Elements of NONFICTION

WHAT IS NONFICTION?  The subject of nonfiction is real The author writes about actual persons, places and events. The writer may just report facts (unbiased, objective). The writer may also include personal opinions (biased). Often there is a mixture of both. Readers must read critically.

READING CRITICALLY MEANS…  To look at writer’s background  To look at writer’s purpose  To look at writer’s attitude  To look at writer’s audience

Types of nonfiction  Biography  Autobiography. Memoir  Newspaper articles  How-to articles  Essays  Letters  Journals and diaries  Speeches  Reference materials

Biography  True story of someone’s life, written by another person  Usually tells events in chronological order  Written in 3 rd person POV

Autobiography. Memoir Autobiography  True story of someone’s life, written by that person  tells events in chronological order, usually from birth to childhood to old age  Written in 1 st person POV Memoir  Type of autobiographical writing  Shorter than autobiographies  Deals with the writer’s career, rather than with their private life  Written in 1 st person POV

Newspaper article  Has a headline that gets attention  Gives information about a recent event  Tells who? What? When? Where? Why? How?

How-to articles  Tell how to do something  Tell what materials are needed  Tell steps in correct order

Essays Persuasive - writer tries to convince a reader to share a belief, agree with an opinion, or to take some action  examples: newspaper editorial, political speech Expository - writer’s primary purpose is to convey or explain information  1. facts are used as neutrally as possible  2. examples: report on a scientific discovery, instructions Narrative – writer’s purpose is to relate a series of events, usually in chronological order  1. has the form of a story (often with characters and dialogue)  2. examples: historical essay, account of a soccer game Personal / Reflective - expresses a writer’s thoughts, feelings, or opinions on a subject; usually written in an informal, conversational style

Journals and diaries  Journals:  Private form of writing  Give a glimpse of the writer’s value of his or her world  Intended to be read publicly  Diaries: a private form of writing  Not intended to be read publicly

Letters Public letters / epistles  Directed or sent to a person or group of people  Very formal, often didactic, elegant tone  Private letters  Spontaneous – written without being planned  Conversational – sound like every day speech (informal register)  Private – intended to be read only by the person who receives them  Primary source documents – reveal information about the time in which they are written

Reference materials  Encyclopedia a book or set of books containing articles on various topics, usually in alphabetical order, covering all branches of knowledge.  Dictionary  Almanac  an annual publication containing a calendar for the coming year, the times of such events and phenomena as anniversaries, sunrises and sunsets, phases of the moon, tides, etc., and other statistical information and related topics. a book containing a selection of the words of a language, usually arranged alphabetically, giving information about their meanings, pronunciations, etymologies, inflected forms, etc., expressed in either the same or another language; lexicon; glossary.

Author’s purpose  Language – the words chosen by the author, and the way he / she arranges them  Style – the “feel” of the writing, as conveyed by the author’s tone, rhythm and attitude toward the subject and reader  Syntax – the way the author applies the rules of grammar  Rhetoric strategies the use of language effectively and persuasively Ethos- appeal to credibility, beliefs; expert’s opinion Logos- appeal to logic; facts, statistics Pathos- appeal to emotions