Caveat Academy course · Grades 9 to 12

Narrative Nonfiction

How to write true stories that read like the best fiction: memoir, the personal essay, profiles and literary journalism, the promise never to invent, finding a story and reporting it, interviews, scenes and structure, concrete detail and dialogue, writing real people fairly, fact-checking and revising a piece until it is finished. Every lesson ends with a writing move you practice on your own, at your own pace, with a certificate at the end.

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$19one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $19

Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the High school electives library, $119 for 66 items.

6 modules · 18 lessonsabout 13 hours$19

Six modules, eighteen lessons

Each module ends with a practice set that tracks mastery, an explain-it-back prompt, a short written response and a module exam. The final opens when every module is proficient; passing it earns a certificate with a verification code.

  1. Module 1: What narrative nonfiction is

    Distinguish the forms of narrative nonfiction and evaluate writing choices against the truth contract.

    • The genre and its forms
    • The truth contract
    • Reading like a writer
    about 2.1 h

  2. Module 2: Finding and gathering the story

    Develop a story idea with a want and a turn, and design a reporting and interview plan using observation, interviews and documents.

    • Finding a story worth telling
    • Reporting and research
    • Interviewing
    about 2.1 h

  3. Module 3: Structure

    Analyze how scene, summary and reflection, structure, openings and endings shape a true story, and choose a structure for given material.

    • Scene and summary
    • Shaping the whole: chronology and beyond
    • Openings and endings
    about 2.1 h

  4. Module 4: Craft on the page

    Revise passages for concrete detail, effective dialogue, honest point of view and consistent tense.

    • Concrete detail and showing
    • Dialogue and quotation
    • Voice, point of view and tense
    about 2.1 h

  5. Module 5: Real people and the ethics of truth

    Evaluate the ethics of writing about real people, including privacy, fairness, defamation in general terms and attribution, and fact-check a draft.

    • Writing real people
    • Ethics: privacy, consent and harm
    • Fact-checking and honest sourcing
    about 2.1 h

  6. Module 6: Revising and sharing your work

    Plan and carry out a layered revision, give and use specific feedback, and prepare a piece for sharing.

    • Revision from big to small
    • Giving and using feedback
    • Titles, formats and sharing
    about 2.1 h

Try it before you start

This is how every lesson works: step through a worked example at your own pace, then answer a check and get the reason right away. Nothing here is saved; the course keeps your progress.

Module 4 · Dialogue and quotation

Worked example: trimming dialogue

  1. Draft: Hi, I said. Hi, she said. How are you? I asked. Fine, she said. Are you coming to the game? I asked. No, she said.

A lesson check from each module

The checks need JavaScript turned on. The course itself works the same way.

What you get

Academics · High School$19 · included with the Academy pass and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A finished course in writing true stories: you can tell memoir from the personal essay, profile and literary journalism, judge any writing choice against the truth contract, turn a topic into a story with a want and a turn, plan observation, interviews and document research, ask open questions and follow up, balance scene, summary and reflection, choose a structure and write an opening and an echo ending, replace abstract words with telling detail, trim dialogue, attribute other people's thoughts honestly, weigh privacy and fairness before publishing, fact-check a draft and revise from structure down to commas. Passing the final earns a Caveat certificate of completion.
Who it is for
Students in grades 9 to 12 who want to write memoir, personal essays, profiles or school journalism, students preparing college application essays or writing contest entries, and homeschool families who want a complete creative nonfiction elective. Students write about their own lives and communities; nothing they write leaves their device.
Format
An online self-paced course: 6 modules and 18 lessons with worked examples you reveal step by step, 144 practice and exam items (multiple choice, numeric, fill-in and ordering), an explain-it-back prompt and a rubric-checked short response in every module, module exams with one retake, a 24-question final and a certificate with a verification code. About 13 hours in all; works on a phone or a computer.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the course opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the High school electives library ($119) and the Academics Suite pass ($149), and 1 more bundle. Progress is saved in this browser on this device, and the certificate page lets you download your record.
Where it lives
The High School space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Access, a receipt, a refund or a correction to the course: team@caveatacademic.com.

How it works

  1. Open the course and start Module 1. Each lesson takes about 25 to 35 minutes; two or three a week finishes the course in about a semester.
  2. Answer the checks as you read. Every answer shows the reason, and a miss links you back to the lesson that covers it.
  3. Finish each module with its practice set and exam. Proficient on every module opens the final; 70 percent passes it.
  4. Print or download your certificate and record from the certificate page.

Start the course

Sources and accuracy

The lessons are original writing by Caveat Academic Services. Facts were checked against these free, open references, which are also good places to read further.

  1. Frederick Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass (1845), public domain, Library of Congress and Project Gutenberg: gutenberg.org
  2. Henry David Thoreau, Walden (1854), public domain at Project Gutenberg: gutenberg.org
  3. Society of Professional Journalists, Code of Ethics, on accuracy, attribution and minimizing harm: spj.org
  4. Purdue Online Writing Lab, guides to quotation, paraphrase, citation and avoiding plagiarism: owl.purdue.edu
  5. Student Press Law Center, plain-language explainers on student publishing, privacy and defamation: splc.org

Narrative Nonfiction is a self-paced writing course from Caveat Academic Services. Quotations from public-domain works are short and named; all other sample passages are original. Its discussion of privacy and defamation is general education, not legal advice. It does not replace a school course or a teacher's feedback and awards no credit. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.