Non-fiction Text Types Notes

The passages in Paper 2 are non-fiction.  This means they are based on fact and personal opinion rather than being a story which is invented.  Sometimes the difference between fiction and non-fiction can be blurred, as you will see below, where the main types of non-fiction are described to remind you:

a) what type of text you might read

b) what type of text you might be asked to write

Newspapers

Newspapers can be daily or weekly sources of news, views and comments.  Many contain a letters page and 'features' as well as recent news.  The editor may express their opinion in an editorial.  Headlines, short paragraphs, and quotations from people interviewed are common features. 

The order in a story is unlikely to be chronological.  A newspaper article will normally begin with the most important or most recent event and then go back to look at the build-up and opinions.

There are different types of newspaper, and some papers hold particular political views.  You cannot rely on a newspaper to be unbiased.  Tabloids, such as the Daily Mirror and The Sun are more sensational in their tone, while broadsheets, such as The Times and The Guardian will take longer to read and give more detail in their reporting.  Local newspapers focus on news in the area which they serve or how national stories are affecting local people. 

Magazines

Magazines will often contain longer articles which look at a subject in detail. Many magazines are on specialist subjects.

A magazine article may be balanced or express a particular point of view.

It might look at a news story and trace its development over a longer period of time. For example, a magazine article might look at how traffic problems are being tackled in different places or give an opinion on the use of a car.

Magazines often have a clear target audience. You might be asked to write an article, for example, for a school magazine. Articles will contain facts and often opinions, although these opinions might be suggested more by the tone and choice of language used than by explicit expressions.

Letters can be formal or informal, and this will be reflected in the tone and language. You should know the conventions of formal letter writing.

A letter may be to a newspaper. If so, it is likely to begin 'Sir' or 'Dear Editor' and give facts or an opinion.

The first paragraph will be short and make it clear what the purpose of the letter is.

The final paragraph will often state what the writer would like to happen next but may also just be a summary.

Apart from letters to a newspaper or magazine, you might find a letter from a family member to another, or between two people who do or do not know each other.  A letter from a head teacher to parents would begin 'Dear Parents', but you should note that it will end as if it is written to each parent by name (Yours sincerely).  

A letter will have a clear sense of purpose and audience (why it is being written and who is expected to read it).

You might also be asked to read or write an email.  This is a letter in electronic form and can sometimes look just like a letter.  More often, however, an email will be less formal and more to the point.  It might also be sent to multiple people.  In an examination, you should treat an email as a letter, but clearly there is no address, and the date is included automatically. An email has a subject as part of sending it, so this might change the first paragraph, which will add to the subject already given.

A diary is usually a personal account of events and may be written for others to read as a more formal record for the writer to reflect on or have a means of remembering events.  

It will be time-sensitive - usually written on the day of the events it records.

It will be in the first person.

It will not necessarily record every detail or be in chronological order - the most significant event or thought might come first.

An autobiography is the story of a writer's own life.  A biography is the story of someone else's life.

They are written in the first or third person.  Sometimes an autobiographer chooses to write about themselves in the third person for effect.

It may sometimes seem like fiction as it may tell a story of a journey or events and want to make them entertaining or interesting for the reader, but that story will be based on fact.

Travel writing may be someone's own record of places visited or journeys, or a description of a place or means of travel for the benefit of helping others know what to expect.  It might be written in the first or third person, might be very descriptive and can either seem very factual or read more like fiction.

The writer will show their attitude by the choice of tone and language, but the audience may not always be specific.

You might also be asked to read or write a blog.  

Treat a blog as if it were an article or perhaps a piece of writing expressing an opinion. Sometimes it may be closer to a diary or a piece of travel writing.

You might be asked to write a speech, and you will need to be clear about the purpose of the speech (often a means of giving an opinion) and the audience you are aiming it at.  It is rarer that a speech is the given text for you to read.  Learn the conventions of writing a speech and using rhetorical devices.