Nonfiction Analysis and Writing Modes

topics

can be expressed in a word or phrase (e.g. love)

main idea

expressed in a complete thought

perspective

specific POV conveyed in an argument, an attitude towards something

is a person/community affected by an issue

primary purpose

to entertain, inform, persuade, express (show author’s personal thoughts towards a topic)

Why do authors write nonfiction?

Four P’s (Problem, promise, program, platform)

problem

main cause that influences the writer to commit to writing

promise

writer’s promise that they can fix the problem by offering solutions or alternatives

program

how writer will achieve promise

platform

writers justification for writing - why should you listen to them and not someone else?

theme

main idea that writers explore in the text

motif

repetition of images, words, colors, etc.

motifs are used to highlight themes

4 writing modes

descriptive, expository, narrative, persuasive

6+1 Traits of writing

ideas, sentence fluency, organization, conventions (mechanical correctness), word choice, voice + presentation

Narrative

tells a story, similar to a story and follows a plot, can have dialogue and cause/effect

what makes a good narrative?

include all parts of a story, has purpose, clear POV, develop strong motifs

Descriptive

appeals to the senses, make something abstract more concrete, objective descriptions (verifiable facts), subjective (writer’s thoughts and feelings)

expository

investigate ideas, evaluate evidence, explain, and set forth a thesis

usually some research needed

expository-common styles

compare and contrast, cause and effect, definition, example, classification (organizing content based on categories)

Persuasive

understand different POV about the topic by researching to determine a position and back it up with evidence collected