READING NONFICTION

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READING NONFICTION

• Types and Purposes

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WHAT IS NONFICTION?

• The subject of nonfiction is real
• The author writes about actual persons, places
  and events.
• The writer may just report facts
• The writer may also include personal opinions
• Often there is a mixture of both
• Readers must read critically

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CRITICAL READING

• Look at writers background
• Look at writers purpose
• Look at writers attitude
• Look at writers audience

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JOURNALISM

• Newspapers
• Magazines
• Online sources

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TYPES OF JOURNALISM

• Interviews
• Columns
• Reviews
• Articles
• Editorials
• Editorial Cartoons

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ESSAYS
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TYPES OF ESSAYS

• Formal Essay
• A prose discussion on a serious topic in a
  serious manner, usually rigidly structured and
  organized.

• Informal Essay
• A prose discussion on any topic in a light,
  humorous, amusing manner often loosely
  organized, rambling and casual in approach.

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CHARACTERISTICS OF ESSAYS

• Essays in general
• Prose treatment
• Brief
• Incomplete in its discussion of topic
• A literary whole

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CHARACTERISTICS (CONT.)

• The Formal Essay
• Purpose to inform, explain, convince
• Tone serious, rhetorical, balanced
• The Informal Essay
• Narrative structure
• Tone conversational, sometimes witty and
  humorous

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HUMOR AND THE ESSAY

• Wit
• Incongruity
• The unexpected
• Exaggeration
• Humor
• Ability to show, with sympathy, the things in
  life and human behavior that are funny.

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SATIRE

• A literary work in which vices, follies,
  stupidities, abuses, etc., are held up to
  ridicule and contempt.
• A pointing out of the difference between how
  things are and how they ought to be.

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OTHER TYPES OF ESSAYS

• Comparison and Contrast Essays
• Persuasive Essays
• Cause and Effect Essays

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PERSONAL CHRONICLES
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DIARIES AND JOURNALS

• Diaries a private form of writing with no
  further intended audience
• Journals varying styles and topics. Give a
  glimpse of the writers value of his or her world

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LETTERS

• Private Letters
• Public Letter
• Letters can
• Reveal character
• Express opinions
• Ask for information
• Give information
• Audience and Purpose influence tone.

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PERSONAL REFLECTIONS

• Personal Reflections must be memorable and
  significant and
• Give character insight
• Lead to an unexpected conclusion
• Show how a lesson was learned
• Awaken feeling of pity, compassion, joy and
  nostalgia

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AUTOBIOGRAPHY

• Written by the subject for publication
• Author has some purpose for writing
• To teach
• To arouse awareness
• To warn
• Simply to entertain

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MEMOIRS

• A TYPE OF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL WRITING, DEALING WITH
  THE RECOLLECTIONS OF PROMINENT PEOPLE OR PEOPLE
  WHO HAVE BEEN A PART OF OR HAVE WITNESSED
  SIGNIFICANT EVENTS.
• CONSIDERED BOTH AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL AND HISTORICAL

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BIOGRAPHY

• The accurate presentation of a life story from
  birth to death of an individual.
• Historical biographies include strands of an
  individuals life interwoven with historical
  persons, places and events.

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OTHER TYPES OF NONFICTION

• Speeches
• Historical Writing
• Science Writing
• Technical writing
• Writing online
• Miscellaneous writing

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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.

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MORE ELEMENTS

• Purpose. Different types of nonfiction have
  different purposes. Biographies and
  autobiographies, for example, have the purpose of
  informing the reader. They use explanatory,
  descriptive, and narrative paragraphs. Other
  types of nonfiction, such as newspaper
  editorials, are intended to win readers over to a
  certain opinion. They use persuasive paragraphs.
  Sometimes a piece of writing combines purposes.

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AND MORE ELEMENTS
Tone. The writer's attitude toward his or her
subject matter is called tone. A writer's tone
may be sympathetic, It may be bitter, It may be
comic, hopeful, solemn, or anything the writer
likes.
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HOW TO READ NONFICTION

• Try to separate Facts from Opinions.
• The writer has chosen facts that present a
  certain picture of the subject.
• Think about what might be missing as well as what
  is there.

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MORE READING TIPS

• Think about the writer's purpose.
• Is the writer trying to win you over to his or
  her opinion?
• Learn to appreciate how well a writer says
  something, even when you don't agree.
• Be a critical reader.

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FINAL READING TIPS

• Be aware of the writer's tone.
• Frequently a writer reveals much about himself or
  herself by the tone he or she uses.
• This is especially important in autobiographical
  writing