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WHAT IS TRAVEL WRITING?

Travel writing is writing about visiting different places. It can appear as a newspaper article, informing readers
about a specific destination. It can also be a form of literary non-fiction, written as a book, telling a longer
narrative about a journey or place. This differs from a travel blog because the writing is more detailed and less
informal.

Travel writing:

 is usually written in the first person – using ‘I’

 is often descriptive – telling you about the place
 as literary non-fiction, is aiming to entertain as well as inform

Non-fiction texts
A non-fiction text is based on facts. It is really any text which isn’t fiction (a made-up story or poetry). Non-
fiction texts come in a huge variety of types. You find them everywhere in life, from the back of the cereal
packet at breakfast, to a text book at the library. They can range from a newspaper article to a review of a new
computer game. They are written for many different purposes, and are aimed at many different people or
audiences.

Non-fiction texts include:

 advertisements
 reviews
 letters
 diaries
 newspaper articles
 information leaflets
 magazine articles

Literary non-fiction

Literary non-fiction is a type of writing which uses similar techniques as fiction to create an interesting piece of
writing about real events. These techniques help to create non-fiction which is enjoyable and exciting to read.
Some travel writing, autobiographies, or essays that consider a particular viewpoint are key examples of literary
non-fiction. Their main purpose is to entertain whilst they inform about factual events or information.

Literary non-fiction texts include:

 feature articles
 essays
 travel writing
 accounts of famous events
 autobiographies (where you write about yourself) or biographies (where someone else writes about you) - these
texts may be written by sportspeople, politicians, celebrities or other people who aren’t well-known
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CHECK YOUR UNDERSTANDING

What is a non-fiction text?

A non-fiction text is based on facts. It is really any text which isn’t fiction (a made-up story or poetry). Non-fiction
texts come in a huge variety of types. They are in everything that you purchase to give you facts about what you are
buying.

What is the difference between non-fiction and literary non-fiction?

The difference is that non-fiction is a giant range of facts where literary non-fiction is making the facts more enjoyable
to read.

Which three types of text, from either category, do you think would be the best style for travel writing and why?

Diaries, letters, biography’s, and auto biography’s because they are pure facts. Also these forms of writing are
experienced by a person so the facts are to be reliable.

Research for your own travel writing:

Select a location that you’re very familiar with – eg. Middlesbrough. Find information about the following topics:

Important people:

Billy Day (born 1936) Footballer, Played for Middlesbrough F.C during the 1950s and 60s but was forced to retire
aged 29 when he broke his leg.

Jerry Desmonde (1908–1967) Actor, who starred in The Early Bird with Norman Wisdom.

Activities for families:

History of the town/city:

Important landmarks:
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Fun things to do:

Sports in the town:

Anything else: