Elements of Fiction
& Non-fiction
What is Fiction?
Fiction works include made-up characters, and
a made-up series of events, called the plot.
Fictional writing is told (narrated) by a speaker
called the narrator.
Fiction is told from a certain perspective, or
point of view.
First-person point of view is the perspective of a
character in the story.
Third-person point of view is the perspective of a
narrator outside the story.
Works of fiction often include a theme, or
message, about life.
Types of Fiction
Novels- long works of fiction.
Elements included- characters, plot, conflict,
and setting.
In addition to the main plot a novel may
contain one or more subplots, or
independent related stories.
Novellas- shorter than novels but longer
than short stories
Short Stories- brief works of fiction.
Same elements as novels and novellas but
tend to focus on one main plot with a single
conflict.
Elements of Nonfiction
Nonfiction deals only with real people,
events, or ideas.
Narrated from the point of view, or
perspective, of the author, who is a real
person.
Nonfiction presents facts or discusses
concepts
It may reflect the historical context of the
time period, including references to major
social and cultural information.
Types of Nonfiction
Biographies- tell the story of someone’s life from the
perspective of another writer
Autobiographies- tell the story of the author’s life and
reflect the writer’s thoughts and feelings about events.
Letters- are written forms of communication from one
person to another.
Journals & Diaries- records of daily events and writer’s
thoughts & feelings about them. Can be private or
public.
Essays & articles- brief written works about a specific
topic. Purpose might be to explain, persuade, or
inform.
Informational Texts- written documents such as
textbooks, applications, instructions, and articles.
NONFICTION TEXT
STRUCTURES
Description – It shares the who, what,
when, where, why, and how of a
topic/subject. It often features sensory
and descriptive details to help the reader
visualize the information
Sequence and Order – Chronological
texts present events in a sequence from
beginning to end. How-to texts organize
the information in a series of directions.
NONFICTION TEXT
STRUCTURES
Compare and Contrast - Authors use
comparisons to describe ideas to
readers. Similarities and differences are
shared.
Cause and Effect -Informational texts
often describe cause and effect
relationships. The text describes events
and identifies reasons (causes) for why
the event happened.
NONFICTION TEXT
STRUCTURES
Problem Solution - The text introduces
and describes a problem and presents
one or more solutions.
Nonfiction Text Features
Feature Purpose
Diagram Labeled picture that show
the parts of something
Label Word that tells about the
picture
Photograph Picture that shows how
things look in real life
Sentence that tells about
Caption a picture
Tell interesting
Fun Facts information
Nonfiction Text Features
Feature Purpose
Types of Print Show important words
Chart that shows events
Timeline in order
Picture that shows the
Map location of things or
places
Gives the topics/headings
Table of Contents and beginning page
number of each section
Nonfiction Text Features
Feature Purpose
Tells what page to find
Index information in a book. It is
in ABC order.
Lists new or important
words and shows or tells
Glossary what they mean
Tells you what the section
Heading is about
