Literary Genres

A written account of an individual's life written by that individual himself.

• fiction
• autobiography
• essay
• biography

A written account of an individual's life written by someone else.

• essay
• biography
• autobiography
• tall tale

A written account of an individual's life written by someone else.

• essay
• biography
• autobiography
• tall tale

A brief story or poem, usually containing animal characters; teaches a moral or a life lesson.

• fable
• legend
• tall tale
• myth

Fiction that is based on true events in time. 

• realistic fiction
• historical fiction
• science fiction
• non-fiction

Fiction that is based on very believable events which could have really happened.

• novel
• short story
• science fiction
• realistic fiction

Any story that is composed orally and then passed on by word of mouth; literature handed down from one generation to the next; may deal with heroes, magic or adventure.

• short stories
• fables
• folk literature
• mythology

Widely-told stories about the past that may or may not be factual; every culture has its own variations with familiar characters such as Daniel Boone, Johnny Appleseed and Davey Crockett.

• essays
• novels
• legends
• short stories

Literary works that are based on true information; not made up.

• fables
• myths
• fiction
• non-fiction

"Genre" means:

• category
• story
• author