1.2 Range of Reading and Context

2026 📋 Syllabus Objectives

By the end of this subtopic, you should be able to:

  • Engage with a wide range of genres (types of writing) and text types from the twentieth and/or twenty-first centuries
  • Read and understand both fiction (made-up stories) and non-fiction (writing based on real facts and events), including literature, blogs, essays, reviews, articles, short stories, and extracts from longer prose or drama
  • Analyse how writers use language and style to create effects and influence their readers
  • Understand how writers use facts, ideas, perspectives, opinions, and bias to influence the way readers think and feel

📖 Main Content

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1. What Is "Range of Reading"?

When we talk about a range of reading, we simply mean reading many different kinds of texts — not just one type. Think of it like eating a balanced diet: just as you need different foods to stay healthy, you need to read different types of writing to become a strong reader.

Reading widely helps you:

  • Understand how different writers communicate their ideas
  • Spot the tricks and techniques writers use to influence you
  • Improve your own writing by learning from skilled authors

2. Time Period: 20th and 21st Century Texts

You will read texts written from 1900 onwards (the 1900s = the twentieth century; 2000 onwards = the twenty-first century). This means the language, topics, and style of the texts will feel mostly modern and familiar to you.

3. The Two Big Categories: Fiction and Non-Fiction

All texts you read will belong to one of two major categories:

🔵 Fiction

Fiction means writing that is invented or made up — it is not literally true. The writer uses imagination to create characters, settings, and events.

Examples of fiction include:

  • Novels — long stories (e.g. a story about a boy who discovers he has magical powers)
  • Short stories — complete stories that are much shorter than a novel
  • Drama — writing meant to be performed as a play, with characters speaking dialogue

Fiction can also be called literature when it is considered to have high artistic or cultural value.

🟠 Non-Fiction

Non-fiction means writing that is based on real facts, real events, or real people. The writer is not inventing — they are informing, persuading, or sharing real opinions.

Examples of non-fiction include:

  • Essays — a piece of writing where the author explores or argues a point of view on a topic
  • Articles — shorter pieces of writing usually published in newspapers or magazines, covering real events or issues
  • Reviews — a writer's opinion and evaluation of something, such as a film, book, or restaurant
  • Blogs — informal online writing where a person shares their thoughts, experiences, or expertise on a topic

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