Non-fiction text types

Non-fiction texts

A non-fiction text is based on facts. It is really any text which isn’t fiction (a made-up story or poetry). Non-fiction texts come in a huge variety of types. You find them everywhere in life, from the back of the cereal packet at breakfast, to a text book at the library. They can range from a newspaper article to a review of a new computer game. They are written for many different purposes, and are aimed at many different people or audiences.

Non-fiction texts include:

• advertisements
• reviews
• letters
• diaries and blogs
• newspaper articles
• information leaflets
• magazine articles

Literary non-fiction

Literary non-fiction is a type of writing which uses similar techniques as fiction to create an interesting piece of writing about real events. Techniques such as withholding information, vivid imagery and rhetorical devices can all be used. These techniques help to create non-fiction which is enjoyable and exciting to read. Some travel writing, autobiographies, or essays that consider a particular viewpoint are key examples of literary non-fiction. Their main purpose is to entertain whilst they inform about factual events or information.

Literary non-fiction texts include:

• feature articles
• essays
• travel writing
• accounts of famous events
• sketches (normally a fact file profile that gives key information about a person, place or event)
• autobiographies (where you write about yourself) or biographies (where someone else writes about you) – these texts may be written by sportspeople, politicians, celebrities or other people who aren’t well-known

Biography

A biography is writing about someone’s life. If someone is writing about their own life it becomes an autobiography. Biography and autobiography might focus on a specific part of someone’s life and experiences.

A biography is usually written both to inform and to entertain. This means it is a mix of factual information and creative writing. Often biographies are of famous people, eg singers, models or sports personalities. However, sometimes biographies of ordinary people who aren’t well known can be interesting because of an extraordinary experience that they’ve had, such as surviving against the odds or doing something heroic.

Example

This is the opening paragraph of Claire Tomalin’s biography of Charles Dickens, the novelist. The young man she is describing is Dickens, aged 37.

14 January 1840, London. An inquest is being held at Marylebone Workhouse, a muddled complex of buildings spread over a large area between the Marylebone Road and Paddington Street. The Beadle, a parish officer responsible for persuading householders to do their duty as jurors at such inquests, has assembled twelve men. Most of them are middle-aged local tradesmen, but one stands out among them as different. He is young and slight, smartly dressed and good-looking, neither tall nor short at five foot nine inches, with dark hair falling in curls over his forehead and collar. He is a new resident who has just moved into a fine airy house with a large garden, close to Regent’s Park at York Gate: it is No. 1 Devonshire Terrace, from which the Beadle has made haste to summon him to his duty.

Charles Dickens, Claire Tomalin

Analysis

How does Tomalin, the writer of this extract, introduce us to Charles Dickens?

• The extract begins by raising questions for the reader – why is there an inquest? How will Dickens be involved?
• The focus then shifts to the jury where “one stands out”, suggesting that he doesn’t fit in – and is more significant than the others. The writer creates suspense, as we don’t know whether this man is Dickens yet.
• Due to the close focus on this character, the reader may make the connection to him being Charles Dickens.
• The writer lists details, eg “smartly dressed” and “fine airy house”. The adjectives “smartly” and “fine” imply that he is quite wealthy.
• Descriptive language, eg “good-looking” with “dark hair falling in curls over his forehead” present Dickens in a romantic way, like the main character in a story.

information leaflet

Information leaflets normally focus on a particular subject. In leaflets it’s not just the content and language that’s important, but also the layout and organisation.

It is unlikely that you will answer a question about a leaflet in your exams. This example has been included here because you should revise using a wide range of text types.

Take notice of how non-fiction texts all around you achieve their purpose and appeal to their audience!

Analysis

Key features of this leaflet include:

• The heading of the leaflet uses imperative language to give the reader a direct command – “Get Baking!” The subheading “to help you get baking” suggests that the intended audience are people who are new to this activity.
• The opening ‘welcome’ message from celebrity chefs will appeal to fans of The Great British Bake Off. It introduces the purpose of the leaflet – to persuade readers to support the BBC Children In Need charity through baking.
• Sub-headings guide the reader through each section – some information is organised with numbers and bullet points to break down instructions.
• The tone is reassuring to the reader if they are not necessarily an expert “All the recipes in this guide give step-by-step advice to help you bake beautifully”. The personal pronoun “you” is direct and inviting.
• The language is enthusiastic – the rule of three highlights the benefits of baking as “relaxing, rewarding and great fun”.
• Assertive language like “nothing beats the taste” and “it’s really not difficult” makes the reader feel they should have a go.
• A range of adjectives – “perfect, tasty, crusty, hot and delicious” – appeal to the senses, almost making the reader hungry as they imagine eating the food!
• A fun tone is reinforced by alliteration – “crazy for cake”, “soft spot for bread” and “passion for puddings” – which builds up to the whole purpose of the text.

Letter

Letters are handwritten or printed on paper for many purposes and audiences:

• they can be informal, eg to a friend or family member – to keep in touch or say thank you
• they can be formal, such as a letter of complaint or a letter from the bank explaining the features of your bank account
• they are structured to show that the text is directed at someone, using a salutation ‘Dear NAME…’ and an appropriate ending ‘Yours sincerely…’

Open letters

• An ‘open letter’ is a letter which is either addressed to the public or to a specific person, (like a politician), but is published in a public forum such as a popular newspaper with a big audience. An open letter is often used to protest about something.

Example

Schools might send letters home when teachers want to praise their students in a more formal way. This is a letter written by the Head of Geography to a student’s parents.

19 July 2016

Dear Mr and Mrs Smith

Jonathan Smith – Form 10ABC

I am always pleased to hear about students who are committed to the study of Geography. Miss Jones has brought Jonathan to my attention for the effort he has shown over the course of this term.

Geography is a challenging subject, which requires students to work hard to increase their knowledge and be able to apply new skills.

I would like to congratulate Jonathan for the level of attainment he has achieved due to the level of application he has shown. I hope that he will continue to make good progress in Geography as a result.

Yours sincerely

Mr L Mountain

Head of Geography

Analysis

This letter:

• Has a conventional salutation to create a polite register.
• Opens with a topic sentence so that the purpose of the letter is clear.
• Uses a tone that is formal, eg “brought to my attention” – this shows respect to the student’s achievements.
• Includes words used in schools, eg “attainment”, “progress”, “subject” and “term” as the intended audience will be familiar with these specialist terms.
• Uses adjectives to highlight the student’s success, eg “challenging” and “hard” implies a lot of effort.
• Closes with the conventional sign off “Yours sincerely” to show that the message is genuine and important to the sender. This maintains the formal tone.

Review

A review gives an opinion about anything from a restaurant to a concert.

The most common types of review are film and book reviews, but people also review music, television programmes, theatre performances and computer games.

Critics often write reviews for a living. They are knowledgeable on certain topics, eg films or music. We trust their judgement and may decide to read a book or watch a film because they persuade us to do so.

All reviews share a number of different purposes. For example, a film review needs:

• to inform – the review needs to tell people who is in the film, who it is by and where or when readers can see it
• to describe – the review should describe the story, characters and some of the action – without spoiling the plot or giving too much away
• to entertain – to provide the reader with their opinion in a way that readers will enjoy, eg with a lively or witty tone
• to analyse – a good review weighs up whether the film is good or not, giving opinions backed up with reasons and evidence
• to advise – the review should recommend to the reader whether or not they should go to see the film

Audience

The audience of a review varies – this depends on where it is published.

The audience might be specific or general. For example, a specialist computer games magazine will assume their readers have a major interest in gaming and an understanding of specialist terminology, such as spawning and simulator. However, a review of a game in a national newspaper, with a much wider audience, would need to simplify the language or explain the terms.

Reviews of popular new books and films aim to reach nationwide audiences – but a local newspaper will review a performance at their own theatre, aimed at local readers.

Example

This is a review of the film The Golden Compass.

A review of a children’s film is probably aimed at parents, who will want to know whether to take their children to see it.

The Golden Compass

Reviewed by Stella Papamichael

Free will is the object of the game in The Golden Compass, a big budget exercise in orienteering where witches and polar bears point the way to enlightenment. You’ll have to look between the CG seams to find the original intent of Philip Pullman’s atheistic novel, but this isn’t the overriding problem. It’s that writer/director Chris Weitz doesn’t convey a strong enough sense of purpose.

Thank goodness for the star presence of Dakota Blue Richards. She is thoroughly engaging as Lyra, a young girl singled out in prophecy as ‘the one’ to save all others from some awful yet indeterminate fate. It all sounds a bit messianic really, except that organised religion, represented by The Magisterium, is a force for evil. Nicole Kidman does the ominous eyebrow lifting as a guardian of the establishment who kidnaps children to wrest them from their ‘daemons’ (the animal sidekicks who embody their better judgment). Among the abductees is Lyra’s best friend, and so begins the voyage north to find him.

Many questions raised

Daniel Craig has little to do as Lyra’s scientifically minded uncle except hint at potential sequels. The draw is in a simple story of friendship and Lyra’s journey of self-discovery. The line-up of curious characters she meets along the way helps to lighten Pullman’s otherwise dark material. Sam Elliot is wryly amusing as a cowboy aeronaut and the spectacle of Lyra being carried across the arctic wastelands on the back of a polar bear (voiced by Ian McKellen) will appeal to the child in everyone. Towards the end, some impressively realised battle scenes up the excitement. Disappointingly though, all this magic and mystery fails to lead to any grand unveiling. There are just too many questions raised and not enough answered. Approach this not as a lesson in the facts of life, just a bit of childish escapism.

The Golden Compass is out in the UK on 5 December.

Analysis

How has the writer structured the text to interest the reader?

• The review opens with a focus on the fantasy characters and genre of the film, engaging readers with the idea of the film pointing you “to enlightenment” – a journey of discovery.
• The opening paragraph ends with a short statement summing up the critic’s conclusion that it “doesn’t convey a strong enough sense of purpose”. This raises the question – why not?
• The focus shifts to the actors and Richards’ “star presence” – this balances the good and bad points. Finishing the paragraph with “the voyage north” continues the sense of a journey.
• The subheading “Many Questions Raised” is repeated in the final paragraph and highlights the critic’s conclusion that there are “not enough answered”.
• She balances this with positives – “will appeal to the child in everyone” and “childish escapism” – leaving the reader to decide for themselves whether they want to see it.
• The review concludes with the key dates. This informs the reader when they can see it.

How does the writer use language to influence the reader?

• The critic begins with a pun on the film’s ‘compass’ title, describing it as “a big budget exercise in orienteering” – implying that a lot of money has been spent producing a simple “find your way” story.
• A disappointed tone states that you “have to look between the CG seams” to find the “intent” of Pullman’s novel – as if the focus on special effects means the message of the story has been lost.
• Positive language choices, eg “star presence” and “engaging” are more upbeat as the review appreciates the acting.
• Humour is used to entertain the reader – “Kidman does the ominous eyebrow lifting” – the caricature of the villain is amusing rather than frightening. This is more appealing to children.
• The contrasting adverbs – “impressively realised battle scenes” and “disappointingly…fails to lead to any grand unveiling” – captures the feeling of anticlimax the writer experienced when watching the film. A direct statement reinforces this – “too many questions” and “not enough answered”.
• Describing the film as “childish escapism” suggests that it can still be enjoyed if we don’t expect too much from it. “Escapism” implies a light relief from reality – for both adults and children.

Newspaper articles

There are several different types of newspaper articles:

• News Reports – these are found at the front of a newspaper. They inform readers about things that are happening in the world or in the local area. They will be full of facts, like names, dates and places, as well as points of view, eg “Local opinion is still divided over plans to open a new shopping centre.” Reports tend to have a more formal, neutral tone.
• Feature articles – these explore the issues raised by news stories in more depth. For example, a report about young children left home alone could inspire a feature article on the difficulties of finding childcare providers in the local area. A feature article tends to be more opinionated and less formal than a report, often taking a personal point of view.
• Editorials, columns and opinion pieces – these are pieces by ‘personality’ writers, often celebrities in other fields. They might be there to inform (because the writer’s expert opinion is valued), or they might be there to entertain (because the writer has a comic or interesting way of describing everyday life). Columnists develop a style of their own – for example, polemical or sarcastic. They create this style through vocabulary choices and rhetorical devices. They might use informal language to convey their idiolect. This individual style appeals to their audience.

Tabloid and broadsheet newspapers

The type of newspaper that publishes the article influences how it is written:

• If it is in a tabloid it will have shorter sentences and paragraphs and use more basic vocabulary – reports are sensationalised using emotive language and they may focus more on celebrities and gossip, eg The Sun and The Daily Mirror.
• If it is in a broadsheet the sentences will be longer and more complicated, and the vocabulary will be more advanced. The tone is more formal and serious as they focus on important national and international issues, eg The Times and The Telegraph.
• Some newspapers also have particular political points of view, which might affect how they report events in the news.

Example

This is a news report from The Financial Times, which is a broadsheet paper. Only part of the report is printed here. It is about children in Singapore being the best in the world at maths.

July 22, 2016

Why Singapore’s kids are so good at maths

The city-state regularly tops global league tables. What’s the secret of its achievement?

Sie Yu Chuah smiles when asked how his parents would react to a low test score. “My parents are not that strict but they have high expectations of me,” he says. “I have to do well. Excel at my studies. That’s what they expect from me.” The cheerful, slightly built 13-year-old is a pupil at Admiralty, a government secondary school in the northern suburbs of Singapore that opened in 2002.

At meetings of the world’s education ministers, when it is Singapore’s turn to speak, “everyone listens very closely”, says Andreas Schleicher, head of the OECD’s education assessment programme.

But what is it about Singapore’s system that enables its children to outperform their international peers? And how easy will it be for other countries to import its success?

A densely populated speck of land in Southeast Asia, Singapore is bordered by Malaysia to the north and the leviathan archipelago of Indonesia to the south. The former British trading post gained self-rule in 1959 and was briefly part of a Malaysian federation before becoming fully independent in 1965. A sense of being dwarfed by vast neighbours runs deep in the national psyche, inspiring both fear and pride. In a speech to trade union activists on May Day last year, prime minister Lee Hsien Loong told citizens: “To survive, you have to be exceptional.” The alternative, he warned, was being “pushed around, shoved about, trampled upon; that’s the end of Singapore and the end of us”.

The Financial Times, Jeevan Vasagar

Analysis

This article:

• uses the headline to make a direct statement, “Why Singapore’s kids are so good at maths” – the purpose of the report is to explain why
• the language “global” league tables highlights the international success – followed by a rhetorical question, “What’s the secret of its achievement?” to interest the reader
• the conversational tone avoids being too formal, eg “kids” and “what’s the secret” – the audience might be parents as well as educational experts
• more rhetorical questions prepare the reader for “answers” provided by the report
• a metaphor “speck of land” makes Singapore sound tiny – the reader is even more amazed at its huge success – and its tiny size is reinforced by the description that it is “dwarfed” by its neighbours
• imperative language from its Prime Minister explains the efforts behind the brilliant maths results, “You have to be exceptional”
• the extract ends with a rule of three, “pushed around, shoved about, trampled upon” – the aggressive verbs imply the struggle Singapore students face if they do not achieve highly at school

Diaries and blogs

A diary is a personal record of events, thoughts and feelings – usually arranged in chronological order. They can be handwritten and private – or might be uploaded to the internet as a ‘blog’. The origin of the word ‘blog’ is as an abbreviation for ‘web-log’ – that is, an online diary of sorts.

Blogs are written by many people all over the world, for lots of different purposes. They are often informative and interactive, enabling readers to post their thoughts or ask questions. Some blogs focus on topics of interest, such as health, music or art – ‘how to’ tutorials are popular too, eg for styling hair or crafts. These blogs appeal to followers with similar interests, creating a very specific audience base.

Diaries and blogs:

• Are usually quite personal – written in the first person from the writer’s point of view.
• The language can be more creative (literary non-fiction) when the writer is publishing their diary or blog. This could be to entertain or to help the reader imagine events and feelings.
• The tone can be formal or informal depending on the intended purpose and audience, eg a travel blog might be chatty to encourage the reader to share fun experiences. It could also be serious if recounting travels through places where there is extreme poverty.
• Tenses can vary – diaries and blogs tend to be past tense but can use present tense to bring an event to life for the reader.

Blogs can also be used by organisations to communicate informally with their audience. Because they are online, they can be regular, and respond to events quickly.

While you might not be asked a question about a blog in your exams, diary extracts do appear and can be either 19th century or modern.

Example

This is part of a post from a blog about one girl’s interest in fashion.

Since she was just 13, Tavi Gevinson has attracted international attention from the fashion industry, after the New York Times picked up on her fashion blog Style Rookie. She is now 20 and is the editor for online magazine Rookie alongside her blog.

STYLE ROOKIE

APRIL 21, 2016

Today I am 20. The Crucible, in which I play Mary Warren, opened at the Walter Kerr Theatre three weeks ago, March 31st—also the eight-year anniversary of this blog. I have a lot of trouble comprehending that writing Style Rookie led to writing for other places, then starting Rookie, then being able to audition for plays that I love and to be inside of them for long periods of time, which is an inexplicably wonderful way to live a life. But I am really really really insanely thankful for all of it, and many of you have followed for a LONG time, and that means a lot. Right now, I’m very slowly writing something that I hope will effectively articulate the strangeness of the way these all overlap—the fictions we get to try on via diary/blog-keeping, and acting, and personal style. But that’s a longterm hermit project. I just wanted to mention it because in my attempt to briefly list recent stuff I’ve been up to, I may sound callous, but: None of this goes unexamined or unappreciated.

Since my last update:

I went on tour for Rookie Yearbook Four and got to meet Rookies across the U.S. It’s always surreal and the very best heart-nutrition to see long-time readers and meet new ones!

Recent Editor’s Letters for Rookie about stuff like: Glory, Assembly, Potential, Truth or Dare, and Cult of Personality. In my letter for the theme On Display, I also wrote about David Bowie.

I am also hanging out with the coolest/cutest girls in the world in the video for Carly Rae Jepsen’s song “Boy Problems,” which Petra Collins, Rookie photographer and personal partner-in-crime, directed.

Style Rookie, Tavi Gevinson

Analysis

• The blog’s title “Style Rookie” is informal, appealing to a younger audience who might see themselves as “rookies” (beginners) too.
• It opens in the present tense “Today I am 20” – this signals a significant date on which she has chosen to stop and think about the end of her teenage years.
• The first person creates a personal and conversational feel – like Tavi is speaking directly to the reader.
• Listing the events “then…then” quickens the pace to convey how quickly everything seems to have happened to her.
• Alliteration reinforces the positive statement “wonderful way to live a life”.
• Unusual metaphors eg, “hermit project” and “heart-nutrition” shape a distinct idiolect – giving the reader a sense of Tavi’s originality and ways of speaking.
• A young, fun tone is created with repetition “I am really really really insanely grateful”. The word “insanely” is slang for ‘very’ and implies she cannot control her happiness.
• Further informal words and phrases, eg “stuff”, “hanging out” and “coolest” continue the youthful register.

Essay

Essays are not only written by students. People who are considered experts in a particular topic often write essays to show a new viewpoint on something. For example, authors like Charles Dickens and George Orwell wrote essays to express their ideas about topics, such as politics and poverty. The essay is a form of literary non-fiction in which a writer expresses an opinion on something, or makes an argument, in a creative form.

Essays:

• have a clear structure that introduces their idea, develops their viewpoint using different points to support them, and concludes with a summary of the arguments
• can have a formal tone and serious purpose, eg in The Ugly Tourist, Jamaica Kincaid criticises the way that tourism ignores the poverty and hardships found in some tourist locations
• can be more personal, eg in My Misspent Youth, Meghan Daum shares her dreams and then the difficult realities of trying to be a successful writer in New York

Example

This extract is the beginning of an essay by George Orwell, the novelist, who was also a famous essay writer. This essay is called Politics and the English Language. It was published in 1946, in a literary magazine. It criticises the ugliness of written English in the ‘modern’ age.

Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally assumed that we cannot by conscious action do anything about it. Our civilization is decadent and our language – so the argument runs – must inevitably share in the general collapse. It follows that any struggle against the abuse of language is a sentimental archaism, like preferring candles to electric light or hansom cabs to aeroplanes. Underneath this lies the half-conscious belief that language is a natural growth and not an instrument which we shape for our own purposes.

Now, it is clear that the decline of a language must ultimately have political and economic causes: it is not due simply to the bad influence of this or that individual writer. But an effect can become a cause, reinforcing the original cause and producing the same effect in an intensified form, and so on indefinitely. A man may take to drink because he feels himself to be a failure, and then fail all the more completely because he drinks. It is rather the same thing that is happening to the English language. It becomes ugly and inaccurate because our thoughts are foolish, but the slovenliness of our language makes it easier for us to have foolish thoughts. The point is that the process is reversible.

Politics and the English Language, George Orwell

Analysis

In this extract you can see:

• Orwell uses first person plural pronouns – “we” and “our” – this makes the reader feel that the state of the English language is their problem too.
• The vocabulary is complex and polysyllabic. This reinforces his idea that we should not be lazy with words – we should make more effort to use and understand a wide range of vocabulary.
• The verbs “collapse” and “struggle” imply how difficult the fight against falling standards is.
• Similes “like preferring candles to electric lights or hansom cabs to aeroplanes” admit the benefits of progress, that everything changes – sometimes for the better.
• However, the metaphor of the drunken man – drinking due to failure, then failing due to drinking – suggests that the “slovenliness” of our language will make us more “foolish” so that we can never put things right.
• The final short sentence, “The point is that the process is reversible” gives the reader hope that they can improve their English language – if they make the effort to. This is the purpose of the essay – to argue that we must make that effort.

Travel writing

Travel writing tells the reader about visiting different places.

A tourist guide – or a more personal account of a journey – will:

• describe places
• inform about cultures
• explain how to do things

They might also:

• persuade the reader to visit
• advise the reader what to do
• entertain the reader with a creative style of writing

Guides are usually written in the third person whereas personal accounts tend to be first person.

Travel writing can take many forms, such as newspaper articles, essays, journals, blogs and autobiography. It can also be written as a book, telling a longer narrative about a journey or place. Many types of travel writing contain the features of literary non-fiction.

Example

Bill Bryson is a famous travel writer. This extract is the opening paragraph from his book The Lost Continent (1989).

I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.

When you come from Des Moines you either accept the fact without question and settle down with a local girl named Bobbi and get a job at the Firestone factory and live there forever and ever, or you spend your adolescence moaning at length about what a dump it is and how you can’t wait to get out, and then you settle down with a local girl named Bobbi and get a job at the Firestone factory and live there forever and ever.

The Lost Continent, Bill Bryson

Analysis

In this extract:

• Bryson begins with humour, “Somebody had to.” This amuses the reader and creates a chatty tone. It raises the question ‘Why does he sound negative?’ – intriguing the reader.
• Using the first person forms an immediate connection between Bryson and his reader. He builds on this by opening with an anecdote to entertain them.
• A rule of three summarises “your” future, “settle down with a local girl”, “get a job at the Firestone factory” and “live there forever and ever”. This makes life in Des Moines sound predictable and limited.
• The contrasting options “accept the fact without question” or “spend your adolescence moaning at length” are both awful!
• Describing Des Moines as a “dump” makes the reader imagine a rubbish dump or an ugly place.
• Bryson ends the extract with a repetition of your first “option” – to “settle, get a job and live there forever and ever” – this implies that you have no choice really and cannot escape Des Moines.
• This extract is likely to entertain the reader but unlikely to persuade them to visit Des Moines!