Chapter IX (What is This?)

Information Report Texts

Read the following information.

Information Report Text
– The purpose: to describe an animal, item, or a phenomenon in general.
– The structure of a report text consists of:
• general classification. It talks about what the animals, items, or

phenomena are.

• description. It describes what the animals, items, or phenomena are like in

terms of parts, qualities, habits or behaviors (if living) and uses (if non-
natural).

– The linguistic feature: use simple present tense.

Information Report Texts

Listen and repeat.
Mind your pronunciation and intonation.

Binturongs are medium-sized mammals, which are also known as the “bearcat,” or the “Asian bearcat,”
because they look like a cross between a bear and a cat. However, they are not related to either bears or
cats; they are a civet. Binturongs live high in the trees of forests in South-East Asia. Binturongs have long,
heavy bodies and short, stocky legs. They have short, pointed snouts that contain more teeth than most
carnivores. They also have many thick, conspicuous white whiskers. Their coats are long, coarse, and
shaggy, which helps keep them dry. The main area of the coat is dark brown to black in color, but it is
tipped with gray. Their faces are usually a paler color. Binturongs have long ear tufts on small, rounded
ears, and reddish-brown eyes. Females are about 20 percent larger and heavier than males. Binturongs
spend most of their time slowly and cautiously moving in the trees, but they are not very agile. They are
generally nocturnal but occasionally search for food during the day. Binturongs hunt small mammals, birds,
insects, fish, and eggs, but they also eat fruit. Adopted from: https://animals.net/binturong/ (April 2, 2019)

Answer the following questions.
What is the text called?
What is the purpose of the text?
What are the elements of the text?
What are the linguistic features of the text?