted to try his luck so he stepped forward and pulled out the stick. He could do it very easily. Everybody was dumbfounded.

Suddenly, from the hole left by stick, water spouted out. It did not stop until it flooded the village. And no one was saved from the water except the little boy and the generous old woman who gave him shelter and meal. As she told him, he used the “lesung” as a boat and picked up the old woman. The whole village became a huge lake. It is now known as Rawa Pening Lake in Salatiga, Central Java, Indonesia.

Penjelasan Narrative Text (untuk tingkat Mahir)

  

Untuk mengetahui definisi dan penjelasan tentang narration (narrative text) sobat mahasiswa dan mahasiswi bisa membaca buku buku tentang writing di perpustakaan terdekat dan terlengkap, dan disini saya hanya akan mengutipkan pendapat Thomas S. Kane (2000: 363-364) di bawah ini:

A narrative is a meaningful sequence of events told in words. It is sequential in that the events are ordered, not merely random. Sequence always involves an arrangement in time (and usually other arrangements as well). A straightforward movement from the first event to the last constitutes the simplest chronology. However, chronology is sometimes complicated by presenting the events in another order: for example, a story may open with the final episode and then flash back to all that preceded it.

A narrative has meaning in that it conveys an evaluation of some kind. The writer reacts to the story he or she tells, and states or implies that reaction. This is the "meaning," sometimes called the "theme," of a story. Meaning must always be rendered. The writer has to do more than tell us the truth he sees in the story; he must manifest that truth in the characters and the action.

Characters and action are the essential elements of any story. Also important, but not as essential, is the setting, the place where the action occurs. Characters are usually people—sometimes actual people, as in history books or newspaper stories, sometimes imaginary ones, as in novels. Occasionally characters are animals (as in an Aesop fable), and sometimes a dominant feature of the environment functions almost like a character (the sea, an old house).

The action is what the characters say and do and anything that happens to them, even if it arises from a nonhuman source—a storm, for instance, or a fire. Action is often presented in the form of a plot. Action is, so to speak, the raw material; plot, the finished product, the fitting together of the bits and pieces of action into a coherent pattern. Usually, though not invariably, plot takes the form of a cause-and effect chain: event A produces event B; B leads to C; C to D; and so on until the final episode, X. In a well-constructed plot of this kind we can work back from X to A and see the connections that made the end of the story likely and perhaps inevitable.

Stories can be very long and complicated, with many characters, elaborate plots, and subtle interpenetration of character, action, and setting. In writing that is primarily expository, however, narratives are shorter and simpler. Most often they are factual rather than imaginary, as when an historian describes an event. And often in exposition an illustration may involve a simple narrative. Being able to tell a story, then, while not the primary concern of the expository writer, is a skill which he or she will now and again be called upon to use.