Republic of the Philippines

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Region I
Schools Division Office of Vigan City
ILOCOS SUR NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL - SHS
Gomez St., Barangay VII, Vigan City 2700
principal_isnhs@yahoo.com / (077) 722-2205; 722-6516 / 674-1862

CREATIVE NONFICTION
2ND QUARTER S.Y. 2022-2023
MR. LEVIN JOHN P. PUBLICO

LESSON 5: THE REFLECTION ESSAY

Quick review on the different types of essay.
1. Narrative essay – tells a story
2. Descriptive essay – describe something by painting with words
3. Expository essay – makes an explanation
4. Argumentative essay – expresses the author’s opinion on a particular topic.

What is reflection or reflective essay?

 Is one that expresses the writer’s insights on a given subject matter.
 Deals with author’s introspection especially with respect to what he/she learned from individual experiences.
 Should be noted that in writing the reflection essay, one may integrate the elements from other types (4 types of
essay). For instance, one may tell an anecdote (narrative) or describe a place or person (descriptive)

What Is the Purpose of Reflective Writing?

 Analyze and conclude what you've read, heard, or seen
 Make connections between the text and yourself, or other texts and the world
 Think about what you've learned and how you can, or will, use the newly acquired information
 Write subjectively (from your point of view) and help identify your interests

Suggested Reading: Read the selection that contains the author’s reflections on a calamity brought about by one of the
strongest typhoons.

BRAVING STORMS
Noel Christian A. Moratilla

One cannot talk about the year 2013 without invoking the most daunting challenges the country faced last year. I am
referring to forces majeures that struck parts of the Philippines and tested our resilience as a people. One was the
magnitude 7.2 earthquake that hit the island province of Bohol, which killed hundreds of people and destroyed several
structures. Then, there was Typhoon Yolanda, which killed about 10,000 people and displaced a million more. Typhoon
Yolanda will go down in history not only for the sheer number of casualties, but also for the apparent lack of preparedness
for something as destructive as the storm that surges that laid to waste much of Eastern Visayas. For the victims, it was
hideous nightmare

Vivid still are the post-Yolanda images flashed on television and the internet of structures razed to the ground, of children
looking for their parents, of parents searching for their brood, of cadavers locked in final embrace amid the debris. They
were heart-breaking to say at least, I myself could not help shedding tears when I first saw them. Even now, whenever I
check videos of the destruction on the Internet, of people begging for food or drinkable water, or of people crying over the
unexpected death of a loved one, I would feel my heart burst into pieces.

In many respects, those who survived weren’t really fortunate than those who perished. The survivors agonized for days
and weeks without anything to eat, because of which many had to resort to theft and even murder if only to feed themselves
and their families. Also disturbing was the failure of the authorities to act immediately. It was only after foreign media were
on the ground that troops were sent to stop looting and establish a semblance of law and order. As expected, the disaster
has also swollen the ranks of the country’s unemployed.

If there was anything positive about the tragedy, it was the sense of cooperation that Filipinos showed in response to the
calls for assistance. People from other parts of the country offered whatever they could in order to help ease the sufferings
of millions of typhoon victims. Even those from the country’s most impoverished areas, who themselves experience scarcity
and want almost on a daily basis, did not hesitate to donate. The sense of collective despair was alleviated by a sense of
collective hope, as ordinary citizens volunteered to repack goods or transport them to fur-flung communities hit by the
typhoon. And of course, our school, given its social orientation, could not just stand idly by. The school’s covered pergola
witnessed the show of teamwork and synergy involving not just members of the community but also total strangers who
wanted to help. I myself made modest contributions to the sorting and repacking of goods, knowing that families in dire need
would be the beneficiaries. What’s great is that I was able to persuade some of my students to do the same. Others did it on
their own initiative.

In such time of crisis, the role of the school as an autonomous public sphere becomes important. The school is not a venue
for just academic learning but for the democratic exchange of ideas and narrativization of people’s collective pain and hope.
The challenge for the teacher is how to maintain a sense of hope in the face of natural and social disasters. The teacher’s
job, after all, is not just to teach but to engage in a kind of discourse that encourages critical optimism. In times of darkness,
the teacher should be a light bearer so that his/her students and indeed, the rest of the community will not forever dwell on
fear, uncertainty, and despair. As the Palestinian – American scholar Edward Said suggested, the teacher as public
intellectual should “raise embarrassing questions to confront orthodoxy and dogma, to be someone who cannot easily be
co-opted by governments and corporations.”

WRITER’S BLOC #4 UNDER REFLECTION (20 points)

• Write a reflection paper about your experience during the 1st year of lockdown (pandemic).
• In that essay, you should articulate your thoughts and feelings, and realizations.
• Contextualize your essays.
• What did your barangay/municipality do during these times?
• What are your preventive measures not to get infected with the virus?
• You were isolated for long, how did you cope it? What ways?
• Write your reflection on a yellow paper.

LESSON 6: THE TESTIMONIO

What is testimonio or testimonial narrative?
 It is said to have originated in Latin America
 Testimonio is an account of the author’s experiences of marginality and oppression – the author is a witness to
such case of abuse
 This narrative comes from a traditionally marginalized group in society such as workers or peasants and victims of
human rights violations.
 Testimonio may also take different forms like letters, diary entries, incident reports, and poetry among others, and
may use different media like print, radio, and TV.
 Testimonial writing is more concerned with the purpose to call public attention; thus, it does not measure up to the
standards of academic communication and canonical literature.
 The author’s subject position is an important element of testimony.

Suggested Reading: The selection “A Call for Assistance” by Atilla Roma is a testimonial narrative in the form of a letter and
addressed to a nongovernment organization. On the letter, the writer narrates the abuses of a big company that is
committing against its own workers.

WRITER’S BLOC #5 UNDER TESTIMONIO (20 points)

Look on the internet the song entitled “Kalye” by Filipino rapper Gloc-9. Check on the lyrics and reflect on the meaning of
the song. On the reflection paper, cite the marginality and oppression suffered by the ones being described. Write your
essays on a yellow paper.

LESSON 7: THE TRAVELOGUE

What is travelogue?
 Is a kind of creative nonfiction that deals with travels
 Must be in first person and describe the place where one has traveled.
 Popular examples are; adventure literature, travel guide and travel journal.
 Literary devices such as the figurative language should be employed to make writing more vivid.

What is the purpose of writing travelogue?

 Travelogue provides a place to preserve memories,
 provide a purpose for travel, and
  offer a connection with local communities.
 The main purposes of a travelogue though are to inform readers about a place, landscape or culture.

Suggested Reading: The next selection is about the narrator’s first time in Baguio. While reading, identify the details that
suggest how the narrator felt while walking around the City of Pines, first with a colleague, then his own, and later with his
family.

FOREVER “BAGUIO – ED” ON MY MIND

Bernard Liwag

I was already in my early 20s when I first saw the City of Pines. As ai could not have afforded to travel in earlier years, I
waited until I found a job and could finally afford to pay for my own transportation fare. The opportunity came when I,
together with a colleague in the public school where I used to teach, was invited to a three – day Teachers Congress in
Baguio. My companion had been to Baguio several times in the past, so he was not so excited as I was when we received
the invitation. I believe he tried to suppress a smile when I intimated that it was my first time to go there, as if to suggest that
I had missed half of my life.
We were billeted in Teacher’s Camp, a big complex of buildings for transients built by Americans in the 1900s. we stayed in
Romulo Hall, one of the earliest and most well – preserved structures in the area. During one of our dinners, some of my
fellow attendees exchanged stories about ghostly apparitions – of a lady dressed in white, a Caucasian – looking soldier
dressed in colonial military uniform, of spooky shadows in the washrooms. Although I am an obdurate nonbeliever in ghosts,
the stories easily piqued my interest. I did not see any ghost, but I did not get numb, not with fear but with cold while taking
a quick shower.
The next day, the session ended rather early so my friend and I went to the public market to buy some souvenirs for our
friends and loved ones in Manila. For this first t – timer, taking the non – air-conditioned Baguio cab was exhilarating. I was
looking around the whole time I was 19 inside the cab, marveling at the houses that were precariously standing on the
edges of cliffs.
When we reached the marketplace, we wasted no time walking about. Although Baguio is well – known for its ukay – ukay
(that is, handed – me – down clothes which, if one is lucky, could be signature brands), I did not buy any, thinking that I
could buy ukay – ukay clothes almost anywhere in the NCR. Instead, I bought two miniature versions of bulul, a wooden
figure used by the Igorots to guard their rice crops. One was squatting while the other was standing and holding a spear and
a shield. The cultural student in me was trying to figure out how icons sacred to the Igorots could become commodified as
souvenir items. I also bought eight small clay jars, not bigger than the palm of one’s hand and sold at Php 5 each to serve
as my display items at home.
We also went to a relatively big mall, the type I had never seen before. While malls in Manila are comfort zones for denizens
wanting to escape from the heat of the city’s brutal and unmerciful summer, this big Bagiuo mall has no air – conditioning
unit, with the city’s sleep – inducing breeze as its natural source for ventilation. From the second – and third floor balconies,
I was able to get a panoramic view of the city – of the Baguio Cathedral, of the University of Cordilleras, of parks dotted with
pine tree, of rocky hills enveloped in fog and mist.
Anyfirst – timer should not miss strolling around Burnham Park. Now on my own (because my co – teacher chose to take a
nap instead), I enjoyed going around the park without sweating so much. The temperature was probably 15 degrees Celsius
or thereabouts. And although I did not try the rowboat, simply watching the young and old (perhaps some were from Manila
like me) enjoy their time on the human – made lake could already be a source of delight for any observer. For snacks, I
devoured two sticks of banana cue. I walked around again after eating and tried a ten – minute, half – body massage
service at the center of the park.
At night, my peripatetic friend and I walked down the Session Road and ended up in open – air eatery near the public
market where we wolfed down grilled hito while guzzling some beer. A few bottles, we continued our drinking in a
wholesome bar just a few steps away, where we also sang our hearts out like spoiled, pleasure – seeking bachelors until 2
in the morning.
On reaching Teachers Camp around 3, I hit my bed and caught a few hours of sleep before coming back to Manila. While
the Cubao – bound bus was weaving its way along Marcos Highway, I promised to go back.
I immediately fell in love with Baguio --- so in love that since then, I have made it a point to go back to the City of Pines at
least once 20 every year, this time with my wife and daughter. Since then, I have also visited the other tourist spots – Mines
Vies Park, Wright Park, the Bencab Museum; and, upon the insistence of my seven – year – old brat, haunted buildings like
the Diplomat Hotel and Laperal House.
Even if I visited some of the Baguio spots more than once, I have not grown tired of them. Every Baguio experience, to me,
is always unique and memorable.

WRITER’S BLOC #6 UNDER TRAVELOGUE (20 points)

Aside from Baguio, there are other tourist spots in the Philippines that are worth visiting more than once. Let us suppose
you are writing a letter addressed to a foreigner friend who wants to visit the country. Which tourist area that you already
visited you would recommend and why?
On that tourist spot that you have visited, you should portray the beauty and bloom of the place (use sensory images) so
that you can persuade your foreigner friend to visit the place.
Note: It should be in a form of letter.
Write your letter on a yellow paper.

LESSON 8: THE BLOG

What is blog?
 Truncated version of the term “web log”
 Generally defined as a frequently updated journal or diary on the internet.
 This is not a genre. It is more of a way through information is shared, opinions are expressed, and stories are told.
 Other types of creative nonfiction may be presented by way of blog.
 Later, “blogger” was coined to refer to the person owning or maintaining a blog. “Blogosphere” term for the
“community” of blogs.

Kinds of blogs
 Artblogs, photoblogs, videoblogs, music blogs, podcasts, edublogs (those for educational purposes), personal
blogs, corporate blogs, organizational blogs, and microblogs (blogs that allow limited number of words, such as
Twitter)

Suggested Reading: “Revolution is a Rhizome: A Manifesto for the Year Ahead” this selection is protest likened to a
rhizome. A word originating in botany, rhizome has come to mean a course of action/s that is multiple, without a center,and
lacking any sense of formal organization. Read the selection and find out why the Occupy Wall Street protest actions are
compared to rhizome.

WRITER’S BLOC #7 UNDER BLOG (40 points)

You are a freelance writer and blogger who wishes to join an international blogging contest. The contest requires creative
nonfiction piece on one’s native city or town, with not less than five paragraphs. It should revolve around the theme, “The
soil of the native land is dear to all the hearts of mankind” a quotation from Roman scholar and politician Cicero.
The explicit instruction is for one to give not just positive characteristics, but also seamy or unpleasant side of the place
(including writer’s painful or terrible experiences), as well as your personal reflections. Pictures may also be added.
Your blog is for netizens who will choose the winning blog among the entries on the basis of creativity, clarity and accuracy.
Your final output for this one is a combination of the different types of creative nonfiction discussed in the class such as the
personal narrative essay, reflection and blog.