Basics of Nonfiction
Prose writing based on facts, real events, and real people.
Which method of proof refers to a famous literary work for evidence?
Literary Reference
Read the follow excerpt. What is this an example of?
"I have two families; one white, the other Aboriginal and I fit in both worlds."
Balance
Read the follow excerpt. Which figure of speech can you identify?
"In order to justify this treatment, the exploiters must argue that the workers are degraded and degenerate."
Alliteration
State two reasons why Drew Hayden Taylor wants to write Indigenous sci-fi.
-challenges stereotypes
-gives Indigenous people a place in the future
List 3 examples of nonfiction writing.
Answers vary - Newspaper stories, editorials, journal articles, biographies.
"So I say a big meegwetch to Marcia for bringing me the story of the dreamcatcher so that I could in turn tell it to you. I wish you sweet dreams."
Attempt to connect with reader.
Read the excerpt below. What is it an example of?
"White supremacy which had been propagated since the beginning of European imperialism, became woven into Canadian institutions such as the church, the schools and the courts and it has remained the working ideology of these institutions."
Parallelism
“I’m so hungry, I could eat two entire XL pizzas by myself.”
What is this an example of?
Hyperbole
What is the tone of Paul Kuster's news article "Kuster: How George Floyd pulled a '60s Scoop survivor out of a a dark pit." Explain.
Ironic - Kuster was a TV reporter who was asked to do a series on a study done by a sociologist involving '60s scoop survivors. Kuster himself is a survivor/statistic.
Witty - Kuster uses humor to lighten the mood even though it is a serious topic (i.e. he mentions that he felt like was in the adopt-a-pet section of the paper).
What element conveys the author’s main idea or concept?
Thesis.
Read the following excerpt. What is it an example of?
"This summer I learned much about dreamcatchers from Marcia Martel-Brown of Brunswick House First Nation."
Appeal to authority figure.
Read the following excerpt. What is it an example of?
"His response: it'd always end with the collapse of familial relationships, jail, suicide, alcoholism, substance abuse, gangs, violence, prostitution..."
asyndeton
A comparison using “like” or “as” is called…
ALSO, give an example!
Simile
Answers vary.
As light as a feather.
What object is described in detail throughout Xavier Katakuapit’s written piece? What does this object represent?
Dreamcatcher; healing journey.
What term describes the attitude of the writer toward the subject? Provide an example.
Tone
*Must provide example
Which method of proof uses any fact that can be checked and/or confirmed? Provide an example and explain how it strengthens the thesis.
Verifiable fact.
Answers vary. Any stat, information/fact that could be looked up. Strengthens the thesis by taking an unsupported opinion into a credible/sound argument.
Read the following statement. What is this an example of?
“Hope for the best; prepare for the worst.”
Antithesis
When two opposite ideas are placed together, it is called…
ALSO, give an example!
Oxymoron
Answers vary.
bittersweet, same difference, sweet sorrow etc.
Wagamese’s “Returning to Harmony” is an example of what type of writing? Explain giving two examples/reasons.
Narrative Essay
-uses first person
-narrates/shares his story
List and describe two types of nonfiction essays studied in class.
Answers vary - Argumentative/persuasive, narrative, descriptive, expository, literary.
*Must explain each one.
"It seemed, as a result, that Native people and technology do not go together. Nor did spaceships, or aliens or even science in general stop in at First Nations communities looking for cheap gas and cigarettes. Instead, literally speaking, we just travelled in canoes, hunted buffalo, had alcohol problems and suffered a number of other social ailments."
-Polysyndeton
-Illustration by contrast.
Read the following statement. What does it mean? What is it an example of?
“You forget what you want to remember, and you remember what you want to forget.”
Chiasmus
*Must explain meaning of quote.
Giving non-living things, human characteristics, is called…
ALSO, give an example!
Personification
Answers vary.
The wind whispered.
Identify the beginning, middle and end of Wagamese’s “Returning to Harmony”.
Answers Vary.
Beginning - Wagamese talks about the struggles he had to go through because of his parents’ trauma.
Middle - Wagamese was put into a foster home and he ran away because they were abusive. He turned to drugs and alcohol after that.
End - Wagamese goes to church (the root of the problem) and he learns how to forgive/heal.