WAEC 2023 Literature in English · Question 21

Letters, journals and diaries are examples of

Options

  1. A.faction
  2. B.meta-fiction
  3. C.fiction
  4. D.non-fiction

Answer: D. non-fiction

Explanation written with AI and checked against the answer key

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks which category of literature letters, journals and diaries belong to.

Step 2: Explain the concept Literature is broadly divided into:

  • Fiction: imaginary, invented stories (novels, short stories).
  • Non-fiction: writing based on real facts, events, and personal experiences (biographies, autobiographies, essays, letters, journals, diaries, speeches).
  • Faction: a blend of fact and fiction, such as a historical novel based on real events but with invented characters or dialogue.
  • Meta-fiction: fiction that draws attention to its own fictional nature (a story that "knows" it is a story).

Step 3: Apply to the options

  • Letters, journals and diaries record real thoughts, events and experiences of real people, usually in the first person. They are factual personal records.
  • A: Faction mixes fact and fiction. That is not what these forms are in general.
  • B: Meta-fiction is a narrative technique, not a category for these forms.
  • C: Fiction is invented, so it does not fit.
  • D: Non-fiction fits, since these are real, factual records.

Step 4: Answer The correct option is D. non-fiction.

Tip: Think of "real life, real record" for non-fiction. Remember that in a novel, letters or diaries can be used as a technique (an epistolary novel such as The Color Purple), but letters, journals and diaries as a general category are non-fiction.

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