Whois & Analysis for commonlit.org

Non-fiction or nonfiction is content (sometimes, in the form of a story) whose creator, in good faith, assumes responsibility for the truth or accuracy of the events, people, or information presented.

In contrast, a story whose creator explicitly leaves open if and how the work refers to reality is usually classified as fiction.

Nonfiction, which may be presented either objectively or subjectively, is traditionally one of the two main divisions of narratives (and, specifically, prose writing), the other traditional division being fiction, which contrasts with nonfiction by dealing in information, events, and characters expected to be partly or largely imaginary.

Literacy is traditionally understood as the ability to read, write, and use arithmetic.

The modern term's meaning has been expanded to include the ability to use language, numbers, images, computers, and other basic means to understand, communicate, gain useful knowledge and use the dominant symbol systems of a culture.

The concept of literacy is expanding in OECD countries to include skills to access knowledge through technology and ability to assess complex contexts.

A person who travels and resides in a foreign country but is unable to read or write in the language of the host country would also be regarded by the locals as being illiterate.

Literature, in its broadest sense, is any single body of written works.

More restrictively, it is writing considered as an art form, or any single writing deemed to have artistic or intellectual value, often due to deploying language in ways that differ from ordinary usage.

Its Latin root literatura/litteratura (derived itself from littera: letter or handwriting) was used to refer to all written accounts, though contemporary definitions extend the term to include texts that are spoken or sung (oral literature).

Literature can be classified according to whether it is fiction or non-fiction and whether it is poetry or prose; it can be further distinguished according to major forms such as the novel, short story or drama; and works are often categorized according to historical periods or their adherence to certain aesthetic features or expectations (genre).

Reading is a complex "cognitive process" of decoding symbols in order to construct or derive meaning (reading comprehension).

Reading is a means of language acquisition, communication, and of sharing information and ideas.

Like all languages, it is a complex interaction between the text and the reader which is shaped by the reader’s prior knowledge, experiences, attitude, and language community which is culturally and socially situated.

The reading process requires continuous practice, development, and refinement.

In addition, reading requires creativity and critical analysis.

Consumers of literature make ventures with each piece, innately deviating from literal words to create images that make sense to them in the unfamiliar places the texts describe.

Because reading is such a complex process, it cannot be controlled or restricted to one or two interpretations.

There are no concrete laws in reading, but rather allows readers an escape to produce their own products introspectively.

This promotes deep exploration of texts during interpretation.

Genre (or; from French genre, "kind" or "sort", from Latin genus (stem gener), Greek γένος, génos) is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc) with socially-agreed upon conventions developed over time.

Genre is most popularly known as a category of literature, music, or other forms of art or entertainment, whether written or spoken, audio or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria, yet genres can be aesthetic, rhetorical, communicative, or functional.

Genres form by conventions that change over time as new genres are invented and the use of old ones is discontinued.

Often, works fit into multiple genres by way of borrowing and recombining these conventions.

Stand alone texts, works, or pieces of communication may have individual styles, but genres are amalgams of these texts based on agreed upon or socially inferred conventions.

Some genres may be rigid with strictly adhered to guidelines while others may be very flexible.