Steps of Nonfiction Analysis

Let's review the Steps of Nonfiction Analysis. Roll over each of the steps below to reveal questions to ask for each step.

	What is the occasion that creates the need for using rhetorical strategies, or persuasion?
	How does he or she establish ethos (credibility/trustworthiness)? Does he or she come across as knowledgeable or fair? Does the speaker's reputation give him authority over the topics?
	Is he or she trying to attack or defend? Is he or she trying to praise or blame? Is he or she trying to teach or persuade?
	Who is the intended audience? What does the audience believe in that the author or speaker tries to use to get them on his or her side?
	Can you determine the main idea? What are the kinds of reasoning or arguments used? What types of rhetoric or propaganda appear? How does the author or speaker appeal to the emotions of the audience?
	How is the text or speech arranged in terms of structure? What figures of speech appear? What kind of style and tone does the author or speaker use? What effect does this structure have on the reader or listener?
	Does the author or speaker succeed in persuading the audience or driving his or her point home?

After fully understanding the elements of nonfiction and the steps for analyzing nonfiction, read and analyze the various texts of narrative nonfiction below.

Narrative Nonfiction Reading Assignments

As you read, try to recognize the different purposes, main ideas, structures, and rhetorical strategies that the authors use. 

"Biography: John Dalton" by Emilia Dobrowolska

John Dalton was an English physicist and chemist who made many scientific breakthroughs regarding atoms.  

Click here to read the nonfiction text "Biography: John Dalton." Links to an external site.

As you read, think about the point of view and purpose of this biography.

The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls

The Glass Castle is a memoir that documents a period of Walls' life when her family experienced periods of homelessness and then life in a house without plumbing or heat and infested with rats and snakes.

Click here to read excerpts from Chapter II of The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls. Links to an external site.

As you read the excerpts from Chapter II, note how the memoir The Glass Castle differs from the more factual biography of John Dalton. Is the narrator reliable?

The Autobiography of Malcolm X by Malcolm X

The Autobiography of Malcolm X is an autobiography that details the life of Malcolm X, a human rights activist who lived during from 1925-1965.  

Click here to read Chapter I of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Links to an external site.

Try to determine the purpose of The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Is the narrator reliable?

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