Have you ever thought about how mayonnaise is made? It starts with ingredients that don’t naturally mix (like oil and vinegar), but when they’re whisked together, they blend into something smooth and lasting. In a lot of ways, that’s how identity works in today’s media world. We each have different experiences, opinions, and influences, but when we mix with the messages around us—social media posts, news stories, podcasts, and videos—we create our own unique “blend,” or identity.

Mayonnaise blends smoothly with almost anything, and in the same way, media can mix into every part of our lives. Sometimes we feel pressure to “blend in” online or to hide the parts of ourselves that stand out. Media can influence how we see ourselves and how others see us — in both good and bad ways, but when we use it carefully and think about the information we see, it can help us connect with others and understand who we really are.

Top‑down view of a glass bowl as oil and egg are whisked into mayonnaise, with faint media icons blended inside That’s why studying nonfiction and media matters. Just like a mayonnaise mixture breaks apart if you stop whisking, our understanding of who we are and what we believe can “break” if we stop thinking critically. If we don’t analyze what we read and watch, the world can push its own ideas of who we should be. So, we're going to explore how nonfiction texts and media shape the way we see ourselves and others by looking at how writers, influencers, and creators use facts, stories, and styles to share truth, build credibility, and connect with audiences. From editorials and speeches to documentaries and TED Talks, we’ll study how messages are mixed, spread, and sometimes even “split.”

By the end of the module, you’ll understand how media influences identity, how to recognize bias and purpose, and how to use your own voice to communicate clearly and authentically in a world full of blended messages.

Questions to ask

How does media shape the way we “blend in” or stand out as individuals in today’s world?

What makes a message “stick” — and how do writers and creators use facts, emotion, and style to influence others?

How can we tell when the “sauce” of media starts to separate — when bias, misinformation, or emotion change how truth is shared?

Words to know

Analysis: Looking closely at how and why a text works.
Annotation: Notes or highlights you make to better understand a text.
Audience: The people the author wants to reach or communicate with.
Audience Engagement: How creators keep people’s attention and interest.
Authenticity: Being real and true to yourself or your message.
Bias: A point of view or preference that affects how information is shown.
Call to Action: A statement that asks the audience to do something or take a stand.
Claim: The main idea or argument the writer is trying to make.
Counterargument: An idea that disagrees with the author’s main argument.
Diction: The author’s word choices that affect the tone and meaning.
Editorial: An article that shares the writer’s opinion about an issue.
Ethos: Showing you can be trusted or that you know what you’re talking about.
Evidence: Facts, examples, or quotes that support a claim.
Influencer: Someone who shapes opinions or trends through media.
Inference: A smart guess based on clues in the text.
Logos: Using facts, evidence, or logic to prove a point.
Multimodal Text: A piece that uses more than one kind of communication—like video, sound, and words.
Narration: The voice or commentary that tells the story or explains the topic.
Nonfiction: Writing about real people, places, and ideas.
Parallelism: Repeating sentence patterns to make writing flow smoothly.
Pathos: Appealing to people’s emotions or feelings.
Platform: The website or app where content is shared, like TikTok or YouTube.
Purpose: The reason the author wrote the piece.
Repetition: Using words or ideas again to make them stand out.
Rhetoric: Using words to persuade or influence others.
Sound Design: The use of sound, music, or effects to create emotion or meaning.
Storytelling: Sharing experiences or ideas in a way that connects with an audience.
Structure: How the writing is organized to make ideas clear.
Theme: The main message or big idea about life or society in a text.
Thesis: The main idea or argument of an essay or speech.
Tone: The author’s or speaker’s attitude or mood toward the topic.
Viral: When something spreads quickly and widely online.
Voice: The writer’s or speaker’s unique style and personality.

Module lessons

Lesson 1 | Novel Reminder

Lesson 2 | Nonfiction Elements

Lesson 3 | Seasoning with Persuasion: Rhetoric

Lesson 4 | Articles and Editorials

Lesson 5 | Speeches and Essays

Lesson 6 | Stories that Stick: Documentaries, TED Talks, and Podcasts

Lesson 7 | Social Media

Lesson 8 | Analyzing Nonfiction

Vocabulary Review

[CC BY-NC-SA 4.0] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION - INTENDED ONLY FOR USE WITHIN LESSON. Some images are generated by Copilot 2025 and 2026.