Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
REGION I
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF PANGASINAN II
SAN JACINTO NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
GUIBEL/CAPAOAY, SAN JACINTO, PANGASINAN

CREATIVE
NONFICTION
Self-Learning Module
Module 4
DRAFTING A SHORT
PIECE USING LITERARY
CONVENTIONS
________________________
(Name of Learner)

_____________________________________
(Grade Level & Section)

ANNA LORRAINE T. MAMUYAC, EdD

______________________________________
Subject Teacher
Week 4:
___________________________________
(Week Covered and Date)

I. INTRODUCTION:

Every piece of writing goes through a process or stages. These

steps do not always follow one another in succession. Instead, they are
recursive. Meaning a step can occur again at any point in the process.
For instance, while revising a historically-based short story, a writer
may discover he/she needs to do additional research about the time
period the story is set, which takes the writer back to the prewriting
stage. In this lesson, you are expected to write a draft of a short piece
using the studied literary conventions.

II. LESSONS AND COVERAGE:

Lesson – DRAFTING A SHORT PIECE USING LITERARY
CONVENTIONS
Most Essential Learning Competency: Write a draft of a short piece
using any of the literary conventions of genre following these pointers:
a. Choosing a topic
b. Formulating a thesis statement
c. Organizing and developing ideas
d. Using any literary conventions of a genre
e. Ensuring that theme and technique are effectively developed
Objectives:
In this module, the students are expected to:
• Write a short literary work of your choice (using any writing convention
of
a genre).
II. PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION
DRAFTING A SHORT
PIECE USING LITERARY
LESSON 1 CONVENTIONS
What to KNOW
You have learned in Creative Writing and other
writing subjects about the stages of writing whereas
pre-writing aims to conceptualize and outline things
and concepts to be included in your output. Pre-writing
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can be associated to a draft of a written output. Drafting is the
preliminary stage of a written work in which the author begins to
develop a more cohesive product. A draft document is the product the
writer creates in the initial stages of the writing process. In the drafting
stage, the author develops a more cohesive text and organizes
thoughts.
VOCABULARY LIST
1. Topic is the theme, subject, and matter of any fiction or nonfiction
material.
2. Thesis Statement is the most important expression/communication
of a literary or non-literary work.
3. Literary Conventions of a Genre is a type of writing that uses
literary
styles and techniques to create narratives.
What is Fiction and Creative Nonfiction?
A work of fiction is created in the imagination of its author. The
author invents the story and makes up the characters, the plot or
storyline, the dialogue and sometimes even the setting. A fictional work
does not claim to tell a true story. Instead, it immerses us in
experiences that we may never have in real life, introduces us to types
of people we may never otherwise meet and takes us to places we may
never visit in any other way. Fiction can inspire us, intrigue us, scare us
and engage us in new ideas. It can help us see ourselves and our
world in new and interesting ways. What's more, it's often just plain fun!
Creative nonfiction weaves the marginal boundary of literary art
such as fiction and nonfiction (covering and writing journalism,
statistical, the essay, and many others). Creative nonfiction then is the
emphasis of truthful writing using the character, setting, plot, conflict,
and theme of the literary devices making it creatively challenging. In
writing creative nonfiction, it should include precise and well-
researched information, should stir the interest of the reader to continue
evaluating the storyline, and provides artistry in the storytelling of
truthful events. Types of creative nonfiction include
autobiography/biography, literary journalism or reportage, a blog
may feature travelogue, reflection essays, personal narratives or
memoir, flash essay, and testimonia.

Understanding Various Forms and Types of Creative Nonfiction

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Creative Nonfiction (CN) includes different types of writing such as
food, travel, memoir, personal, reflective essays, and other hybridized
types. It employs the literary techniques to achieve elegance in the
language, character, and make the story heartwarming and nearer to
the readers. It seeks closer to the truth as it continues to provide the
human aspects of triumphs and tragedies. Although creative nonfiction
may look poetic or crafted, it still illustrates creativity in weaving all the
details together. Writing for creative nonfiction makes you uncovered as
you continue to reveal all what you have in life.
Autobiography is a story of a person’s life in a specific moment in
time that is told by the person himself or herself. Thus, it is always told
in the first-person point of view since it is a story reshaped by
reminiscing memories. Autobiography can be subjected to truthfulness
because of misleading or incorrect information provided. Biographies
are written in the third person about someone other than the author. It
may profile subjects both living and dead. There are four shorter types
of autobiography.
(1) Journals are daily written personal accounts, observations,
experiences but not emotional.
(2) Diaries are emotional accounts and personal experiences of the
writer.
(3) Letters are written messages addressed to a particular person,
organization, or institution.
(4) Memoirs are narrower in focus, carrying memories, feelings, and
emotions of the writer.
Literary Journalism or Reportage is a precise, well-researched
report of which a reporter follows a topic, subject, or theme for a long
period of time and then provides a personal angle on it.
Personal Narratives are taken from real life situations where the
writer depicts vividly the event, incident, or experience. It creates a
dramatic effect to the readers by making readers’ laugh, be frightened,
or make them feel at the edge of their seats.
Memoir is a record of facts and events concerning a particular
subject or period usually written from the writer’s personal knowledge,
experience, and observations.
Travelogue embraces the personal accounts of a writer on travel as
he or she evaluates the food, hotels, restaurants, and best sites to visit.
A travelogue can be shown through a magazine, website, television or

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film. It also highlights affordable rates as well as expensive hangouts
for tourists.
Reflection Essay examines a writer’s perspectives in life by
allowing the author to introspect and ponder back if such situation
created an impact on his/her life. It challenges the writer to think
critically by exploring personal thoughts, feelings, and opinions on
specific topic and subject.
Flash Essay also known as flash literature, is brief creative writing,
generally on the order of between 500 and 1500 words. It's also an
umbrella term that encompasses various short format works such as
prose poetry, short essays and other works of creative fiction and
nonfiction. The term flash implies fast, impromptu, and short format.
The term flash prose is generally used in the context of writing
competitions or other public exhibitions of creativity or skill with
language such as weblogs or non-journalistic writing in, for example, a
daily, a journal or another type of periodical.
Blog belongs to social networking service where it portrays an
online discussion among writers as they engage in an informal diary-
method of presenting their stories. Usually the posts are shown in
reverse order so that the recent writings appear first. Many blogs cover
sports, music, art, videos, lifestyle, politics, online diaries, advertising,
photography, cooking and among a multitude of topics. Readers or
followers may also comment and a lively interaction goes on.
Testimonio Essays consist of a person’s written or spoken
statement on a product or experience. It can also be seen as a
historical biography.
You know that testimonials are powerful tools, but which type will
work best for sharing your customers’ success? There are so many
ways to tell a customer’s compelling story – deciding which one works
best will be based on the collateral you have to work with, as well as
the unique way you want to share the success.
Different Types of Testimonials
1. Quote testimonials- perhaps the most beloved and common type,
quote testimonials are direct words from a customer who was satisfied
with the products or services they received.

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2. Peer testimonials-People tend to gravitate toward others who
resemble themselves. This is referred to as implicit egotism, and it’s
why testimonials work peer. Basically, the person giving the testimony
is of similar status to the audience. This type usually includes a visual
in the form of a portrait.
3. Video testimonials- Letting your clients speak their truth in a video
is one of the most authentic opportunities for a testimonial. This is
something that’s very difficult to fake. Plus, this type is visually
stimulating, attention grabbing and can keep potential customers on
your page for a set amount of time.
Video testimonials are one of the most trustworthy forms of
testimonial because it’s difficult to fake one that looks authentic.
4. Interview testimonials- An interview with your client is another
authentic route. It’s almost as if it’s a hidden testimonial – if everything
goes smoothly, nothing will be forced and the interview will speak for
itself. A text interview is an option, but a Q&A via video or audio is more
engaging and credible.
6. Influencer testimonial - Having a celebrity or social media
influencer vouch for your brand is an influencer testimonial, and it
works because these individuals have a trusted name and can help
encourage other people to make decisions, thus leveraging them to
consider your products and services. Although, The Federal Trade
Commission requires all formal, paid influencer marketing campaigns to
be disclosed.
• Drill down on your customer persona. Who are you specifically
trying to reach? Make sure it's crystal clear so you know whom to ask
for testimonials.
• Ask for testimonials from people within your target market.
These people make up the peers of your customer persona (or maybe
they even fit the bill of your customer persona) and will attract more
people like them because of Implicit Egotism.

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• Use customer details. Have the client or customer include personal
details about themselves that will allow the reader of the testimonial to
identify with them.
4 Types of Social Testimonials
• Tweets about your products and services.
• Screenshots of your work posted on Instagram.
• Videos published on YouTube.
• Facebook posts on your page, the client’s page or within a group
backing your business.
The greatest testimonials are the ones you don’t ask for. This is
where social media testimonials come into play. It’s when customers
volunteer to write about their experience with your company via
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or another social media outlet. This type
is ultra-organic and can add another layer of authenticity to your
reputation as a brand, as its social proof of your successes.
What to PROCESS
Content in Writing Creative Nonfiction
Writers can craft stories of their own or of
others as long as they can provide evidence of what
really happened. This is important in case especially if
the work will be considered for publication. In the case
of a personal account, the writer can start from the
beginning to the end of a particular situation or may write random of
events to create suspense at the end of the story.
For stories that are written by another writer, an interview is
necessary. Writers have a keen eye for details and the moments that
have been extracted from memory must be written down immediately.
Conversations and poetry can be included in the storytelling. Creative
nonfiction also depicts showing the plot of the story rather than telling it
through a dramatic, literary context of daily work, making it delightful
and meaningful.
Purpose for Writing Creative Nonfiction
The purpose of good writing is to express your feelings and not
to impress, bring the readers in a world of adventure, and make your
target audience agree with what you are talking about.
In writing your draft, you may consider the following:
1. Identify your topic. In choosing your topic, you need to consider the
possibilities of gathering the contents. Remember that nonfiction deals
with factual information and should be based on reality. Topic shall also
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be interesting with your target audience. Just tell something about your
story in just one to three sentences. You can also make a list of
possible theme, tone and motif of your piece depending on its
applicability.
2. Outline your story/output. Considering the writing format per type
of nonfiction, start creating your outline. The outline will help you
organize you thoughts. You do not need to write the entire paragraphs.
Just write on your outline the topic or concerns for each paragraph.
Consider from the introduction part to the body to the concluding part of
your piece.
Aside from the parts of the piece, you also need to consider
other elements that are applicable to your genre such as the characters
and characterization, setting and atmosphere, conflicts, point of view
and other possible elements.
3. Use the learned styles, elements and techniques. Now that you
have learned the various styles, genre, formats, elements and
techniques in writing a nonfiction story, start writing on a freehand
move. Just write everything that comes out to your mind. Since you
have the outline, this will guide you to adhere to the aim of your
writings. The use of these elements and techniques provide vivid
impact to the readers once you are done writing it.
Keep on writing until you jived your writing to your outline. If
there is a plot, see to it that you have attained to write the complete five
parts of the plot. If you are struggling to your ending, do not worry, you
can work on with that later.
When you are writing, you can have it on handwritten way or
direct it to your device like computer. There are writers who are
comfortable to start their draft with their pen and paper. There are also
writers who intend to directly write their ideas on their devices. It is all
up to the comfort of the writers.
4. Impart Dialogues and other conventions if necessary. Using the
dialogues depending on the genre or type of nonfiction that you chose
to use makes the piece more interesting and appealing to the readers.
The diction plays also important thing in your writing. Remember your
target audience.
The scene and sequence are also important for you to attain the
chronology of the piece that you are writing.

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5. Think of possible titles of your piece. Make at least three possible
titles of your piece. Consider the content and see to it that the title is
interesting and catchy to the target audience.
6. Read your draft. Read your draft aloud. This will help you to review
and comprehend the things and information that you have written. You
may also let other people to read your draft for them to suggest for
possible adjustments for improvement.
What to UNDERSTAND
Activity 1: SEVEN-WORD STORY
Description: This activity will help you create a story in just one seven
words.
Directions: Think of a certain experience in your life and the lesson/s
you have learned from it. Write them down and create a
seven-word story for each of them.
Example:
I failed the college admission tests in UP and Ateneo, so
I quit studying. But after realizing how my parents work hard for our
family, I decided to try again until I succeed.
Seven-Word Experience I quit because I was a failure.

Seven-Word Lesson Then, I realized, I am a fighter.

Your turn!
__________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________.
Seven-Word Experience
Seven-Word Lesson
What to TRANSFER
Activity 2: Poem in a Photo (Performance Task # 4)
Description: This activity will help you analyze a photo
and write a poem about it.
Directions: They say “a picture paints a thousand words.”
In this activity, you are going to prove this adage. There
are three pictures below. Choose one picture and write a
two-stanza poem about it. Use at least five literary conventions of poetry.
Your poem should be posted in our FB Classroom.

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Photo Source: https://www.tes.com/lessons/ Photo Source: https://www.change.org/p/
rqBWcLjqlSR_pw/fall-sunset-silhouettes parentsstreet-children-student-advocacy

Photo Source: http://exposure.org.uk/2019/02/ true-friendship-a-helping-hand-when-youre-

struggling/
Now that you have read some of the tips in writing
a draft, it seems that you are now ready to work on
your own draft.
Activity 3: Writing a Memoir (Performance Task # 5)
Description: This activity will help you draft your memoir.
Directions: Write a draft of your own
experience/memoir. This time, it should be based on your own
experience. From that experience or observation, try to develop a story.
It can be coupled with your pictures to show the important scenarios in
your memoir. To be posted in our FB classroom.
IV. SUMMARY/SYNTHESIS/GENERALIZATION
Here are the steps and tips in writing your draft:
1. Create an outline of the prose piece you want to write. Whether
essay or short story, it is important to have a clear outline for you to
know how the organization will be.
2. Using the outline as your guide, begin writing. Just write away! But of
course, you still have to consider your grammar and spelling. Try typing
your ideas as they come and make sure that it is aligned to the outline
that you created for some form of organization.
3. Begin organizing your thoughts and ideas. Now that you have filled
in the outlines with your ideas, it is now time to organize those ideas.
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The use of transitional devices will greatly help you in creating a
smooth change of sentence and paragraph. You can use words such
as meanwhile, moreover, on the other hand, among others.
4. Evaluate your work. Check if it is enough, is it good or you still have
other ideas to be included.
5. Proofread. When you’ve got your paragraphs where you want them,
it’s time to read your piece again and check for any grammatical errors
or misspelled words. After double-checking for any errors, you can
proceed to submission or publication. You could even save it as a draft
so you can improve on it on a later date.

We’ve come to the final stage! The result of

this test will determine if you have mastered the
lesson. Start answering now.

V. EVALUATION/ASSESSMENT
Directions: Choose the letter that best answer to the corresponding
questions. Write the letter of your answer on a one whole sheet of
pad paper.
1. Autobiography is _____.
a. writer tells someone else's story c. writing that is not true
b. writer tells his own story d. gives a description of a topic
2. Nonfiction is ________.
a. reason for which the author writes c. writer tells his own story
b. writing that is true d. writer gives an explanation of
ideas
3. When and where a story takes place is the ______ of a story.
a. Characters b. Setting c. Point of View d. Climax
4. When and where a story takes place is the ______ of a story.
a. Characters b. Setting c. Point of View d. Climax
5. Autobiography of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a _________.
a. Fiction b. Non-Fiction
6. A story that is not true or is made up.
a. nonfiction b. biography c. fiction d. autobiography
7. Which of the following summaries could describe an autobiography?
a. famous writer's life told by another author

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b. a famous basketball player's wife sharing memories of her late
husband
c. Michael Jackson's mother describing his childhood
d. Helen Keller writing about her difficulties of being blind all her life
8. To support a main idea, writers often use __________________
a. persuasion to prove their point.
b. facts and details to help prove their point.
c. opinions and details to help prove their point.
d. summaries of details to help prove their point
9. Which of the following is NOT a question you should ask to find the
main idea?
a. What is the author's purpose?
b. What point is the author trying to make?
c. What is the selection mainly about?
d. When did the write the selection?
10. Who is the narrator of an autobiography?
a. another author b. unknown admirer c. a relative d. the author

Congratulations! You have finished your

journey through Module 4. Now, you are ready
to build up your knowledge in Module 5. Good
luck!

VI. ANSWER KEY

Activity 1 Activity 2 Activity 3
SEVEN-WORD Poem in a Photo Writing a Memoir
STORY
Answers may vary. Answers may Answers may vary.
vary.

References and Website Links Used in This Module

Baronda, Andrew John C. 2016. Creative Nonfiction. Pasay City:
JFS Publishing Services.

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SyGaco, Sonia B. 2017. Writing Techniques in Creative
Nonfiction. Quezon City: Great Books Trading.

Prepared by:
Anna Lorraine T. Mamuyac, EdD

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