1. GENRE CHARACTERISTICS

2. BIOGRAPHY An account of a real person’s life written by someone else Tells important information about a person’s life, including his or her achievements or talents. Tells how a person talks, feels, and thinks about things Either may be the about the person’s whole life or part of their life Events are usually told in the order they occurred (chronologically)

3. MYSTERY Solving a puzzling event or situation Something unknown Solving a crime Centered around a person who investigates wrongdoing Centered around a person or persons employed to obtain secret information

4. AUTOBIOGRAPHY An account by a person about his or her own life Tells important information about their own life, including achievements or talents. Tells how the person talks, feels, and thinks about things Either may be the about the person’s whole life or part of their life Events are usually told in the order they occurred (chronologically)

5. HISTORICAL FICTION Story is set in a particular time and place in the past Story contains details that make the story more realistic. Characters talk, dress, and act like people of that time period Story involves real people and actual events that happened in history

6. SCIENCE FICTION Characters solve problems in a futuristic setting anywhere in the universe Humans, extraterrestrials, or members of other species Involve the effects of advanced science and technology on life Stories blend fact and fiction

7. EXPOSITORY TEXT Gives factual and verifiable information about a specific subject. Information presented can be checked using other sources (newspapers, encyclopedias, etc.) Uses facts about real events and people

8. EXPOSITORY TEXT Presents information in a clear way Gives events in the order in which they happened Writing organized by topics May use diagrams, photographs, and other illustration

9. ADVENTURE A story has characters who behave like real people and animals. The settings are real or could be real The events could happen in real life The story has action or suspense, or both.

10. FOLK TALES A story that has been told and retold over generations Different countries have similar folk tales Folk tales often begin with “Once upon a time” or “Long ago in a faraway place…” Characters can be animals or objects that can speak

11. FOLK TALES The story often teaches a lesson or moral Good or smart wins over evil or stupid The story is told using the words he, she or it Actions or words are often repeated (in a pattern) The story has an exciting “high point” at the end

12. HORROR Supernatural Non-supernatural Provokes a response – emotional, psychological or physical Unreal figures (phantoms, mummies, vampires etc) Real figures (serial killers, stalkers, etc)

13. HORROR Real situations (crime scenes, divorce, inequality, drugs etc) Antagonist provokes the fear, anger, or tension Many times ‘ending’ is unresolved (heightens the fear factor) Unexpected events Dark, dismal, eerie, gruesome

14. REALISTIC FICTION Set in modern/current times Realistic characters Real world settings Every day language Themes dealing with basic truths or human nature Events are not true, but could really happen

15. FANTASY Elements that are not real (unicorn, talking animals, characters with magical powers) Conflict between good and evil

16. FANTASY Alternative World Teaches a lesson or moral of a story Magic Medieval setting