Nonfiction

Justin: Long Way Gone, about a child soldier in Africa. Why: Researched the topic in middle school. Picked nonfiction because he knows its true. Kyle: War is. . . Also short stories Why: Finds nonfiction because its more interesting, find the war stuff interesting Fitzhugh: Sean Hannity's A Conservative Victory Why: More knowledge about politics, what going on in America. Finds good themes from nonfiction and more knowledge. Kangas: The Perfect Storm. Why: Nonfiction was the best this year, wanted to read more of it. Chose the book because my parents suggested it.

What we know about nonfiction: Based on facts, single person or single event Traditional plot structure, not much variations, chronological Similar to a novel, but events are true. First person in autobiographies, but third person for most other nonfictions

What we want to know: Do all aspects have to be true How real are conversations How to write a good one How much do they stretch the truth

Discussion of Genre Reading #1 - How do authors writ the beginning of this genre? Why do you think? Introduction, basic facts/plot, gives reader basic background knowledge. Background for the plot. - they told that a war is going on- Justin's. Background on the characters- history of fishing- Alex Author's belief about war- Kyle Information and past events on Barrack Obama and political facts- Fitzhugh Background on characters- family realtions and ties, how they all knew each other- Anna

You need to know what the basic plot and background information is before you go deeper into the story and so you understand what goes on.

- Find 2 master techniques in common in all of your works. Give examples. Why would all authors use these? All had a different type of hook. They interested the reader because of the content. Ex. In Justins book they gave the basic history of the war going on and how people dealt with it. "People like war. There is only one thing we like better: sex" (9) - Kyle's book interesting content.

Imagery Alex's book has an entire chapter on drowning. Effects of war like dead people and guersome details

- Answer something you wanted to know How much do they stretch the truth? Within all of our books it could be exgerrated, but it most likely is true. We dont have a way to disprove it, and some have facts supporting it. The opinions stretch the truth in Fitzhugh's and Kyle's but Anna and Justin's is being told by the person and doesnt have opinion they are just telling the story.

Master Techinques in our books

Author talking to reader- Second person point of view. (Kyle) Impossed feelings - exaggerate or discuss certain facts within the book to make you feel a certain way. (Justin) Cool vivid words- not alot of ways you can interest a reader in a factual book. Tremendously helpful. (Fitzhugh) Foreshadowing- Everyone's gonna die. or that they're going to make it big. (Alex and Anna)

Climax The middle of this genre is most likely the climax, depending on the plot structure (if it is a story-based it usually does) Plot usually thickens and gets deeper near the middle of the book.

-Answer something you wanted to know How real are the conversations? The general idea is the same, but the wording isn't exact. Lot of times events are being remembered, so exact wording isn't probable. same tone is kept, and it still gives the same ideas of the real conversation would be. There can be special occasions, such as journal

Research:

1991 Perfect Storm
 * Started with Hurricane Grace in middle of the Atlantic
 * Was regular weather until hurricane clashed with it
 * Went north and clashed with a stationary low pressure system
 * Low pressure system turned into major storm
 * Storm got pushed west to the coast
 * Caused 100 million dollars in damage
 * Average 40 – 80 foot waves
 * Highest wave was 101 feet
 * 70 mph winds
 * Federal disaster declared for New England coastal states
 * Stopped on Halloween 1991
 * Remained unnamed for fear of people leaving New England

McGuinness, Tim. "DeadlyStorms.com - The Unnamed Hurricane of 1991 - The Perfect Storm or The Halloween Storm." // DeadlyStorms.com - The History of America's Deadliest Tropical Storms and Hurricanes //. Web. 13 May 2010. []

· Former child soldier · Born November 23, 1980 · Fought for three years · Rescued by UNICEF · Fled Freetown · Blamed violence on drugs · Difficult transition to civilian life · Moved to New York City · College degree in Politics from Oberlin college · Took many years to be rehabilitated · Some criticized his book o Claimed he posed false facts o His sources were never verified o And the government leaders denied his details within the book · He continues to be an advocate against child soldiers

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Bill Ayers was born in 1944. He is currently a professor at the University of Illinois. He is most commonly known in America by leading a terrorist group called weatherman. He was a part of the 1971 bombing on the Ney York City Police Headquarters as well as the Pentagon in 1972. Now, modern day he does not regret his actions he only wishes that he had done better and killed more people. He stated “The only path to the final defeat of imperialism and the building of socialism is revolutionary war.” Meaning, he doesn’t care how many people are killed as long as the country is socialist. He also stated “Kill all the rich people. ... Bring the revolution home. Kill your parents.” Now he is good friends will Barak Obama the president of the United States of America. []

Nonfiction There are lots of nonfiction texts such as newspapers, text books, religious writing and biographies. Nonfiction texts are based on reality but being based on reality can mean that the texts are factual or true. They are not often purely informative- they are usually disguised persuasion. "Englishbiz - Nonfiction & Media." Englishbiz - GCSE English and English Literature Revision Guides Web. 13 May 2010. .
 * How to write nonfiction (this article specifically talks about exam questions that are nonfiction)
 * You have to understand 4 key points
 * What the text is about
 * The subject matter
 * You need to show you understand the subject matter and content
 * Need to be able to local details of the content
 * Who the text has been written for
 * Its audience
 * Consider the audience to recognize features of style
 * Why the text was written
 * Its writer’s purpose
 * Recognize messages contained in the text
 * How the text has been made to ‘Work’ for its particular audience and purpose
 * The writer’s methods and their effects
 * Identify methods (MT) the writer has used to create important elements
 * Discuss the effects of these methods
 * Look at the language and layout used in the text

Do all aspects have to be true? The overall aspects have to be true but the small details can vary and be somewhat made up by the author.

How do the authors end this genre - a ending that sums up the plot, provides a conclusion to the main topic and sometimes brings you to the present time.

Important Techniques: Aphorism - Saying what you think, when the author shares or states their opinion. (POV) It is important because the reader can get a good sense of what the author is thinking. Plot Structure - Deterimes what type of non fiction you are reading.

Factual History Novels, opinion novels, articals, Personal Story Novels, and more. The nonfiction genre can vary widely.