Genres Categories for books

Genres are types or categories that writing falls into.

Each genre has a specific purpose and characteristic that designates which category (or genre) it belongs to. Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

What is genre? Genre is the category or type of writing. Each genre has a purpose. Each genre has specific characteristics What does this mean?! Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

Think of genres as video games. There is the BIG category of video games. You don’t play all the types of video games, do you? Maybe you like video games that play sports or music karaoke. Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

You have just categorized the video games you like to play. That is what genre does. It puts the writings in categories. Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

GenreFiction Realistic Fiction Fantasy Stories Nonfiction Personal Narratives Here is an example of the categories. Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

We will start with fiction. Fiction includes literary texts about made up stories. Fictional stories have characteristics that are different from nonfiction texts. Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

There are many different types of fictional books. Types of Fictional Books You will want to write these down. 1. Realistic Fiction- characters and events are made up. The situations could occur. Shiloh 2. Fantasy Stories- These are made up stories that couldn’t be true. Fables and Fairy Tales 3. Historical Fiction- Stories that occur in places and times that are real. The characters are made up. Fever 1793 Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

Types of Fiction continued… 4. Mystery Stories- The story evolves around suspense, unexplained, or strange events that the characters try to solve. Deep and Dark and Dangerous. 5. Myths and Legends- traditional stories told in cultures around the world. They were created to explain natural events that people could not understand. King Arthur’s Court, Medusa, Folklore 6. Science Fiction (sometimes Science Fiction is given it’s own category)- real and imagined stories that include science and technology as the main basis. Star Trek, The Maze Runner 7. Tall Tales- A story that tells about a larger-than-life character in a realistic setting. Paul Bunyan Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

Let’s see if you understand how to categorize fiction. Identify which type of fictional writing the following books belong to. Science Fiction Legend (Horror) Mystery Fantasy Realistic Mystery Science Fiction Historical Myth Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

You are doing a FANTASTIC job! What questions do you have about categorizing fiction? Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

Let’s move on to nonfiction books. Nonfiction Genres If fiction books are about made up stories, what kind of stories will nonfiction books include? Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

That’s correct! Nonfiction books are any literary text that tells a story about a real event, person, or idea. Personal Narratives Biographical Narratives Blogs Diary and Journal Entries Eyewitness Accounts memoirs Reflective Essays Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

Personal Narratives- true stories about the author’s life. Autobiographical essays 2. Biographical Narratives - A story about someone else’s life. Biography 7. Blogs- online journals that may include all of the above. 3. Diary and Journal Entries- Writer’s keep a written account of their life. They include their thoughts and feelings. 4. Eyewitness Accounts- The writer shares his thoughts about a specific event they witnessed. 6. Memoirs- Usually focus on a specific period in a person’s life. 5. Reflective Essays- literary text about the personal experiences and observations of either the writer or someone else’s experiences. You should take notes! Nonfiction Narration 1. Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

Poetry and Description is the next category. Poetry and Description is its own category because it uses a different type of writing to express ideas and feelings. The subject could be personal, historical, or made up. Poetry uses literary devices (repetition, alliteration, consonance, onomatopoeia, rhythm, etc.) to convey it’s message. Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

Types of Poetry Ballad- a form of lyric poetry that expresses the poet’s emotions toward someone or something. Ballads typically rhyme and may contain refrains that repeat. Ballads are easily put to music. Ballads were often passed down orally. Free Verse- poetry that has no rhyme, rhythm, or form. Prose Poem- non-verse writing. Often takes the form of a short story. Sonnet- rhyming lyric poetry with a set of rules. It is 14 lines long, each line has 10 syllables and every other syllable is accented. Haiku- non-rhyming Japanese poem sequence. Usually about nature. Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

Exposition Expository text is based on facts. It’s purpose is to inform or explain. Expository text uses specific structure to deliver the necessary information. Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

Throughout your life, you will read more expository text than any other kind of genre. Why do you think this statement is true? Give examples of expository texts. Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

Here are some examples of expository text: Rental agreements, credit card applications, Employee handbooks, directions for completing/putting something together, college books, buying a home contract, insurance claims, getting a checking/savings account, contracts, t.v. guide, maps, mapquest directions, travel plans, newspapers, magazines, “how-to” directions, recipes, operating manuals, etc. Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

After reading and discussing expository text examples, you should be able to understand why learning to read expository text very, very important. Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

Let’s review. Fictional text is _______? Stories that are made up. Nonfiction text is ________? Real Fiction or Nonfiction? fiction nonfiction Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek

What type of fiction are the following books? Copyright 2012 Jane Kotinek