The generic (schematic) structure of a spoof text is below:
1. Orientation : sets the scene
2. Event(s) : tell what happened
3. Twist : provide the punch line
language features:
· focus on individual participants
· use of material processes
· circumstances of time and place
· use of past tense
Notes:
Material processes are verbs that show activities which can be seen, e.g. write, eat, walk etc
Material processes consist of DOING and HAPPENING.
DOING : create, make, build, develop, send, throw, strew, pour, dissolve etc
HAPPENING : move, fall, rise, come, go, soften, harden, melt etc
See the example of a spoof text below:
The plane was late and detectives waited at the airport all morning. They expected a valuable parcel of diamonds from South Africa. A few hours earlier, someone had told the police that thieves would try to steal the diamonds. When the plane arrived some of detectives waited inside the main building while others waited on the airfield. Two men took the parcel off the plane and carried into the Custom House. While two detectives kept guard at the door, two others opened the parcel. To their surprise, the precious parcel was full of stones and sand!
Read the other example of spoof text!
Green, Pink and Yellow
Orientation:
Can you name the colors in English? Yes, you are right. They are blue, red, yellow, green, white, brown, purple, black and so on. I have a funny story about the colours. Do you want to know it? ok let me tell you.
Events:
One day, an English teacher talked about colours to his students. After he had been explaining, he asked his students, “Who can make a sentence using the word, Green, Pink and Yellow?”
James, the smartest student in the class quickly raised his hand and answered, “When the yellow morning Sun comes, I see a beautiful girl wearing a pink clothe walking through the green grass”.
“Excellent. James, you are a very good student” the teacher said.
Twist:
“Me, me Sir”. Johny, the lazy student in the class said while raising his hand. And then he said, “I heard telephone ringing green, green, then I pink up the receiver and I said, “Yellow, who is speaking there?
Now read again the concept of spoof text!
Purpose : to tell an event with a humorous twist
Text organization
orientation : (who were involved in the story, when, and where)
Events : (tell what happened in chronological order)
Twist : (provide the funniest part of the story)
Language features:
· The use of action verbs
(e.g. walked, laughed, ran away etc)
· The use of connectives
(e.g. first. Then, finally etc)
· The use of adverbial phrases of time and place
(e.g. in the garden, two days ago)
· The use of the simple past tense
(e.g. he walked away from the village)
Resources:
Practice and progress, L.A Hill
Sudarwati and Eudia Grace.2007. Look Ahead: An English Course for Senior High School Students Year XI, Science and Social Study Program. Jakarta: Erlangga
Events : (tell what happened in chronological order)
Twist : (provide the funniest part of the story)
Language features:
· The use of action verbs
(e.g. walked, laughed, ran away etc)
· The use of connectives
(e.g. first. Then, finally etc)
· The use of adverbial phrases of time and place
(e.g. in the garden, two days ago)
· The use of the simple past tense
(e.g. he walked away from the village)
Resources:
Practice and progress, L.A Hill
Sudarwati and Eudia Grace.2007. Look Ahead: An English Course for Senior High School Students Year XI, Science and Social Study Program. Jakarta: Erlangga
