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Nonfiction UnitCreative Writing
9-12 Elective
Nonfiction
Prose that deals with real events and people
Characters, settings, and events must conform to what is true
Story cannot be manipulated by the writer’s imagination
Types of Nonfiction
Essay: Brief examination of a subject in prose, usually expressing a personal or limited view of the topic
Formal Essay: Serious in tone and subject and more objective in point of view.
Informal Essay: Informal tone, as if the author is speaking directly to the reader
Purposes of Writing Essays
To Entertain
To Inform
To Explain
To Persuade
Exposition
Explains a subject
Writer’s main purpose is to inform
Most objective type of nonfiction
Facts are presented as neutrally as possible
Author’s opinion on the subject DOESN’T intrude
Persuasion
Attempts to influence the reader’s ideas or actions
Major purpose is to convince the reader to think, feel, or act in a certain way
Writer selects and arranges facts so that the reader will share the writer’s opinion
Successful only if the reader believes that the facts support the writer’s opinion
Description
Presents a picture or an impression of a subject
Re-creates for the reader a person, a place, or an event, largely through language that appeals to the senses
Tells us how something looks, smells, tastes, sounds, and feels to the touch
Narration
Author’s purpose is to relate a series of events
Events usually related in chronological order
Has the form of a story, but the events are factual and actually recorded
Author depicts characters and may even use dialogue
Biography
An account of someone’s life, written by another person.
The focus of a biography:
The Character
His/Her Career
His/Her Place in History
Uniqueness and Universality of the Character’s Experience
Characteristics of a Good Biography
Accurate presentation of the life history of an individual (sometimes may be from birth to death)
Honest effort is made to interpret the life so as to offer a unified impression of the character’s mind and personality of the subject
AutobiographyA story of a person’s life as written by that person.
Characteristics of an autobiography:
Usually a chronological, narrative account of a person’s life
Author relates person’s life story to crucial historical events
Author offers personal evaluations of actions and speculates on the significance of certain actions and events
JournalForm of autobiographical writing including a day-by-day
chronicle of events, usually a personal and intimate record of events and thoughts kept by an individual.
DiarySpecialized journal that is a day-by-day chronicle of
events, usually a personal and intimate record of events and thoughts kept by an individual.
OratoryFormal speech intended to inspire some action. Carefully
prepared and delivered in an impassioned manner, the oration carries its greatest power in its emotional appeal.
PsalmLyric composition of praise, usually applied to sacred
themes
SermonFormal discussion, usually oral, of a serious subject for
the purpose of religious instruction or urgent advice and recommendations.
Aphorism or ProverbBrief statement of usually one sentence that expresses
some truth about life in terse, easily remembered form.
EpitaphCommemorative verses or lines inscribed on tombs or
headstones. This information usually includes the name of the deceased, the dates of birth and death, age,
profession, and some pious motto.
LettersCommunication in writing to another person or a group of persons; correspondence. A specialized form of letter, called an epistle, is a more formal document prepared for
public reading.
Elements of Nonfiction
Characters, Plot, and Setting
Like fiction, nonfiction has characters, plot, and setting. However, these elements are real, not made up. The main character in an autobiography or biography is called the subject. The subject’s words, thoughts, and actions are presented.
Elements of Nonfiction
Purpose
Different types of nonfiction have different purposes.
Biographies and autobiographies have the purpose of informing the reader. They use explanatory, descriptive, and narrative paragraphs.
Newspaper Editorials are intended to win readers over to a certain opinion. They use persuasive paragraphs.
Diaries can be used to both explain and persuade.
Elements of Nonfiction
Tone
The writer’s attitude toward his or her subject matter is called tone. A writer’s tone may be sympathetic, bitter, comical, hopeful, solemn, enthusiastic, etc.
Which selection do you enjoy reading the most?
Turtles poured out of the surf in wave after wave through the darkness.
Heaving, huffing, gasping, turtles plowed the coarse black sand with their
noses, laboring on to the shore.
National Geographic
Female sea turtles do not normally leave the water, except to lay their eggs. The
females often migrate thousands of miles or kilometers to reach their breeding beaches. They drag themselves onto a sandy beach, bury their eggs, and then
return to the sea.
World Book Encyclopedia
The jaguar is the biggest and strongest cat in the rainforest. The jaguar’s jaw is strong enough to crush a turtle’s shell. They also have very powerful legs for
leaping from branch to branch to chase prey.
Student Sample
As the sun disappears from the heart of the forest, the jaguar leaps through the
underbrush, pumping its powerful legs. It spies a gharial gliding down the river. The
jungle cat pounces, crushing the turtle with his teeth, devouring the reptile with
pleasure.
Student Revision
Sample
The macaw uses its sharp beak to strike intruders.
Improvement
Tearing, ripping, battering, the blue macaw strikes the intruder until it is
defeated.
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