Genre

Genre A genre refers to a type of writing. There are four main genres: plays, poetry, nonfiction, and fiction.

Plays Plays are written for people to act out on a stage. The characters' names are written out. The words a character says are written beside the character’s name. Sometimes, there are also actions for the characters in parentheses. Example: (Inside a small room with a door) STEPHEN: Let’s go outside and play! (jumps up from chair and walks toward the door) JOSEFIN: Yeah! Let’s go! (gets up and follows Stephen outside)

Poetry Poetry uses short lines. Many poems have rhyme and rhythm. This gives them a musical sound. Example: Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall. All the king’s horses, And all the king’s men, Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

Fiction Fiction contains characters that are made up by the author. The author uses his/her imagination to make up a story. It does NOT contain facts. Fiction may include animals talking. Example: “I want a bone!” yelled Archie the dog.

Nonfiction Nonfiction is NOT fiction. It gives facts and other true information about people, places, events, and things. It is written in sentences and paragraphs. Example: There are fifty states in the United States of America. The first state was Delaware.

Examples My favorite color is red, It’s the color of my room, And the color of my bed! I wear red clothes and red shoes, Whenever I have red on, I can never ever lose! This is an example of fiction. nonfiction. poetry. a play.

Examples This is an example of fiction. nonfiction. poetry. a play. There are many big cities in North America. Three big cities are Mexico City in Mexico, New York City in the United States, and Toronto in Canada. This is an example of fiction. nonfiction. poetry. a play.