Literary genres

Writing Genres
Different styles of writing

Non-fiction writing

Autobiography
A story about an author’s own life
Usually includes significant events
Is usually fairly long
Characterized by the use of first-person pronouns (I, me, we, mine, ours, etc.)

Biography
A story about someone’s life written by someone else
Usually includes significant details
Is usually a longer work
Characterized by third-person pronouns (he, she, they, their, his, hers)

Expository Writing
Writing that EXPLAINS by presenting one of the following:
Presenting steps
Cause and effect
Types of something
Compare/contrast
Letters
Memos
Emails
Think five-paragraph essay

Narrative/Memoir
Smaller version of autobiography
Focuses on only one/few events

Persuasive Writing
The author tries to convince or persuade the reader to do something, think a certain way, or believe an idea
Usually tries to get you to agree with the author’s ideas
Speeches, commercials (propaganda), politics, etc.

Response to Literature
Writing that is a summary or a reaction to something the writer has read (novel, short story, poem, article, book, etc.)
Think book reports, summaries, paraphrases, reading responses, etc.

Fictional Writing

Fable
A short story that often uses animals as the main characters
Usually teaches a lesson or a moral
Usually has only one problem/conflict to overcome
Think Aesop

Fantasy
A story set in an imaginary land or time
Some characters have supernatural powers/abilities (wizards, witches, dragons, etc.)
Mythical beings/creatures are usually involved
The protagonist (hero) goes on a journey to rescue someone or fight some evil. They are often accompanied by friends/mentors, but must face the final evil alone

Historical Fiction
Made-up story based on actual historical events
Characters may be made up or real people
The facts of the event are shown through a fictional story
Wars/politics use this often

Novel
Fictional story containing
Several characters
Well-developed plot
Universal themes
Several types of conflict
This piece of writing is usually longer (150 pages and up)

Play (Drama)
Story that uses dialogue to tell a story
Is meant to be performed in front of an audience by actors
Characterized by the format that is used (Character: Dialogue, stage directions)

Poem
Writing that uses figurative language and is more rhythmic than prose (Prose is everything but poetry)
Figurative language includes such things as imagery, repetition, metaphors, similes, personification, etc.
Characterized by usually being very short, concise pieces and by the first letter of each line being capitalized

Science Fiction
Writing based on real or imaginary science
Often set in the future
Can occur on distant lands throughout the universe
Think Star Wars

Tall Tale/Legend
Often treated as one, they are two similar but distinct writings
Tall Tale:
Humorous, EXAGGERATED story about a character that does impossible things
Can be a real or fictional character
Legend:
Told to explain some phenomenon or mystical event
Passed down orally throughout generations
Also told to keep people from doing certain things (ghost stories)

Tragedy
A story in which the hero is destroyed in the end (either physically or mentally)
The hero often has some fatal flaw that causes his/her downfall
The hero will often save the day, but die in the process for the greater good of humanity

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Literary genres

by Daniel Proffitt

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Literary genres

by Daniel Proffitt

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Literary genres Presentation Transcript

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