• Nonfiction deals only with real people, events or ideas
• Works of nonfiction are narrated from the point of view, or
perspective, of the author, who is a real person.
• Nonfiction presents facts or discusses ideas.
• It may reflect the historical context of the time period, making
references to major social & cultural information
• Functional texts – practical documents that help readers
perform everyday tasks
• Literary nonfiction – features some similar elements and
techniques as fiction
• Chronological – presents events in order in which they happened
• Spatial – describes items as they appear in space – for example, left
to right
• Comparison-and-Contrast – groups and ideas based on similarities
and differences
• Cause-and-Effect – explains how one event causes another
• Problem-and-Solution – examines a problem and proposes ways to
solve it
• To inform
• To describe
• To persuade
• To entertain
• When a work of literary nonfiction tells a story
• It may include:
• 1. Direct and Indirect Characterization to reveal personalities
of real people
• 2. Vivid Descriptions and Figurative Language to describe real
places, real history, and real customs
• 3. Artful/Creative Pacing and Organization to describe actual
events
• Three Common Forms:
• 1. Articles
• short prose works
• Present facts about a subject
• May appear in print sources such as newspapers or on Websites
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2. Essays
Short prose works to focus on a particular subject
More personal than articles
Author has deep emotional connection
• 3. Speeches
• Written texts delivered orally
• Expresses the speaker’s point of view
Type
Purpose
Examples
Expository
To present facts and ideas
or to explain a process
An online article that
explores ways to keep your
pet healthy
Persuasive
To convince readers to take
an action or to adopt a
point of view
A speech urging the
audience to adopt a pet
Narrative
To tell the story of a reallife experience
An essay about a dog who
saved a person’s life
Type
Purpose
Examples
Descriptive
To provide a vivid picture
of something
An essay about the writer’s
favorite pet
Reflective
To explain the writer’s
insights about an event or
experience
An essay describing lessons
about life the writer
learned from owning a pet
Humorous
To entertain and amuse
An article about the
challenges of training a
very frisky puppy
Analytical
To break a large idea into
parts to show how the parts
work as a whole
An article that discusses the
criteria used for judging
champion show dogs