How to Write a Historical Recount Text

The purpose of a historical recount is to provide an objective account of a

significant event that happened in the past.

As the writer, in this case, the student was not a witness to the events they are
writing about, they will reconstruct the event’s details by using various primary
and secondary sources.

Some possible topics for a historical recount text include: (1) A war or battle (2)
The reign of a ruler (3) A revolution (4) The development of an invention
Historical Recount Text Structure
ORIENTATION: Introduce the who, what, when, where, how and why if
possible in a historical recount.

RELEVANCE: Be sure to focus on significant and relevant content to your

historical event.

CHRONOLOGY: Always explain events in the order they occurred.

VISUALS: Be sure to uses images, maps and visuals if they support your text.

HINDSIGHT: In a historical recount, you have the luxury of identifying what

went right and wrong after an event. Be sure to explain the how and why to
your audience to ensure they have a rounded understanding of your historical
recount.

Historical Recount Text Features

PROPER NOUNS: Use these to reference people, places and time events.

PAST TENSE: Obviously, the event has passed. Be sure your audience read
your historical recount in the past tense.

THIRD-PERSON PERSPECTIVE: Whilst you can write a historical recount

in the first person in most commonly they are written from a third-person
perspective.

QUOTES: Quotes and reported speech may add credibility to your historical
recount.
THREE MAIN PARTS OF A RECOUNT
SECTION 1: ORIENTATION AND BACKGROUND
This first section focuses on introducing the topic of the recount to the reader and
providing them with any necessary background information and context.

It can be helpful for our students to think of this opening section of their recount as
answering a few essential questions:

 What event is the recount about?

 When did it happen?
 Where did it happen?
 Who was involved?

SECTION 2: THE SERIES OF EVENTS

After the orientation and background have been provided to the reader in the opening
section, the second section of a historical recount will focus on relating the series of
events. The events should be related in chronological order, providing a clear structure
for the student to follow as they progress through the body paragraphs of their text.

Here, the student will need to determine the level of detail they will go into. Usually,
this will be set to a large degree either by an assigned word count or by focusing on
the amount of detail required to answer the writing prompt satisfactorily.

It can be helpful for students to think of this part of their recount as answering the
fundamental questions:

 What happened?
 Who did what?

SECTION 3: THE CONCLUSION

This section provides an opportunity for the student writer to reflect on the wider
historical significance of the events they have retold earlier in the recount.

Students can think of the conclusion to their historical recount as answering questions
such as:

 Why did these events happen?

 What do they mean?
 Will reference to other historical or present-day events add greater context?
SOURCES OF A HISTORICAL RECOUNT?
The historical recount retells the details of an event or events. Students
reconstruct these events from the details of their own research. This research
will be drawn from a variety of primary and secondary sources.

A primary source is a source of information that was created at the time the
student is writing about.

Some advantages of primary sources include:

 Provides a first-hand account of the events

 Offers specific details from a single source
 Draws from a single, original source
 Is unfiltered
 Reflects the mood and context of the time

Some examples of primary sources include:

 Contemporary newspaper reports, magazine clippings, books

 Photographs

Video, film, and audio recordings

 Letters, diaries, journals, scrapbooks

 Police reports, eyewitness accounts, government publications, etc.

A secondary source is a source of information that was created after the

event by someone who did not experience the event/s.

Some advantages of secondary sources include:

 Provides a perspective on an event offered by time

 Gives a wider overview of the event
 Weaves multiple perspectives together
 Places an event in a wider historical context
 Assesses the historical accuracy of multiple sources

Some examples of secondary sources include:

 Textbooks
 Encyclopaedias
 Reviews
 Biographies
 Reviews