Which types of writing are included in nonfictional prose?

Nonfictional prose is a vast and varied category of literature primarily based on fact, though it may incorporate fictional elements. It encompasses works intended to instruct, persuade, convert, or convey experience and reality.1

Because this genre is so expansive, it includes a wide array of forms, such as:

• Essays and journalistic articles12
• Biographical and autobiographical literature, including confessions2
• Historical narratives and travel books23
• Religious, philosophical, and moral writings2
• Political and polemical works2
• Personal writings, such as letters and private diaries23
• Critical works, including literary criticism, prefaces, and reflections12
• Aphorisms and imaginary dialogues2

These writings often utilize descriptive, narrative, expository, or argumentative modes. While nonfictional prose is grounded in reality, it frequently employs imagination through decorative details, wit, humor, and artistic digressions to engage the reader. Unlike highly scientific or technical texts, nonfictional prose literature is characterized by an aesthetic concern for the writing itself.431