Genre The study of genre is not an exact science. Some texts may belong in more than one genre. For example: Romeo and Juliet is is a drama, a tragedy, and an Elizabethan play. The idea of genre is open to discussion and there is good reason to discuss genre. Understanding genre will help you know what to expect from a text based on its genre; it will also help you notice when an author is playing with your expectations . Wouldnt you li!e to be in on the "o!e# First, you must learn some basics: Main Genres and Subgenres Some consider these to be the main genres of writing: fiction nonfiction poetry poetr y drama and folklore. E$ery piece of %riting can fall into one of these categories. !ach main genre has a group of subgenres. Each subgenre has as set of characteristics that you must learn in order to identify them. This list does not contain all of the possible subgenres, but it should gi$e you a pretty thorough o$er$ie%.
&. "iction: stories that come from the authors imagination. #istorical "iction : based on a person or e$ent from history. Science "iction : dealing %ith aliens, the distant future, or ad$anced technology. "antasy: containing monsters, magic, or other supernatural elements. $ealistic "iction : a story that could ha$e happened, but didnt. '. %onfiction: %riting that is true or factual. &nformational 'riting : pro$ides information on a topic. (ersuasi)e 'riting : attempts to influence the reader. *utobiography: the story of ones life told by oneself. +iography: the story of ones life told by another. (. ,rama: %riting that is meant to be acted on a stage )a play*. -omedy: has a happy ending. Tragedy: ends in death and sadness. +. (oetry: %riting that is concerned %ith the beauty of language . "olklore: stories handed do%n through speech from generation to generation. "airy Tale : a story %ith magic, monsters, and-or tal!ing animals )li!e fiction - fantasy, but part of the oral tradition*. "able: a $ery short story that has a moral or life lesson usually has tal!ing animals as main characters. Myth: has gods or goddesses and often accounts for ho% something came to be. egend: an exaggerated story about something that may ha$e been real at one time. Tall Tale : stories set in the Wild West the main characters strengths, s!ills, or size ha$e been exaggerated and the tone is funny.
W/01S2EET 3o. ' 3ame: 444444444444444444444444444444444 Genre and Subgenre 'orksheet / ,irections: 5hoose the genre and subgenre in %hich the story most li!ely belongs. Then explain ho% you got your ans%er. "iction: science fiction, historical fiction, and realistic fiction %onfiction: autobiographies, biographies, informational %riting, and essays "olklore: myth, fairytale, legend, tall tale, and fable
&. Journey to the Centre of the Earth by 6ules 7erne The story of a German professor %ho belie$es there are $olcanic tubes going to%ard the center of the Earth. 2e, his nephe% 8xel, and their guide 2ans climb do%n a crater and ha$e many %ild ad$entures, encountering dinosaurs and prehistoric man. They e$entually return to surface again in southern 9taly. Genre: "iction
Subgenre: Science "iction
Explain your ans%er:
This is a madeup story %ith futuristic technology. '. Sleeping Beauty retold by 5harles ;errault 8 beautiful princess pric!s her finger on a se%ing needle, after being cursed by a %ic!ed fairy. The princess falls into a deep sleep. /ne hundred years later, a prince fights his %ay through the enchanted forest and a%a!ens the beautiful sleeping princess %ith a !iss. Genre: "olklore 0 "iction
Subgenre: "airy Tale
Explain your ans%er:
This is a story containing a fairy, a princess, and magic and it is retold by the author, indicating that it is fol!lore.
(. The Reign of Attila the Hun by Ed 0ea$es 8ttila the 2un %as the scourge of both the Eastern and Western 0oman Empires in the ++s life. Genre: %onfiction
Subgenre: +iography
Explain your ans%er:
This text tells the true story of 8ttila the 2un>s life and it is %ritten by someone else.
+. No Way In by ;atty Slate 2igh school student ?arren @an!s is sic! of being a $ie%ed as a nerd. ?arren enlists the help of his older cousin Tyrone to help him learn to dress, %al!, and tal!. With Tyrone>s help, ?arren soon climbs to the pea! of high school popularity, but in his =uest to become someone else, %ill ?arren forget %ho he %as# Find out in this exciting no$el. Genre: "iction
Subgenre: $ealistic "iction
Explain your ans%er:
This is a madeup story that could really happen.
. The Big Book of Science Grades 123 by Aortini School ;ublishing This science boo! for grades and B puts the CfunC in Cfundamental.C Students complete a $ariety of exercises to de$elop their science s!ills using materials that can be found at home. This $ersion contains o$er B' practice acti$ities. Genre: %onfiction
Subgenre: &nformational 'riting
Explain your ans%er:
This text contains factual information about science.
B. The Fox an the !rape" retold by 8esop /ne day a fox came upon a grape orchard and found a bunch of beautiful grapes hanging from a high branch. C@oy those sure %ould be tasty,C he thought to himself. 2e bac!ed up and too! a running start, and "umped. 2e did not get high enough. 2e %ent bac! to his starting spot and tried again. 2e almost got high enough this time, but he still could not reach the grapes. 2e tried again and again, but he "ust couldn>t get high enough to reach the grapes. Finally, he ga$e up. 8s he %al!ed a%ay, he put his nose in the air and said: C9 am sure those grapes are sour any%ay.C 9t is easy to hate %hat you cannot ha$e.
Genre: "olklore
Subgenre: "able
Explain your ans%er:
This is a $ery short story %ith a moral and it is retold by someone. D. Bu#p in the Night by 6ohn Fox Fox tells the story of the fictional 6ohn ;otter, a seasoned nion soldier %ho gets captured by 5onfederate forces during the 8merican 5i$il War. ;otter undergoes some of the most dreadful conditions imaginable %hile detained in a 5onfederate ;/W camp, but he soon ma!es friends %ith a
5onfederate guard %ho helps ;otter sur$i$e as they realize that their differences are not as stri!ing as their similarities. Genre: "iction
Subgenre: #istorical "iction
Explain your ans%er:
This is a fictional story ta!ing place around a ma"or e$ent in history. . $aul Bunyan an the Se%en Woner" of the Worl retold by ;atric! Schuster This text contains a handful of different stories about the %orld>s largest lumber"ac!, ;aul @unyan, %ho is so big that he %rings out a handful of maple trees to ma!e syrup for his giant %affles. 2e is so big that he made the Great a!es %hen he couldn>t find his spittoon. 0ead about ho% he met his giant blue ox, @abe, and ho% they became best friends and inseparable companions. 8lso read about ho% he dug the Grand 5anyon by dragging his axe behind himself after a long day of %or!. Genre: "olklore
Subgenre: Tall Tale
Explain your ans%er:
This is a greatly exaggerated story that is intended to be humorous. H. A $rince"" of &ar" by Edgar 0ice @urroughs When 6ohn 5arter finds gold in 8rizona, he ma!es enemies %ith some 8pache %arriors. While attempting to escape from these %arriors, 5arter hides in one of their sacred ca$es and is mysteriously transported to Aars. 2e finds that he has great strength and superhuman agility in this ne% en$ironment as a result of its lesser gra$ity. 2e soon falls in %ith a nomadic tribe of Green Aartians and than!s to his strength, speed, and fighting s!ills, 5arter rises to a high position in the tribe. When the Green Aartians capture ?e"ah Thoris, princess of the humanoid 0ed Aartians, 5arter can>t help but to be ta!en %ith her beauty. 2e %ill ha$e to ma!e some tough decisions in the exciting no$el. Genre: "iction
Subgenre: Science "iction
Explain your ans%er:
This is a madeup story that ta!es place in outer space.
&<. The Reaing Ti#e" published by the Aortini Group This periodical contains strategies for teachers and students about ho% to impro$e reading comprehension s!ills. Genre: %onfiction
Subgenre: &nformational 'riting
Explain your ans%er:
This text pro$ides readers %ith information about becoming better at reading.
&&. The Sil%er Cro"" by Ste$e Star! This no$el tells the story of a fictional 8merican teenager named 2enry 5ross. 8gainst his mother>s %ishes, 5ross enlists in the fight against the Germans in World War 99. 8t first he is frightened and ineffecti$e in battle, but after ma!ing friends %ith an elite sniper, 5ross learns to o$ercome his fear in battle and become a better solider. Soon 5ross is a %ar machine, but sometimes soldiers ha$e to ma!e difficult decisions concerning the li$es of others. Will 5ross ma!e the right decision %hen he runs into "ust such a situation# 9s there a right choice for 5ross to ma!e# Genre: "iction
Subgenre: #istorical "iction
Explain your ans%er:
This is a madeup story based around an important e$ent in history.
&'. *frican -reation Story by un!no%n 8ccording to this @a!uba account of the %orld>s creation, the Earth %as once "ust dar!ness and %ater and it %as ruled by the giant Abombo. /ne dayAbombo felt some sharp pains in his stomach, %hich caused him to $omit the sun, moon, and stars. The sun>s rays e$aporated the %ater co$ering the Earth, %hich created clouds, and soon the dry hills emerged from the %ater. Still feeling some pains in his stomach, Abombo $omited again, this time expelling the %orld>s first man and %oman, all of the animals, the trees, falling stars, the firmament, and lighting. Genre: "olklore
Subgenre: Myth
Explain your ans%er:
This is part of the oral tradition, has a god in it, and accounts for the creation of something.
&(. Shooting for the &oon by ance egstrong ance tells the true story of his o%n ad$enture into outer space. egstrong %as once an underachie$er %ith a troubled past, until one day a teacher influences him positi$ely. ance describes ho% he %or!ed hard from that point on until getting accepted into an experimental 38S8 space program and going to the moon. ance shares %ith readers the many life lessons he has learned in this exciting text. Genre: %onfiction
Subgenre: *utobiography
Explain your ans%er:
This is the story of ance egstrong>s life and it is %ritten by himself. &+. The &o"t Exciting &o#ent of &y 'ife by Ar. Aorton Ar. Aorton, in a fi$e paragraph narrati$e, tells the true story of the most exciting moment in his life: %hen he %ent to a reading %or!shop near do%nto%n 5hicago. Genre: %onfiction
Subgenre: !ssay 0 %arrati)e !ssay
Explain your ans%er:
This is a short narrati$e, told from the firstperson perspecti$e, and %ritten about a single e$ent.
&. Sir !a(ain an the !reen )night by un!no%n Sir Ga%ain is 1ing 8rthur>s nephe%, and this is the story of ho% Ga%ain met a challenge from a giant !night dressed in all green armor. The story is $ery serious and is told as though it %as true many people belie$e that 1ing 8rthur %as a real person, but this story is probably not true. 9f it %ere true, it has been greatly exaggerated. Genre: "olklore
Subgenre: egend
Explain your ans%er:
Since 1ing 8rthur may ha$e actually existed, and since the author>s tone is serious, this is a legend. &B. *+S+ Hi"tory by Aortini ;ublishing Group This textboo! tells the history of 8merica, from the 0e$olutionary War to the 9ra= War. Genre: %onfiction
Subgenre: &nformational 'riting
Explain your ans%er:
This text pro$ides factual information about history. &D. The Ri"ing by indsay ogan When Sheila mo$es to a ne% school in 5alifornia, she has some trouble fitting in %ith the other !ids. She cannot afford the expensi$e clothing that the other !ids %ear and she does not ha$e the ne%est cell phone, but she does ha$e a good heart. Will a chance runin %ith a celebrity %hom Sheila admires gi$e Sheila the confidence she needs to adapt to her ne% en$ironment. Genre: "iction
Subgenre: $ealistic "iction
Explain your ans%er:
This is a madeup story that could actually happen.