Types of non-fiction narrative writing Name Period Date (Write this all on the bottom tab)

Memoir 1. Written in 1 st person point of view in a story form. 2. Explores how a particular event or time period with a common theme influenced and affected the author. 3. Comes from the French word memoire. The word memory also comes from that word. 4. Since the writing comes from the author’s memory, a few details might be incorrect, but it cannot be complete fiction.

Autobiography 1. Written in 1 st person point of view. 2. The author is writing about the events in their whole life in chronological order. 3. Should be historically accurate. (Bottom) Example:

Personal narrative 1. Written in 1 st person point of view. 2. Focuses on one event, while a memoir can be a collection of events with one theme. Example-A personal narrative might be someone’s experience of escaping from the Twin Towers. A memoir would include the days leading up to the attacks, the days after, and how that affected their life.

Biography 1. Written in 3 rd person point of view 2. Is an account of someone’s life written by another person. 3. Should be historically accurate.

Characteristics of a good memoir 1. The memoir focuses on a significant moment in the writer’s life. 2. A meaning or significance was discovered by the writer 3. Background information that a reader needs: setting descriptions, and character descriptions are woven into the action and dialogue 4. The pace is slowed down: readers can make a movie in their minds. 5. A reader can see, hear and feel the experience because the writer provides concrete, sensory details and descriptions of people in action. 6. The action creates questions in the reader’s mind about what will happen next.

Why memoirs? 1. People are inspired by others’ journeys. 2. People like reading about real experiences in story form. 3. The writer’s insights can give us insight on our own lives.

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