Conventions of Genres

Every genre has its own conventions or devices and structure. Writers and readers
must know the basic knowledge regarding the conventions of a particular genre.
• Nonfiction - is a wide kind of compositions
that incorporates all books that are not
established in an anecdotal account.
:
 List of most common literary devices that
writers incorporate into their nonfiction writing:

• Storytelling/Narration
• Character/Characterization
• Setting, Atmosphere and Scene
• Imagery
• Figurative Language
• Plot and Plot structure
• Angle/Point of view
• Dialogue
• Theme
 Drama

• it exhibits real life situations with realistic

characters, setting and stories. It also portrays
journey of character development with
intense social interaction. It uses dramatic
story line to move the audience emotionally.
 Poetry
• - refer to the structure, which includes stanza, free
verse and sonnet. In addition to the structure of
poetry, other patterns and techniques contribute
to the meaning of poem. For instance, narrative
poetry focuses on telling a story while lyric poetry
emphasizes the emotions and feelings, as well as
sensory reflections and thoughts. And no matter
the type of poetry, the meter emphasizes the
relationship between the stressed and unstressed
syllables.
 Fiction
• Some are self-explanatory and some have a brief explanation.
• Chronological
• Non-Chronological
• Denouement - The resolution to the plot of a piece of work.
• Flashback
• Flash Forward
• Pastiche - A literary piece that imitates another literary work from
another writer.
• Foreshadowing - Hints in a story of what is going to happen to the plot
or a character.
• Allegory - A symbolic narrative in which the surface details (the story)
imply a second meaning.
• Frame Narrative - A literary technique in which a story or set of stories
are included within the framework of a larger story.
• Conflict
• Creative Nonfiction contrasts with other
nonfiction, such as technical writing or journalism,
which is likewise established in exact certainty
however is not essentially written in support of its
specialty.

• Examples: Facts , Extensive Research.

Reportage/reporting, Personal experience and
personal opinion, Explanation/Exposition, and
Essay format.
• Lee Gutkind, who is a writer, a professor ,and
expert on creative nonfiction wrote an essay
called “The 5R’s of Creative Nonfiction” In his
essay, he identified the 5 essential elements of
creative nonfiction, it includes:
 The 5R’s of Creative Nonfiction
• Personal reflection of the writer
• Real-life elements
• Research
• Reading
• Writing
• In literary text, theme is the broader message
of the story
Here are some list of techniques that most
commonly used.
– Narrative Structure
– Distinctive Voice, Style, and Intimate Point of View
– Detail and Description
– Scene and Summary
– Techniques of Fiction
– Poetic Devices-Figurative Language
– Personal Reflection
– Word Choice/ Diction
– Sentence Variety (Length and structure)
– Lyrical Language
• The main elements of creative nonfiction
are setting, descriptive imagery, figurative
language, plot, and character.
• CHARACTERS - The characters are the
individuals that the story is about. The author
should introduce the characters in the story
with enough information that the reader can
visualize each person.
• SETTING - The setting is the location of the
action. An author should describe the
environment or surroundings of the story in
such detail that the reader feels that he or she
can picture the scene.
• PLOT - The plot is the actual story around
which the entire book is based.
• DESCRIPTIVE IMAGERY - Basically, it is the way
the writer paints the scene, or image, in the
mind of the reader. It usually involves
descriptions of one or more of the five senses:
sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste.
• FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE - As a counterpart to
descriptive imagery, figurative language is using
language in a surprising way to describe a literary
moment. Figurative language can take the form of
metaphor, such as saying "the lemon tree was heavy
with innumerable miniature suns. “Figurative language
can also take the form of simile: "Aunt Becky's attitude
was as sour as a lemon." By comparing an abstract
concept (attitude) to an object (lemon), it imparts a
feeling/meaning in a more interesting way.