The 4 basic types of non-fictional texts
1. Descriptive texts: the author wants to inform in a relatively balanced and neutral way (e.g. Description of a landscape, a place, a person, an object...)
2. Narrative texts: the author wants to inform the reader about a development or a sequence of events; the report (objectively or subjectively) gives answers to the questions who? what? where? when? why? and often presents further details. Reports are often made livelier by fictional elements, e.g. a detailed description of people or the way people are afected by an event, etc. (e.g. travel report, report on a development of a situation...)
3. Expository texts: complicated and difficult facts are presented and explained in a matter-of-fact way; the structure pattern of such texts is called topical order (= a sequence of points follows a statement of the topic at the beginning of the text (e.g. explantory notes, scientific reports, factual texts, descriptions of historical events...)
4. Argumentative texts: the author tries to influence the reader directly; this text type tends to be more critical and appellative, using persuasive arguments (e.g. commentary, criticism, review, essay, sermon, pamphlet, political speech...); these texts mostly deal with controversial topics; reasons are advanced for and/or against the matter and are arranged in a well-planned order
Forms of argumentative texts
Structure
Type 1
Type 2
Type 3
Introduction
Presenting a topic and giving opinions on the
problem