Elements of Nonfiction
Nonfiction is writing that deals with actual events, people, places, things, and ideas.

Nonfiction had its beginnings in the oral tradition.

Types of nonfiction:
histories (early stories about real events)
autobiographies (story of a person's life written by that person)
biographies (story of a person's life told by another person)
letters
diaries (writer's own thoughts and writings)
speeches
contracts
political documents
legal documents
essays (brief piece of nonfiction prose that develops a single idea)
articles, reports

Writer's aim or purpose is what he or she wants a work to accomplish.

Purposes of nonfiction:

1. expressive - to express personal feelings, attitudes, ideas, values, or beliefs (for example, diary entry)

2. informative - to inform others about a subject (encyclopedia articles, term papers)

3. persuasive - to persuade others to adopt some belief or take some course of action (editorial)

Different modes (forms of writing):

1. narration - relates events. Biographies, autobiographies, histories, news reports rely heavily on narration.

2. dialogue - presents speech in the words the speakers actually used

3. description -- portrays in words how things look, sound, smell, taste, or feel

4. exposition - presents facts or opinions in an ogranized way (classificatoin, comparison, contrast, definition, and analysis)

Additional terms:
Stereotype - an unexamined, false idea about a type of person or group of people.
Analogy - a comparison of things that are alike in some ways, but different in others.
Anecdote - a brief story, usually told to make a point.

Outstanding Nonfiction Books for the College Bound Student

(from the American Library Association)

Outstanding Biographies for the College Bound Student

(from the American Library Association)