Text types: Recounts

Sequencing events

Focus on grammar

When we recount what happened in the past, we usually sequence the events in the order in which they occurred in real life. We can show the sequence of events in a recount, by sequencing them along a time line.

Here are two clauses which tell about a sequence of events in the recount My day out at Ocean Park. 

1st event 2nd event doing clause doing clause A person in a special suit stood on a small platform high above the ground. His suit caught on fire ...

In recounts, however, speakers and writers often use the following words, groups and phrases to highlight the sequence in which the events happened:

	sequencing words, or connectives eg and, so, then, next
	noun groups and prepositional phrases, eg our first stop, at the end of an exhausting day

Using sequencing words

The most commonly used sequencing word is and which is used to join clauses to make a sentence. In recounts each clause tells about an event and the word and is used to add each of these events one after the other. 

Here are some examples from the recount My day out at Ocean Park.

doing clause doing clause 1st event sequencing word 2nd event She was sitting very close to us and we took some good shots of her. His suit caught on fire and he jumped into the water.

If we use and to sequence more than two events in one sentence, we use commas instead of the word and until we add the last event in the sequence. If the subject of each event is the same, we often only use the subject in the first clause and leave it out in the following clauses, eg:

The sequencing word so is often used to add the concluding event of a series, ie the event caused by previous events or decisions, or the event the others were leading up to.

doing clause doing clause doing clause 1st event sequencing word 2nd event sequencing word 3rd (and last) event ... my clip fell out  and  my watch nearly fell off so  the second time I didn't wear anything like that.

In some kinds of writing we do not use the sequencing words and or so at the beginning of sentences, eg in a general description or in a written argument. When we tell stories such as recounts and narratives, however, we do sometimes begin sentences with and or so if this enhances the meanings in the story. 

For example, in the following sentence from the recount My day out at Ocean Park, instead of joining the two clauses, the writer chose to put a full stop after the words not so fast and to begin a new sentence with the word so. The intrusion of the full stop between the clauses slows the story down and thus enhances the meaning of the words not so fast.

... we wanted to go on something which was not so fast. So Sophia, Lara and I went on a dizzy ride called the Eagle.

Other sequencing words include then and next. These words are not used to join clauses into a single sentence. Instead they are used to show that the sequence continues on from a separate preceding sentence, eg:

doing clause sequencing word   Then we bought some yummy lunch. Next came the sea lions show.

Sometimes we combine then and next with sequencing words which join clauses together into one sentence, eg and then, but then, and then, so then, and next, but next:

Some sequencing words can only be used to join clauses together into a sentence, eg after, when, while. A clause which begins with one of these words cannot be a complete sentence on its own. It must be dependent on a main clause to make a complete sentence. In recounts these dependent clauses are usually placed before the main clause. When dependent clauses are placed before the main clause, they are followed by a comma.

Usually in recounts we tell the events in the order in which they happened in real life, as in this example from the recount My day out in Ocean Park.

1st event		2nd event
dependent clause		main clause
After	we had a snack,	Lara and I went on the Mine Train.

Sometimes we put event 2 before event 1. If  we do this, we use the sequencing word before. 

In recounts we use the sequencing word while to add an event which happened at the same time as the main event. Clauses which begin with while are dependent clauses.

dependent clause main clause sequencing word event happening at the same time main event in the sentence While Sophia watched, Lara and I had a screaming, wild time. While we were riding on the rollercoaster, my clip fell out and my watch nearly fell off ...

The sequencing word as is also used to tell about events which happened at the same time as the main event in a sentence.

Using noun groups and prepositional phrases to sequence events

Sometimes noun groups are used to sequence events in time in recounts:

doing clause   sequencing noun group     Our first stop was the Flying Swings.

Sometimes prepositional phrases are also used:

doing clause sequencing prepositional phrase          After the pandas  we went to see the high diving.   ... right at the end we came   out of a tunnel.

In the RE-ORIENTATION stage of the recount My day out in Ocean Park a prepositional phrase brings the sequence of events to an end. 

To see how sequencing words, noun groups and prepositional phrases are used to sequence events in the recount My day out at Ocean Park, click here:

For more information see:

	Grammar: Sentence: Combining clauses in a sentence: Overview
	Grammar: Sentence: Meaning relationships between clauses: Overview
	Grammar: Groups & phrases: Prepositional phrases: Further reading: Connecting clauses & sentences
	Grammar: Word Classes: Conjunctions: Overview