NFM - What is Nonfiction Lesson

Nonfiction writing is assumed to be true and factual. It is important to note that while true or factual, nonfiction writing can be presented objectively (from an impartial point of view) or subjectively (from an individual's biased perspective). Nonfiction writing can be read in a variety of formats, and may even mimic fiction, using like literary elements (characters, plot, suspense, etc.).

Take a look at a variety of nonfiction formats in the tabbed activity below. Click on each of the tabs to reveal information.

Elements of Nonfiction

As stated above, nonfiction reading can read like a piece of fiction. These elements will appear again later in the course, as we study fiction. Take a look now and remember to take note of these terms and find examples as we read material in this module.

Characters, Plot, and Setting. Like fiction, nonfiction can have characters, a plot, and a setting. However, these elements are real, not made up.

Purpose. Different types of nonfiction have varied purposes. Biographies and autobiographies, for example, have the purpose of informing the reader. Biographies and autobiographies use a combination of expository, descriptive, and narrative paragraphs to give information about a person's life. Other types of nonfiction, such as newspaper editorials, are intended to win readers over to a certain opinion using persuasion. 
  

Tone. The writer's attitude toward his or her subject matter is called tone. A writer's tone may be sympathetic, comic, hopeful, solemn, etc. It all depends on the author's purpose for writing the piece.

Nonfiction Readings      

Night by Eile Wiesel

Elie Wiesel was a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp. Wiesel started as a writer focused on religious matters, being a devout student of Jewish doctrines. When the Germans invaded Sighet, Romania, he and his family were sent to concentration camps. Wiesel described his experiences there in the novel, Night. Through his writing and the founding of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum, Wiesel hoped to spread knowledge of this period of history.

Read the excerpt from Night Links to an external site.

"Letter from the Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr.

This letter was a widely published letter that Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote while a prisoner in the Birmingham Jail. King urged followers to take action to break the unjust laws. King knew that it could take a very long time for the courts to rule that these laws were unjust. While encouraging this movement, King was also advocating nonviolent resistance, not wanting to cause more turmoil for people.

Read King's letter Links to an external site.

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