1. What Are the Forms of Prose?
Prose and Its Forms
Prose: Some Types of Fiction Short Story Novel Novella Folk Tale
Prose: Some Types of Nonfiction Essay and Article Biography Autobiography
Elements of Fiction and Nonfiction
Your Turn
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2. Prose and Its Forms
Imagine you’re helping with dinner, and a recipe calls for basil.
Which one is basil? Does it make a difference?

3. Prose and Its Forms
Parsley
Basil
Basil
Rosemary
Yes! It definitely makes a difference! Each herb has a distinct flavor and would make the recipe taste very different.

4. Prose and Its Forms
Knowing the different types of prose also matters, helping you
anticipate what you’ll find in the text
decide how you’ll read the text

5. Prose and Its Forms
You might think of prose as everything that isn’t poetry.
You speak in prose
You read prose
in everyday conversations
in textbooks and novels
in notes from friends

6. Prose and Its Forms You also read prose
in magazines and newspapers
The prose from these sources can be divided into two main categories:
fiction
nonfiction
in s and on Web sites

7. Prose and Its Forms
Whatever type of prose you enjoy the most, remember that the important thing is to read.
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8. Prose: Some Types of Fiction
Writers create prose fiction by using imagined characters and events in a variety of ways:
short story
novel
novella
folk tale

9. Fiction: Short Story A short story usually keeps it simple
by focusing on one major character, theme, and setting
and by working through a basic plot consisting of conflict, climax, and resolution.

10. Fiction: Novel A novel is more complex because it often features
more than one hundred pages
many characters
plots and subplots, or minor plots
several themes and conflicts

11. Fiction: Novella A novella is just a short novel,
usually longer than twenty pages but shorter than one hundred pages.

12. Fiction: Folk Tale A folk tale has no known author
has been passed down through history by word of mouth
often features fantastic elements that couldn’t happen in our world

13. Prose: Some Types of Fiction
Each type of fiction has distinct characteristics.
short story
Usually 5–20 pages. A few characters work through a series of events and a conflict, leading to climax and resolution.
novel
Usually 100 pages or more. You meet lots of characters, see subplots within the main plot, and explore many themes and conflicts.
novella
A short novel—longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.
folk tale
Often a mythical story with no known author, passed down by word of mouth.
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14. Prose: Some Types of Fiction
Quick Check
Which form of fiction do you think this is?
short story
novel
novella
folk tale
There once lived a wise old man named Young-Chu, who made his home in the top of the tallest maple tree deep in the forest.
Sometimes Young-Chu would grant wishes, if it were for a good cause. People came from far and wide to seek his help, writing requests on bits of rice paper. Then, one of Young-Chu’s cranes would snap up the paper in its beak and fly to the top of the tree to present the wish to the wise man.

15. Prose: Some Types of Fiction
Quick Check
Which form of fiction do you think this is?
There once lived a wise old man named Young-Chu, who made his home in the top of the tallest maple tree deep in the forest.
Sometimes Young-Chu would grant wishes, if it were for a good cause. People came from far and wide to seek his help, writing requests on bits of rice paper. Then, one of Young-Chu’s cranes would snap up the paper in its beak and fly to the top of the tree to present the wish to the wise man.
This is an example of a folk tale, which features mythical elements that couldn’t happen in our world.

16. Prose: Some Types of Nonfiction
Nonfiction provides facts about people, places, things, and events. Types of nonfiction include
essay
article
biography
autobiography

17. Nonfiction: Essay and Article
Essays and articles are short pieces of prose that discuss a limited topic.
Essays usually share a personal point of view.
Articles often relate facts and events.

18. Nonfiction: Biography
A biography tells the story of a person’s life
and is written by another person.

19. Nonfiction: Autobiography
In an autobiography, the writer tells the story of his or her own life.

20. Prose: Some Types of Nonfiction
Nonfiction provides facts about people, places, things, and events. Types of nonfiction include
A short piece of prose that discusses a limited topic and often includes personal observations
essay
article
An objective description of real-life events
The story of a person’s life written by another person
biography
auto- biography
The story of a person’s life written by that person
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21. Prose: Some Types of Nonfiction
Quick Check
What type of nonfiction is this? Why?
essay
article
biography
autobiography
This spring’s Bluebell Festival and Parade on May 8 attracted crowds from around the state to the city of Cottonwood.
With thousands of onlookers, the mayor sounded a cannon to signal the start of the parade. Colorful floats of all shapes and sizes snaked down Main Street, delighting young and old alike.
The parade concluded in the town square with a tribute to Ma Callahan, who founded the town 100 years ago.

22. Prose: Some Types of Nonfiction
Quick Check
What type of nonfiction is this? Why?
This spring’s Bluebell Festival and Parade on May 8 attracted crowds from around the state to the city of Cottonwood.
With thousands of onlookers, the mayor sounded a cannon to signal the start of the parade. Colorful floats of all shapes and sizes snaked down Main Street, delighting young and old alike.
The parade concluded in the town square with a tribute to Ma Callahan, who founded the town 100 years ago.
This is an example of an article that details real-life events and facts about people, places, and dates.

23. What Are the Forms of Prose?

24. Elements of Fiction and Nonfiction
• Characters: imaginary people or animals in a story
• Plot: series of events in a story
• Point of View: vantage point from which a story is told
• Theme: universal message about life

25. Elements of Fiction and Nonfiction
Elements of Nonfiction
• Nonfiction: about real people, events, or ideas
• Point of view: told from the perspective of the author
• Presents: facts and ideas
• Historical context: may include information about the society and culture of the time
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26. Analyze Forms of Prose
Your Turn
Read the descriptions of written materials below. Decide if each description is an example of fiction or nonfiction.
Fiction or Nonfiction?
1. An article supporting a proposed law
2. A story about a princess and a frog falling in love
3. A story about an imaginary character set during the Civil War
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27. The End