Analysis of Non-Fiction
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Topic/Subject
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- What concept or issue is this text about?
- How does the title relate to the text?
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Context
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- In what way is the author's life connected to the story? This aspect will not always be readily apparent which means researching the author will be important.
- What is the time, place, and social environment within which the events occur?
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Comparisons
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- Help you visualize what is being discussed.
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Special Print
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- When a word is bold, in italics, or underlined, it visually draws your attention to its importance.
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Subtitles |
- Provide an overview of what upcoming sections of the text will be about.
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Methods of Development/ Structure
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Methods of Development
- How a non-fiction text is organized may depend on its type. For example, if it’s an autobiography or biography, the organization is likely chronological.
- How has the author arranged the events of the plot? (chronological, spatial, flashback, flash forward, etc.)
- If the work is divided into parts, do these parts reflect the development of the act?
Structure
- How is the support selected and arranged? (induction, deduction, evaluation, narration, description, deliberate order, other)
- Do the transitional devices, paragraph development, topic sentences, impact of the intro & conclusion lead toward a climax or turning point?
- Is there a resolution of conflicts or a revelation?
- Why does the work end as it does?
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Narratives |
- The text will follow a sequence of events which may be linear or non-linear, based on chronology or other factors.
- The narrative will deal with real events and people and so must conform to what is true.
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Point of View
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- It may be written in second-person, using “you” as the subject if it’s a how-to guide.
- Reflects facts (statements that can be proven) and opinions (based on the author’s beliefs and feelings).
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Tone
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- What is
the author's attitude about the subject and reader? (admiring, ironic,
mocking, condescending, candid, sincere, intense, serious, detached,
etc.)
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Style
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- Diction: Are the author’s word choices formal, informal, colloquial, or a mixture?
- Figurative Language and Allusions: How do figures of speech and allusions enhance meaning?
- supporting
evidence, propaganda/common logical fallacies, denotation/connotation,
repetition, hyperbole, understatement/litotes, sarcasm, satire, analogy,
rhetorical question, metaphor, simile
- Sentence Structure: What do sentence patterns indicate?
- How have objects, gestures, or images been given symbolic meaning? What is the effect of conventional, universal and specific symbols?
- If present, how have patterns of images and symbols (motifs) contributed to meaning?
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Theme and/or Thesis
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- What is the central idea of the text?
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