Module 11: Contemporary Voices

There is an old saying that there are three sides to every story: one person's side, the other person's side, and then the truth. It is human nature when telling a story about your own experience to omit or downplay negative actions on your part and to exaggerate positive actions. However, in this module you will explore the objective side of nonfiction. You will learn what it means to write in an objective point of view, and you will explore the characteristics and elements of several different types of nonfiction writing, including news and feature stories as well as biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Throughout this module, you will also be reading a piece of narrative nonfiction of your choice and learning how these elements and characteristics are incorporated into literature.

Getting Started

What do you already know about objectivity and nonfiction writing styles? Check your understanding in this non-graded activity. Read the types of nonfiction writing and rank them in order from most objective to least objective. Which story do you think provides the most facts with the least amount of bias? Which story or stories do you think might exaggerate the truth? Click on the player button to get started.

 

Key Vocabulary

To view the definitions for these key vocabulary terms, visit the course glossary.

 

autobiography	journalism	news story
biography	literary journalism	objectivity
fact	memoir	opinion
feature story