- What is the purpose of the text?
- What kind of text is this? Is this appropriate for the writer’s purpose?
- What structure does the text broadly follow?
- How is the text laid out/organized?
- Is the overall structural organization appropriate to the text type?
- In your opinion, are any sections that might improve the text missing?
- Does the "flow" or progression of ideas in this text seem smooth and logical?
- Can you identify any clear instances of transitional or connective elements in the text?
- Is there an appropriate variety of these transtitional/connective elements?
- What other interesting or unusual language features do you see in the text?
- In your opinion, does the text demonstrate a varied vocabulary, or is it too dry and repetitive?
Narrative Nonfiction Writing
- What is the story about? What is the main topic of the text?
- Who is the main character? Who are the other important characters in the story?
- Where does this story take place? How does the place influence the storyline or sequence of events?
- Are there any conflicts/problems in the story?
- How does the conflict progress? Do things get worse or better?
- How does the conflict get resolved?
- What are the most emotionally-charged parts of the story?
- How would you have reacted differently if you were the main character?
- Do you remember any similar series of events you experienced?
- What was the most memorable part of your own experience?
Informational Reports
- What is the main topic of this report?
- Is the overall purpose of the report clear? What would the author like us to do with this information?
- How does the author start and end this report?
- How efficiently did this report convey information to the reader?
- What makes this report interesting/uninteresting?
- What might the author have done differently to convey information more clearly/interestingly?
- What were you surprised to learn about the topic?
- What other topics would this type of informational report be good for describing?
- What makes this type of writing different from narrative writing?
Argumentative Writing
- What is the author's main argument?
- What would the author like us to do, if anything?
- How effective was the argument, from your point of view?
- Do you have any prior beliefs or opinions that might affect how persuasive you perceived the argument to be? What about other readers who are likely to read this piece?
- What would be some other good topics for this type of argumentative writing?
- What were the primary sources to support the author’s argument?
- What makes this type of writing different from an informational report or a narrative?
The table below provides a summary of the features common to a few important nonfiction genres. You may want to consult it as you draft your own writing prompts.
Narrative
Information Report
Argument
Account of a class field trip
Description of local ecosystem
Should personal travel be banned during a pandemic?
To provide personal perceptions or observations of some event the author experienced
To provide vital information about some topic or content area
To persuade others; to put forward a position on an important or controversial topic and support it
- Orientation (i.e., information about who, what, where, when)
- Sequential series of events
- Introduction of problem/conflict, if present
- Resolution
- Personal interpretation of event's significance
- General statement of topic's importance
- Vital background information about topic
- Specific characteristic 1
- Specific characteristic 2
- Specific characteristic 3
- Summative conclusion reiterating topic's
- Introduction: history of debate, summary of a recent development/counterargument, or a provocative statement of purpose
- Personal statement of position
- Argument 1 and supporting points/evidence; argument 2 and supporting points/evidence, etc.
- Conclusion and recommendation
Examples of transtitional/connective elements
Related to passage of time (e.g., one day, once upon a time, later, next, afterward, in the end, etc.)
Subheadings structure information
- Introducing each argument (e.g., first, second, in addition, etc.)
- Introducing the conclusion (e.g., therefore, in conclusion, etc.)
Other language features
- Past tense language to describe what happened
- Dialogue to recount what important figures said
- Generalizations using present tense
- Specialized vocabulary to explain complex systems and ideas related to topic
- Evaluative vocabulary indicating writer’s belief
- Specialized vocabulary to explain complex systems and ideas related to topic, as well as to enforce the author's credibility
Reference
Gibbons, P. & Cummins, J., (2002). Scaffolding language, scaffolding learning: Teaching second language learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.
