Elements of Non-fiction:

Types of Essays and Speeches

Essays and Speeches both express a writers style, tone, perspective, and purpose

Style is how an author uses language in their writing.

Sentence structure, choice of words, and the way an author organizes the material can all show style

Can be formal: Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives: Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 -- a date which will live in infamy - the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
---Franklin D. Roosevelt, Day of Infamy

Or informal: My life is not an apology, but a life. It is for itself and not for a spectacle. I much prefer that it should be of a lower strain, so it be genuine and equal, than that it should be glittering and unsteady.
Ralph Waldo Emerson, Self-Reliance

Tone expresses the authors attitude

toward both the subject and the audience
Tone is often described in a word or two. How would you describe the tone in the following speech?
I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Toohulhulsote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever. ---Surrender Speech by Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, I Will Fight No More Forever

Perspective is the authors opinion or point of view on the subject.

an example of emotive language: A fire erupted at the entrance of Egypt's presidential palace Friday night as protesters hurled Molotov cocktails and rocks in a battle with security forces. ---quote from www.CNN.com

Note: Bias (prejudice towards a subject) occurs when a writer only tells one side of the story. Typically, emotional language is used and facts are twisted to suit the authors point of view.

Emotive Language
Newspapers often choose emotive language (words) to get their readers to react emotionally to a story. If you can call an event a riot rather than a disturbance you are much more likely to get your readers excited about what happened.

Purpose is the authors reason for writing or speaking.

to inform to entertain To persuade To praise To celebrate To warn

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Essays
Short works of nonfiction Examines and discusses a topic Presents a writers personal views Explores ideas and opinions There are 3 main types of essays: NARRATIVE ***also includes reflective/personal essays and descriptive essays EXPOSITORY PERSUASIVE

Narrative Essay
The presentation of real events or personal experiences There are also 2 subsets to this category: ---Descriptive essays ---Reflective essays/personal essays A Hunting Trip News of the tigers attack on a woman spread like wildfire. This was not the tigers first appearance in the village. Before this attack, the villagers had lost a few goats and poultry but the disappearances remained a mystery as nobody could confirm that they were a tigers doing. Then the tiger struck. This time, the victim was a 32-year-old woman who was washing clothes by Tasik Bina. The villagers at once organized a hunting party. Armed with machetes and rifles, the hunting party, comprising six stocky men and me, left the Kampung Tempayan on 10 June. The leader of the hunting party was an aborigine named Awang.
Source: www.slideshare.net

Descriptive Essay
An impression about a person, an object, or an experience Uses lots of adjectives to describe places, feelings, etc.
Where Friends are Found Bryce still remembered the smell that soared in the air that evening; a combination of gingery sweetness of wild flowers, hazelnut crust and ripe raspberries. The smell of hot summer evening, when the sun had already hidden its rays for the night, but the earth was still breathing out the steam of the day fever. That July, two years ago, was particularly hot, particularly humid and promising to be particularly boring for Bryce Gordon. Having just finished his second year in college and planning to spend the summer working in the local amusement park, Bryce wasnt particularly anticipating that summer. Moreover, most of his college friends had moved out of campus for the summer and traveled back to their homes while he, as always, was stuck in Grindson for the whole summer since this was where he grew up and spent every summer of his life. So, the goal for the season was to simply stay in town and try to survive the heat of the Central Texas prairie.

Source: www.academichelp.net

Reflective Essays
Expresses the writers thoughts and feelings about a personal experience or an idea
From Straw into GoldSandra Cisneros

Expository Essays
The presentation of information or the explanation of a process
This may be accomplished by explaining a process, comparing or contrasting two items, identifying a cause-effect relationship, explaining with examples, dividing and classifying, or defining. Depending upon the particular type of expository essay being written, the order of presentation of supporting details may vary. The process essay will employ chronological (time) order; the essay which compares or contrasts, explains with examples, or divides and classifies may use an order of importance (most-to-least important or least-to-most important); the essay which employs causal analysis may identify a cause and then predict its effect or start with the effect and seek to identify its cause.

Expository Essay Example

The Internet and Society Modern society has undergone radical development in the last 20 years. Computers were once just a means to solve mathematical equations. Rapid advances in technology have altered the way in which people interact with computers, as well as the functionality of these smart machines. With the advent of a worldwide and nearly universally accessible web, the way in which we interact with each other has changed drastically. People from all over the world can instantaneously exchange both business and personal information. Internet commerce has become a huge part of the daily lives of millions, as well as social networking and streaming media. Most recently, portable electronics capable of nearly all internet-related tasks have become a common possession for the average middle-aged American. The unlimited free exchange of information has changed, and is continuing to change, in very profound way, society at large. Source: www.academichelp.net

Persuasive Essays
Attempts to persuade or convince readers to act or think a certain way Some sample topics: 1. Many people believe that television violence has a negative effect on society because it promotes violence. Do you agree or disagree? Use specific reasons and examples to support your response. 2. Some people believe that students arent learning enough in high school. Should school standards be higher? Explain your answer using specific reasons and examples.

Speeches
are delivered aloud before and audience present a topic sometimes mark a special occasion can range from informal talks to formal lectures

4 Types of Speeches
Address Talk Oration Lecture

Address: A formal, prepared speech, usually delivered by an important person

Some examples: --a college graduation speech --an acceptance speech for the Nobel Prize

Talk: An informal speech delivered in a conversational way

Example: A students report about a trip

Oration: an eloquent speech given on a formal occasion

Example: Martin Luther King, Jr.s I Have a Dream speech

Lecture: a prepared speech that informs or instructs an audience

Example: An English teachers introduction to the elements of non-fiction

(you know you have to smile at this at least)