Non Fiction Text

When you respond use FLAP

Form - What type of text is it?

Language - What style or tone is being used?

Audience - Who is the text aimed towards?

Purpose - What does the writer want you to think about at the end?

Helps organise your responses

Point - What is the writer trying to say?

Evidence - What is the proof of the point?

Explaination - What does the evidence show?

This refers to the way the text is presented.  For example: letter or leaflet. 

The writer will use a variety of presentational devices. For example the writer may use: pictures or colour.

Depending on which style of writing the text is, the author will use the appropriate type of language.

Style is:

• The way words are used
• the impact of the words used
• sentence structure

The style man be simple. This is done by using basic wors and short sentances. Or it can be desriptive if the writer uses a lot of adverbs and adjectives.

Tone depends on the mood and atmosphere created by the text. For example: a speech is very passionate while a professional article will have an academic tone.

Style and tone both depend on the purpose of the writer and the intended audience  

Who the text is for and what the writer is trying to achieve?

To help you figure it out does the writer use:

• masculine or feminine words (male or female audience)
• descriptions of people and emotions (emotional impact to get sympathy)
• bias or opinion (persuade the reader to change their viewpoint)
• narrative account (engage the reader)
• full words or shortened words (shows its either formal or informal)

Personal Pronouns - Adds personal touch making the reader feel involved

Narrative - When in the 1st person its gives the effect what the writer is sharing experiences

Tone and Mood - Dictates the way the reader should feel

Emotive Language - Makes the reader feel a certain emotion. 

Exaggeration - Adds greater emphasis. 

Repetition - Adds emphasis.

Rhetoric - Makes the reader consider and think about the question being asked

Alliteration - To make a phrase stand out or make it memeroble

Use of three - To add emphasis

Figure of speech - Something which should not be taken seriously

If they ask you to:

• Give reasons from the text (means find the evidence and explain. Give a couple of reasons)
• According to (tells you what the text says and probably wants you to agree. Give reasons on why you agree and back up with evidence)
• Choose examples of language in the text and explain why they are effective (Do PEE)
• How do the pictures show how you are meant to feel (give the effect and your personal feeling)
• How does the writer use language (use PEE)
• Compare the way the text (look at the similarities and differences)

• Font size
• Font colour
• Graphs
• Pictures
• Photos
• Use of colour
• Layout of text and images

Type of text to give you information:

• Text books
• Manuals
• Game instructions
• Wall charts at exhibitions
• Descriptions
• Articles

• Simple grammar
• Numbers or bullet points
• Short paragraphs
• Diagrams or illustrations

The audience you are writing for is a key point to remember. If you write for children or elderly it will have to be simple

Type of text which aim to change your viewpoint:

• Brochures
• Charity work
• Advertisements
• Promotional items

• Adverbs 
• Adjectives
• Emotional language - makes the reader feel a certain way (normally are adverbs or adjectives)
• Negative or positive tone 
• Bias 
• Tone
• Personal pronouns
• Exaggeration
• Exclamatory sentences - exclamation mark to show amazement, horror etc
• Repetition
• Juxtaposition - Placing the negative with the positive

Use need to show you understand why these are used:

• images - analyse the positions. think what are they trying to achieve and what's the impact?
• Illustrations - why have they been included? what is the purpose?
• Image captions - emotive or factual or humorous
• colour - what feeling does the colour create? is a particular colour being used due to a specific meaning?
• Headline - alliteration, pun or humour
• font size - what words do they emphasise
• bold,italic, underlined words - highlight certain words
• catchy phrases - what is the effect?
• Layout - how is it presented? 

• Read the text twice
• When reading it for the second time highlight the presentational features and language features
• for the features write down what the writer might want to achieve
• what impact they create and how?

Facts - Proven statements

Opinions - Personal Views

Opinions can be persuasive. You can spot an opinion when adjectives are being used. They also contain a lot of hyperbole or exaggeration.