Non-fiction texts come in many types, and have many different purposes. They surround us in everyday life but can also come in more sophisticated forms.
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 â using âIâ
is often descriptive â telling you about the place
as literary non-fiction, is aiming to entertain as well as inform
Example
Bill Bryson is a famous travel writer. This extract is the opening paragraph from his book The Lost Continent (1989).
I come from Des Moines. Somebody had to.
When you come from Des Moines you either accept the fact without question and settle down with a local girl named Bobbi and get a job at the Firestone factory and live there forever and ever, or you spend your adolescence moaning at length about what a dump it is and how you can't wait to get out, and then you settle down with a local girl named Bobbi and get a job at the Firestone factory and live there forever and ever.
The Lost Continent, Bill Bryson
Analysis
In this extract:
Bryson uses the first person to talk about where he came from. He also tells us the name of the place clearly at the start.
He uses humour to create interest for the reader.
He plays around with sentence length, sometimes making short âpunchlinesâ.
He creates a long sentence where no matter what path you take, âyou settle down with a local girl named Bobbi.... and live there forever and everâ. This also creates a humorous tone for the reader.