Creative Nonfiction G12

LET’S BEGIN!
UNIT 1 - INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY GENRES

Intended Learning Outcomes:
At the end of the unit, you are expected to:
1. identify dominant literary conventions of fiction and drama,
namely, character, plot, setting, and theme;
2. compare and contrast how the conventions of fiction and
drama are used and utilized;
3. peer-edit each other’s draft based on the clarity of idea, and
choice and use of element; and
4. revise the written piece using the literary conventions of
fiction and drama.
Introduction
People communicate with one another in all kinds of ways. They tell stories.
They express their feelings and emotions. They update each other on what
is happening in their personal lives. They keep track of their observations
about what is happening in the world and their surroundings. They want to
inform others about certain ideas and facts. In this lesson, you will learn
what is meant by the term genre. In addition, the main types of literary
genres will be described, with examples given for each.
Unlocking of Difficulties
To attend the following intended learning outcomes for the first unit
of the course, you need to fully understand the following essential
knowledge that will be laid down in the succeeding pages. Please note that
you are not limited to exclusively refer to these resources. Thus, you are
expected to utilize other books, research articles and other resources that
are available in the library and in the internet.
Key Terms
 Poetry – a type of literature based on the interplay of words and

rhythm. It often employs rhyme and meter (a set of rules governing the
number and arrangement of syllables in each line).
 Drama – is a mode of fictional representation through dialogue and

performance.
 Fiction – the word fiction has been derived from Latin word “fictus,”

which means “to form.” However, in literature, Merriam Webster
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defines it as, “literature in the form of prose, especially novels, that
describes imaginary events and people.”
 Nonfiction – refers to literature based in fact. It is the broadest category

of literature. It has many categories including biography, business,
cooking, health and fitness, pets, crafts, home decorating, languages,
travel, home improvement, religion, art and music, history, self-help,
true crime, science and humor.
Lecture Notes
UNDERSTANDING CONVENTIONS OF TRADITIONAL GENRE IN FICTION,

DRAMA, AND POETRY - (ILO 1 and ILO 2)
EXPLAINING KEY CONCEPTS:

 As a form of review, let’s refresh our memory with some of the terms.
Fiction is defining as “a series of imagined facts which illustrates truths
about human life.” It is commonly called “stories,” and can either be
short (short story) or rather long (novella or novel). Drama also uses the
traditional conventions of fiction but has an additional distinctive
characteristic of being performed and mounted on stage.
 Genre means a type of art, literature, or music characterized by a

specific form, content, and style. For example, literature has four main
genres: poetry, drama, fiction, and non-fiction. All of these genres have
particular features and functions that distinguish them from one
another.
 Types & Characteristics of Genres: Fiction

Poetry, however, is not the only genre that can utilize figurative language.
Similarly, fiction, which is any work written in prose that is not real, can also
use elaborate figurative language. However, fiction is much more
structured than poetry. It must be written in sentences and paragraphs
with all the proper punctuation and grammar, which makes it prose.
Usually, fiction is broken up into chapters, as well.
Since it is based on the imagination, the subject matter in fiction works can
be nearly anything. Fiction can take place in the present day, the future, or
the past. It can incorporate the most fantastical ideas or follow an everyday
life. Some examples of works of fiction are legends, folk tales, fairy tales,
short stories, and any novels. For example, the popular Hunger Games and
Divergent trilogies are fiction which occurs in a post-apocalyptic future.
Elements of Fiction and Drama
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Different words of fiction and drama may employ a number of elements,
but generally, there are four major elements that comprise a short story,
novel, or a play. These are:
Plot the sequence of events happening in a story
Setting the place and time where and when an event happens
Character the persons who inhabit a story
s
the central idea, or thesis, or overall message that the story
Theme
conveys
COMPARISON AND CONTRAST OF THE CONVENTIONS AND DEVICES

BETWEEN FICTION AND DRAMA
1. Fiction is generally classifiedas short story novel. A short story is a brief
artistic prose form that centers on a single main accident and intends to
produce a single dominant impression. A novel is an extensive prose
narrative that contains chapters and interludes.
Plays (drama), however, are generally classified into acts or major divisions.
The most common are one-act play, which has one unit of time, one unit of
place, and one unit of action play; and three-act play, which showcase a
longer exposition of the theme and conflict.
2. The development of plot in both fiction and drama has a pattern.
Generally, it contains the following.
Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution/denouement
NARRATIVE DEVICES:
Foreshadowing is used in fiction and drama as a guide or hint at
1 what is to happen need in the story.
Irony used both in fiction and drama when words that are
2 uttered, either by the author or the characters in the story, are
the opposite if what they actually mean.
Flashback is employed by an author or a playwright through the
3 use of a past event that will help the readers understand the
present.
A conflict is both present in fiction and drama. It provides and
4 showcase the opposing objectived of the protagonist nd the
antagonist, or inside the protagonist.
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The use of deus ex machina in both fiction and drama was once
a noble strategy. Today, it is a sign of weakness in the written
work. Once referring to the Greek practiceof physically lowering
5 a “god” to the stage at the end of the play to solve all the
problems, today it refers to the contrived element in the plot
used to solve a problem.
 Types & Characteristics of Genres: Poetry
A main literary genre is poetry. All poems share specific characteristics.
For example, poetry is written in lines and stanzas instead of sentences and
paragraphs. Some poems follow strict rules as to the number and length of
lines and stanzas, whereas many poems are much more free-flowing.
 Most poetry is abundant in figurative language. Using devices like a
simile, metaphor, hyperbole, onomatopoeia, alliteration, rhyme, and
much more, poetry can claim an emphasis on imagination, emotions,
and heartfelt ideas.
 Poetry is usually shorter than the other genres, but some poems are
classified as epic poetry, which is long narrative poetry chronicling
heroic deeds and serious subject matter. For example, John Milton's
epic poem Paradise Lost focuses on Satan's fall from grace and his
following pursuit of revenge
 The language of poetry is quite different from the language of prose
(fiction and drama). Poetry uses more intensified, focused, ad intricate
language that prose. Because we now live in modern society that prefers
prose, we might find reading poetry a sort of challenge. You must
remember though that in ancient times and periods, poetry was the
languageof the people.
Poetry is always characterized according to the following:
1. Poetry attempts to achieve beauty.
2. Poetry is imaginative, or makes use of the strength of imagination.
3. Poetry is musical, melodic, and rhythmical.
4. Poetry makes use of language that is metaphorical or symbolic, not
direct.
5. Poetry is more concentrated that prose.
6. Poetry makes use of brevity and conciseness.
There are many kinds of poetry – from the ancient epic to the specific
limerick – but generally, there are about three major categories of poetry:
narrative, lyric, and dramatic.
The Three Poetry Groups

Poetry can be broken down into three main groups or directions, lyrical,
narrative and dramatic. "Traditionally, the lyric expressed personal
emotion, the narrative propelled characters through a plot, and the
dramatic presented an enactment."
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LYRICAL VERSE The vast majority of poems written are "lyrical verse",
written in the first person as an emotional or subjective (emphasizing the
personal or individual) response to an experience. But, even narrative or
dramatic poetry can sometimes be categorized as also lyrical as in the case
of the ballad, a lyrical narrative.
CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, "A DIRGE"
British poet Christina Rossetti (1830–1894) composed "A Dirge" in

rhyming couplets. The consistent meter and rhyme create the effect of a
burial march. The lines grow progressively shorter, reflecting the
speaker's sense of loss, as this selection from the poem illustrates.
"Why were you born when the snow was falling?

You should have come to the cuckoo’s calling,
Or when grapes are green in the cluster,
Or, at least, when lithe swallows muster
For their far off flying
From summer dying."
ELIZABETH ALEXANDER, "PRAISE SONG FOR THE DAY"
American poet Elizabeth Alexander (1962–) wrote "Praise Song for the
Day" to read at the 2009 inauguration of America's first black president,
Barack Obama. The poem does not rhyme, but it creates a song-like
effect through rhythmic repetition of phrases. By echoing a traditional
African form, Alexander paid tribute to African culture in the United
States and called for people of all races to live together in peace.
"Say it plain: that many have died for this day.

Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges,
picked the cotton and the lettuce, built
brick by brick the glittering edifices
they would then keep clean and work inside of.
Praise song for struggle, praise song for the day.
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign,
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the figuring-it-out at kitchen tables."
NARRATIVE VERSE simply tells a story and is most often found in epic form.
It is often objective, distanced from the subject and usually written in the
third person as an observer. It describes an event in time and place as it
unfolds and is "rooted in local intention" or takes a particular point of view
of the event. It often will dramatize the crisis or climax and can be
narrative, dramatic and lyrical in presentation, such as the ballad. The story
telling can be fact or fiction and is presented in verse to separate from
other types of literature.
THE ILIAD BY HOMER
Sing, Goddess, Achilles' rage,

Black and murderous, that cost the Greeks
Incalculable pain, pitched countless souls
Of heroes into Hades' dark,
And left their bodies to rot as feasts
For dogs and birds, as Zeus' will was done.
Begin with the clash between Agamemnon-
The Greek warlord - and godlike Achilles.
The Iliad is one of the most quintessential examples of an epic narrative

poem. Not only does it tell a story through its several books, but it
becomes epic through story elements such as the noble heroes, Achilles
and Hector, and the doomed love story of Paris and Helena. There is also
magic and a smattering of Greek gods like Zeus to create twists and turns
in this poem told in dactylic hexameter.
BALLAD OF THE HARP WEAVER BY EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY

"Son," said my mother,
When I was knee-high,
"You've need of clothes to cover you,
And not a rag have I.
"There's nothing in the house
To make a boy breeches,
Nor shears to cut a cloth with
Nor thread to take stitches.
"There's nothing in the house
But a loaf-end of rye,
And a harp with a woman's head
Nobody will buy,"
And she began to cry.
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That was in the early fall.
When came the late fall,
"Son," she said, "the sight of you
Makes your mother's blood crawl,-
Another form of narrative poetry is a ballad, like the Ballad of the Harp
Weaver. In addition to telling a story and having characters, ballad poems
have a song-like quality to them and could easily be sung to a tune. A
rhyme scheme or a chorus are also common. For example, in the "Ballad
of the Harp Weaver," you can see the ABCB rhyme scheme where the
second and fourth lines rhyme throughout the stanzas.
DRAMATIC VERSE speaks through a character. Although it too, got its

beginnings from music and chant, just as the lyrical and narrative verse did,
dramatic poetry characterizes the song or words. The dramatic poem, like
the other two comes in all styles, shapes and sizes and can at the same time
be dramatic, lyrical and or narrative.
Speech: “TO BE, OR NOT TO BE, THAT IS THE QUESTION”

BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
(from Hamlet, spoken by Hamlet)
To be, or not to be, that is the question:

Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer
The slings and arrows of outrageous fortune,
Or to take arms against a sea of troubles
And by opposing end them. To die—to sleep,
No more; and by a sleep to say we end
The heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks
That flesh is heir to: 'tis a consummation
Devoutly to be wish'd. To die, to sleep;
To sleep, perchance to dream—ay, there's the rub:
For in that sleep of death what dreams may come,
When we have shuffled off this mortal coil,
Must give us pause—there's the respect
That makes calamity of so long life.
For who would bear the whips and scorns of time,
Th'oppressor's wrong, the proud man's contumely,
The pangs of dispriz'd love, the law's delay,
The insolence of office, and the spurns

That patient merit of th'unworthy takes,
When he himself might his quietus make
With a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear,
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To grunt and sweat under a weary life,
But that the dread of something after death,
The undiscovere'd country, from whose bourn
No traveller returns, puzzles the will,
And makes us rather bear those ills we have
Than fly to others that we know not of?
Thus conscience does make cowards of us all,
And thus the native hue of resolution
Is sicklied o'er with the pale cast of thought,
And enterprises of great pitch and moment
With this regard their currents turn awry
And lose the name of action.
UNDERSTANDING THE ELEMENTS AND CONVENTIONS OF POETRY:

Since poetry makes use of an intensified and exulted language, its elements
are wuite different from plays and stories.
1. IMAGERY. The use of images is a constant in poetry. It is the literal
representation of an experience or object that is perceived through the
senses. It is presented in language in a way that we can see, smell, hear,
taste, touch, or feel it as our imagination allows.
2. FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE. These are devices that help beautify or make
the language more poetic that it already is.
3. SOUND. They create pointed and special effects in their writing that help
the raders in understanding the literary piece at a deeper level.
(https://literarydevices.net/sound-devices/)
4. PERSONA. The speaker of the poem is not necessarily the poet. In many
cases, poets create a persona (a word that comes from Latin which
means “mask”) who speaks the poem in the first person.
Focus Questions
FOR YOU TO DO: To hone your understanding, answer the following

question. Details on the deadline will be posted.
Answer the following.
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1. What are the elements of fiction and drama?
2. Explain the 5 narrative devices.
3. What are the three groups of poetry?
Related Readings
For supplemental reading on the proverbs, click the link below for access:
 https://study.com/academy/lesson/literary-genres-definition-types-
characteristics-examples.html
 https://www.cde.ca.gov/ci/cr/rl/litrlgenres.asp
Learning / Assessment Activities
FOR YOU TO DO. Details on the deadline will be posted in course group
chat on Messenger. Do as indicated.
WRITING EXERCISE:
Hone your undertanding in genres of fiction and drama by checking the
mythical story found on the website below.
Tungkung Langit and Alunsina
 http://phillitusls.blogspot.com/2013/04/tungkung-langit-and-alunsina-
as-adapted.html
Answer the following questions.

1. This is an old mythical story about the earth’s creation as told by the
people from Panay. How is this different from the bible story of
creation?
2. How do you compare and contrast the personalities of Tungkung Langit
and Alunsina?
 List down their respective characteristics below.

Tungkung Langit Alunsina
3. What do you think is the main conflict of the story?
4. What general message do creation stories convey?
Lecture Notes
ELEMENTS OF THE DIFFERENT GENRES
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EXPLAINING KEY CONCEPTS:
Literature is divided into two general types: poetry and prose. The two
generally differ in form, the former being in stanza form and the latter
being in paragraph form. Another difference is that poetry basically has
rhyme, rhythm, and measure, the three of which poetry lacks. Moreover,
what makes poetry distinct from prose is that poems are generally written
figuratively while prose works are principally written literally.
TYPES OF GENRE
There are five types of genres in literature, which include:
o POETRY
Poetry is the first major literary genre. All types of poetry share specific
characteristics. In fact, poetry is a form of text that follows a meter and
rhythm, with each line and syllable. It is further subdivided into different
genres, such an epic poem, narrative, romantic, dramatic, and lyric.
Dramatic poetry includes melodrama, tragedy, and comedy, while other
poems includes ode, sonnet, elegy, ballad, song, and epic.
Popular examples of epic poems include Paradise Lost, by John Milton,
The Iliad and The Odyssey, by Homer. Examples of romantic poems include
Red Red Rose, by Robert Burns. All these poetic forms share specific
features, such as they do not follow paragraphs or sentences; they use
stanzas and lines instead. Some forms follow very strict rules of length, and
number of stanzas and lines, such as villan elle, sonnet, and haiku.
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A RED, RED ROSE
BY ROBERT BURNS
O my Luve is like a red, red rose

That’s newly sprung in June;
O my Luve is like the melody
That’s sweetly played in tune.
So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

So deep in luve am I;
And I will luve thee still, my dear,
Till a’ the seas gang dry.
Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,

And the rocks melt wi’ the sun;
I will love thee still, my dear,
While the sands o’ life shall run.
And fare thee weel, my only luve!

And fare thee weel awhile!
And I will come again, my luve,
Though it were ten thousand mile.
 PROSE
This type of written text is different from poetry in that it has complete
sentences organized into paragraphs. Unlike poetry, prose focuses on
characters and plot, rather than focusing on sounds. It includes short
stories and novels, while fiction and non-fiction are its sub genres. Prose is
further categorized into essays, speeches, sermons, and interpretations.
Example of a Poetry Verse vs. the Prose Form
Poetry Form
Following is a poetry verse from a popular work of Robert Frost:
“The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,
And miles to go before I sleep.”
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(Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, by Robert Frost)
Prose Form
Following is the same sentiment written in prose form:
“The woods look lovely against the setting darkness and as I gaze into
the mysterious depths of the forest, I feel like lingering here longer.
However, I have pending appointments to keep, and much distance to
cover before I settle in for the night, or else I will be late for all of them.”
The above paragraph is conveying a similar message, but it is conveyed in

ordinary language, without a formal metrical structure to bind it.
ELEMENTS OF POETRY:
o Measure involves the counting of the number of lines and stanzas
(vertical measure) and the number of syllables and feet (horizontal
measure).
o Vertical Measure Poems and stanzas are classified according to the
number of lines. When a stanza or a poem has two lines, it is called a
couplet; three lines, a triplet (the three lines rhyme; and so forth.
o Horizontal Measure lines are described according to the number of
syllables.
1. A line with one syllable is described as monosyllabic;

2. with two syllables, disyllabic;
3. with three syllables; trisyllabic;
4. with four syllables, tetrasyllabic; and
5. with five syllables, pentasyllabic.
When lines are measured according to the number of feet or meters, they
are classified as follows:
1. a line with one foot, monometer;

2. with two feet, dimeter;
3. with three feet, trimester;
4. with four feet, tetrameter
5. with five feet, pentameter; and
6. with six feet; hexameter.
o Rhythm is the regular succession of accented and unaccented syllables

in a line. It is associated with the metrical feet, which are classified as
follows:
1. Lamb, a foot with an unstressed syllable followed a stressed syllable;
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2. Anapest, a foot with two unstressed syllables followed by stressed
syllable;
3. Trochee, a foot with a stressed syllable followed by unstressed syllable;
4. Dactyl, a foot with a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed
syllables;
5. Spondee, a foot with two stressed syllables; and
6. Pyrrhic foot, a foot with two unstressed syllables.
o Rhyme is the presence of words that have similar or identical final

sounds.
ELEMENTS OF STORY
o Since most of the prose forms are narrative, the succeeding elements
pertain to narrative prose.
o Setting refers to the time and locale of the story.
o Characters are categorized into principal and supporting characters.
The principal characters are the protagonist and the primary antagonist,
whereas the supporting characters are the supporting antagonist,
confidants, foil, and background characters.
o Protagonist. The protagonist or the hero is the main character around
whom the story revolves. In the fairy tale titled “Cinderella,” the
protagonist is Cinderella.
o Antagonist the antagonist or the villain is the main or the supporting
character who opposes the protagonist.
o Confidant/e. The confidant or confidante (feminine) is the supporting
character upon whom the protagonist confides. He is the sidekick of the
hero; he is a constant companion of the hero and knows almost
everything about the hero.
o Foil. The foil is the supporting character who serves as a contrast to the
hero but does not necessarily oppose him.
o Background Character. The background characters are those characters
who provide reality to the story by their mere presence. For example, in
“Cinderella,” they are the people who attended the ball sponsored by
the prince.
o Unseen Character. The unseen character is an absent character who,
even in his absence, effects the development of the story.
o Theme. The theme is the idea or concept of the author expressed in a
concise statement. Referred to as the message of the story, it
concretizes the abstract idea the writer wants to impart.
o Plot. The plot is the chronological sequence of events in the story.
o Conflict is the motivating, driving force that involves both characters and
readers in the narrative. Synonymous with opposition, conflict is
classified into social, physical, metaphysical, and internal or personal
conflict.
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o Social Conflict exists when the protagonist and antagonist are opposed
to each other. Known as “man versus man” conflict.
o Physical Conflict occurs when the protagonist struggles against physical
forces such as natural calamities, illnesses, and the like. Known as “man
versus man nature: conflict.
o Metaphysical Conflict exists when the protagonist fights supernatural
beings such as gods and goddesses, vampires, werewolves, elves, fairies,
and the like. Known as “man versus supernatural beings” conflict.
o Personal or Internal or Psychological Conflict occurs when the character
experiences a dilemma. The conflict exists within the person as what
Rose encountered in “Titanic” when she was torn between two lovers,
Jack and her fiancé.
 FICTION
Fiction has three categories that are, realistic, non-realistic, and semi-
fiction. Usually, fiction work is not real and therefore, authors can use
complex figurative language to touch readers’ imaginations. Unlike poetry,
it is more structured, follows proper grammatical pattern, and correct
mechanics. A fictional work may incorporate fantastical and imaginary ideas
from everyday life. It comprises some important elements such as plot,
exposition, foreshadowing, rising action, climax, falling action, and
resolution. Popular examples of literary fiction include, James Joyce’s novel
A Portrait of an Artist as a Young Man, Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two
Cities, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, and Harper Lee’s To Kill a
Mockingbird.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
By: Harper Lee
Summary
The story is narrated by a young girl named Jean Louise Finch, who is
almost always called by her nickname, Scout. Scout starts to explain the
circumstances that led to the broken arm that her older brother, Jem,
sustained many years earlier; she begins by recounting her family history.
The first of her ancestors to come to America was a fur-trader and
apothecary named Simon Finch, who fled England to escape religious
persecution and established a successful farm on the banks of the
Alabama River. The farm, called Finch’s Landing, supported the family for
many years. The first Finches to make a living away from the farm were
Scout’s father, Atticus Finch, who became a lawyer in the nearby town of
Maycomb, and his brother, Jack Finch, who went to medical school in
Boston. Their sister, Alexandra Finch, stayed to run the Landing.
A successful lawyer, Atticus makes a solid living in Maycomb, a
tired, poor, old town in the grips of the Great Depression. He lives with
Jem and Scout on Maycomb’s main residential street. Their cook, an old
black woman named Calpurnia, helps to raise the children and keep the
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house. Atticus’s wife died when Scout was two, so she does not
remember her mother well. But Jem, four years older than Scout, has
memories of their mother that sometimes make him unhappy.
In the summer of 1933, when Jem is nearly ten and Scout almost
six, a peculiar boy named Charles Baker Harris moves in next door. The
boy, who calls himself Dill, stays for the summer with his aunt, Miss
Rachel Haverford, who owns the house next to the Finches’. Dill doesn’t
like to discuss his father’s absence from his life, but he is otherwise a
talkative and extremely intelligent boy who quickly becomes the Finch
children’s chief playmate. All summer, the three act out various stories
that they have read. When they grow bored of this activity, Dill suggests
that they attempt to lure Boo Radley, a mysterious neighbor, out of his
house.
Arthur “Boo” Radley lives in the run-down Radley Place, and no
one has seen him outside it in years. Scout recounts how, as a boy, Boo
got in trouble with the law and his father
imprisoned him in the house as punishment. He
was not heard from until fifteen years later, when
he stabbed his father with a pair of scissors.
Although people suggested that Boo was crazy, old
Mr. Radley refused to have his son committed to an
asylum. When the old man died, Boo’s brother,
Nathan, came to live in the house with Boo.
Nevertheless, Boo continued to stay inside.
Dill is fascinated by Boo and tries to convince the Finch children to help
him lure this phantom of Maycomb outside. Eventually, he dares Jem to
run over and touch the house. Jem does so, sprinting back hastily; there is
no sign of movement at the Radley Place, although Scout thinks that she
sees a shutter move slightly, as if someone were peeking out. (…continue
reading at https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mocking/section1/)
 NON-FICTION
Non-fiction is a vast category that also has sub-genres; it could be
creative like a personal essay, or factual, like a scientific paper. It may also
use figurative language, however, not unlike poetry, or fiction has.
Sometimes, non-fiction may tell a story, like an autobiography, or
sometimes it may convey information to readers.
Other examples of non-fiction include biographies, diaries, memoirs,
journals, fantasies, mysteries, and romances. A popular example of non-
fiction genre is Michael Pollan’s highly celebrated book, The Omnivore’s
Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, which is an account of the eating
habits of Americans.
THE OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA READER’S GUIDE

By Michael Pollan
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INTRODUCTION
One does not necessarily expect books about food also to be about
bigger ideas like oppression, spirituality, and freedom. Yet Michael Pollan
has always defied expectations. To be sure, his two most recent books,
The Omnivore’s Dilemma and In Defense of Food, celebrate the pleasure
of eating. However, Pollan also serves up something far more potent: a
pointed and thorough critique of how the food industry, the government,
advertisers, and, yes, even Pollan’s fellow journalists have turned the
process of putting food on our tables into an increasingly dysfunctional
enterprise. With insight, gentle firmness, and even some well-placed
humor, Pollan observes how modern farming is at war with the needs
and dictates of nature, how the nutritional policies of the government
have rebelled against sound scientific practice, how even the consumer
has been divided against himself and that eating has ceased to be for
many of us a source of enjoyment and has become instead an occasion
for uncertainty, anxiety, and guilt. Within Pollan’s jeremiads there is also
a persistent core of hope. While never flinching in his critique of the way
things are, Pollan constantly encourages us to think of how things might
be.
In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Pollan guides the reader through an

extensive tour of food production in America, tracing a series of food
chains from the seed to the table. In the harrowing first part of his story,
he takes us to a massive farm in Iowa, where the formerly diverse yield of
hay, apples, hogs, and cherries has given way to a vast monocultural
enterprise, in which, thanks to government subsidies and a seemingly
perverse set of economic principles, corn is king. With a sparkling analysis
that adroitly weaves history, science, and sociology, Pollan shows how
America has bent its priorities in the service of this single crop, converting
it into ethanol, the now-ubiquitous high fructose corn syrup, and even
disposable diapers. We discover how the monoculture of corn has
impoverished the soil and the people who work it, how it has imperiled
the health of the cattle industry (steers are naturally ill-suited to digest
grain, but we feed it to them anyway), and how it has led unsuspecting
consumers to trade nutrition for cheap calories. Pollan next transports us
to a small, ecologically balanced farm in Virginia, where the chickens and
cattle roam more freely, and animals and humans alike reap the benefits
of a natural food chain based on grass. Finally, in perhaps his most radical
encounter with the world of food, Pollan resolves to prepare a meal that
he has hunted and gathered by himself. As he stalks a feral pig, dives for
abalone, and wonders whether that mushroom he has picked just might
kill him, we rediscover food not merely as a physical source of life but as a
medium for holy communion with nature and one another.
In Defense of Food, Pollan transitions boldly from narrative to
polemic. Taking on a scientific, governmental, and commercial
16
establishment that has focused on individual nutrients rather than the
unique benefits of whole foods, Pollan offers three gentle
commandments: Eat Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants. Tautly written
and eloquently argued, In Defense of Food shows us how simple—and
how strangely complicated those three little rules can be.
ABOUT MICHAEL POLLAN
Born in 1955, Michael Pollan grew up in Long Island, New York. He was
educated at Bennington College, Oxford University, and Columbia
University, from which he received a master’s degree in English. A former
executive editor of Harper’s Magazine,
he is currently the John S. and James L.
Knight Professor of Journalism at the
University of California at Berkeley. His
essays have been widely anthologized,
and he is a regular contributor to The
New York Times Magazine. He is the author of five books, including A
Place of My Own, Second Nature, and The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye
View of the World. The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four
Meals was named one of the ten best books of 2006 by The New York
Times and The Washington Post. Michael Pollan lives in the Bay Area with
his wife, the painter Judith Belzer, and their son, Isaac.
Focus Questions

1. What are the elements of poetry? Discuss.

2. What are the elements of prose? Discuss.
3. What is the difference of background character and unseen
character?
Related Readings
o https://study.com/academy/lesson/prose-poems-definition-famous-
examples.html
o https://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/subjects/literature/what-
does-prose-and-poetry-mean-whats-the-difference
17
o https://literarydevices.net/
o https://www.litcharts.com/literary-devices-and-terms
o https://literaryterms.net/literary-device/
FOR YOU TO DO. Details on the deadline and activity rubrics will be posted
in course group chat on Messenger. Do as indicated.
WRITING EXERCISE:
1. Write a four-line-stanza poem using this title, “I am.” In this short poem,
write about your thoughts about yourself-your character, fears, and
virtues. You can also write about your dreams and aspirations.
2. Peer-edit each other’s draft based on the following: (Note that you will
be grouped beforehand. And exchanging of output will be done through
online the same with submission.)
a. Clear use of imagery and figurative language.

b. Well-developed and creatively presented idea
c. The used of persona that reflects the poem’s intent
d. Effective sounds when read aloud
e. Basic rules of spelling and grammar
3. Revise the draft of the poem based on the observations and comments
made by your peer and then submit the revised version to your teacher.
UNIT 2 - PRINCIPLES, ELEMENTS, TECHNIQUES, AND DEVICES OF

CREATIVE NONFICTION
1. develop a story line or plot line based on a personal experience
or an event one has witnessed or had a major impact in one’s
life;
2. write an effective beginning-a paragraph composed of five to
seven sentences using any of the suggested techniques to begin a
creative nonfiction piece;
3. write narrative vignettes based on real life experiences using
various points of view;
4. exhibit expertise in shaping a narrative through the use of
different points of view;
18
5. write a vivid description of a place that you are familiar with or
you have been to for an essay using words that appeals to the
senses;
6. recreate the exact mood or atmosphere that befits not only the
setting but also your impressions of the place and its impact in
your life;
7. distinguish between literal and figurative language and use
figures of speech correctly; and
8. identify the different types of ironies in the selection read.
Introduction
Writing nonfiction isn’t easy. For some it is intuitive. For others it
requires hard work, perseverance, and close attention to form and
technique. If you are going to learn to write nonfiction stories, you will
need to know a few basic principles. These principles include elements,
techniques, and devices. These principles can be exercised in many
different ways. How you choose to exercise them is what will make your
story distinctively different from anyone else’s.
To attend the following intended learning outcomes for the third unit
knowledge that will be laid down in the succeeding pages.
Key Terms
 Plot – events relate to each other in a pattern or a sequence

 Flash-fiction - a style of literature in which stories are extremely
short and often consist of less than 300 words
 Point of View – is what the character or narrator telling
the story can see (his or her perspective)
 Setting – specific place, time period, and weather and time of day
in which the story takes place
 Atmosphere - a type of feeling that readers get from a narrative,
based on details such as setting, background, objects, and
foreshadowing
Lecture Notes
PLOT
Plot or plot structure is inherent in fiction. Plot is a sequence of
events that has beginning, middle, and an end. It is a pattern of actions,
events, and situations showing the development of the narrative. Just like
19
fiction, creative nonfiction also has a plot. One major difference is that the
plot of creative nonfiction is based on actual people, experiences, and
events, as they actually happened while in fiction, the characters are a
product of the fictionist’s creative imagination or can be based on real
experiences and events or on real people who inhabit a fictional world
created by the fiction writer.
It is divided into the following parts:
Exposition. The first part of the plot, the exposition introduces the setting
and the characters of the story. It is also called the introduction or status
quo.
Rising Incidents/s. The rising incidents are those incidents that lead to the
complication.
Complication is the longest part of the narrative, in which the conflict
develops.
Crisis it is the problem of the story.
Climax. The highest point of the story, during which the readers know how
the conflict will be resolved.
Denouement or Resolution. The denouement or resolution is the part of
the plot in which the conflict will be resolved.
Falling Incident/s. The falling incidents are those incidents that lead to the
conclusion. Shorter than the rising action, the falling action may still have
some suspenseful moment but it gives the reader a sense of completion.
Conclusion. The conclusion is the last part of the story’s plot. It gives the
story some finality.
Creative nonfiction writers must have the skill of fictionists since they
will be telling a true story in the way fictionists do i.e., employing all the
strategies and techniques necessary for writing fiction. This is what makes
nonfiction “creative.”
FREYTAG’S PYRAMID
Freytag’s Pyramid is a method of structuring a story by mapping the
progression of conflict from inception to resolution. Founded in the
theatrical drama of Ancient Greece, basic plot structure for any narrative
was laid out by Aristotle in Poetics. According to Aristotle, each story has a
beginning, a middle, and an end. In the nineteenth century, a German
novelist Gustav Freytag flushed out these concepts and added two other
key plot points into the model – the rising and falling action, and created a
pictorial tool to help visualize the concept.
20
Source: https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Ffanyv88.com%3A443%2Fhttps%2Fwww.pinterest.com
Focus Questions
DIRECTION: To hone your understanding, answer the following question.
Details on the deadline will be announced in Zoom.
1. Why is plot important in the elements of story?

2. Is Freytag Pyramid method effective in structuring a story?
Related Readings
o https://literarydevices.net/plot/
o https://literaryterms.net/plot/

DIRECTION. Details on the deadline will be announced in Zoom. Do as
indicated.
ACTIVITY 1:
1. Write a seven-sentence beginning for the following topics using any of
these ways: vivid description, a little scene, an anecdote, etc. Then, give
a possible title for your creative nonfiction piece.
a. The Best Advice My Parents Gave Me

Title:
Beginning:
b. An exciting event in school
Title:
Beginning:
21
c. What life means to me
Title:
Beginning:
2. Write down your thoughts about your day in school, how it began and
ended, the important events of the day such as your encounters with
your teachers and classmates, and what you did after school. Post it on
the wall of your Facebook page. Limit your post to 100 to 200 words.
ACTIVITY 2:
Looking back and Moving Forward: Trace some of the most memorable
events in your life and try charting your future by providing the personal
information below.
Three Most
Memorable People
Date Impact/Contribution in My Life
Events Involved
In My Life
Lecture Notes
POINT OF VIEW
Point of view is the perspective from which a story is narrated. Every story
has a perspective, though there can be more than one type of point of view
in a work of literature.
Point of View vs. Narrator
Point of view is very closely linked with the concept of a narrator. The
narrator of a story can be participant in the story, meaning this character is
a part of the plot, or a non-participant. The point of view in a story refers to
the position of the narrator in relation to the story. For example, if the
narrator is a participant in the story, it is more likely that the point of view
would be first person, as the narrator is witnessing and interacting with the
22
events and other characters firsthand. If the narrator is a non-participant, it
is more likely that the point of view would be in third person, as the
narrator is removed from the events.
These are general guidelines, of course, and there are many exceptions of
these rules. Let us look more in depth at the multiple options for narrative
point of view.
Types of Point of View
First-Person Singular uses the “I” pronoun to refer to the narrator. This
narrator is usually the protagonist of the story, and this point of view allows
the reader access to the character’s inner thoughts and reactions to the
events occurring.
First-Person Plural This point of view is extremely uncommon in novels, as
it uses “we” as the primary pronoun. This implies a group of people
narrating the story at once. To use this point of view successfully, there
must be a sense of group identity, either facing a similar challenge together
or placing themselves in apposition to another “outside" group.
Second Person - Another uncommon point of view is second person, using
the “you” pronoun to narrate the story. This point of view either implies
that the narrator is actually an “I” trying to separate himself or herself from
the events that he or she is narrating, or allows the reader to identity with
the central character.
Third Person - This point of view definition uses “he” and “she” as the
pronouns to refer to different characters, and provides the greatest
amount of flexibility for the author.
Third-Person Limited - The reader is privy only to one main character’s
thoughts. In this way, it is similar to the first-person singular point of view,
since the focus stays tightly on one character.
Third-Person Omniscient - This allows the author to delve into the thoughts
of any character, making the narrator seem godlike. This was a popular
point of view in the 19th century novels. For example, the opening of Jane
Austen’s Pride and Prejudice presents an all-knowing narrator.
Alternating Person - Some novels combine two or more of the above types
of point of view. For example, some novels alternate between a first-person
singular point of view in some chapters and the third-person point of view
in other chapters. The Harry Potter series alternates between third-person
limited- allowing access to Harry’s thoughts-and third-person omniscient
when information must be shared that Harry is not a witness to.
Here are some examples:
First-Person singular:
“I had the craziest night last night! I’ll tell you all about it.”
23
First-Person plural:
New York was great. We went to the statue of Liberty, we walked around
Central Park, and we ate fantastic food. It’s our favorite city.”
Third-Person:
“My Grandfather was a pilot in the war, and one time he survived a terrible
crashed.”
Significance of Point of View in Literature

The choice of the point of view from which to narrate a story greatly
affects both the reader’s experience of the story and the type of
information the author is able to impart. First person created a greater
intimacy between the reader and the story, while third person allows the
author to add much more complexity to the plot and development of
different characters. Therefore, point of view has a great amount of
significance in every piece of literature.
Focus Questions
1. What is the difference of Point of View and Narrator?

2. How important getting the Point of view of a story?
3. What strategies can you use to determine the author/narrator’s
point of view?
Related Readings
o https://thewritepractice.com/point-of-view-guide/
o http://www.literarydevices.com/point-of-view/

indicated.
Activity 1:
Hone your undertanding in point of view by checking the nonfiction story
found on the website below.
“The Death of the Moth”
By: Virginia Woolf
Source: http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks12/1203811h.html
Answer the following questions:
24
1. What kind of creative nonfiction piece is Virginia Woolf’s “The Death of
the Moth?”
Justify your answer.
2. What point or points of view did the writer use? Cite an example.
3. Did the writer succeed in using the point or points of view in
emphasizing her point? Explain your answer.
Activity 2
A. What Photographs Actually Say
Take a photo of anything that catches your fancy (e.g., a selfie, your
family having dinner, a long queue in a movie theatre, children playing, a
beautiful scenery etc.) Post it on your Facebook page and write your
thoughts about the photograph that you took.
B. Tell Me What You Think

Interview any of the following using any social media platform: a staff of
the school paper, a sports personality in your school, an honor student,
an officer of the Student Council, an employee of the school, a subject
teacher, a member of the journal staff, or a writer in your school. Ask
the person what he or she thinks of the following:
 Family ties
 The work that he/she does
 the TV programs and movies he/she watches and likes and why
he/she likes them
 What love means to him/her
 What his/her biggest dream is
 The current state of the country
Then write an essay with 8 to 10 sentences about your subject. You may
use any point of view.
25
Lecture Notes
SETTING AND ATMOSPHERE
SETTING
I. What is setting?
The setting of a piece of literature is the time and place in which the
story takes place. The definition of setting can also include social status,
weather, historical period, and details about immediate surroundings.
Setting can be real or fictional, or a combination of both real and fictional
elements. Some settings are very specific (Wulfhall in Witshire England in
1500), while others are descriptive ( a bout out on the ocean) Most pieces
of literature include more-or many more-than one setting, either as the
narrative progresses through time or to include points of view from more
than one character.
II. Examples of Setting

Example 1
A simple example to understand setting is the Disney movie “Cinderella.”
The setting starts out as
Time: Cinderella as a young girl, long ago in the past
Place: Cinderella’s home in a kingdom far away
After her father dies, the time aspect of setting changes, skipping roughly
ten years into the future. Understanding this change in time helps in
keeping up with the story.
Time: Cinderella as a young woman, long ago in the past
Place: Cinderella’s home in a kingdom, in her bedroom and in the kitchen
Example 2
Read this example below to see how setting is written into a story.
As the sun set in the evening sky, Malcolm slowly turned and walked
toward his home. All was silent and still. Through the window, he could see
his older brother James watching a football game on the TV. James was
home from his first year of college in the city. It was lonely at times, but
Malcolm felt it was rather nice to not be in James’ shadow during his senior
year of high school.

Time: evening, senior year of high school, and modern times (they have a
TV)
Place: Malcolm’s home, and possibly the suburbs or country (his brother
has gone to the city for school).
III. Types of Setting
There are two types of setting, each having its own purpose.
a. Backdrop setting
Have you ever read a story, but found it difficult to figure out what time
period in which the story was written or where it is? The story probably had
a backdrop setting. The story is timeless and can happen at any point in
26
history or anywhere. The focus is on the lesson or message being delivered.
Many fairy tales and children’s stories have backdrop settings. “Winnie the
Pooh” would be an example. Since the lessons that the characters learn is
the point rather than the time period, it’s hard to tack a “past, present, or
future” on the time aspect of the setting. It could also be any town or
country, which means children anywhere can relate to it.
b. Integral setting
With an integral setting (integral means to be a part of or important to), the
time and place are important to the story. For example, a story dealing with
a historical setting will have a direct impact on the plot. A story that
happens in the 1800s will not have technology, so the characters will have
to write a letter, ride a horse or take a carriage to visit each other; they
cannot travel long distances in one day as we do now with cars, buses, and
planes. This will have a direct impact on the events of the story, especially if
there is distance involved.
IV. The Importance of Setting
Setting gives context to the characters’ actions in a story line. It can also
create the mood (how the reader or viewer feels). It’s easier to understand
why the characters in the story are doing what they’re doing when we
know where they are. The time of day, time of year, and ages of the
characters will also affect how they act and what they say.
All forms of literature will have some form of setting; even backdrop
settings have an age range of the characters, which is part of time, and a
location, either indoors or out, for example. Without a setting, readers and
viewers cannot follow a story plot.
I. What is Atmosphere?
Just like fiction, atmosphere or mood in creative nonfiction is the

element that evokes certain feelings or emotions. It is conveyed by the
words used to describe the setting or reflected by the way your subject
speaks or in the way he or she acts. Revealing a character is a skill that is
necessary when you are writing an interview story, character sketch or
profile and this is done by not only describing the subjects’ physical
appearance but also when he or she is in action.
Atmosphere is the overall mood of a story or poem. It’s usually something
readers can’t quite put their finger on – not a motif or a theme, but a “feel”
that readers get as they read. It’s very difficult to define, but you know an
atmosphere when you read it. Atmosphere mainly emerges
through description rather than action – it’s not what people do that
creates an atmosphere, but the settings and environments that stage what
they do.
II. Examples of Atmosphere
27
These two examples describe the same scene, but they create a very
different atmosphere. Notice how they both end with similes describing the
same sound in opposite ways:
Example 1
Marilyn’s small apartment was bathed with light from the new floor-to-
ceiling windows. Outside, the sounds of a balmy summer day floated up to
her ears like the gurgle of a cool, clear brook.
Example 2
Marilyn’s cramped apartment was roasting in the scorching sunlight that
burned through her floor-to-ceiling windows. And if there was anything
more oppressive than the heat, it had to be the constant din that bubbled
up from the city street below like steam from a putrid stew.

III. The Importance of Atmosphere
Atmosphere basically determines the emotional experience that the reader
will have. Are they going to feel hopeful? Depressed? Anxious? Curious?
Adventurous? You set the mood through atmosphere, and it colors how the
audience experiences the whole piece.
Certain genres are especially dependent on atmosphere. Horror, for
example, is an extremely atmosphere-dependent genre: what would
a horror story be without its atmosphere of creepiness and terror? To write
a good horror story, you’ve got to be good at writing with atmosphere.

Hone your undertanding in setting and atmosphere by checking the some
effective examples found on the website below.
“Two Views of the Mississippi,”
By: Mark Twain
(Source: https://hubpages.com/literature/A-Summar-of-Mark-Twains-Two-
Views-of-the-Mississippi)
“Headed for the Blues: A Memoir,”

By: Josef Skvorecky
(Source:https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/josef-skvorecky/headed-for-
blues.htm)
Focus Questions
DIRECTION: To hone your understanding, answer the following
question. Details on the deadline will be announced in Zoom.
1. What is the difference of setting and atmosphere in terms of their

function?
2. How important does setting in a story?
3. Does a story possible without an atmosphere? Why or why not?
Related Readings
28
o https://literaryterms.net/setting/
o https://literaryterms.net/atmosphere/

indicated.
WRITING EXERCISE:
“How I Spent My Summer Vacation” is probably the most popular and
corniest title of an essay students write inside the classroom. It is about
time to reinvent it and to make it more timely and interesting.
First Paragraph: Where did you spend your vacation last summer? Who
were with you? Where did you stay? Was it your first time to visit the
place? What do you think of the place? What were the places you visited?
Second Paragraph: What were the good things you remember about the
vacation? Did you dislike anything about the trip and the vacation? What
were they?
Third Paragraph: If you were to relieve your summer vacation, what

changes would you make?
Last Paragraph: What is your dream summer vacation? Where do you want
to go? Who do you want to take with you in this dream vacation?
What activities do you want to engage in which you haven’t done yet in
your previous vacation? Do you think this is possible? What do your parents
think about it?
Lecture Notes
LITERARY CONCERNS: SYMBOLS OR SYMBOLISM, FIGURES OF SPEECH,
IRONY, THEME, DIALOGUE, AND VOICE
A. STRUCTURE
Just like in fiction, organization is a very important component in
creative nonfiction. You don’t just write whatever comes to your mind; you
need to have a plan before you sit down to write. One of the worst thing
happen to a writer is to have his rambling thoughts on paper jumping from
one topic to another, and ending up being incoherent. Readers expect a
certain structure that shows the writer’s idea flowing smoothly. But
organizing your material is not east to do. That is why as a beginning writer
you must start by having an outline which will serve as a blueprint for your
essay.
In her book, Creative Nonfiction: A Manual for Filipino Writers, Cristina
Pantojo-Hidalgo provides us with the different types of s structure:
29
Chronological Structure
As a term suggest, it refers to an arrangement of events in linear fashion, as
they occurred in time. This is deal for an account of a trip of a travelogue.
Explanation-of-a-process structure
This is the best structure for a how-to-article (e.g., How to Cope with
Heartbreak, How to Use Your Time Wisely) since it tells readers what to do
step-by-step.
Flashback structure
This type is often used in fiction but is also used in creative nonfiction. A
flashback begins at some point in time and then moves back into the past.
This works best when you write a memoir.
Parallel structure
This type has several stories, running side by side, with occasional cross-
cutting or convergence. It is a technique that may have been influenced by
the cinema.
Collage or Mosaic structure
This type was influenced by painting and film. When you write accounts of
disasters, this is most convenient. It involves a pasting together of small
fragments, which all together build up to the total picture of what
happened. This is an excellent device capturing the complexity of an event
and also creating a sense of immediacy of speed.
Diary or Log Book structure
This type is a variation of the chronological structure and gives a sense of
immediacy to the narrative. It also makes the narrative seem more
personal.
Question-and-answer structure
This type is a logical choice for interview stories which allows the reader to
hear the subject’s voice without the awkwardness of having to repeat “he
said” or “she said” before every direct quotation.
Frame, or the story-within-a-story structure
It is a good structure to use when you wish to tell two stories-say, in a
travel narrative, where the actual physical journey is paralleled by an inner
journey.
B. Symbols/Symbolism
Symbol- A word, place character, or object that means something beyond
what it is on a literal level. For instance, consider the stop sign. It is literally
a metal octagon painted red with white streaks. However, everyone in
American roads will be safer if we understands that this object also
represents the act of coming to a complete stop-an idea hard to encompass
briefly without some sort of symbol substitute. In literature, symbols can be
cultural, contextual, or personal.
Source: http://quizlet.com/9391327/literary-terms-definitions-
middlelemist-flash-cards
30
Symbolic Character- are characters whose primary literary function is
symbolic, even though the character may retain normal or realistic
qualities. For instance, in Ellison’s Invisible Man, the character Ras is on a
literal level an angry young black man who leads rioters in an urban
rampage. However, the character Ras is a symbol or “race” (as his name
phonetically suggests), and he represents the frustration and violence
inherent in people who are denied equality.
Source:www.superglossary.com/Glossary/entertainment/Literature/symbol
ic_Character.html
Symbolism- Frequent use of words, places, characters, or objects that

mean something beyond what they are on a literal level. Often the symbol
may be ambiguous in meaning. When multiple objects or characters each
seem to have a restricted symbolic meaning, what often results in an
allegory.
C. Irony
Irony is a figure of speech in which words are used to mean the opposite of
their actual meanings. It is also the use of strange situations in which things
happen in a way that is opposite of what you expected. For example, a man
who is a soldier in real life and known for his physical strength, playing all
types of sports and other physical activities, ends up having a child who is
sickly and physically weak.
D. Figures of Speech
A figure of speech is a phrase or word which means more than its literal
meaning. It conveys meaning by identifying or comparing one thing to
another. It also has connotation or meaning familiar to the audience. This is
why it is helpful in creating vivid rhetorical effect.
Alliteration
It involves using words that begin with the same sound.
“Sally sells see shells by the seashore.”
“Peter Piper picked a pack of pickled pepper.”
Anaphora
It uses a specific clause at the beginning of each sentence or point to make
a statement.
“Good night and good luck”
“It was the best of times. It was the worst of
times.”
Assonance
It focuses on the vowel sounds in a phrase, a line of text or poetry
repeating them over and over to a great effect.
“Hear the mellow wedding bells” (Edgar Allan
31
Poe)
“If I bleat when I speak it’s because I just got. . .
fleeced” (Al Swearengen)
Hyperbole
It uses exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
“I am so hungry I could eat a horse.”
“I’ve told you a million times.”
Irony
It expresses one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the
opposite.
“I love cold pizza!” (a sarcastic response when
one is served cold food)
“Oh great! Now you have broken my new
camera.”
Metaphor
It compares two things that are not alike and finds something about them
to make them alike.
“My heart is a lonely hunter that hunts on the
lonely hill.”
“His voice is music to his ears.”
Simile
It compares two things that are not really the same, but are used to make a
point about each other, usually using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.
“Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know

what you’re going to get.”
She is as beautiful as Mona Lisa.”
Metonymy
It is figure of speech in which a thing or concept is called not by its own
name but rather by the name of something associated with that thing or
concept.
“There is Death (for poison) in the cup.”
Onomatopoeia
It is the use of a word that actually sound like what it means.
“hiss” for the sound made by snakes

“boom” for the sound of an explosion
Paradox
32
It is a figure of speech that completely contradicts itself in the same
sentence. It is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or
proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well-
founded or true.
“This is the beginning of the end.”

“Youth is wasted on the young.”
Personification
It is a way of giving an inanimate object the qualities of a living thing.
“The tree quaked with fear as the wind
approached.”
“The sun smiled down on her.”
Pun
This play on words uses different senses of the words, or different sounds
that make up the words, to create something fun and interesting.
“Denial ain’t just a river in Egypt.”

“She had a photographic memory but never
developed it.”
Synecdoche
It is a figure of speech in which one thing is meant to represent the whole.
“He earns the bread.” (Bread refers to money.)

“I don’t want to talk to gray beard.” (Gray beard
refers to an old man.)
Understatement
It is a situation in which the thing discussed is made to seem much less
important that it really is.
“I am delighted to win 10 million dollars.”

“100 homeruns isn’t bad record.”
Antithesis
It is a contradiction that pits to ideas against each other in a balanced way.
“You’re easy on the eyes, hard on the heart.”

“To err is human, to forgive is divine.”
Euphemism
It contains words that are used to soften the message or make it sound
better than it is.
33
“My mother passed away.”
“Janet Jackson had a wardrobe malfunction when
she performed at the Super Bowl.”
Oxymoron
It contains two contradicting words that are put together.
“open secret”
“deafening silence”
Focus Questions
1. What is the importance of figurative language in the story?

2. What is the difference between figure of speech and irony?
3. What is the difference of symbol and symbolism?
Related Readings
o https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/other/fi
gurative-language/
o https://www.writingforward.com/writing_exercises/creative-writing-
exercises/symbols-and-symbolism-in-fiction

indicated.

1. How is the creative nonfiction piece structured?
2. Wrtie down at least three examples of irony found in the essay.
3. Write down at least three symbols fount the essay and state wht they
actually symbolize.
4. What are some of the common figures of speech found in the essay?
Cite some excerpts from it.
UNIT 3 - TYPES AND FORMS OF CREATIVE NONFICTION

1. differentiate the various types of biographical narratives like
the biography, the profile, the character sketch, and the
interview story;
34
2. write an interview story about person whose life the learner
finds interesting or intriguing, who can either be a local
celebrity or a common folk;
3. define the various types of autobiographical narratives like the
autobiography, memoir, diary and journal;
4. compose a journal entry containing at least five well-written
paragraphs;
5. compare and contrast the personal, literary or informal essay
from the documented, non-literary or formal essay;
6. compose a short personal or informal essay comprising five to
seven paragraphs that describes your hometown or your home;
7. determine the distinguishing characteristics of travel writing,
food writing, and nature writing;
8. write a short piece of food writing that will feature special dish;
and
9. compose a well-written blog comprising five paragraphs about
a topic of one’s own choice.
Introduction
Creative nonfiction is a form of prose "based mainly on fact rather
than on the imagination, although (it) may contain fictional elements."
Scott Edelstein in 100 Things Every Writer needs to know provides us with
another definition that runs this way: “a work of nonfiction that uses some
of the techniques of fiction, and/or that concerns itself primarily with
providing an emotional (rather than merely intellectual) experience."
As a major literary genre (like poetry, fiction, and drama), creative
nonfiction also has many literary types and forms. Generally speaking,
creative nonfiction can be divided into three broad categories: biographical
narratives, autobiographical narratives, and various kinds of personal or
informal essays.
Under the autobiographical narratives category are the full-length
autobiography and the multi-volume autobiography, the memoir, the diary,
and the journal. Under the personal or informal essay category are the
literary reportage, the descriptive essay, and the reflective essay.
Special types of creative nonfiction, whose rise in popularity can be
attributed to the growth of the middle class, and the increase in the
accessibility and affordability of going on a journey, are ravel writing, food
writing, and nature writing. Emerging forms of creative nonfiction which
also deserve attention-although they may not be as literary as the other
types-are the testimonio, the blog, and the Facebook status report.
To attend the following intended learning outcomes for the first unit
knowledge that will be laid down in the succeeding pages. Please note that
35
you are not limited to exclusively refer to these resources. Thus, you are
expected to utilize other books, research articles and other resources that
are available in the library and in the internet.
Key Terms
 Descriptive Essay – a kind of creative nonfiction whose main

intention is to represent the appearance or essence of something.
 Diary or logbook structure – a type of structure which is a variation
of the chronological structure and gives a sense of immediacy to the
narrative.
 Facebook status report – an update feature which allows users to
express their thoughts, whereabouts or important information with
their friends.
 Food writing – a type of creative nonfiction that focuses on gustatory
delights or disaster while simultaneously narrating an interesting
story, as well as sharing an insight or two about the human condition.
 Interview Story – a kind of biographical narrative the length of a
typical newspaper or magazine article.
 Travel writing – a form of creative nonfiction that describes the
narrator’s experiences in foreign places.
Lecture Notes
BIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVES: BIOGRAPHY, PROFILE, CHARACTER

SKETCH, AND INTERVIEW STORY
EXPLAINING KEY CONCEPTS
Biographical narratives can be classified according to their length,

scope, and amplitude into the full-length biography, the profile, the
character sketch, and the interview story. The full- length biography can
either be single-volume or multi-volume, and can be further subdivided
on the basis of the subject into the popular biography, the literary
biography, and the historical biography.
 BIOGRAPHY
As the etymology of the term implies-bíos (life) + gráphein (writing)-

a biography basically is the narrative of a person's life written by someone
else, in contrast to an autobiography which is the chronicle of a person's
life written by the author himself or herself. According to William Harmon
and C. Hugh Holman's A Handbook to Literature (Seventh Edition), "In
England the word biography first came into use with Dryden, who, in 1683
36
called it "the history of particular men's lives." Biography today, "then, may
be defined as the accurate presentation of the life history from to death of
an individual, along with an effort to interpret the life so as to offer a
unified impression of the subject."
See the link to view example. (http://www.emilyjenkins.com/biographical-essay)
A full-length biography typically covers the entirety of the featured

person's existence, covering all the significant events surrounding his or
her life from womb to tomb, and usually includes a family tree and a
chronology of milestones in its appendices to further guide potential
readers of the book. Technically, the full-length biographies of literary
and historical figures are easier to write than those of people who have
left behind very little written or pictorial documents; correspondingly, the
historical or literary biographer faces the tremendous challenge of
reading and sifting through vast amounts of textual and visual materials
to come up with a coherent life story.
The popular biography, as the term implies, refers to the life story
of a famous and/ or successful person-a show business personality, a
professional athlete, a business tycoon, a political leader, a fashion
celebrity, a reigning monarch, or even a serial killer which is meant for
popular or mass consumption. Since the main purpose of the popular
biographer is to disclose or reveal to the most number of people the
personal tale of the public figure he or she intends to immortalize, he or
she tends to focus on the main action of the narrative as well as the nitty-
gritty details, and to forgo the creation of mood and atmosphere, and the
other elements that differentiate him or her from a literary or historical
biographer.
The literary biography and the historical biography, on the other

hand, are not necessarily intended for popular or mass consumption, so
they need not cater to the common people's fondness for gossip, rumor,
and hearsay. The literary biography is defined simply by Cristina Pantoja
Hidalgo, foremost practitioner of creative nonfiction in the Philippines, as
"a narrative of the life of a literary writer written by another literary
writer." On the other hand, the historical biography may be defined as a
narrative of the existence of a historical figure written by another writer,
usually a historian, who is interested not only in the personal
circumstances and historic events that have shaped his or her subject,
but also on how his or her subject has shaped history in return. Both the
literary biographer and the historical biographer are more concerned in
telling the truth than the popular biographer, the former in sharing poetic
truths, the latter in revealing historical facts.
37
 PROFILE
According to Peter P. Jacobi, "Cities can be profiled. So can streets. So

can buildings. So can institutions. Mostly, however, we profile people. A
profile recreates the subject, makes it come alive on paper, gives the
subject shape and meaning, causes us as readers to meet and know that
subject, that city, that institution, that person. “Shorter than a full-length
biography, a profile is a kind of biographical narrative that normally
concentrates on a single aspect of the featured person's life. Although
some background information of his or her origins is included, the profile
for the most part focuses on the circumstances and events that have made
the featured person important and/or famous. The best examples of the
profile as a literary genre is Lytton Strachey's Eminent Victorians.
See the link to view example. (https://www.bartleby.com/189/202.html)
 CHARACTER SKETCH
The character sketch is a form of biographical narrative that is shorter

than a profile. Like a visual sketch or a pen-and-ink drawing, the character
sketch can be described as a cameo or miniature life story. As a literary
subgenre, the character sketch has a long history whose origins can be
traced back to ancient China, where Sima Qian in his Shiji ("Historical
Records") featured highly animated character sketches, brief but full of
anecdotes and dialogue, and arranged according to character types, like
"rash generals," "maligned statesmen," and "assassins."
See the link below to view example of character sketch
(https://mi01000971.schoolwires.net/cms/lib05/MI01000971/Centricity/Domain/299/c
haracter%20sketch.pdf)
 INTERVIEW STORY
The interview story is a kind of biographical narrative the length of a

typical newspaper or magazine article. Like the profile and the character
sketch, it zeroes in on one particular facet of the featured person's life; but
unlike the other two short biographical narratives that require some
research and at least a couple of interviews, the interview story can be the
product of just one meeting between the writer (the interviewer) and his or
her subject (the interviewee).
See the link to view example. (https://202.journalism.wisc.edu/interview-story/)
Focus Questions
38
1. Which of the following types of the full-length biography tends to
sensationalize the details of the life of its subject?
2. Which of the following types of biographical narrative requires
thorough research?
3. Which of the following types of biographical narrative is the shortest?
4. Which of the following types of biographical narrative can be
described as a cameo or miniature life story?
5. Which of the following types of biographical narrative can be the
product of just one interview?
Related Readings
o https://www.iwriteessays.com/essays/how-to-write-a-biographical-
narrative
o https://www.essayclip.com/guides/sample-biography-essay
o https://www.aresearchguide.com/write-a-character-sketch.html
WRITING EXERCISE:
For this writing exercise, you as a learner must conduct an

interview with a person whose life you find interesting or
intriguing. He or she can be your family member, a friend, a
relative, former classmate, or even your housemaid or driver.
Remember that you can interview the following person through
chat or video call only, except to your family who’s inside the
house and always observe social distancing when doing an
interview.
What is most important is that you must find this person particularly
interesting, or at least intriguing enough, to write about him or her.
Your primary task is to make this person come alive in your interview
story.
Lecture Notes
AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NARRATIVES: AUTOBIOGRAPHY, MEMOIR, DIARY,
JOURNAL
39
There is a wide variety of autobiographical narratives, ranging "from the
intimate writings made during life that were not necessarily intended for
publication (including letters, letters, diaries, journals, memoirs, and
reminiscences) to the formal autobiography."
 AUTOBIOGRAPHY
 According to a dictionary of literary terms, an autobiography is "an
account of one's own life, generally continuous narrative of major
events." It can also be defined as "the biography of oneself narrated
by oneself." Within the context of this second definition, the
autobiography can be considered as nothing more than a subspecies
of the biography, which etymologically comes from the Greek words
bíos (life) + gráphein (to write).
 Although it has no prescribed pattern or structure, "there are roughly
four different kinds of autobiography: thematic, religious,
intellectual, and fictionalized." Literary critics and editors of
anthologies specializing in the study of autobiographical narratives
have a medley of interesting insights regarding this type of creative
nonfiction prose.
 Autobiographical narratives are fictions, in the sense that the
narrator imposes her or his order on the ebb and flow of experience
and gives us a false sense of certainty and finality about causation in
life. Yet they are not fictions but accounts of real lives, lived in a
specific time and place, windows on the past.
 MEMOIR
Among the more informal forms of autobiographical narrative, the

memoir is one that is most often confused with the formal autobiography,
for both are concerned with the telling of the author’s life. But an
autobiography is more complete than a memoir, because the former
“moves in a dutiful line from birth to fame, omitting nothing" whereas the
latter "assumes the life and ignores most of it.”
The memoir, therefore, does not need to be arranged or structured in a
strictly chronological order like the autobiography, and can be written in a
fragmentary or dispersed style, like a mosaic or montage of small-scale
narratives. But the act of remembering is also very important in the writing
of a memoir, since the name of this literary genre is a derivate of the
French word mémoire, which means memory or reminiscence.
 DIARY AND JOURNAL
 Diaries and journals as autobiographical narratives have been very

popular for thousands of years, and have been deployed by
different types of people for writing and recording personal
experiences, thoughts, and feelings. In actual practice, journals are
40
more intimate than diaries; however, both diaries and journals are
generally kept private. Many people think that diaries and journals
are the same, especially since writers tend to use the two terms
interchangeably.
 Diary
 The diary as its name suggests is a form of creative nonfiction that

is a quotidian or day-today record of the specific events that have
transpired in the life of its author and is ideally kept on a daily
basis. In practice, however, very few diarists include all the entries
they have written for a certain period when they publish their
works in book form. They usually exercise their right to choose and
select which particular parts are to be included for the sake of
coherence or to achieve a certain effect or overall impression,
removing those parts that they deem or consider to be
unnecessary or detrimental to the narrative they are trying to tell.
 JOURNAL
 The journal as a form of autobiographical writing is generally more

intimate than a diary; and even if it includes daily activities, it also
contains personal details regarding the impressions and opinions
of the journal writer concerning certain intriguing incidents or
issues that have come up and how specific persons have affected
him or her during the course of the day. A journal is typically very
expressive and confidential-a receptacle of the author's innermost
thoughts and feelings-and is generally meant for private
consumption and not meant for publication.
 A journal has no prescribed format, does not necessarily need
careful planning, thinking or editing, since it can be a "catch all" of
every thought and feeling that the author has decided to record
without restrictions. Journals need not be written on a daily basis,
but can be written more often than daily or less often, depending
on the writer's needs to express his or her thoughts and feelings.
Focus Questions
1. Which of the following types of autobiographical narrative attempts

to follow the full trajectory of the life of its subject “in a dutiful line
from birth to fame, omitting nothing?”
41
2. Which of the following types of autobiographical narrative is
fragmentary compared a formal autobiography?
3. Which of the following types of autobiographical narrative
etymologically means “self+ life +to write?”
Related Readings
o https://tetw.org/Memoir
o http://psychology.iresearchnet.com/social-psychology/social-
psychology-research-methods/autobiographical-narratives/
WRITING EXERCISE
For this writing exercise, you must need to have a writing notebook which
will serve as your journal. Write your very first entry which must contain
the following:
The first paragraph will explain the purpose why you are
keeping a journal (aside from the obvious fact that it is a class
requirement) and what you intend to achieve in your diary writing: the
second to fourth paragraphs will describe your routine activities in a
typical day and the last paragraph will express your hopes and dreams
for the future.
Lecture Notes
PERSONAL OR INFORMAL ESSAYS: LITERARY REPORTAGE, DESCRIPTIVE
ESSAY, AND REFLECTIVE ESSAY
 Personal or Informal Essay versus Documented or Formal Essay
 According to the Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature, the

essay is "an analytic, interpretative, or critical literary essay "an
composition usually much shorter and less systematic and formal than
a dissertation or thesis and usually dealing with its subject from a
limited and often personal point of view." The term "essay" is a
derivative of the French word essayer, which means "to attempt" or
42
"to try," and its primary meaning is still used in certain instances in
English.
 The term was first used by the Renaissance author Michel de
Montaigne to underscore or emphasize that his short compositions of
maxims, aphorisms, adages, apothegms, proverbs, anecdotes and
quotations collected in two volumes titled Essais "were attempts or
endeavors, a groping toward the expression of his personal thoughts
and experiences."
 LITERARY REPORTAGE
 Literary reportage is a form of creative nonfiction that presents

verifiable data and well- researched information, like a film or TV
documentary. As a written genre, it is a hybrid between responsible
journalism and imaginative literature. On the one hand, literary
reportage shares with responsible journalism in the way it pays close
attention to sociocultural reality, past events, and current affairs.
 Responsible journalism attempts to analyze the collected data
accurately by contextualizing its facts and figures, such as historical
antecedents and causation, presenting readers with discerningly
processed information for a more enlightened interpretation of world
affairs.
 DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY
 The descriptive essay is a kind of creative nonfiction whose main

intention is to represent the appearance or essence of something. The
main rhetorical device or strategy used in a descriptive essay is
description-the use of sensory details to portray a person, place, or
thing. Sensory details refer to particular items of information which
are perceivable to the five human senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell,
and touch. Carefully selected and properly arranged sensory details
can help make a descriptive essay more accurate, authentic, and
astonishing.
 Depending on the intention of the writer and his or her treatment of
the subject matter, there are two types of description: objective
description and subjective description. Objective description portrays
the subject matter in a clear and direct manner as it exists in reality
beyond the realm of personal feelings and emotions.
 Although it is also partly preoccupied with clarity and directness,
subjective description, on the other hand, expresses the writer's
personal feeling and impression about the subject matter creating a
certain tone, mode or atmosphere while emphasizing a certain point.
"Because most expression involves personal views, even when it
explains by analysis, subjective description (often called emotional
description) has a broader range of uses than objective description."
43
 REFLECTIVE ESSAY
 The reflective essay is a kind of personal narrative essay whose main

intention is to analyze the significance of a past event through serious
thought or consideration from the vantage point of the present. The
writer of the reflexive essay combines his or her own subjective
experiences and observations with careful assessment and analysis
from an objective perspective.
 The major source when writing a reflective essay is memory, the
repository of sensory information, facts and figures that have been
accumulated since infancy through personal experiences.
Focus Questions
1. Which of the following forms of creative nonfiction requires both

journalistic and literary skills?
2. Which of the following forms of creative nonfiction requires
retrospection or a looking back at past events to determine their
significance in the present?
3. Which of the following forms of creative nonfiction has for its main
intention the representation of the appearance or essence of
something?
4. Which of the following terms is not synonymous to “formal essay?”
Related Readings
o https://libguides.westsoundacademy.org/ee/informal-formal-essays
o https://owlcation.com/humanities/How-to-Write-a-Reflective-Essay-
with-Sample-Essays
o https://journalism.nyu.edu/graduate/programs/literary-reportage/
o https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/creative_writing/c
reative_nonfiction/sub_genres_of_creative_nonfiction.html
WRITING EXERCISE
44
Compose a personal or informal essay (five to seven paragraphs)
that describes your hometown or your home. If you are writing about
your hometown, you might start by describing its downtown area before
proceeding to describe its suburbs or outskirts. If you are writing about
your home, you may start by describing the façade or frontage of your
house before proceeding to describe its interior spaces. Combine
objective description and subjective description to make your essay more
vivid and remarkable.
Lecture Notes
SPECIAL TYPES OF CREATIVE NONFICTION: TRAVEL WRITING, FOOD
WRITING, AND NATURE WRITING
 TRAVEL WRITING
 Travel writing is a form of creative nonfiction that describes the
narrator's experiences in foreign places. This type of writing usually
includes a narration of the journey undertaken by the narrator from
his or her point of origin to the eventual destination, with all the
hazards and inconveniences encountered along the way. It also entails
detailed descriptions of the local customs and traditions, the
landscape or cityscape, the native cuisine, the historical and cultural
landmarks, and the sights and sounds the visited place has to offer.
 But for travel writing to qualify as good literature and a cut above
commercial travel guides aimed at potential tourists, must also
contain a corresponding psychical or inner journey.
 FOOD WRITING
 A direct offshoot of travel writing that has evolved into a literary

subgenre of its own is food writing. It is a type of creative nonfiction
that focuses on gustatory delights or disasters while simultaneously
narrating an interesting story, as well as sharing an insight or two
about the human condition. The relationship between food writing
and travel writing is best expressed by Richard Sterling in his preface
to Food: A Taste of the Road, "But there is one universal constant in
travel.
 Food writers consider food not only as a necessary substance for
survival, but as manifestation of culture as well. American food writer
45
Mark Kurlansky provides us the range and domain of this literary
subgenre when he proclaims that, "food is about agriculture, about
ecology, about man's relationship with nature, about the climate,
about nation-building, cultural struggles, friends and enemies,
alliances, wars, religion. It is about memory and tradition and, at
times, even about sex."
 NATURE WRITING
 Nature writing can also be considered as an offshoot of travel writing,

but unlike food writing that focuses primarily on gustatory delights, it
highlights the beauty and majesty of the natural world, as well as
humanity's special relationship with Mother Earth. But some forms of
nature writing, instead of celebrating pristine landscapes and exotic
plants and animals, zero in on the abuses committed by mankind on
the natural environment and its dire consequences for future
generations.
 As a literary genre, it is highly dependent on scientific facts and figures
about the natural world, while integrating private observations of and
philosophical contemplations on the natural environment. According
to www.encyclopedia.com, this type of literature, "depending upon its
emphases and the period and genre in which it is written. is variously
called natural philosophy, natural history, environmental literature,
and nature writing."
Focus Questions
1. In the evolution of nature writing as a literary subgenre, which was

variously used to refer to it in its long story?
2. Which special types of creative nonfiction requires the author to
have good skills in the art of description?
3. Which special types of creative nonfiction requires some knowledge
of flora fauna, as well as the basic scientific types?
Related Readings
o https://davehood59.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/writing-creative-
nonfiction/
o https://www.thoughtco.com/travel-writing-1692564
46
o https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/sep/23/travel-writing-tips-
expert-advice

WRITING EXERCISE:
Compose a five-paragraph food essay or food narrative featuring a

particular dish of your own choice:
The introductory paragraph should contain some historical and/or
personal background about the dish;
The second and third paragraphs should provide the readers with a list
of the necessary ingredients and the recipe for the preparation of the
dish;
The fourth paragraph should contain a vivid description of the dish in
terms of its appearance (sight), aroma or fragrance (smell), sizzle
(sound), flavor or tang (taste), and texture (touch) on the palate and
tongue; and
The last paragraph should inform the readers of the cultural
significance of the dish, and why they should try it.
Lecture Notes
EMERGING FORMS OF CREATIVE NONFICTION: TESTIMONIO, BLOG,
FACEBOOK STATUS REPORT

In recent decades, new forms of creative nonfiction have emerged
worldwide, three of which deserve special attention: the testimonio, the
blog, and the Facebook status report. The first one, the testimonio, is a
subgenre of trauma literature-the body of writing which came into being as
a response to the mindless persecutions and heartless abuses committed
on a massive scale by those who are in positions of power on subaltern or
oppressed groups of people due to their differences in race, class, and
gender.
The last two, the blog and the Facebook status report, are by
products of postmodernism (or what Fredric Jameson's aptly calls "the
cultural logic of late capitalism"), specifically the World Wide Web or the
Internet.
 TESTIMONIO
 The testimonio is an emerging form of creative nonfiction that first
appeared in Latin America with the publication of I, Rigoberta
Menchú: An Indian Woman in Guatemala, "a first-person account of
47
the brutality of the Guatemalan government and ruling class towards
indigenous Guatemalans.
 The testimonio can be defined as published oral or written "first-hand
accounts" of human rights violations and abuses of the powers-that-be
in oppressive societies, "which the witnesses wrote themselves, or
dictated to a transcriber." The term "testimonio" originally comes from
South America and Central America after international human rights
tribunals, truth commissions, and other fact-finding boards in
countries like Argentina, Chile, and Guatemala have uncovered the
rampant injustices committed against ethnic minorities (like the native
Indian population of the aforementioned nations) and other subaltern
groups (like the poorest of the poor, women, and gay people).
 BLOG
 The blog, short for web log, can be defined as "an online diary that
looks like a web page. Technically speaking, it is not really a new
literary genre but an electronic platform in the Internet that its end
user can constantly update by changing its contents in terms of
additional texts, photos, and links to other websites. John Barger is
generally credited for coining the term "web log” in 1997 emergence
of the blog as an Internet program deployed for nonfictional purposes
began in the mid-1990s when surfing on the World Wide Web and
building cyber communities began to gain extreme popularity.
 FACEBOOK STATUS REPORT

 Facebook is the social networking website founded and further
developed by Marl Zuckerberg and his college classmates in Harvard
University. Initially intended for the exclusive use of Harvard students
so that they may know one another and get in touch more easily-the
term "face book" after all originally refers to a printed or web
directory, in American universities containing their respective
students' names and pictures distributed by school officials in the
beginning of each academic year with the main aim of helping
students become more familiar with one another.
 The website quickly expanded to include students from other higher
institutions of learning in the Boston area, the Ivy League, the rest of
the United States, exponentially growing with the inclusion of
everyone else in America and from there the rest of the world with
Internet access.
Examples
 This afternoon, I typed the last sentence of the last chapter of my new
book. Tomorrow it goes to my publisher. Of course that's not the end
of its journey. It will be sent to reviewers, and it accepted, it still has a
way to go before it actually reaches the finish line. I'm sure I will put in
what I will assure my publisher will be final, final revisions. But for now
48
my work is done. A few close friends and I celebrated with dinner in a
quiet place. And now as the adrenalin rush fades, I am filled with a
deeply humble gratitude for this gift of words, and the will to keep on
working with them. No matter how many times I do it, it's the same
each time-first the urge (I must do it again), then the uncertainty (can I
do it again?), then the hard work (part agony and part joy), then the
elation (I actually did it again!), and finally the almost incredulous
gratefulness. Tomorrow l shall feel a bit melancholy, and very tired.
And I shall wonder when-and if-I will be able to do it one more time...
-from the FB account of Cristina Pantoja Hidalgo
Focus Questions
1. Which of the emerging types of creative nonfiction is the most

accessible platform for self-expression to the Internet generation?
2. Facebook originally refers to?
3. Who coined the term “web log?”
4. The emergence of blog as an Internet program deployed at what
year?
Related Readings
o https://shane176.wordpress.com/2017/11/02/review-paper/
o https://www.foodbloggersofcanada.com/narrative-know-how-using-
creative-non-fiction-in-your-blog-posts/

FOR YOU TO DO. Details on the deadline will be posted in course group
chat on Messenger. Do as indicated.
WRITING EXERCISE:
Your teacher will create a group blog for the use of the entire
class, and serve as its webmaster moderator. Upload a five-paragraph
blog entry on a topic that you have chosen which should be
preapproved by your teacher.
49
UNIT 4 - READING AND WRITING CREATIVE NONFICTION

1. write a mini critique of a peer’s work based on coherence and
organization of paragraphs, development of literary elements
uses of, factual information, and other qualities concerning form
and content;
2. analyze and interpret a well-written creative nonfictional text
based on peer critique;
3. write a draft of creative nonfiction piece based on the learner’s
memorable real-life experiences;
4. peer-edit and revise each other’s draft based on desirable
qualities of a well written creative nonfiction; and
5. write the final version of one’s own creative nonfiction in a
composition of five paragraphs or more.
Introduction
The last two lessons you will have on this course are reading and
writing creative nonfiction stories which also include the mini critique. You
will be guided on the steps in becoming a creative non-fictionist which is
helpful before proceeding in writing your own one. Furthermore, some
advices are recommended to proceed as a first time writer for you to create
a great story. You will encounter some fabulous nonfiction story that will let
critique, you can also identify its structure so it will easy for you when doing
your own.
Lecture Notes
WRITING CREATIVE NONFICTION
EXPLAINING KEY CONCEPT

WRITING CREATIVE NONFICTION
 The Great Courses online invites interested parties to enroll in its 30-
minute courses on writing creative nonfiction. Its invite reads:
 These courses detail the steps in becoming a creative non-fictionist.
 Here are the steps.
1. Define creative nonfiction.

 Before you can become a writer of creative nonfiction, you
must first know the definition of creative nonfiction and be
able to distinguish it from fiction and any other type of
writing.
2. Find a story.
50
 Also called literary nonfiction, creative nonfiction is narrative.
Thus, you must have a story to tell your readers. Look for
interesting materials you can use and share with your
readers.
3. Honor the nonfiction contract.

 Nonfiction is not fiction or made-up story. It is a tact based
writings thus, it is your responsibility to tell the story
objectively with the use of your memory and experiences. if
possible, investigate on the subject before you start writing.
4. Write great beginnings.

 Good introductions are appetizers. They lead the readers to
continue reading just as appetizers induce eaters to continue
eating. Once readers dislike the introduction, they tend to
discontinue reading and then attend to their other activities.
It is a must to introduce effectively so as not to lose readers
5. Show, don't tell.

 It is best not to tell the story directly as when you are doing a
summary. Good writing requires that a narrative be written in
such a way that action and speech are interspersed. Dialogue
and description play a major role in this respect.
6. Launch a narrative arc.

 A narrative arc is a useful tool in designing the narrative plot.
Similar to an outline for prose writing, it serves as a
framework of the story. It helps the writer to sequence in an
orderly fashion the events in the narrative plot--exposition,
rising action, climax, falling action, denouement or resolution,
and conclusion.
7. Use cliffhangers and page turners to your advantage.

 When you watch a television series, you are likely to be
exposed to cliffhangers. These are the endings of episodes of
the serial drama that hold the viewers in suspense. When
cliffhangers and page turners are used appropriately, they
work to your advantage, that is, readers will remain glued to
their seats enjoying reading the story. Remember that page
turners produce gaps that tend to let readers lose track of the
story.
8. Build dramatic sentences.

 Readers get bored when they encounter long readings. The
structure (simple, compound, complex, and compound
complex) and the pattern (subject-intransitive verb, subject-
51
transitive verb-direct object, etc.) of sentences have an
impact on the readers. Therefore, you have to determine
which structures and patterns to use to come up with
dramatic sentences.
9. Employ rhetorical devices and create emotional impact.

 Rhetorical devices such as parallelism, isocolon, anadiplosis,
alliteration, other figures of speech and literary devices are
useful in creating an emotional impact. Literary writing
appeals to the emotions; as such, your work must appeal to
the emotions in order to be effective.
10. Put it all together.

 One of the principles of good writing is unity. Hence, every
writer must strive to attain unity in his work. All the elements
incorporated in your narrative must be essential in the
completion of a unified piece of writing.
11. Reveal the characters in words and actions.

 That which provides reality in the story is the character or
characters. To make them real, you have to show their
respective traits by using dialogue or depicting their actions.
Howe their actions. However, character descriptions also help
readers in understanding the characters.
12. Create compelling characters.

 While the protagonist and similar major characters play a
significant role in the story, the minor characters must be
depicted in such a way that they also evoke interest, attention
or admiration. The narrative will only be exciting if there is an
interplay among the characters, whether major or minor
ones.
13. Analyze character psychology.

 In developing a character in the narrative, you have to do an
analysis of his behavior. Your understanding of the kinds of
persons your characters are will greatly facilitate the task of
characterization.
14. Get inside the heads of your characters.

 Closely related to the advice in No. 13, this one simply means
that, as a writer of creative nonfiction, you must have a firm
grasp of the characters' mind-sets. Note that the characters’
speech and actions are mere products of their thoughts.
15. Use narrative perspective.

52
 Determine which of the points of view to take in writing your
work. The choice of the perspective (first-person, second
person, or third-person-omniscient, objective, and limited) is
an important aspect in story-telling.
16. Shape your voice.

 Do not commit the mistake of coming up with a purple prose,
a prose text that is so extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to
break the flow and draw excessive attention to itself. Purple
prose is characterized by the extensive use of adjectives
adverbs, and metaphors."
17. Write the Gutter-How to not tell a story.

 You don't have to tell everything to the readers. Learn when
to explicitly tell a story and when to implicitly narrate.
Narrating implicitly is a skill used in building tension in a story.
18. Employ dialogue strategies in creative nonfiction.

 Dialogue is one of the essential elements of a narrative. As
such, it brings life to the story. To produce an interesting
nonfictional work, employ strategies in the use of dialogue, a
blend of direct and indirect speeches.
19. Research creative nonfiction.

 Creative nonfiction involves facts; therefore, it is necessary to
engage in a fact-finding investigation before plunging into the
writing activity. True-to-life items must form part of your
work that is why there is a need to gather materials for
inclusion in the story from reliable sources.
20. How to not have people hate you.

 Because you deal with real people, chances are you may hurt
your subject in the process of publishing your story. See to it
that only truths see print. Your story must not be fabricated;
it must not contain lies. Truth hurts and you cannot help but
present the truth even if it hurts.
21. Revise your work.

 Writing is a process consisting of three stages, namely, pre-
writing writing, and rewriting. Pre-writing entails subject
selection and formulation of a narrative arc while writing
involves the making of the initial draft. Rewriting or revising
your work is as important as the first two stages. During this
stage, you correct all the grammatical, mechanical,
organizational, and, most importantly, factual errors you have
committed.
53
22. Build your audience.
 Your output is your message, but you do not communicate if
nobody reads your work. Write with the aim of satisfying your
readers. Reader satisfaction is the foremost factor in turning
paperbacks into best-sellers. Even if the price (of the book) is
not right (I mean high), satisfied readers will buy it. Take for
instance the Harry Potter series of J. K. Rowling.
23. Get your work published.

 Look for a publishing company who will market your book. If
you cannot find one, you self-publish your book. Nowadays,
books are sold online. Establish a network of individuals who
are willing and ready to help you sell your finished product.
24. Be a writer.
 Because there is always a room for improvement, assess your
strengths and weaknesses as a writer. Better yourself by
modelling after those writers who have made a name in
crafting creative nonfiction. Be guided by tips offered in books
and online sources. And note that it is only by writing that you
develop your writing skills. So WRITE and WRITE until you
claim success, make a MARK in this field.
 Nick Foster, author of The Jolly Roger Social Club, to be

published by Duckworth Overlook on 14th July 2016 (and by
Henry Holt in North America on 12th July), offers first-time
creative nonfiction writers some advice.
1. FIND A GREAT STORY.

 How do you know when you've got one? With my book The Jolly
Roger Social Club, it happened like this:
 I discovered a true tale of an American who had, apparently, killed

five or more of his compatriots in a vaguely sinister expat
community located on a remote stretch of Panama's Caribbean
coast. I immediately wondered: Why were these people there at
all? What were their motivations? How did it affect things that this
was an American crime transplanted, if you will, to Latin America?
What kind of culture clash might this entail? My questions went on
and on. This is what you need; this is when you know you've got a
story that could be the one. Next, the story needs to have twists
and turns, a proper beginning, middle and end.
2. A GREAT STORY IS SUSPENSEFUL.
54
 It needs to be a page turner. For instance, suppose you open with
the discovery of a dead body in the month of December. Then you
take your story back to January of the same year and introduce a
group of friends or colleagues or family members. The reader will
naturally think: one of those people will lose his or her life. This
technique wouldn't be subtle, but you are at least creating
suspense.
3. BE A READER.
 It's the only way to find out how good writers do it. Fiction writer E.
Annie Proulx has said that for decades she was a reader, and then
she became a published writer- but never stopped being a reader. It's
just the same with narrative nonfiction. Read the best narrative
nonfiction writers out there and ask yourself: how did they put their
books together how did they structure them? The question of
structure is of capital importance. If my book just follows me, the
writer, discovering a story by interviewing people and uncovering
facts, it won't be very compelling-it will simply be an account of me
becoming gradually less ignorant about something.
4. ACCESS IS ESSENTIAL.
 Leaving historical literary journalism aside (where time spent in
libraries and archives will be the key), it's quite simple. You don't
have a story unless you have access. By access, I mean you need to
figure out who in your story you need to approach and interview. If
you want to write a book that concentrates on one character, you
need to convince him or her to talk with you.
5. WHAT IS IT ABOUT, ACTUALY?

 Your book needs to be about something. Here, I’m referring to
theme. Jon Krakauer's “Into the Wild” is the story of a young man
named Christopher McCandless who gives away his savings and
wanders around the American West, eventually dying of starvation in
a camper van in Alaska. But the book spent two years on the New
York Times bestseller list. Why was that? My guess is that Krakauer
struck a chord with readers because he uses McCandlesss story to
ask wider questions about the universal value of doggedly pursuing a
career path and the quest to earn money-standard ways of judging a
life, after all.
6. IT ALL HAS TO BE TRUE.

 A narrative nonfiction book should contain no invented scenes and
no composite characters. It all has to come from interviews and
primary source material (diaries, e-mail correspondence, letters,
court documents, and so on). If you need to change names (to
protect a source, for example), this must be flagged to the reader. I
55
enjoyed John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, but
in his author's note he writes that the book, at times "strays from
strict nonfiction" while intending to remain faithful to the "essential
drift of events". I would caution firmly against mixing fact and fiction.
In narrative nonfiction, it really all has to be true.
7. BE CLEAR.
 Right from the moment you begin your book proposal, try to make
sure that your sample chapter- most agents will expect to see one if
you're a first-time author-is written as clearly as possible. Limit the
number of characters so as not to confuse the reader. Cut the length
of your sentences. Take time with explanations of any complex ideas
or events.
8. YOU NEED A STRONG ENDING.

 News pieces in newspapers give the headline and add information in
layers, in rough order of significance. This conclusion-first technique
means they often end limply. Nothing wrong with this in the Financial
Times or the New York Times, of course, but as a writer of narrative
nonfiction you need to order your story so as to give the reader a
satisfying conclusion or payoff. Ideally it should be one that the
reader couldn't see coming.
9. FIRST PERSON OR THIRD PERSON?

I’d say use first person sparingly, if at all. The "I grate with over-use.
And the story is not likely to be about you, anyway.
10. DO AS YOU'RE TOLD.
 You get into print by, as a first step, writing a book proposal, which
you'll send to one or various agents. If you don't have a literary
agent, you will need one to approach publishers on your behalf. It's
important to pick an agent who has an interest in, and experience in
selling, creative nonfiction. This information is usually available on
agents' websites.
Focus Questions

1. What are the steps in becoming a creative non-fictionist?
2. What is the best step in pre-writing a nonfiction story?
3. Cite at least two best advices of Nick Foster published.
56
Related Readings
 https://writersvictoria.org.au/writing-life/on-writing/7-tips-writing-
creative-non-fiction
 https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2017/08/17/writing-creative-non-
fiction/
 https://www.uvm.edu/wid/writingcenter/tutortips/nonfiction.html

WRITING EXERCISE:
Guided by the tips presented in this chapter, create a flash nonfiction.
Lecture Notes
MINI CRITIQUE

MINI CRITIQUE
CRITIQUE OF J. K. ROWLING'S SPEECH DURING HARVARD

UNIVERSITY'S COMMENCEMENT EXERCISES
by Zyra Samonte
JK. Rowling, author of the famous and phenomenal Harry Potter

series, has indeed done a pretty great job at motivating and inspiring the
graduates of Harvard in her commencement speech. She talked about her
greatest fear in life and how she managed to overcome all challenges
amidst rejections. She also talked about the ability to touch other people's
lives with the use of one's imagination. I applaud her for both topics that
were explicitly laid out with style and finesse.
In the beginning, the topic of the commencement speech was not

clearly stated so probably the graduates were anticipating and at the same
time curious as to what she would talk about. "Imagination is not only the
uniquely human capacity to envision that which is not, and therefore the
fount of all invention and innovation. In its arguably most transformative
and revelatory capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathize with
humans whose experiences we have never shared." These are the best
57
lines that I know for sure have struck the minds of her listeners on that day.
Imagination is a factor of our humanity we must always use it in order to do
great things. Another great thing about the speech is the one about the
fear of failure. "It is impossible to live without failing at something, unless
you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all-in which
case, you fail by default." Failure is a sign for us to begin again and keep on
moving forward.
Rowling's commencement speech hardly talks about feminism,

patriarchy, gender inequality, or any of that sort. But if you look into the
external contexts, it was said to be that she had taken the judgments of
being just a woman. Back then when she was pursuing her passion for
writing, the society she lived in didn't believe in women's capabilities and
skills. That was why she shortened her name to simply "J.K." in order for
the people, thinking that her book was written by a male, would patronize
it. This type of sexism not only made her more determined to do better, but
also served to mirror the kind of society she was in, a society that treated
women as inferior to men.
People's unfair treatment of women and their outspokenness about
their governments are evident in the commencement speech. This can
readily be seen in the part where Rowling shared her experiences while
working in an office, busily reading hastily scribbled letters smuggled out of
totalitarian regimes by men and women who were ran the risk of
imprisonment to inform the outside world of what was happening to them.
There she discovered how people were incarcerated and tortured for
having the audacity to speak against their governments.
Despite being haunted by her previous work experiences, Rowling

has still managed to enlighten the minds of the Harvard graduates about
the importance of using one's imagination. As a person who loves science
fiction and who still believes in fairies and unicorns, she has been
emblazoned by such words. "What we achieve inwardly, will change outer
reality." We possess the brand of magic or sorcery necessary to change the
world. We have the power to imagine better.
Overall, the commencement speech is a very good and inspiring one.

All extremities were laid out explicitly up to the tiniest bit of detail. I cannot
commend more about it because I think words aren't enough to express
how overjoyed and motivated I was after reading. I just hope that the
Harvard graduates of 2008 are now exactly where they are meant to be,
spreading the words of the author she struck the world with her wild
imagination.
MY MOTHER'S SHADOW
by Jesus Z. Menoy
58
Jess, this is the last time we are going to see each other. I can't help
it, but we really have to close shop temporarily. Perhaps, if I am to reopen
my business, I would rehire you. You are an asset to this company, I know
that," said the big boss of the now-defunct Intergraph, Inc.
These are the words I last heard from her. They were uttered about a
year 50, December 28, 1991, more than two years after we first met each
other.
I remember the first time I saw her I knew we would have a good
working relationship. I felt I would stay long in the advertising agency that
she owned managed. I felt too I found home in her company. I was not
mistaken because she treated us all, her employees, not as mere salaried
workers, but as members of her newly-found family.
When I had my preliminary interview with her, I thought I would
have another mom in her, a second mother, which she proved to be sooner
than later. She talks a lot, but with sense. She chooses the words that she
uses. She exhibits tact in speech, but she can be brutally frank at times.
Straightforward that she is, she sees to it that the words coming from her
mouth are just enough to make her point, no more, no less. Perhaps it is
her training in the University of the Philippines (UP) that made her so. She
graduated from UP in 1976 with the degree of Bachelor of Science in Mass
Communications. Her major, broadcasting, may be a factor in her
acquisition of the skills as a good conversationalist.
She talked and talked on that one day in November 1989, I can't
recall the exact date. The interview turned out to be a monologue. It lasted
for about an hour or so, it seemed there was no stopping her. She
mentioned everything about herself and her company, my duties as a
copywriter included. Her candor, coupled by her persuasive power, made
me decide, "This is it!" I readily accepted her offer, despite better offers I
had from other companies. I did it, thinking that my employment with her
firm would provide me a good break in the field of advertising and a first
crack at professional writing.
I accepted her offer for another reason: I would be able to pursue my

undergraduate studies at the Lyceum of the Philippines. Then, I was a
graduating student taking journalism. She told me all the more than ten of
the employees, but two -the art director and the executive secretary-were
working students. True enough, she permitted her employees to go to
school even if it was still office hours. In fact, we were required to report
for work from nine to six, but we did not observe office hours. She
condoned our coming late for work and leaving early for home. She was
considerate to the point that some of us abused her and ignored her
authority.
59
Not only is she exceedingly considerate, she is also generous to
excess. She can give everything she has if the situation calls for it. She
treated us to lunch and merienda every now and then. She made it a point
that we received something from her during birthdays and special
occasions as Christmas. She failed not in giving alms to beggars who
regularly passed by our office. She even gave her used clothes (still new
ones) to our secretary who was of her size. I sometimes received some gift
items from her even if it was not my birthday. Had she much money, she
would have distributed it to the destitute and the needy.
But much money she did not have, so she just put up a small
advertising agency employing more than ten employees, including herself.
Serving as the major capitalist of the family-owned corporation, she
practically provided the biggest share, if not majority, of the capital
investment in the business that did not at all succeed or in any way had the
potential to succeed. Coming from a family who managed to live
luxuriously, she lacked managerial acumen. One of the causes of the failure
of the advertising firm is her mismanagement. She mishandled the
company's finances, maybe because she lacked accounting background and
financial knowhow, or simply because there were not enough funds to
manage. We were wanting in facilities that we had to buy out some of the
services rendered by other ad agencies such as typesetting, photography,
and printing. She administered the personnel ineffectively; she let them do
things inconsistent with the company's objectives.
Because she failed in the management aspect, the company suffered

one loss after another. The losses were aggravated by the economic crises
that hit the country in a string the last group d'etat, the Baguio City
earthquake, the Mt. Pinatubo eruption, and the Gulf War. They plunged the
company further.
In spite of the downtrend in the company's revenue, she was

steadfast. Somehow affected by this sorry state, she would not let sad and
dismal experiences bring her down. She looked for ways to keep the
company going. She constantly asked money from her husband, a
stockholder of an electrical company, to expend for our salaries. She loaned
from friends and relatives with or without collateral, mortgaged some of
her properties, and even pawned her jewelry so as to keep the company
alive. It is this resourcefulness in her that I admire most. And it is this
quality that was responsible for making the company last for more than
four years.
With her company losing and her properties either pawned or

mortgaged, she remained strong. No amount of persuasion could make her
decide to close shop. She was hopeful that events would turn out right,
turn the other way around. Several times she discussed with us the
60
progress (retrogression, to be exact) of the company and she would cry in
front of us every time she announced someone should be laid off. With
tears falling down her eyes, she still displayed strength, an inner strength
that gave her a steady mind and a sense of direction amidst trials and
tribulations. That direction is straight toward the achievement of a
successful company.
One by one, the employees left. They left not because she was not
good to us. On the contrary, she was understanding to us and patient with
our misgivings. She is too good to be true. I was not spared. I also left, but I
did not will it. I left because the company was already bankrupt. I left
because I had to; I had no other alternative but to go.
One month before my second anniversary in the company, she called

on me for a short talk. I knew what we would discuss-my resignation.
The moment we came face to face, she initiated the conversation.

Without using any moment, she uttered, "Jess, the company cannot afford
to pay you anymore. It has so many obligations to settle. And I don't think
we can go on this way. You better look for a new job beginning today.”
“Yes Ma’am,” I answered with a smile, but with grief in my heart,

thinking that I would soon be leaving my second home and the new family
that I had learned to love. No longer would I see my mother’s shadow, I
though with unexplained pain inside.
I considered my boss my mother’s shadow not because she

mothered us in the office, but because her personality is a reflection of my
mother’s. Her candor, honesty, open-mindedness, understanding nature,
generosity, steadfastness, resourcefulness, and most especially her
strength within remind me of my mother, She resembles in my mother in
more ways than one, save for her physical traits. Physically, she is brown-
complexioned, my mother is fair, and she is shorter than my mother, but
looks more sophisticated than the latter (what with their age difference).
She is given to fine, expensive clothes with matching accessories, which
make up for her not-so-lovely face. She dresses well, moves gracefully, talks
sensibly, and acts tactfully, that her employees and others who know her
personally would tag her a smart person. People who don’t know her would
suspect she has not borne two girls. She keeps herself physically fit and will
do anything to maintain her whistle-bait figure. She also has sexy legs.
More than that, she possesses charisma and that makes her appealing not
only to the opposite sex, but also to the same sex.
Although she looks different from my mom, I still regard her my

mother’s shadow because while they both have sex appeal, they exude
similar personality-a pleasing one. In short, they are two beautiful persons
61
I’ve ever known, beautiful persons who have formed part of my life and will
be part of me ‘till eternity.
A JOURNEY WITH THE LORD

by Jesus Z. Menoy
Ticket to Heaven-Passport to Afterlife

by Jaime Cardinal Sin
Price of ticket: first class, love and crosses; second class, desire and combat;
third class, fear and penance.
Note: Al sacraments are free to all. All passengers are bound by the
Ten Commandments.
Important Reminders:
1. There are no Return Tickets and no Excursion Tickets.

2. Children who have not attained the use of reason do not pay anything,
provided they are held on the lap of their Mother, the Church.
3. Travelers are advised to bring no other luggage but good works.
4. Travelers can take passage on any part of the road.
5. Passengers will please take note in what class they are traveling, so that
they may enjoy their particular privileges and observe their special
obligations.
6. Departure: Conveyances leave at all hours.
7. Arrival: Conveyances arrive at all hours.
8. Fare well and make sure you arrive Home Safely in Heaven.
A score or more years ago, I chanced upon the above short message
of former Archbishop of Manila, Jaime Cardinal Sin. This piece, together
with "Desiderata" and "Footprints in the Sand," has guided me in my life's
journey through the years.
Life is a journey and we are all travelers. Much like the travelers
bound to a certain destination, we are headed toward a certain end, that is,
death. But death is not the ultimate end for it is just the beginning of
another life, and that is the afterlife. The afterlife is the ultimate end.
Our life on earth is a sojourn, a short journey. We do not know when

our mortal bodies will cease to exist, when our time to die will come, for
death comes like a thief in the night. So it pays to be ready, to be prepared.
It is good to be in the state of grace at all times.
Our preparation on earth consists of doing God's will, of following His

commandments and those of the Church, of leading a life of virtues
62
(humility; love, temperance, fortitude, piety, etc.), of avoiding the
commission of cardinal sins (pride, hatred, envy/covetousness,
avarice/anger, lust, gluttony, and sloth and of performing corporal and
spiritual works of mercy.
As we tread the path to righteousness, we let God be our guide for

He is the Light. We journey with Him for He is the Way. Thus, we won't lose
our way. We won't go astray. He won't forsake us. And when we encounter
obstacles like a storm along our course, let us be reminded of these lines:
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you, you'd walk with me
all the way. But I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in
my life, there is only one set of footprints. I don't understand why when I
needed you most, you would leave me."
The Lord replied, "My son, my precious child, I love you and I would
never leave you. During your times of trial and suffering, when you see only
one set of footprints, it was then that I carried you."
Surely, our faith in God will be tested. There are many temptations
around and, weak that we are, we fall into sin. Sad to say, there are many
false prophets that when we are downcast, we lose faith in Him and turn to
them for consolation.
However, if we firmly believe in Him, no amount of distress, no trying

experiences can make us, just like the patient Job, turn away from Him. We
will always walk with faith in our hearts because we know pretty well that
this virtue will lead us to our intended final destination, the much-sought
nirvana, an everlasting life of bliss and happiness in heaven. "For
whosoever believes Him shall not perish, but shall have eternal life."
However, faith alone won't save us. We must also manifest love since
He commanded us, "Love God above all things and your neighbors as
yourselves Faith, therefore, must be coupled with love. And we profess this
love by doing good deeds to our neighbors. "For whatever we do to the
least of our brethren, we do it to the King of all men."
A life of faith and love is the best preparation we can do on earth.

Eventually, it will serve as our ticket to heaven, our passport to afterlife.
Indeed, we will never regret having a trip with the Lord.
IN THE NAME OF THE FATHERS...
The whole nation has been totally struck with the news regarding
sexual acts, pedophilia committed by several priests in the United States.
This report created a large scandal which resulted to various accusations
63
not only to the world of priesthood but the whole Catholic Church as well.
This issue, at the same time, opened the delicate and tranquil world of
priesthood in our country.
An epitome of holiness and have been viewed and respected by us

because of the Christ-like ideals and virtues...these are how we or all of us
see a priest in our country. Somebody whom we give utmost respect and
trust but probably, Judases are still present today among the priests since
despite of all the human efforts and even supernatural means to prepare
them to be worthy priests, evil still lurks in them.
This issue gave rise to different questions which I am sure would

require different answers from different people. Why do these priests
gamble with evil and do these acts? Why are some hiding the fact well on
the other hand there are priests who managed to come out and be proud
of it?
I remember a news wherein a certain priest even baptized his second

son proudly in front of people and media men. This is of course a case
wherein the priest admitted what he has done. An establishment which
tries to protect the wives and children of priests, this is a case of denying or
forgetting the sin he has committed. I don't know but more than any other
vocation in life, the priestly vocation is tested, scrutinized, and stamped as
a sign of approval from the church and aside from these, before he is
ordained deacon, the candidate for priesthood vows for a life-long celibacy
and commitment with god. So, I don't see any reason or point at all why
these priests should engage themselves on sexual acts, when from the time
they decided to get into this vocation, they're very much aware that a
priest never engages in any act of sex, marriage and family making. Betrayal
is the best reason I could think of, betrayal to God, to the vow made and to
men. Some priests would reason out that they're merely "humans" too.
And so they want to imply that they are given the right to turn their back
from God, created a chaos in the church and make a disgrace in the holy
name of the Lord?
Due to this, the Catholic Church Bishops' Association of the

Philippines already expressed their sentiments and even apologized for
these issues. Aside from this, Pope John Paul II summoned all priests,
cardinals, bishops to discuss the issue of malicious sex scandals all over the
world.
The only solution I could think of is to call for our respected priests
and tell them never to fail us because especially now that our country is
experiencing tremendous problems on poverty, peace and order and other
crimes, we need them to guide us and pray for us. How could they do that
64
if the priests themselves are the roots of such sins? We all need to do this
by all means, even just for the sake of the Father's name.
2007 BB. PILIPINAS-INTERNATIONAL NADIA LEE CIEN SHAMI:

A CCP BEAUTY, A PHILIPPINE PRIDE
by Jesus Z. Menoy
A pretty face, a height of 5’9", a whistle-bait figure, and a royal

bearing are attributes which make 2007 Bb. Pilipinas-International title
holder, Nadia Lee Cien Shami, a stunning beauty. However, it was her
confidence and wit that made her win the title.
The 19-year-old Nadia admitted in an interview with The Central

Crimson staff, "I was able to exude confidence in each round such as in the
production number and in the swimsuit and evening gown segments.
Moreover, I think I touched the judges' hearts with my answer during the Q
and A portion. They thought I possessed what it takes to be the country's
representative for the Miss International pageant.”
A native of Midsayap, Cotabato City, she is a daughter of Engr. Amjad

Shami and Dr. Genevieve de la Cruz, an optometrist. She had her
elementary and secondary education at Seventh Day Adventist Academy, a
Christian school in North Cotabato. She is now enrolled in the BSIT program
as a sophomore.
Desirous of finishing her present course and pursuing another one

(law), she is now focusing on her studies although, she confessed, "Up to
now, we still have activities and commitments which, at times, conflict with
my studies.
Besides becoming a politician in her province, serving as a staff

member the News and Public Affairs Department in a television network is
her dream.
Nadia joined the Bb. Pilipinas last year without expecting that she
would represent the country in the Miss International tilt.
“I was overwhelmed when I was chosen as a candidate for Bb.
Pilipinas because the selection process was rigid. First, we had to undergo
the pre-screening and when we passed it, we had to go through the final
screening, which took at least eight hours of deliberation to determine the
30 aspirants who would make up the batch of candidates. There were
more- than a hundred aspirants," she recalled. "The pageant was not that
easy. It was really tough! Our batch had a lot of pretty candidates who, I
think, were all deserving to win."
65
When asked about her memorable experiences in joining the
pageant, she replied, "Being our country's representative in the Miss
International pageant put up a lot of pressure on me, especially since we
had won in 2005. However, carrying our country's name was amazing!
Being called Miss Philippines aside from your name was wonderful!”
Nadia considered winning a big number of friends as one of the

benefits she derived from joining the two pageants. She is happy because
they still communicate with her until now. Other advantages are popularity,
the opportunity to help through charity work, and the privilege to travel to
different countries to represent the Philippines. Additionally, the positive
changes in her are another benefit. "There were changes in the way I talk,
walk, and look. But the way I respond to people and the way I deal with
them did not change because I believe that these pageants should not
affect my attitude."
In fact, Nadia stays humble despite her winning the much-coveted

title She praised the 2007 Miss International winner, Miss Mexico Priscila
Perales, saying "Priscila is beautiful. Most of the time she was quiet so
when she won the title in Tokyo, Japan on October 15, 2007, we were
surprised, but we believed that she deserved it."
She advised those who aspire to join beauty contests, "If you really
want to join and you think you have what it takes, then go for it"
Nadia may not have won the international title, but CCP is justly
proud of her.
Focus Questions

Critique of J.K. Rowling’s Speech during Harvard University’s
Commencement Exercises (By: Zyra Samonte)
a. What is the perspective of the critic toward Rowling's speech?

b. Why did the critic consider the speech good and inspiring?
c. How will you rate the critique? Why?
MY MOTHER'S SHADOW (By: Jesus Z. Menoy)
a. What are the similarities between the subject and the author’s mother?
b. Why did the company close shop?
c. How did the author face the situation?
66
A JOURNEY WITH THE LORD (By: Jesus Z. Menoy)
a. What guides the author in his journey with the Lord?

b. Why was the article given such title?
c. How are we saved?
a. What is the attitude of the author toward priests? Why?

b. Why was the article given such title?
C. How do you regard priests nowadays?

A CCP BEAUTY, A PHILIPPINE PRIDE (By: Jesus Z. Menoy)
a. What is Nadia's message to future beauty contest aspirants?

b. Why is Nadia considered a Philippine pride?
D. How does joining beauty pageants benefit the aspirants?
Related Readings
o https://thewritingplace.wordpress.com/2009/09/28/guidelines-for-
nonfiction-critiques/
o http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/rwc/handouts/the-writing-process-
1/invention/Writing-a-Critique
o https://www.artfuleditor.com/sample-critique
WRITING EXERCISE:
Write your own creative nonfiction story as your final output in this
course. You can choose a topic mentioned below. For your composition it
must contain of five paragraphs or more. Further instruction will announce
in course chat box.
Critique of J.K. Rowling’s Speech during Harvard University’s
67
Commencement Exercises (By: Zyra Samonte)
1. Write a critique of another speech (e.g., that of a president).
MY MOTHER'S SHADOW (By: Jesus Z. Menoy)

1. Write a short description of your relative or friend whose
features resemble those of your family member.
A JOURNEY WITH THE LORD (By: Jesus Z. Menoy)

1. Write a narrative account of the life of a saint (for example,
Lorenzo Ruiz).

1. Write an argumentative essay about the priestly vocation.

A CCP BEAUTY, A PHILIPPINE PRIDE (By: Jesus Z. Menoy)
1. Write a description of a contestant in a local or international
competition and his/her ways in winning the title.
References
UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY GENRES

Augusto Antonio A. Aguila, Ph.D., Raalph Semino Galan, M.A., John Jack G.
Wigley, Ph.D., “Telling the Truth, Thr Art of Creative Nonfiction for Senior
High School” C&E Publishing, Inc., 2017, pp. 1-167.
Jesus Z. Menoy, Ph.D., “Creative Nonfiction”., Books atbp. Publishing Corp.,
2017, pp. 1-165.
Websites:
 https://literarydevices.net/sound-devices/
 http://phillitusls.blogspot.com/2013/04/tungkung-langit-and-
alunsina-as-adapted.html
 https://www.fantasticfiction.com/s/josef-skvorecky/headed-for-
blues.htm
 www.superglossary.com/Glossary/entertainment/Literature/symboli
c_Character.html
68
 http://www.poetrymagnumopus.com/topic/1474-the-three-poetry-
groups-lyrical-narrative-dramatic/
 https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/mocking/summary/
 https://examples.yourdictionary.com/reference/examples/narrative-
poem-examples.html
 https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-free-verse-
poems.html
 https://penandthepad.com/differences-between-monologue-
soliloquy-8353295.html
 https://www.dramaticpublishing.com/to-kill-a-mockingbird-t91
 https://santitafarella.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/irony-in-a-good-
poem-christina-rosettis-dirge/
 https://examples.yourdictionary.com/reference/examples/plot-of-a-
story-examples.html
 https://www.fcusd.org/cms/lib/CA01001934/Centricity/Domain/376
2/Writing%20Creative%20Non%20Fiction.pdf
 https://twp.duke.edu/sites/twp.duke.edu/files/file-
attachments/creative-nonfiction-1.original.pdf
 https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/view/33707306/creative-
non-fiction-power-point-introductionpdf
 https://libguides.westsoundacademy.org/ee/informal-formal-essays
 https://owlcation.com/humanities/How-to-Write-a-Reflective-Essay-
with-Sample-Essays
 https://journalism.nyu.edu/graduate/programs/literary-reportage/
 https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/subject_specific_writing/creative_writin
g/creative_nonfiction/sub_genres_of_creative_nonfiction.html
 https://www.foodbloggersofcanada.com/narrative-know-how-using-
creative-non-fiction-in-your-blog-posts/
 https://shane176.wordpress.com/2017/11/02/review-paper/
 https://www.thoughtco.com/travel-writing-1692564
 https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2011/sep/23/travel-writing-
tips-expert-advice
 https://davehood59.wordpress.com/2010/02/17/writing-creative-
nonfiction/
 http://psychology.iresearchnet.com/social-psychology/social-
psychology-research-methods/autobiographical-narratives/
 https://tetw.org/Memoir
 https://www.iwriteessays.com/essays/how-to-write-a-biographical-
narrative
 https://www.essayclip.com/guides/sample-biography-essay
 https://www.aresearchguide.com/write-a-character-sketch.html
 http://www.emilyjenkins.com/biographical-essay
 https://www.bartleby.com/189/202.html
 https://mi01000971.schoolwires.net/cms/lib05/MI01000971/Centrici
ty/Domain/299/character%20sketch.pdf
69
 https://202.journalism.wisc.edu/interview-story/
70

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What are the main types of literary genres described in the text?

What are the main types of literary genres described in the text?

What are some of the key terms defined in the text?

What are some of the key terms defined in the text?

LET’S BEGIN!

UNIT 1 - INTRODUCTION TO LITERARY GENRES

 Poetry – a type of literature based on the interplay of words and

 Drama – is a mode of fictional representation through dialogue and

 Fiction – the word fiction has been derived from Latin word “fictus,”

 Nonfiction – refers to literature based in fact. It is the broadest category

UNDERSTANDING CONVENTIONS OF TRADITIONAL GENRE IN FICTION,

EXPLAINING KEY CONCEPTS:

 Genre means a type of art, literature, or music characterized by a

 Types & Characteristics of Genres: Fiction

Elements of Fiction and Drama

COMPARISON AND CONTRAST OF THE CONVENTIONS AND DEVICES

The Three Poetry Groups

CHRISTINA ROSSETTI, "A DIRGE"

British poet Christina Rossetti (1830–1894) composed "A Dirge" in

"Why were you born when the snow was falling?

ELIZABETH ALEXANDER, "PRAISE SONG FOR THE DAY"

"Say it plain: that many have died for this day.

THE ILIAD BY HOMER

Sing, Goddess, Achilles' rage,

The Iliad is one of the most quintessential examples of an epic narrative

BALLAD OF THE HARP WEAVER BY EDNA ST. VINCENT MILLAY

DRAMATIC VERSE speaks through a character. Although it too, got its

Speech: “TO BE, OR NOT TO BE, THAT IS THE QUESTION”

To be, or not to be, that is the question:

The insolence of office, and the spurns

UNDERSTANDING THE ELEMENTS AND CONVENTIONS OF POETRY:

FOR YOU TO DO: To hone your understanding, answer the following

Answer the following.

Learning / Assessment Activities

Answer the following questions.

 List down their respective characteristics below.

ELEMENTS OF THE DIFFERENT GENRES

There are five types of genres in literature, which include:

O my Luve is like a red, red rose

So fair art thou, my bonnie lass,

Till a’ the seas gang dry, my dear,

And fare thee weel, my only luve!

Example of a Poetry Verse vs. the Prose Form

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

Following is the same sentiment written in prose form:

The above paragraph is conveying a similar message, but it is conveyed in

1. A line with one syllable is described as monosyllabic;

1. a line with one foot, monometer;

o Rhythm is the regular succession of accented and unaccented syllables

1. Lamb, a foot with an unstressed syllable followed a stressed syllable;

o Rhyme is the presence of words that have similar or identical final

THE OMNIVORE’S DILEMMA READER’S GUIDE

In The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Pollan guides the reader through an

ABOUT MICHAEL POLLAN

FOR YOU TO DO: To hone your understanding, answer the following

Answer the following questions.

1. What are the elements of poetry? Discuss.

Learning / Assessment Activities

a. Clear use of imagery and figurative language.

UNIT 2 - PRINCIPLES, ELEMENTS, TECHNIQUES, AND DEVICES OF