CHAPTER 5
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Copyright © 2003 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 5: Nonfiction Prose
Nonfiction prose is about real people, places,
events, and social issues.
• Presents factual information
• Expresses a viewpoint
• Appears in three major forms
Informational Nonfiction
Literary Nonfiction
Visual Communication
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CHAPTER 5: Nonfiction Prose
(Continued)
Informational
Nonfiction
Business
documents
Literary
Nonfiction
Biographies
Visual
Communication
Film
Speeches
Essays
Photography
Magazines
Diaries
Television
Newspapers
Memoirs
Computer art
Research reports
Letters
Painting
Copyright © 2003 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 5: Nonfiction Prose
(Continued)
Reasoning skills are important in reading and
interpreting nonfiction prose:
• Comprehension: understanding the literal
meaning
• Application: applying information and ideas
from a passage
• Analysis: analyzing content, style, and
structure
• Synthesis: making connections between
separate sources of information
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CHAPTER 5: Nonfiction Prose
(Continued)
There are three main types of nonfiction prose:
• Informative essays: educate the reader about
a selected subject
• Critical essays: present an in-depth analysis
of a subject
• Reviews: briefly describe the content of a
work of art and evaluate its strengths and
weaknesses
Copyright © 2003 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 5: Nonfiction Prose
(Continued)
Recognizing the difference between facts and
opinions is important in understanding nonfiction
prose:
• Fact: a statement that can be proved
Christmas Day falls on December 25.
• Opinion: a statement that reflects a writer’s
personal views
Christmas Day is the best holiday of the year.
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CHAPTER 5: Nonfiction Prose
(Continued)
Recognizing descriptive language enables you to
determine a writer’s views on his or her subject.
The play was wild, witty, and wonderful.
The play was unimaginative and predictable.
The script was delightful and sophisticated.
The script was strained and clumsy.
Copyright © 2003 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 5: Nonfiction Prose
(Continued)
Suggestions for reading nonfiction prose:
• Find the main idea.
• Look for facts, examples, and evidence that
support an author’s opinion.
• Read the summaries and descriptions.
• Note characteristics of style and structure.
• Draw conclusions from the ideas and
supporting details.
Copyright © 2003 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 5: Nonfiction Prose
Informational nonfiction comes from a variety of
sources:
• Essays
• Magazine articles
• Newspaper articles
• Speeches
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CHAPTER 5: Nonfiction Prose
(Continued)
Business-related documents are an everyday type
of informational nonfiction:
• Mission and goal statements
• Employee handbooks
• Training manuals
• Legal documents
Copyright © 2003 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 5: Nonfiction Prose
Literary nonfiction includes the following works:
• Biographies
• Memoirs or selected events
• Diaries
• Letters
• Essays
• Commentaries
• Reviews of works of literature
Copyright © 2003 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 5: Nonfiction Prose
Nonfiction prose includes commentaries on areas
of visual communication:
• Visual arts: sculpture, painting, photography
• Performing arts: music, dance, theater, film,
television
Copyright © 2003 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
CHAPTER 5: Nonfiction Prose
(Continued)
In commentaries about the visual arts . . .
• Authors recreate the physical appearance of
the art in words.
• Authors interpret the emotions or the message
that the art seems to convey.
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CHAPTER 5: Nonfiction Prose
(Continued)
In reviews of the performing arts . . .
• Reviewers write essays describing and
expressing their opinions about an artist or a
performance.
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CHAPTER 5: Nonfiction Prose
THE END
Practice the skills you learned in this chapter by taking
the Chapter Review Quiz or the GED Practice Quiz.
Copyright © 2003 by the McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.