CHAPTER 3 PART 2 : Procedure Text "How to do"

Hallo everybody.

In this post I want to discuss about one type of text that must be understood by English learner in Indonesia, that is procedure text. Have you learnt this type of text in your school? I am sure most of students that like English lesson have been familiar with this kind of text, right?

Before I explain about this text, I want to ask you, Do you like cooking? Cooking is something that usually we do every day, especially for woman. Cooking can be enjoyable activity if we like it but there are some people lazy to cook or even afraid because they cannot make delicious food. To help them, people who cannot cook can see recipes. Recipes are very helpful. When we want to make delicious food, we need recipe because there are steps that can lead us to do it. Recipe is an example of procedure text.

Another example is book instruction. When you buy a new TV or a new phone cell, there must be a book instruction in the box. Book instruction is also one of the examples of procedure text. When you want to download something from the internet, there are steps before we do that. Those steps are also procedure text. Then, what is procedure text actually?

Procedure text is a text that explains or helps us how to make or use something. Its social function is to describe how something is completely done through a sequence of steps. Communicative purpose of this text is to describe how something is made through a sequence of actions or steps.

There are three generic structures in procedure text. The first is goals or purposes. The second is materials or tools. The third and the last are steps or methods. To know the text that we read is procedure or not is so simple. You can read the title of it. If the title is started with ‘how to make…’ or ‘how to do…’ and 'how to use...' it can be certainly defined that the text is procedure text.

There are three definition about procedure text : (1)Texts that explain how something works or how to do instruction / operation manuals e.g. how to use the video, the computer, the tape recorder, the photocopier, the fax. (2) Texts that instruct how to do a particular activity e.g. recipes, rules for games, science experiments, road safety rules. (3) Texts that deal with human behavior, e.g how to live happily, how to succeed.

EXAMPLE :

How To Use A Liquid Detergent To Treat the Stubborn Stains

If you want to treat stubborn stains with a liquid detergent, please prepare the followings:

1. Liquid detergent

2. Normal detergent

3. Water

4. Washing Machine

If you have prepared the appliance and all materials, follow these directions:

1. Pour a small amount of the liquid detergent onto the stain and let it sit for a few minutes.

2. Massage the detergent gently into the material.

3. Place the item in the wash with your normal detergent.

4. Turn on your washing machine and wait until it finishes its washing time.

5. Check whether or not the stains have gone. If the stains are still there, repeat the steps.

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