Preparation for National Examination

Dear all,

Many students of Junior High Schools are often worried about national exams. They sometimes think that nationals exams are frightening.  English is one of the subjects examined in the national exams.  There are some "Standar Kompetensi Lulusan" that the students should master.  In reading, we will have many kinds of questions related to:
1. The communicative purpose of the text
2. General Information
3. Main Idea
4. Reference
5. Inference
6. Moral value
7. Specific information
.

Well, let me help you cope with those seven monsters.  Hahahaha...not really terrible ogres, I guess.

1. The communicative purpose of text / the author's purpose

Soal-soal ujian menggunakan istilah communicative purpose atau social function of the text.

Persuade, Inform, or Entertain? (Membujuk, memberi informasi, atau menghibur)

Questions used to ask the author’ purposes are:

1.       1. What does the author mean when he/she writes  “___________________”?

2.       2. Why did the author write this article?

3.       3. What is the author’s purpose in writing this article.

There are three main purposes why a text was written.

1.       To persuade

The author’s goal is to persuade the reader to agree with the author’s opinion. It is also to advertise products when the texts advertisements.

Examples: advertisements, commercials, newspaper editorial, etc.

2.       To inform

The author’s goal is to enlighten (inform, instruct, educate, tell, clarify, explain) the reader with topic that are usually real or contains facts.

Facts are used to teach, not to persuade.

Examples: textbooks, cookbooks, newspaper, encyclopedias, etc.

3.       To entertain

The author’s goal is to tell a story or refer to real imaginary characters, places, and events.

Examples: poems, stories, plays, comic strips, etc.

Read the text below and determine what the author’s purpose is.

1.      1.  The giant panda is a bear like animal that has thick white fur with black markings on its ears, limbs, shoulders, and around its eyes. The giant panda feeds on bamboo forests at high altitudes in western China. It also eats bulbs, roots, eggs, and some small mammals. The cubs are born in late winter. The giant panda is an endangered species and is protected by the Chinese government.

2.      2.  Leah and her brother, Jesse were playing with the water hose outside one day. Jesse was hiding from Leah so she wouldn't squirt him with the water hose. The back door opened and Leah pointed the water hose toward the door. It was Mom and she was soaking wet!

3.     3.   The Slim-O-Matic will help you lose pounds and inches from your body in only one month. This amazing machine helps you to exercise correctly. If you buy now, you will also receive an easy video to show you the proper way to exercise. Send $75.99 and begin exercising today.

4.      4.  It was a beautiful morning in Austin, Texas. The sun was just rising in the sky. Juan couldn't wait to find his fishing pole and call his friend Sammy to go fishing. They had a great time on these early morning fishing trips. They took their dogs with them and the dogs would swim in the lake while they fished. It was so funny to watch those dogs paddle around the lake.

Answer:

1. To inform; pada soal #1, teks tersebut memberi informasi kepada pembaca tentang panda raksasa.

2. To entertain; pada soal #2, teks tersebut menghibur pembaca. Pada soal-soal yang kita temui biasanya cerita       seperti di atas disebut dengan recount yang fungsinya  menceritakan pengalaman masa lalu seseorang dan juga menghibur.

3. To persuade; pada soal #3, teks tersebut membujuk pembaca untuk menggunakan produk yang ditawarkan.  Teks semacam itu memang dimaksudkan agar kita setuju dengan opini penulis bahwa produk yang ditawarkan  cocok untuk pembaca.

4. To entertain;  pada soal #4, teks tersebut menghibur pembaca. Penulis menceritakan cerita  tokoh, latar tempat dan latar waktu.

Let’s Practice

Read the text and answer the question.

Growing Raisins

Most raisins sold in America are grown in the San Joaquin Valley in California. Vines are planted in straight rows and tied to posts and wires. After about three years, the vines produce grapes that can be eaten or turned into raisins. During the harvest, cutters use a special tool to cut bunches of grapes from the vine. After they are cut, the grapes are placed on special paper trays. They are left in the sun for up to three weeks. When the raisins are dry, they are carefully bundled and examined by sorters. Then, they are packaged in boxes and sent out to stores.

The author wrote this passage in order to ….

aa.     persuade the reader to eat more raisins

Bb.    inform the reader about how raisins are produced

C.   c.  instruct the reader how to make homegrown raisins

d.  entertain the reader with a story about raisin farmers

Answer: b

So, to make it easier for you here are the questions:

Did the author try to make you laugh? (Entertain)
Did the author try to amuse you? (Entertain)

Did the author want to tell you a story? (Entertain)

Did the author give you facts? (Inform)

Did the author try to teach you something? (Inform)

Did the author try to convince you? (Persuade)

Did the author try to change your opinion? (Persuade)

Soal 2012 A86

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12. The purpose of the text above is ....

     A. to inform how to use the product

     B. to advertise the product

     C. to describe the benefits of the product

     D. to tell ingredients of the product

Pembahasan: Pilihan A tidak mengindikasikan bahwa teks tersebut memberi informasi.  Pilihan C tidak merupakan tujuan utama teks tersebut dibuat.  Pilihan D tidak tepat karena dalam teks tsb tidak menyebutkan ingredient/bahan pembuatan. Jadi tujuan teks  adalah untuk mengiklankan sebuah produk sehingga Pilihan B adalah jawabannya.

Prediksi

Bees Bees are insects. Bees are special insects because they can fly! They can move through the air like an airplane! Bees can fly because they have wings. They use their wings to fly.  Bees can fly fast. Bees can also fly slow. They can fly up and they can fly down. They need to fly to get to the flowers! Bees can have three colors. They can be yellow, red, and orange. All bees are black in some places. Bees have three main parts. They have a head. They have a body. And, they have a stinger. The stinger is used to defend against enemies. They also have six legs. They use their legs to stand and climb. They also use their legs to eat and collect pollen. Bees live in many places. They live in Africa, Australia, Asia, Europe, North America, South America. The only continent that bees do not live on is Antarctica! I understand why they don’t live in Antarctica. It’s too cold! Most of the time, bees are nice to humans. If you do not bother them, they will not bother you. Have fun watching the bees this summer!

What is the author’s purpose in writing the text?

A.      To persuade the reader to like bees.

B.      To amuse the reader.

C.      To tell the reader the description of bees in general.

D.      To instruct the reader to domesticate bees.

Jawaban: C

Exercise:

What is the the author's purpose in writing the following text? Why?

Write your answers via comments.  Don't forget to write down the members of your group.

Text A 

Rafflesia can be found in the forests of Malaysia, Southern Thailand, Sumatra and Java. But, Rafflesia flowers are fairly hard to locate. It is especially difficult to see them in bloom. Its buds take up to 10 months to develop while its blossom lasts for just a few days.

      Rafflesia has brownish, scale like leaves and fleshy, smelling flowers of various sizes, from few inches to meter big in diameter. We usually notice its large fleshy flowers. There is a deep well in the centre of the flowers. The sexual organs are located beneath the rim of the disk. Male and female flowers are separate.

      The reddish brown colors of the petals, sprinkled with white freckles produce unpleasant stench, similar to rotting flesh. This would attract flies and insects which help disperse the seeds. Rafflesia is parasite, which means it takes the nutrient out of its host.

Text B

Last autumn I was in India during Diwali, the “Festival of Lights” which takes place every year to celebrate the victory of good over evil. This festival lasts for five days and is held at the end of October or in the first week of November.

Preparations began weeks before the event. People cleaned their homes and painted wonderful designs called rangolis on the walls and floors. They bought beautiful new clothes and jewelry to wear during the festival. Women made delicious sweets which were better than any others I have ever tasted.

During the five days of Diwali, every home and temple was decorated, inside and outside, with lovely clay lamps and colourful candles. After dark, the whole neighbourhood glittered with thousands of tiny lights, as though in a fairy tale. Excited children set off firecrackers, and at first I was frightened by the loud bangs, but the spectacular display was so fascinating that I soon joined in the spirit of celebration.

Diwali is a deeply moving festival. I am very grateful I had the chance to share in this celebration of peace and harmony. I have fond memories of the experience, and in particular I will never forget how friendly and generous people were.

Text C

Sung-Yow  has a secret. He could paint a picture and make it come alive! This only happened when the painting was finished. Sung-Yow loved to paint dragons. He left out their eyes because he didn’t want them to come alive. In this way his secret stayed a secret.

The king heard that Sung-Yow was good at painting dragons. He asked Sung-Yow to paint four dragons on a wall. In three days the painting was almost finished. The dragons looked like they could jump off the wall. They didn’t jump because Sung-Yow had left out their eyes.

People came from far away to see the paintings.

“The dragons look so real,” they said.

“But where are their eyes?” they asked.

“If I dotted the eyes, the dragons would fly away,” said Sung-Yow.

Everyone laughed. No one believed him. Sung-Yow was not happy. This time he would NOT leave out the eyes. He painted little black dots on two of the dragons.

Crash! Crack! the wall split open. Two dragons jumped off the wall. Sung-Yow went on to become a very famous artist with a very famous secret.

In China when someone adds a finishing touch to a work, people might say “Draw Dragon Dot Eyes”. 

Text D

Mahogany In the natural rainforest, Mahogany is a very large canopy tree, sometimes reaching over 150 feet in height, with trunks sometimes more than 6 feet in diameter above a large basal buttress. It is a generally open-crowned tree, with gray to brownish-red fissured bark. Mahogany is perhaps the most valuable timber tree in the whole of Latin America and has been heavily exploited for most of this century. Mahogany is becoming increasingly rare, and is already extinct in parts of its original range. It is listed as threatened in "Arboles Maderables en Peligro de Extinción en Costa Rica" and is listed in CITES Appendix III. Mahogany varies from yellowish, reddish, pinkish, or salmon colored when freshly cut, to a deep rich red, to reddish brown as the wood matures with age. Mahogany is fine to medium texture, with uniform to interlocking grain, ranging from straight to wavy or curly. Irregularities in the grain often produce highly attractive figures such as fiddle back or mottle. Mahogany polishes to a high luster, with excellent working and finishing characteristics. It responds well to hand and machine tools, has good nailing and screwing properties, and turns and carves superbly. Mahogany is regarded by many as the world's premier wood for fine cabinetry, high-class furniture, trimming fine boats, pianos and other musical instruments, sculpture, joinery, turnery, figured and decorative veneer, interior trim, and carving.