SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL Department of Education

National Capital Region

SCHOOL S DIVISION OFFICE
MARIK INA CITY

Creative Nonfiction
First Quarter - Module 4
Writing a Draft of a Short Piece

Writer: Noemi Escolano-Del Rosario

Illustrator: Marexcza Z. Salinas
Layout Artist: Richland C. Buere

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 What I Need to Know
Good day senior high school learners!
In this lesson, you will learn to understand the literary conventions that govern the
different genres. You will also clearly and coherently use a chosen element conventionally
identified with a genre for a written output.
At the end of this lesson, you will be able to learn how to:

Write a draft or short piece using any of the literary conventions of

genre following these pointers:
a. Choosing a topic
b. Formulating a thesis statement
c. Organizing and developing ideas
d. Using any literary conventions of a genre
e. Ensuring that theme and technique are effectively developed
(HUMSS_CNF11/12-Ie-f-10)

In addition, you will learn concepts and answer activities that will help you to do the
following:
1. review literary elements used in creative nonfiction;
2. identify the forms and types of creative nonfiction;
3. adapt the pointers in using literary conventions of genre and
4. compose a draft of a short piece by following the pointers.

What I Know
Pre-Assessment Activity
Answer the following questions below. Select your answer from the options provided after
each item. Choose the letter of the correct answer.
1. It is a literary and theatrical form consisting of a written or spoken conversational
exchange between two or more people.
A. Dialogue B. Character C. Point of View D. Theme

2. It refers to the series or sequence of events that give a story its meaning and effect.
A. Theme B. Character C. Dialogue D. Plot

3. These are defining features of literary genres such as the novel, short story, ballad,
sonnet, and play.
A. Literary Elements
B. Literary Conventions
C. Figurative Language
D. Literary Devices

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4. What is the first pointer to consider in writing a draft of a short piece using literary
conventions of a genre
A. Formulating a thesis statement
B. Organizing and developing ideas
C. Choosing a topic
D. Ensuring that theme and technique are effectively developed

5. What should be the last pointer to consider in writing a draft of a short piece using
literary conventions of a genre
A. Formulating a thesis statement
B. Organizing and developing ideas
C. Choosing a topic
D. Ensuring that theme and technique are effectively developed

Lesson
Pointers or Steps in Writing a Draft
1 of a Short Piece

Creative Nonfiction merges the boundaries between literary art (fiction, poetry) and
research nonfiction (statistical, fact-filled). It is writing composed of the real, or of facts,
that employs the same literary devices.
It allows a writer to inject himself/herself into the narrative of verifiable facts
he/she has collected. The writer’s voice creates an identity, conveying the truth,
documentable subject matter. In other words, including facts and critical analysis.
Creative nonfiction writing can embody both personal and public history. It is a
form that utilizes memory, experience, observation, opinion, and all kinds of research.
Sometimes the form can do all of the above at the same time. Other times it is more
selective.

What’s In

In our previous lesson, we have discussed about factual and nonfictional elements
of a text. Will you please recall the lecture you have learned? Write down on the box a
simple sentence that will differentiate each of them.

What are mostly used figures of speech in writing creative nonfiction?

_______________________________________________________
What
What isis Symbolism?
an Irony? Can __________________________________________
you please give an example of it?
____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

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 “Creative nonfiction writers do not make things up; they make ideas and
information that already exist and more interesting and often more accessible.” – Lee
Gutkind

In today’s lesson, you will learn about how to write a draft of a short piece (fiction,
poetry, drama, etc.) using any of the literary conventions of genre by following some steps
or pointers.

What’s New
Let us start the lesson by reviewing about some traditional literary genres.

ABOUT POETRY: RHYME SCHEME

A rhyme scheme shows the pattern of words at the end of a line in a poem. It uses
letters to represent the sounds. Words that sound alike, or rhyme, have the same letter.
The letter A represents the first group of sounds, the letter B represents the second group,
continuing until the end of the poem.

Determine the rhyme scheme for the following poems. Write the rhyme scheme at
the end of each line of the poem.

Now I Know
By: Jose Paulo Tolentine
In a strange world, a mad city, ________
it is tough to be an adult ________
you take responsibility ________
to bear frustration and insult ________

They say I should create a goal ________

Love and life is what you make it ________
But somehow it just could not fit ________
All I have is a hollow soul ________
From here I don’t know where to go ________
Being an adult, now I know ________

What is It
The answers you made in the previous activity is an example of a traditional literary
genre (Poetry). But this lesson will focus on write a draft of a short piece using any of the
literary conventions of genre by following some steps or pointers.
Let us recall that literature may be classified into five categories or genres: (1) prose
fiction, (2) poetry, (3) drama, (4) nonfiction, and (5) creative nonfiction.
While all are art forms, each with its own requirements of structure and style,
usually the first three are classified as imaginative literature. The genres of imaginative
literature have much in common, but they also have distinguishing characteristics.

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 There are suggested ways on writing a draft of a short piece (Fiction, Poetry, Drama,
etc.) using any of the literary conventions of genre following these pointers:
1. Choosing a topic. Picking the right topic for a short piece can save any writer time
and can help set up the essay for potential success before beginning. A bad topic
will do the opposite and can lead to a frustrating writing experience.
2. Formulating a thesis statement. It is usually a single sentence near the
beginning of your paper (most often, at the end of the first paragraph) that presents
your argument to the reader.
3. Organizing and developing ideas. When all the parts of an essay are in some
sort of order, it is both easier for the writer to put the essay together and for the
reader to understand the main ideas presented in the essay.
4. Using any literary conventions of a genre. Literary conventions are techniques
used by the writers to create meaning in a story.

5. Ensuring that themes and techniques are effectively developed. If a story

lacks theme, the reader might not connect with it. ... You'd have a plot that goes
nowhere and readers losing interest – in other words, a story without a soul.

What’s More
Activity 1
Choose one of the following topics to write about and circle it.
1. Something you could never give away
2. A place you will never forget
3. Someone you respect deeply
After choosing your topic, write an outline for your paragraph.

Thesis Statement/Topic Sentence: ____________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________
Support #1: _________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Support #2: _________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Support #3: _________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Concluding Sentence: ________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
Activity 2
Decide whether the adjacent sentences are literal or figurative language.
Example:
1. pulling my hair out (Literal Language means actual meaning)
(the literal meaning is that you pull the hair out of your scalp)
2. pulling my hair out (Figurative Language means the hidden meaning)
(the figurative meaning is that you are frustrated or desperate)

1. a. The flood gradually subsided. ______________________________

b. A flood of letters arrived in the Christmas mail. _____________________
2. a. The farmer ploughed his fields. _____________________________
b. The truck ploughed into the fence. ________________________________

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 3. a. Her life was hanging by a thread. ______________________________
b. The tailor was using a needle and thread. __________________________
4. a. Last night it rained heavily. _________________________________
b. The prisoned guard rained blows upon the helpless prisoner.
___________________________________

Activity 3
Choose the letter of the word that most clearly expresses the tone in each passage. If you
are familiar with any of the word, look them up before you select the correct answer.
1. Often you feel you have done nothing when you have done a lot. That is because what
you did do seemed beneath notice—it was so small that it did not “count.” But it did—
just as each stitch counts toward a finished dress, each brick or nail toward a house
you can live in, each mistake toward knowing how to do things right.
A. Hesitant B. encouraging C. amused

2. A vaccine is a preparation of killed or weakened germs that is injected under the skin
and causes the blood to produce antibodies against the disease. Effective vaccines,
for instance, have been developed for smallpox, rabies and polio.
A. Objective B. arrogant C. regretful

3. Yet another public figure has come forward to announce he has signed into an
addiction-treatment center to deal with his alcohol problems. Reports say he has
shown courage and honesty. Perhaps so, but what it really takes to enter a treatment
center is money. What about the poor man, like my father, who may also have a
drinking problem—and courage—but who does not happen to have Php 20,000.00 a
day for a fancy rest home?
A. Bitter B. revengeful C. sentimental

4. Botulism, a type of rare, severe food poisoning, has been reported recently in New
Jersey. It is believed that the victim, who is in critical condition at a local hospital, was
stricken after eating from a jar of incorrectly preserved homegrown green beans from
last summer’s garden. It has been ten years since the last instance of botulism
poisoning was reported in the state.
A. light-hearted B. serious C. tragic

5. Each year in the middle of March, when mud is underfoot and the sky is a depressing
gray, I begin dreaming of warm beaches, tropical fruits, and sunsets. If only I could
save enough for a summer vacation! Maybe next year I will win the lottery. Meanwhile,
I will read travel brochures and sigh.
A. Unsure B. joyous C. longing

What I Have Learned

There are suggested ways on writing a draft of a short piece (Fiction, Poetry, Drama, etc.)
using any of the literary conventions of genre following these pointers:

1. Choosing a topic. Picking the right topic for a short piece can save any writer time and
can help set up the essay for potential success before beginning. A bad topic will do the
opposite and can lead to a frustrating writing experience.

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2. Formulating a thesis statement. It is usually a single sentence near the beginning of your
paper (most often, at the end of the first paragraph) that presents your argument to the
reader.

3. Organizing and developing ideas. When all the parts of an essay are in some sort of order,
it is both easier for the writer to put the essay together and for the reader to understand
the main ideas presented in the essay.

4. Using any literary conventions of a genre. Literary conventions are techniques used by the
writers to create meaning in a story.

5. Ensuring that themes and techniques are effectively developed. If a story lacks theme, the
reader might not connect with it. ... You'd have a plot that goes nowhere and readers
losing interest – in other words, a story without a soul.

What I Can Do
Read the selection below which is about being a daughter. While reading, there will be a
part that you will stop and think of answers from the questions given.
A. Pre-Reading
Read the title of the essay and the opening paragraphs. Decide, “What is this
about?” and ask yourself, “What experience in my life does it remind me of?’
B. Vocabulary Building
Using a dictionary, look for the meaning of the following words. Words may have
several meanings. So, in determining the meaning, consider how a word is used in
the selection. Use the words in sentences.
Words Meanings Sentences
obeisance
squinted
flippant
immigrated
assimilated
straddle
suppress

C. Reading
The Good Daughter
by Caroline Hwang

The moment I walked into the dry-cleaning store, I knew the woman behind the
counter was from Korea, like my parents. To show her that we shared heritage, and
possibly get a fellow countryman’s discount, I tilted my head forward, in shy imitation of
a traditional law.
Name? she asked, not noticing my attempted obeisance.

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 “Hwang: I answered.
“Hwang? Are you Chinese?’
Her question caught me off-guard. I was used to hearing such queries from non-
Asians who think Asians all look alike, but never one of my own people. Of course, the
only Koreans I knew were my parents and their friends, people who have never asked me
where I came from, since they knew better than I.
I ransacked my mind for the Korean words that would tell her who I was. It has
always struck me as funny (in a mirthless sort of way) that I can move readily say “I am
Korean” in Spanish, German and even Latin than I can in the language of my ancestry. In
the end, I told her in English.
The dry-cleaning woman squinted as though trying to see past the glare of my
strangeness, repeating my surname under her breath. “Oh Fxuang,” she said, doubling
with laughter. “You do not know how to speak your name.”
I flinched. Perhaps I was particularly sensitive at the time having just dropped out
of graduate school. I had torn up my map of the future, the one that said not only where
I was going but who I was. My sense of identity was already disorienting.

PAUSE and THINK

Give the words from the dry cleaner that made Caroline be affected.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________

When I got home, I called my parents to ask why they had never bothered to correct
me. “big deal,” my mother said, sounding more flippant than I knew she intended. (Like
many people who learn English in a classroom, she uses idioms that do not always fit the
occasion.) “so, what if you cannot pronounce your name? You are American,” she said.
Though I did not challenge her explanation, it left me unsatisfied. The fact is my
cultural identity is hardly that clear-cut.
My parents immigrated to this country 30 years ago, two years before I was born.
They told me often, while I was growing up, that, if I wanted to, I could be president
someday, that here my grasp would be as long as my reach.
To ensure that I reaped all the advantages of this country, my parents saw to it that
I became fully assimilated. So, like any American of my generation, I whiled away my
youth strolling malls and talking on the phone, rhapsodizing over Andrew McCarthy’s blue
eyes or analyzing the meaning of a certain upperclassman’s offer of a ride to the
Homecoming football game.

PAUSE AND THINK

What are the 3 things that you have learned so far about Caroline?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________

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 To my parents, I am all American, and the sacrifices they made in leaving Korea –
including my mispronounced name – pale in comparison to the opportunities those
sacrifices gave me. They do not see that I straddle two cultures, nor that I feel displaced
in the only country I know. I identify with Americans, but Americans do not identify with
me. I have never known what it is like to belong to a community – neither one at large,
nor of an extended family. I know more about Europe than the continent my ancestors
unmistakably come from. I sometimes wonder, as I did that day in the dry cleaner’s, if I
would be a happier person had my parents stayed in Korea.
I first began to consider this thought around the time I decided to go to graduate
school. I had been a compromise: my parents wanted me to go to law school; I wanted to
skip the starched-collar track and be a writer-the hungrier the better. But after 20-some
years of following their wishes and meeting all of their expectations, I could not bring
myself to disobey or disappoint. A writing career is riskier than law, I remember thinking.
If I am a failure and my life is a washout, then what does that make my parents’ lives?
I know that many of my friends had to choose between pleasing their parents and
being true to themselves. But for the children of immigrants, the choice seems more
complicated, a happy outcome impossible. By making the biggest move of their lives for
me, my parents indentured me to the largest debt imaginable – I owe them the fulfillment
of their hopes for me.
It tore me up inside to suppress my dream, but I went to school for a Ph.D.in
English Literature thinking I had found the perfect compromise. I would be able to write
at least about books while pursuing a graduate degree. Predictably, it did not work out.
How could I labor for five years in a program I had no passion for? When I finally left
school, my parents were disappointed, but since it was not what they wanted me to do,
they were not devastated. I, on the other hand, felt I was staring at the bottom of the
abyss. I had seen the flaw in my life of halfwayness, in my planned life of compromises.

PAUSE AN THINK
Why did Caroline feel that she let down her parents?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________

I had not thought about my love life, but I have a vague plan to make concessions
there, too. Though they raised me as an American, my parents expect me to marry
someone Korean and give them grandchildren who look like them. This did not seem like
such a huge request when I was 14, but now I do not know what I am going to do. I have
never been in love with someone I dated or dated someone I loved. (Since I can not bring
myself even to entertain the thought of marrying the non-Korean men I have attracted to,
I have been dating only those I know I can stay clearheaded about.) And as I near that age
when the question of marriage stalks every relationship, I can not help but wonder if my
parents’ expectations are responsible for the lack of passion in my life.
My parents did not want their daughter to be Korean, but they do not want her
fully American, either. Children of immigrants are living paradoxes. We are the first
generation and the last. We are in this country for its opportunities, yet filial duty binds
us. When my parents boarded the plane, they knew they were embarking on a rough trip.

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I do not think they imagined the rocks in the path of their daughter who can not even
pronounced her own name.

PAUSE AND THINK

What does Caroline consider “the rocks in the path” of her life?
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________

After Reading
Compare what you have learned about Caroline and what you have learned about
her parents.

Caroline wants to be . . . The Hwangs want Caroline to be . . .

1.

2.

3.

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 Assessment

Write a draft of a short piece (can be a Fiction, Poetry, or Creative Nonfiction) by

following the pointers in using literary conventions of genre.

Think about a topic to write about. Make the topic something about finding an
identity or you can think of your own topic if you find it difficult. Then make it smaller so
it will be easier to write about.

Use this graphic organizer in helping you organize your ideas.

Topic: ________________________________________________________________

Main Events: Supporting details:

1.

2. Supporting details:

3. Supporting details:

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Writing Challenge
Now write a paragraph about your topic.
1. Begin with a sentence that describes your topic. This will be your thesis
statement/topic sentence.
2. Then add a sentence for each of the details you listed. These sentences will
support your thesis statement and provide the kinds of support that make your
writing believable and interesting.
3. Make your own title.

_____________________________

__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

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Be guided by the rubric below.

Criteria Proficient Nearly Proficient Attempted

(8-10 pts.) (5-7 pts.) Proficiency
(0-4 pts.)
Clarity All ideas are Some ideas are Many ideas are
expressed clearly expressed clearly confusing
Vividness All ideas are Some ideas are The manner in
articulated articulated which ideas are
convincingly convincingly articulated is not
convincing enough
Organization All details are Details mostly Details are not
presented in an display a sense of organized properly
organized way. organization
Correctness Grammar, syntax, Grammar, syntax, The composition is
and mechanics are and mechanics are riddled with errors
correct, with just largely correct, (six or more)
one or two errors with three to five
errors

Additional Activities

Rank these five (5) skills against each other, from 5 (highest) 1 (lowest).

_______ My introduction “hooks” the reader in an interesting way.

_______ All my ideas are presented in a logical sequence.

_______ The transitions show my reader where my ideas move forward.

_______ The organization of the whole piece feels natural, not forced.

_______ My conclusion leaves the reader satisfied.

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 References

Books:

Ernesto Thaddeus M. Solmerano, Miel Kristian B. Ondevilla, Jose Jason L.

Chancoco, Miriam Del Rosario-Garcia and Marjueve M. Palencia, Creative
Nonfiction, Outcomes Based Education: Fastbooks Educational Supply, 2017,
174-180

Websites:

https://www.enotes.com/homework-help/what-literary-conventions-you-know-
any-examples-754405

https://www.google.com/search?q=why+choosing+a+topic+in+writing+a+short+p
iece&source=lmns&bih=657&biw=1366&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwie8bzC9M7
rAhUH7ZQKHV7IDYgQ_AUoAHoECAEQAA

https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/thesis-statements/

https://www.allassignmenthelp.com/blog/narrative-
conventions/#:~:text=Narrative%20conventions%20are%20the%20techniques,vie
w%2C%20plot%20devices%2C%20etc.

https://diymfa.com/writing/theme-
important#:~:text=Why%20is%20theme%20important%20in,might%20not%20co
nnect%20with%20it.&text=You'd%20have%20a%20plot,story%20become%20a%
20compelling%20one.

https://www.eslprintables.com/teaching_resources/assessment/assessment_ru
bric/Write_a_paragraph_from_a_topic_751771/

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 Development Team of the Module

Writer: Noemi Escolano-Del Rosario

Editors: Jose Datugan ( MHS )
Remia Ricabar ( PSDS )
Internal Reviewer: Janet S. Cajuguiran (EPS-English)
External Reviewer: PNU Professor
Illustrator: Marexcza Z. Salinas
Layout Artist: Richland C. Buere

Management Team:
Sheryll T. Gayola
Assistant Schools Division Superintendent
OIC, Office of the Schools Division Superintendent

Elisa O. Cerveza
Chief, Curriculum Implementation Division
OIC, Office of the Assistant Schools Division Superintendent

Janet S. Cajuguiran
Education Program Supervisor-English

Ivy Coney A. Gamatero

EPS – LRMS

For inquiries or feedback, please write or call:

Schools Division Office- Marikina City

191 Shoe Ave., Sta. Elena, Marikina City, 1800, Philippines

Telefax: (02) 682-2472 / 682-3989

Email Address: sdo.marikina@deped.gov.ph

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