What is Non-Fiction?

Language and Structure in Non-Fiction

In this course, Dr Guyanne Wilson (University College London) explores language and structure in non-fiction texts. In the first module, we introduce different types of non-fiction texts, such as news articles, editorials and even recipes and road signs. In the second module, we discuss common language and structural features in non-fiction texts. In the third module, we compare the language and structure used in two news reports from The Guardian (19th century and 21st century). In the fourth mini-lecture, we compare the language and structure used in two examples of scientific writing (19th century and 21st century). In the fifth module, we discuss the evolution of travel writing by comparing the language and structure used in two examples (19th century and 21st century). In the sixth module, we summarise and compare the key language and structural features of the texts discussed in this course.

What is Non-Fiction?

In this module, we explore types of non-fictions texts, focusing in particular on: (i) everyday non-fiction texts such as newspaper articles, menus, recipes, instructions, prescriptions, shopping lists and road signs; (ii) the differences between fiction and non-fiction texts; (iii) the structure of everyday non-fiction texts; (iv) longer non-fiction text types found in the news, such as news reports, obituaries, reviews, commentaries/editorials, self-help and health columns; and (v) other types of non-fiction that are sometimes referred to as literary non-fiction, including biographies and autobiographies, travel writing, medical and scientific writing, and essays.