Quick Write Do you prefer fiction text vs. non-fiction text? Explain your answer.

Genre: The category that a work of literature is classified under.

Types of Non-Fiction Informational Text

Biography The story of a person’s life written by another person. (Are you always getting the truth?)

Biography continued: A story of a person’s life written by someone other than the subject of the biography. Many biographies are histories that are carefully researched. Focus of a biography: The character His or her career His or her place in history Uniqueness and universality of the character’s experience

Characteristics of a Good Biography: Accurate presentation of the life history from birth to death of an individual Honest effort is made to interpret the life so as to offer a unified impression of the character, mind and personality of the subject.

Autobiography The writer’s own life story. A time line of your life; in chronological order. **The writer may only give you information that they want you to know.

Characteristics of an autobiography: Usually a chronological, narrative account of a person’s life. Author relates his or her life story to crucial historical events. Author offers personal evaluations of actions and speculates on the significance of certain actions and events.

Memoir: Special type of autobiography Consists of recollections of a certain period of time or a special incident in a person’s life.

Characteristics of memoirs: Explores an event or series of related events that remain lodged in memory.  Describes the events and then shows, either directly or indirectly, why they are significant, or in short, why you continue to remember them.   Is focused in time; doesn't cover a great span of years (that would be an autobiography)   Centers on a problem or focuses on a conflict and its resolution and on the understanding of why and how the resolution is significant in your life

Essay A short work about a particular subject. May be reflective, persuasive, descriptive, or visual.

A type of persuasive essay in which a writer shares his or her opinion on a book, play, or a movie and attempts to persuade the reader. Critical Review

Technical Article Writing that explains procedures, provides instruction, or presents specialized information.

Feature Article A newspaper or magazine story written to entertain readers or to provide information on a subject of human interest. May be designed to evoke a strong personal response.

Strategies for reading non-fiction Analyze the author’s purpose: the author’s purpose is the reason he or she is writing. (to inform, appreciate, or to entertain, persuade, define, explain). Recognize the facts and impressions: A fact is information that can be tested and proved. (supported by statistics, explanations, or evidence.) An impression is a feeling or an image retained from an experience. Impressions convey opinions and may be written in a language that reflects this subjective quality.

Strategies for reading non-fiction Identify evidence: Note the way an author makes his/her point. Reasoning should be believable and understanding. Evidence that supports the writer’s opinion appears in many forms. (facts, statistics, examples, observations, quotations from experts). Interpret pictures: Images frequently accompany non-fiction text. Connect images, charts, maps, and to the text to determine how they can help you understand the meaning.

Quick Write List the types of informational texts. NO NOTES!

Types of Text Features Look for these text features to assist you when reading a passage and answering questions: Footnotes and Endnotes—appear at the bottom of the page usually with an in- passage superscript (1 or the circle) Graphs/Charts—give information and/ or data you should analyze when answering questions. Diagrams— give information and/ or data you should analyze when answering questions. Pictures/Photos—may be black or white, historical, or art work Italics—emphasis something you should notice Bold Print—usually found in prompt for question clarification (NOT, ONLY, BEST, etc).

Exit Ticket How do text features assist you in reading non-fiction texts?