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Creative Nonfiction Short Stories – Page 31 of 241
“That Old Thing” by Etya Krichmar
That Old Thing I neatly folded and put away that old thing into a drawer in my closet a long time ago. The old thing I refer to is my favorite red with the white polka dots dress. The white dots give it a character and make it look cheerful. I smile each time I look at them. My dress is still trendy today because of its ageless, classical style despite its vintage. ...
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“Dear me…” by Katie Reynolds
I opened the wood door and closed it again, taking off my shoes and making my way to the stairs. “I’m home”, I pointlessly yelled to the empty house as I proceeded to make my way up the staircase and to my room. I entered the rectangular box and sat at my desk and opened my backpack. I took out my school work and mulled over it for a bit before deciding that this was useless and I had zero motivation to complete...
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“They called it a near Miss” by Jennifer Braveheart
They called it a near miss, but I called it a direct hit as years of pent-up anger surged through my veins.
The porcelain coffee cup sailed through the air and smashed directly where I was aiming it; just next to my husband's head. He had been quietly reading the Desert Sun Newspaper while he sat on the barstool in our breakfast nook. It shattered with a loud bang against the wall. I had made my point. He recoil...
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“FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, JUST DO IT” by Brandi Yetzer
WARNING: domestic abuse theme, and a few cuss words.If he says he won’t do it again, don’t believe him.I scroll the letters across the top of the page, biting my fingernail down until the sensitive skin is burning for me to stop. I look down at it and let out an ‘oops’ in surprise. I wipe the small bead of blood on my blue jeans.My attention moves back to the page, and I realize I haven’t addressed the letter to my future self yet. If I’m going to do it, I may as well do .
..
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“Curse of more” by Scott Skinner
One.I’m glad you asked. It was Ashton Kutcher in the movie Spread. They were black combat boots, loosely laced. He wore them with cuffed jeans, a striped shirt, thin black suspenders, and a green flight jacket. The washed denim jeans had the perfect amount of colorful paint drops to blur the line between an actual artist’s clothes and high fashion clothing. There was a glossy black Mercedes G Wagon. He stepped out of it, and my life changed. I studied him. I believed that dressing like Ashton Kutcher in this movie would ...
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“The Bet” by Kelsie Bolton
His eyes opening, a yawn escaping him as he stretches his arms.
Sitting up he pulls the blanket off of him. Swinging his legs off the bed he walks off down the hallway. Rubbing his eyes another yawn escapes him. Opening the bathroom door he lets his hand fall from his eye, he looks up. His eyes catch his own in the the mirror. He freezes. A sleek black dress clings to his body not leaving much to the imagination. A slit ...
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“The Diary of an Invisible Man,” by Eric Falvey
*TW Profanity*I had never imagined my life like this. Looking around in an overstuffed storage locker at the odd collection of things that had represented my journey. No, pictures, no accolades, nothing to suggest that I had even existed. At 32 years old, every artifact in my life was a lifeless piece of junk. Just another meaningless entry into the diary of an invisible man.This was never my intention. There once was a time where many around me would have imagined that I would excel socially, and wind .
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“Butterfly Love” by Virginia Coleman
Dear mom, I know it is a parent's instinct to turn all their child's flaws into loveable traits. But after washing and mending my overalls for the 5th time that week you had to finally admit, I was troublesome. The beautiful Saturday afternoon sun was filtering through the tree behind our house into my bedroom. I hated being grounded. It wasn't even my fault! Those boys had paid me five bucks to climb that ...
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“I am The Crow” by Kevin Marlow
{The names of the guilty have been changed to protect them from the innocent.}Brandon Lee was dead. An accident they said. Having been around guns since I was old enough to point my finger and say POW! I wasn't sure I believed it.
A loaded gun is that, loaded. A live round is an ominous thing to hold. It vibrates with the confined kinetic energy it contains. The graceful flow of the trigger sear releasing the firing pin feels like poetry until the powder ignites. BANG! One has to train themselves not to flinch and pull o...
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“Free at Last” by Rochelle Miller
"Let's go to the dining room. I think dinner is about to be served." We walked together to another building, just across the lawn. "I'm sorry there are only little kids here this evening. The older kids will be back later; they're at the Oakland A's game right now. You'll meet them all when they return." The lady welcoming me to the shelter was nice. The officer who took...
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“A turtleneck and A Lifetime of Firsts” by Blaire Miracle
There are so many firsts we experience throughout our lives.
Straight out of the womb, I had my first first; I was my parent’s first baby, I was a first grandchild, a first cousin and I was the First born, of four girls. As the first born, my clothes became “hand me downs” for my little sisters. My clothes were mostly “hand me downs” from my older cousins. As a toddler, I had this rainbow turtleneck that I practically lived in. I refused to pass it to my sisters, and even when it became too small, I would wear it like a bikini top. My rai...
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“Reapers!!” by John Wilson
I stepped over the mossy log and continued down the hill. The forest was cool, unlike the city, dirty, and full of the smell of dead corpses. The smell of the woods was different, it was fresh, clear, not musty. I spent most of my time in the woods now, staying away from the city as much as possible. The site of the corpses scattered across the city filled me with, anger.
None of those people had done an...
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“Just a pair of flip flops” by Hannah Cooper
I looked down at my bright pink flipflops as the water laps over my toes. In the distance I can hear my brother and dad talking about different types of fish. The sound of their fishing poles being cast out onto the lake. My younger sister playing in the water in-front of me. I couldn't have been older than ten years old.Dad always took us to the lake during the summer. Our weekends with him were free of electronics and full of bonfires. Roasting marshmallows and camping in the RV on hot summer nights. At that age you never think a...
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“The Uniform” by George [email protected]
In life we shared a name, he was senior and I was junior, but the commonality ended there.
As a born storyteller, he would freely incorporate fiction, so you were never quite sure where the truth began and the story was sprinkled in. There were also some things he guarded with his silence. When he passed away at the age of forty-seven, he took many of those guarded secrets with him. One of his ...
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“Dreams on meadows” by Marina Č.
It was sunny, the light wind was twisting the grasses on the meadows. Skinny little girl with ginger hair and the pale face covered by the spots was running through grass. Her skinny long fingers crossed the tops of the grass. She wore blue shorts, a washed white T-shirt with straps and she was completely barefoot. She did not smile, the expression of her face looked dull, without any feelings. Her blue eyes looked thoug...
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50 Short Memoirs - Examples of Narrative Personal Essays by Famous Authors
The best examples of short memoir, narrative personal essays, reflective essays and creative nonfiction by famous writers
Growing Up
The Comfort Zone by Jonathan Franzen
Explicit Violence by Lidia Yuknavitch
On Being an Only Child by Geoff Dyer
The Terrible Boy by Tom Junod
A Raccoon of My Own by Lauren Slater
My Dad Tried to Kill Me with an Alligator by Harrison Scott Key
Difficult Girl by Lena Dunham
Seventeen by Steve Edwards
Age Appropriate by Jen Doll
The Legacy of Childhood Trauma by Junot Díaz
50 more great articles about growing up
Education
Lost in the Meritocracy by Walter Kirn
Dumb Kids' Class by Mark Bowden
Acting French by Ta-Nehisi Coates
20 more great articles about education
Having Children
Channel B by Megan Stielstra
A Birth Story by Meaghan O'Connell
I Was Pregnant, And Then I Wasn't by Laura Turner
10 more great articles about having children
Health
Patient by Rachel Riederer
The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison
35 more great articles about health
Mental Illness
Adventures in Depression by Allie Brosh
Darkness Visible by William Styron
Some Women Become Psychotic After Pregnancy.
I Was One Of Them. by Catherine Carver
20 more great articles about mental health
Addiction
How I Let Drinking Take Over My Life by William Leith
Me & My Monkey by Anonymous
Video Games: The Addiction by Tom Bissell
10 more great articles about addiction
Body Image
A Few Words about Breasts by Nora Ephron
A Few Words about Fake Breasts by Nell Boeschenstein
A Thin Line between Mother and Daughter by Jennifer Egan
Mirrors Don't Lie by Natalie Angier
The Trash Heap Has Spoken by Carmen Maria Machado
The Onset by My Ngoc To
20 more great articles about body image
See also...
150 Great Articles and Essays
The net's best nonfiction25 Great Essays to Compare & Contrast
Alternative views on contentious topics100 Great Nonfiction Books
Must-read works of narrative nonfiction
Recommended Book-Length Memoirs
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion
Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris
My Misspent Youth by Meghan Daum
Just Kids by Patti Smith
The Chronology of Water by Lidia Yuknavitch
A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by Dave Eggers
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
Brain on Fire by Susannah Cahalan
Irritable Hearts by Mac McClelland
The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison
Hunger by Roxane Gay
A Sliver of Light by Shane Bauer, Joshua Fattal and Sarah Shourd
100 more great nonfiction books
New York
Goodbye to All That by Joan Didion
My Misspent Youth by Meghan Daum
Lost and Found by Colson Whitehead
Night-Shifting for the Hip Fleet by Mark Jacobson
25 more great articles about New York
9/11
The Real Heroes Are Dead by James B.
Stewart
Remains of the Day by Mary Lee Hannell
10 more great articles about 9/11
Misc.
Three by David Sedaris
My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant by Jose Antonio Vargas
Girl by Alexander Chee
Been Down So Long It Looks Like Debt to Me by M.H. Miller
Lucky Girl by Bridget Potter
 A declarative sentence is... (examples)
In Russian, declarative sentences report real events, facts, people's feelings and sensations with the help of a special intonation.
To understand what declarative sentences are, let's consider the types of sentences according to the purpose of the utterance.
Types of sentences
Our speech, oral and written, consists of minimal syntactic units - words. Words change their grammatical form and are combined into a complete statement containing a certain thought, which is called a sentence.
nine0003
In Russian, there are a variety of sentences that differ in the strength of the expressed feeling, in the purpose of the utterance, and in syntactic structure.
If you ask about the purpose of the statement, then you can indicate three types of sentences:
- narrative sentences
- interrogative sentences
- incentive sentences
Undoubtedly, narrative sentences are much more common than interrogative sentences and form the basis of any text. nine0003
What are declarative sentences?
The very name of these sentences suggests that such statements are about something, that is, they tell.
The declarative sentence is used by the speaker to report about some facts, phenomena of reality, about his thoughts, experiences and feelings, etc. A frog croaked near the shore. And somewhere not far away there was a melodious whistling, followed by a loud trill and whistling again. It was the nightingale singing (G.
Skrebitsky). nine0003
So, using sentences that are narrative in purpose, the writer tells us about spring nature in central Russia. These sentences have an affirmative modality. A declarative sentence can deny the realities of reality, and then it has a negative modality.
Examples
It's summer evening.
Bright stars lit up in the sky.
The wind rustles in the coastal reeds. nine0003
Sometimes a fish will splash its tail, and again there is a fragile silence.
A silvery lunar path lay on the dark expanse of the lake.
I don't want to go into the house, I would just listen to this silence.
Intonation of declarative sentences
Narrative sentences are characterized by calm intonation, average pronunciation rate, normal pitch at the beginning of the message, its slight increase in the middle and decrease towards the end of the sentence.
nine0003
Narrative sentences are separated from each other by a small pause, which is helped by a graphic punctuation final sign - a dot. At the end of each declarative sentence, this characteristic punctuation mark is placed.
Characteristics and structure of declarative sentences
According to the presence or absence of secondary members, declarative sentences can be widespread and non-common.
It was night. Frost crackled throughout the forest (V. Kataev). nine0003
The first declarative sentence has only the main members of the sentence and is therefore not common. In the second sentence, in addition to the main members, we indicate the circumstance that extends this statement.
According to the structure, declarative sentences can be one-part and two-part.
Dust-darkened blue southern sky. The cloudy hot sun looks into the greenish sea, as if through a thin gray veil (M. Gorky).
In the first declarative sentence, we indicate only one main member - the subject, which has a number of definitions.
It is a one-part naming common. The second sentence contains both main members, therefore it is two-part.
Declarative sentences can be simple or complex. Let's observe:
At any time of the year I had to go to the station from my village. In summer, the road, which seemed boring in winter, is unusually diverse and picturesque (V. Soloukhin). nine0003
The first declarative sentence is simple extended, and the second is complex, consisting of a main and a subordinate part, attached by the allied word “which” .
Exclamatory and non-exclamatory declarative sentences
In terms of the strength of the expressed feeling, in terms of emotional coloring, declarative sentences are more often non-exclamatory.
In a declarative sentence, an additional coloring can be added to the usual narration if the speaker wants to convey feelings of joy, delight, anger, indignation, etc. A sentence pronounced in an excited voice, with special emotionality, becomes an exclamation.
nine0003
Compare:
The intonational feature of exclamatory declarative sentences is a high tone of voice and tension in pronunciation.
Video lesson "Types of sentences for the purpose of utterance"
Test
Question 1 of 10
Which group of characteristics does the term "declarative sentence" belong to?
according to intonation
according to the purpose of the statement
according to the presence of secondary members
by the presence of sentence members necessary to understand its meaning
vocabulary, morphology and syntax, short examples of texts
Russian language
11/12/21
14 min.
Any text in Russian corresponds to a certain style. The legal and administrative-public field of activity involves the use of a business style of speech - negotiations and correspondence are conducted on it, papers are drawn up. This is one of the most closed and stable written genres, it undergoes little change and has a conservative character. nine0003
Contents:
- Style characteristic
- Text examples
- Scientific and business speech
Style characteristic
The official language is used in the preparation of documents in the field of jurisprudence, international relations, advertising, government correspondence, economics, etc. Despite the difference in application, this style has distinctive features:
- Compactness, brevity in presentation, sparing use of language tools.
- Standard form of documentation, certain spelling rules, templates and clichés.
- Use of specialized names and terminology, clerical phraseology, compound word formations, abbreviations.
- Verbal nouns, compound conjunctions, denominative prepositions, set phrases are used to connect several parts of a sentence. nine0018
- Narrative presentation, nominative one-part sentences with enumerations.
- The principle of constructing a sentence assumes a direct word order.
- The need to use predominantly complex sentences.
- Lack of emotionally expressive coloring.
- Low style individualization.
Accurate statements that do not allow ambiguity are important in business documentation. It has a language standard and a certain word order in sentences, which is unusual for the Russian language used in literature. nine0003
Lexical features
Official style is a special lexical structure of the text.
It is mandatory to use clericalism, that is, stamps. Cliches are not generally recognized, but professional. The following examples of formal business style of speech can be given:
- on the basis of the decision;
- respectively;
- incoming/outgoing documents;
- besides this; nine0018
- after expiration, etc.
The use of anachronisms is allowed: I hereby certify this document. In rare cases, the text may include professional neologisms:
- arrears;
- alibi;
- minimization;
- monitoring;
- dumping, etc.
At the same time, it is strictly forbidden to use words that have several semantic meanings. There are no synonyms or their number is minimized. nine0003
Vocabulary here has a generalized character and is based on conceptual categories (not arrived, but arrived; not a car, but a vehicle; not a village, but a settlement).
Morphological characters
Features of morphology in business style are the repeated use of certain parts of speech and their derivatives. In this case, it is necessary to observe the accuracy of the wording and eliminate ambiguity. Examples of words used:
- Nouns denoting the status of a person by his actions: taxpayer, landlord, eyewitness, supplier, witness.
- Only masculine nouns denoting a position and/or rank: librarian, secretary, lieutenant, inspector.
- Writing a particle non- in verbal nouns: impossibility, non-compliance, failure to appear, failure to take action, non-compliance.
- A large selection of derivative prepositions: to the extent, in relation to, at the expense of, on the basis of, in connection. nine0018
- Phrases with infinitives: to inspect, determine the scope of activity, provide assistance.
- Using the present tense verb in a different meaning: collecting a penalty for non-payment.
- The use of words consisting of two or more stems: above, employer, repair and maintenance, lessor, named below.
- Predominance of gerunds and participles over verbs.
The main morphological errors in business speech occur when writing short adjectives: not substantiated, but substantiated; not essential, but essential; not required but required. nine0003
Syntax properties
The official style is divided into several types: diplomatic, documentary, everyday business. They differ little from each other and have several common syntactic features:
- Many simple full sentences with a number of homogeneous members: "According to the legislation of the Russian Federation, penalties for violation of safety regulations in the construction, industrial, transport and economic spheres become the main measure of administrative punishment.
" nine0018 - The predominance of sentences with a well-defined word order: "I ask you to dismiss me from the position of the adjuster at your own request."
- Presence of passive structures: "Penalties are made at a strictly specified time."
- Words in sentences consist of nouns in the genitive case and are strung with beads: "The results of the operational activities of customs control units."
- Proposals that have a complex structure are supplemented with conditional clauses: "In cases where the client refuses to process personal data in the types of methods and purposes for providing data, the client signs a separately provided application." nine0018
- Narrative character of presentation.
- Mandatory use of paragraph separation and rubrication. This makes a large, voluminous document with many attachments simple and easy to find the information you need.
For several centuries of existence, official business speech has accumulated many different clichés, idioms and patterns.
Standardization helps to correctly understand and process the information from the document. At the same time, the person involved in the preparation of such documents must have an increased level of linguistic training. nine0003
Text examples
Many people sooner or later face the need to conduct business correspondence. These can be statements addressed to the boss, complaints to the management company, letters of guarantee or thanks, etc. Business texts are divided into:
- formal and business - a minimum of emotions, facelessness;
- everyday business - elements of democracy are inherent.
In most cases, communication is conducted in a casual style. nine0031 If the correspondence is long, then it goes through several stages:
- Official business stage.
- Everyday business.
- There are elements of informal communication.
- Communication becomes completely informal.
To correctly understand what business style is in the text in Russian, you need to familiarize yourself with the example: “Dear Mikhail Vladimirovich! In response to your request to replace the plastic window, we inform you that on June 14 our representative will visit you. The window replacement usually takes 2-3 days. Hope for your understanding". This is a sample business letter used in correspondence with clients. nine0003
A brief example of an official business text: “I, Ivanova Natalya Andreevna, on June 15, 1997, married Oleg Mikhailovich Ivanov. Cohabitation lasted until 2010. At the moment, the marital relationship with the defendant is actually terminated. The general economy is not conducted. Further stay is not possible. There is no joint property subject to division.
Scientific and business speech
A special kind of official speech is a scientific and business style.
Its main features are clarity, conciseness, logic. To understand where it is used, you need to familiarize yourself with the various subspecies:
- Academic. Used by scientists and narrow specialists for articles, dissertations, reports, monographs. It is presented in a strictly scientific form with a lot of highly specialized words, requires adherence to accuracy and argumentation.
- Popular science. Distributed among the mass reader to improve culture, gain knowledge, and popularize science. All complex scientific research and laws are described in an accessible form using artistic and journalistic elements. nine0018
- Scientific and technical. Designed to describe the achievements of fundamental science in practice. The texts describe technical processes, schemes, equipment, complex technological descriptions using specialized terms.
- Scientific and business (scientific and informative). Used for patent descriptions, in abstracts, for legal protection.
- Educational and scientific. It has an educational and cognitive purpose, designed for students and professionals. It is used in textbooks, informational reports at congresses and symposiums, in articles, monographs and dissertations. nine0018
For clarity, it is worth giving short examples of official business style texts. They will help you draw up the document correctly:
- "Based on the results of the experiments, my experimental group concluded that the structure was homogeneous, that it was possible to transmit light rays and change the available parameters under the alternating effect of an electric current."
- “A large number of different organizations enter into administrative and legal relations. Some of them exercise power and are obligatory subjects of these legal relations. These are government organizations. Others, as a rule, do not have power powers and belong to non-state organizations.” nine0018
The main features of the business style are its isolation and low changeability. The scientific official text is more flexible and subject to change. We are not talking about linguistic features here. Stylistic phrases, vocabulary, syntax and morphology remain conservative.
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