Non-fictional Narrative Writing

Make it personal!

Fictional –Not trueNon-fictional – true Narrative – tells a storyNon-fictional narrative- tells a true story

Examples of non-fictional narrative writing:BiographyAutobiographyMemoirNarrative essayspeech

BIOGRAPHICALTell someone else’s story

Sea Biscuit: An American Legend, by Laura Hillenbrand

Left For Dead, by Pete Nelson

Arthur Ashe Remembered, John McFee

Rosa Parks, Douglas Brinkley

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL:Tell your own storyThe preface of Left For Dead,by

Hunter Scott “The

Washwoman,” by Isaac Singer

“The Rights to the Streets of Memphis,” by Richard Wright

Memoir examples:“Old Shoes,”

Karen Thornton“Body surfer,

“Jude Thornton“The Bouquet,”

Naomi Levy“The Talk,” Gary

Soto

VOICE …Is the verbal expression of who you are. A writer’s voice reflects his or her personality

Your writing voice is the fingerprint of your writing expression. It is your style, your way, your method, your word fashion. No one else will “sound” like you do when you write.

DEVELOP YOUR STYLE By working hard during voice lessons in Mrs. Thornton’s ninth grade English class. You are

worth it!

Elements of voice or style in more detail

1. DICTION- This is your word choice and provides the foundation of expression. Be clear with your diction. Precise diction makes clear what the reader means. Word choice is important in order to create mood, provide accurate information, supply imagery, or express specific emotion.

2. DETAIL – This is your use of facts, observations and examples. Use of detail enables the reader to “participate” with you as he reads.

Imagery– This is the language used to present a sensory experience to the reader. There are five senses imagery can help the reader to use. They are seeing, hearing, touching (tactile), tasting, and smelling. Imagery is created through detail, description, and figurative language.For example, a simile (figurative langauge) IS imagery. Descriptive words ARE imagery.Details CAN provide imagery.

SYNTAX--This is your choice of sentence structure, your arrangement of words. Syntax controls your focus or message. Variations of syntax can cause tension or provide relief. Syntax reveals the individuality of the writer.

Examples of particular choices of sentence structure :

-Often begins sentences with prepositional phrases--Often uses compound-complex sentences often--Uses parallel structure often--Uses short statements mixed with long ones…

TONE Tone is expressed by your own qualities, your persona, your attitude! The tone is you coming off the pages and into the head of the reader. It is the way the reader “gets” you and your personality.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXeINWQ5VHM&feature=related&safety_mode=true&persist_safety_mode=1

Grammar lesson focus: dependent clauses begin with a subordinating conjunction or relative pronoun (after, before, which, that, if, while, as if, as, because, who, though, where, since, although…)A subordinating conjunction always connects a dependent clause to an independent clause, so we call the sentence COMPLEX .Which sentence is complex?1. After we set out for the park, the rain began to pour.2. After the rain, we went home.3. The rain came and we went home. Is the following punctuation correct?The rain began to pour after we set out for the park.

This is the format that an English student will use when writing a paper. MLA requires specific fonts, margins, headers, and a particular way of citing sources. FYI, if you are writing a science or social studies paper, you may be asked to use APA (American Psychological Association) format, which is slightly different.