8+Understanding+Genres

What is a literary genre or reading genre anyway? It is a type of reading material or a type of literature. All literature is grouped by its genre. There are two main genre types: FICTION and NONFICTION

NONFICTION is based on fact. It includes INFORMATIONAL TEXT, BIOGRAPHIES, and AUTOBIOGRAPHIES. Literature such as this can be written in an INFORMATIONAL format, listing facts, etc. or it can be written in a LITERARY format. If it is written in a LITERARY format, it tells a story. BIOGRAPHIES AND AUTOBIOGRAPHIES are often written in a LITERARY format.

FICTION is created from the imagination of the author. There are many types of FICTION, including: SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, MYSTERY, HISTORICAL FICTION, and REALISTIC FICTION.

POETRY and DRAMA (plays) are a little harder to put into a category. Most plays and poems are FICTION because they come from the imagination of the author. There are some, however, that are based on fact…so they are NONFICTION.

Look at other pages on this wiki to understand more about genres.