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READING NONFICTION
Types and Purposes
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

CRITICAL READING
Look
Look
Look
Look
at
at
at
at
writer’s
writer’s
writer’s
writer’s
background
purpose
attitude
audience
JOURNALISM
•Newspapers
•Magazines
•Online sources
TYPES OF JOURNALISM
Interviews
Columns
Reviews
Articles
Editorials
Editorial Cartoons
ESSAYS
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.
CHARACTERISTICS OF
ESSAYS
Essays in general
 Prose treatment
 Brief
 Incomplete in its discussion of topic
 A literary whole
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
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.
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.
OTHER TYPES OF
ESSAYS
Comparison and
Contrast Essays
Persuasive Essays
Cause and Effect
Essays
PERSONAL
CHRONICLES
DIARIES AND
JOURNALS
Diaries: a private
form of writing with
no further intended
audience
Journals: varying
styles and topics.
Give a glimpse of
the writer’s value of
his or her world
LETTERS
Private Letters
Public Letter
Letters can




Reveal character
Express opinions
Ask for information
Give information
Audience and Purpose
influence tone.
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
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Written by the subject for publication
Author has some purpose for writing
To teach
 To arouse awareness
 To warn
 Simply to entertain

MEMOIRS
A TYPE OF AUTOBIOGRAPHICAOL
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
BIOGRAPHY
The accurate
presentation of a life
story from birth to
death of an individual.
Historical biographies
include strands of an
individual’s life
interwoven with
historical persons,
places and events.
OTHER TYPES OF
NONFICTION
Speeches
Historical Writing
Science Writing
Technical writing
Writing online
Miscellaneous
writing
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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