Starter quiz
- What word is given to texts that are based in truth and not invented?
- 'non-fiction' ✓
- What is being described here: 'the words, ideas, feelings or concepts we associate with a word or symbol.'?
- connotations ✓
- colloquialisms
- conclusions
- clarifications
-
- What information beginning with 'C' can give you clues about a text, before you start reading?
- 'contextual' ✓
- 'Characterised by, feeling, or showing sympathy; understanding' is the definition of which word beginning with 's'?
- 'sympathetic' ✓
- In a first-person narrative, which pronoun is typically used to refer to the narrator?
- she
- I ✓
- they
- he
- you
-
- 'A usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident' is the definition of which word beginning with 'a'?
- 'anecdote' ✓
Exit quiz
- 'An autobiographical essay that relates a significant personal experience of the essay writer' is the definition of ...
- a personal essay ✓
- an academic essay
- an informative essay
-
- Cara Reedy's 'My life as a little person' falls under which of the following non-fiction genres?
- letter
- personal essay ✓
- speech
- informative article
-
- Which word from Reedy's title 'My life as a little person' indicates that it's a personal essay?
- 'my' ✓
- 'life'
- 'as a'
- 'little person'
-
- 'To evoke or draw out (a reaction, answer, or fact) from someone' is the definition of which word beginning with 'e'?
- 'elicit' ✓
- Throughout her personal essay 'My life as a little person', Reedy uses which technique beginning with 'a'?
- 'anecotes' ✓
- Arguably, in 'My life as a little person', Reedy evokes a stronger emotional reaction in the audience by referencing anecdotes from when she was ...
- a child ✓
- living abroad
- an adult
-
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- In responding to a personal essay, we might ask what it is the writer wants us to understand about their lives.
- Potentially, writers might use anecdotes in personal essays to creates an emotional reaction in the reader.
- Arguably, Reedy's use of anecdotes elicits a sympathetic response from the reader.
- We might analyse anecdotes by considering the writer's use of specific words and methods.
Common misconception
That we can develop a personal response by asking the same questions of every non-fiction text.
While some questions are universal, a non-fiction text such as a personal essay may require us to ask questions about what the writer want us to understand about their lives in order for us to respond to it.
Keywords
Personal essay - an autobiographical essay that relates a significant personal experience of the essay writer
Anecdote - a usually short narrative of an interesting, amusing or biographical incident
Elicit - evoke or draw out (a reaction, answer or fact) from someone
Sympathetic - characterised by, feeling or showing sympathy; understanding
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