WHAT IS NONFICTION?
The subject of nonfiction is real The author writes about actual persons,
places and events. The writer may just report facts The writer may also include personal
opinions Often there is a mixture of both Readers must read critically
CRITICAL READINGLook at writer’s backgroundLook at writer’s purposeLook at writer’s attitudeLook at writer’s audience
TYPES OF ESSAYS
•Formal Essay
•A prose discussion on a serious topic in a serious manner, usually rigidly structured and organized.
•Informal Essay
•A prose discussion on any topic in a light, humorous, amusing manner; often loosely organized, rambling and casual in approach.
CHARACTERISTICS (CONT.) The Formal Essay
Purpose: to inform, explain, convince Tone: serious, rhetorical, balanced
The Informal Essay Narrative structure Tone: conversational, sometimes witty
and humorous
DIARIES AND JOURNALS Diaries: a private form
of writing with no further intended audience
Journals: varying styles and topics. Give a glimpse of the writer’s value of his or her world
LETTERS
Private Letters Public Letter Letters can
Reveal character Express opinions Ask for information Give information
Audience and Purpose influence tone.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Written by the subject for publication Author has some purpose for writing
To teach To arouse awareness To warn Simply to entertain
MEMOIRS
A TYPE OF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAOL WRITING, DEALING WITH THE RECOLLECTIONS OF PROMINENT PEOPLE OR PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN A PART OF OR HAVE WITNESSED SIGNIFICANT EVENTS.
CONSIDERED BOTH AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL
BIOGRAPHY
The accurate presentation of a life story from birth to death of an individual.
Historical biographies include strands of an individual’s life interwoven with historical persons, places and events.
OTHER TYPES OF NONFICTION
Speeches Historical Writing Science Writing Technical writing Writing online Miscellaneous
writing
ELEMENTS OF NONFICTION Characters, Plot, and Setting. Like
fiction, nonfiction has characters, plot, and setting. However, these elements are real, not made up. The main character in an autobiography or biography is called the subject. The subject's words, thoughts, and actions are presented.
HOW TO READ NONFICTION
Try to separate Facts from Opinions.
The writer has chosen facts that present a certain picture of the subject.
Think about what might be missing as well as what is there.
Author’s Purpose Most non-fiction writing (or writing in general)
falls into 3 main categories: Informative
Basic information/ facts Entertaining
This is mostly fiction, it really just to be enjoyed Persuasive
The writer is trying to convince you to buy or believe something
The reader (YOU) can determine which category the work falls into by finding the author’s purpose in writing.
Example An encyclopedia article about the Holocaust that contains only facts and gives no clue to the writer’s thoughts and feelings.
Would this be informative, entertaining or persuasive?
ExampleWhen someone writes a report about the holocaust they reveal their thoughts, judgments and feelings through their writing.
Would this be informative, entertaining or persuasive?
Example #1 The Holocaust is a history of enduring horror and
sorrow. It seems as though there is no spark of human concern, no act of humanity, to lighten that dark history.
You find gripping and horrifying stories of Adolf Hitler and his most ruthless henchmen - men often seen as the very personifications of evil, like Rudolf Hoess, the SS Commandant of Auschwitz, the Nazi butcher Amon Goeth at Plaszow and Josef Mengele, The Angel Of Death. What might be the author’s purpose with this excerpt?
This would be Subjective and persuasive.
Example # 2 Fueled by anti-Semitism, the Nazi persecution of
Jews began soon after Adolf Hitler became chancellor of Germany in 1933 with a boycott of Jewish businesses and the dismissal of Jewish civil servants. Under the Nürnberg Laws (1935), Jews lost their citizenship. About 7,500 Jewish businesses were gutted and some 1,000 synagogues burned or damaged in the Kristallnacht pogrom in 1938, and thereafter Jews were imprisoned in concentration camps or forced into ghettos. What might be the author’s purpose with this excerpt?
This would be objective and informative.
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