Nonfiction

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Nonfiction
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Types of Nonfiction

• Informational Nonfiction-used to convey
  information about a particular topic or subject.
• Narrative Nonfiction-a true story used to
  illustrate or explain a particular event or
  series of events
• Biography--account of a persons life written by
  outside source
• Autobiography- account of a persons life written
  by that person.

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Types of Nonfiction

• Essay- a short piece of writing that examines a
  topic of interest
• Personal essay- writers response to an
  experience
• Formal essay- objectively written (no opinion)
  to inform
• Speech- essay delivered orally
• Other Functional Nonfiction workplace documents,
  public documents, consumer documents, technical
  directions

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Elements of Nonfiction

• Organization of Nonfiction
• Chronological or Sequential Order events
  detailed in the order in which they happened
• Cause and Effect cause is why something
  happened. Effect is what happened. (Sometimes the
  effect is listed first.)
• Process Analysis (How to)--

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Elements of Nonfiction

• Order of Importance details build from least
  important to most important or vice versa.
• Problem and Solutiontells about a problem (and
  sometimes says why there is a problem) then gives
  one or more possible solutions
• Compare and Contrastshows how two or more things
  are alike and different.
• Description A topic, idea, person, place, or
  thing is described by listing its features,
  characteristics, or examples
• Logical Order supporting details arranged in
  groups so connections are clear.

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Qualities of Nonfiction

• Main Idea- most important message of the
  nonfiction text and can be supported by details
  found within the text.
• Purpose written to inform, persuade, express
  opinion, entertain etc.
• Logic accurate reasoning supported by reasons,
  evidence and examples
• Unity all details support the main idea
• Coherence one idea flows from another in a way
  that makes it easy for readers to understand-
  transition words are used to connect ideas.

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Strategies for Reading NonfictionMain Idea and
Supporting Details

• Determine the Main Idea finding the main idea is
  the first necessary step in summarization. The
  main idea is the unifying idea of the paragraph
  or selection. What is the one idea that all of
  the sentences in a paragraph or all of the
  paragraphs in a selection are about?

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Strategies for Reading NonfictionMain Idea and
Supporting Details

• Finding Supporting Details details or statements
  that support the main idea.
• Types of supporting details
• descriptive images
• examples from history
• personal experience
• reasons
• facts such as statistics
• quotation from an expert
• an anecdote to illustrate a point

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Strategies for Reading NonfictionSummarize

• Summarize summarizing is stating the main ideas
  of a selection in your own words and in a logical
  sequence.
• Ask yourself what is the gist of the selection?
• Answer who, what, where, when, why, and how? Put
  that information in logical order.

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Strategies for Reading NonfictionSkimming

• Skim- skimming is used to quickly identify the
  main ideas of a text. Use skimming when you want
  to see if an article will be interesting or of
  use in your research. It helps to look at
  titles, subheadings and first lines.

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Strategies for Reading NonfictionScanning

• Scan- scanning is glancing quickly over a
  selection in order to find specific information.
  As you move your eyes quickly over the lines of
  text, look for key words or phrases that will
  help you locate the information youre looking
  for.

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Strategies for Reading NonfictionSet a Purpose

• Set a Purpose-begin with a question in mind.
  Setting a purpose helps you focus on what is most
  important when reading.

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Strategies for Reading NonfictionIdentifying Bias

• Bias is a subjective way of thinking that tells
  only one side of a story or provides
  significantly more information for just one side,
  intentionally placing more emphasis on one side
  of the argument.
• Possible sources of bias
• Incomplete information
• Intentional deception
• Influence from past personal experience
• Intentional persuasion-to strengthen a position

Bias Rating 1 almost totally unbiased highly
objective accurate 2 mostly unbiased fairly
reliable 3 somewhat biased accuracy is
questionable or details favor one opinion 4
fairly biased distorted probably unreliable 5
totally biased highly subjective inaccurate
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Persuasive Strategies

• Authority The writer includes expert testimony
  and opinion to support the position. Experts are
  those who are knowledgeable and recognized as
  experts by others in that same field.
• Pathos when the writer seeks to illicit an
  emotional response from readers or audience. For
  example, when the reader feels emotionally
  connected to an anecdotal story that is used to
  support the topic.
• Logos when the writer uses logic, including
  numbers, facts, and data to support the argument.
  (Logos appeals to your brain as opposed to
  pathos which appeals to your heart.)

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Persuasive Strategies

• Ethos The writer attempts to convince the reader
  that he or she is honest and intelligent, so
  readers should trust and believe them.
• Urgency the writer makes the reader feel as if
  the issue needs immediate attention, and the
  reader should do something now.