The 4 basic tupes of non-fictional texts

  1. Descriptive texts

    • author wants to inform in a relatively balanced & neutral way

      • e.g. description of a landscape, a place, a person, an object,…

  2. Narrative texts

    • author wants to inform the reader about a development or a sequence of events; the report (objectively or subjectively) gives answers to the questions who? what? where? when? why? and how? & often presents further details.

      • reports are often made livelier by fictional elements, e.g. a detailed description of people or the way people are affected by an event, etc.

        • e.g. travel report, report on the development of a situation,…

  3. Expository texts

    • complicated & difficult facts are presented & explained in a matter-of-fact way; the structure/pattern of such texts is called topical order (= a sequence of points follows a statement of the topic at the beginning of the text)

      • e.g. explanatory notes, scientific reports, factual texts, descriptions of historical events,…

  4. Argumentativ texts

    • author tries to influence the reader directly; this text type tends to be more critical & appellitive, using persuasive arguments

      • e.g. commentary, criticism, review, essay, sermon, pamphlet, political speech

    • these texts usually deal with controversial topics; reasons are given for and/or against the matter & are arranged in a well-planned order