| A | B |
|---|
| Fiction | stories with imaginary characters and events |
| Realistic Fiction | stories with characters who take part in activities that could really happen |
| Historical Fiction | stories set in the past with characters who take part in actual historical events |
| Science Fiction | stories involving actual or future scientific phenomena |
| Fantasy | stories set in make-believe worlds, often with non-human characters |
| Mystery | stories with characters who try to solve a crime or unexplained event |
| Nonfiction | true stories of actual events or characters |
| Biography | a person's life story written by another person |
| Autobiography | A person's life story written by himself or herself |
| Reference | information sources such as encyclopedias, yearbooks, directories, and atlases |
| Epic poem | A long narrative poem on a serious subject involving a hero capable of superhuman deeds. The hero represents the values of a nation or race. The Odyssey by Homer is an example. |
| Newspaper | a daily or weekly publication of current events |
| Poetry | words arranged in metrical pattern, often using rhymed verse in an imaginative style |
| Play/Drama | a story for stage performance by actors |
| Folk Tale | an anonymous, timeless, and placeless story that was originally told rather than written. It includes legends, fairy tales, fables, and myths |
| Legend | a greatly exaggerated folk tale about a human being which is often believed to be based on actual history. Example: Paul Bunyan |
| Fable | A very short folk tale that illustrates a moral. Animals are often used to illustrate certain human characteristics. |
| myth | Traditional, often ancient story, that explains the way the world is and usually deals with supernatural beings, ancestors or heroes. |
| Fourteeen line poem that can have serveral possible rhyme schemes | Petrachan/Shakespearean |
| essay | short work of non-fiction that deals with a single subject. It can be descriptive, persuasive, informative, narrative or any combination of these |
