Non-fiction text types

Non-fiction text types – (and where to find them)

Non-fiction texts come in many types, and have many different purposes. They surround us in everyday life but can also come in more sophisticated forms.

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:

Ø  advertisements

Ø  reviews

Ø  letters

Ø  diaries

Ø  newspaper articles

Ø  information leaflets

Ø  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. 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

Review

The most common types of review are film and book reviews, but people also review music, television programmes, theatre performances and computer games.
All reviews share a number of different purposes. For example, a film review needs:

Ø  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

Ø  to describe - the review should describe the story, characters and some of the action - without spoiling the plot or giving too much away

Ø  to entertain - to use humour to provide the reader with their opinion of the item that they are reviewing

Ø  to analyse - a good review gives an opinion on whether the film is good or not and why

Ø  to advise - the review should tell the reader whether or not to go and see the film

There are several different types of newspaper articles:

• News articles - 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.
• Feature articles - these explore news stories in more depth. The purpose of a feature is not just to tell you what has happened, but to explore or analyse the reasons why. These kind of pieces normally name the writer who wrote them - a by-line.
• Editorials, columns and opinion pieces - these are pieces by 'personality' writers. 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). They are likely to have a more personal style that the writer regularly uses when writing - this could be shown through particular vocabulary or the opinion of the writer.

Further study: https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zqtwnbk/revision/1