1. Narrative Informative/Explanatory Argumentative
Types of Nonfiction
Narrative Informative/Explanatory Argumentative

2. Essays Medium prose (piece of written language) Explore ideas
Argue a point of view
Interpret a piece of the world or a person’s experiences
Found in some magazines and essay collections
Attract readers looking for inspiration and information
Express the author’s personal feelings, sometimes telling a lot about the author

3. Article A brief prose (a written piece of language)
Focuses in on the facts of a subject
Appears in newspapers, journals, and encyclopedias
Attract readers looking for facts
Expresses the author’s bias (slant on a topic)

4. A more literary or personal article is called an essay.

5. Newspaper article
Brief essays about news items that appear regularly in print

6. Blog Brief essays about current events
Purpose is to provide an alternate, personal window into those events
Like journals
Lists the most recent entries first
Audience—people returning to the site want to locate entries easily

7. Elements of Nonfiction
Organization
Author’s tone
Voice

8. Organization
A way a writer chooses to arrange and present information in a single piece of nonfiction.

9. Organization
Chronological organization—presents details in time order—from first to last—or sometimes from last to first.
Comparison-contrast organization—shows the ways in which two or more subjects are similar and different.
Cause-and-effect organization—shows the relationship among events.
Problem-and-solution organization—identifies a problem and then proposes solution.

10. Author’s tone
The writer’s attitude toward his or her audience and subject (formal or informal, serious or playful, friendly or cold).

11. A writer’s distinctive way of “speaking”
Voice
A writer’s distinctive way of “speaking”
in his or her writing.

12. Types of Nonfiction Writing
Letters—written texts addressed to a particular person or organization.
Memoirs and journals—contain personal thoughts and reflections.
Web logs “blogs”—journals posted and frequently updated for an online audience.
Biographies and autobiographies—life stories.
Biography—a life story written by another person
Autobiography—the writer’s account of his or her own life

13. Types of Nonfiction Writing
Media accounts—works written for newspapers, magazines, television, or radio.

14. Essays and articles—short nonfiction works about a particular subject
Argumentative writing—attempts to convince the reader to adopt a particular point of view or take a particular course of action.
Informative/Explanatory writing—presents facts, discusses ideas, or explains a process
Narrative writing—tells the story of real-life experiences, sometimes addressing an experience which includes the writer’s insights about the event’s importance

15. Purpose for Nonfiction
To inform
To explain
To reflect
To persuade
To entertain

16. Author’s Viewpoint
What the author thinks and feels about his/her subject.
Identifying an author’s viewpoint is important because the reader can:
Understand why the author is interested in the subject
Understand what the author thinks about the topic
Understand what the author may want the reader to think

17. Author’s Viewpoint
Readers can often establish what the author’s viewpoint is by:
Thinking about the facts and opinions given in the text
Thinking about the language used by the author
Determining the author’s purpose for writing

18. Author’s Viewpoint Ask yourself these questions as the reader:
What opinions or belief statements are evident in the article?
What evidence did the author include to support his/her opinions?
What words/phrases did the author use to present the information?
Why did the author write this selection?