1) CUET-ready definitions (start simple, then deepen)
Fiction
Fiction is narrative writing that is invented (imagined) rather than strictly factual, even when it draws on real life. Fiction typically:
- constructs characters, settings, and events,
- organises experience through plot and narrative form,
- explores “truth” through imaginative representation.
Non-fiction
Non-fiction is writing that claims to represent the real world and is generally accountable to factual accuracy (though it still uses rhetoric, selection, and narrative techniques). Non-fiction includes:
- essays,
- biography/autobiography,
- memoir,
- diaries,
- travel writing,
- journalism,
- criticism,
- history writing.
CUET conceptual point: “Fiction vs non-fiction” is not simply “false vs true.” It is about truth-claims, referentiality, and conventions.
2) The key distinction: truth-claims and referential contract
A useful exam-ready lens:
- Fiction makes an imaginative contract: it does not require factual verification; it asks for aesthetic and emotional belief (suspension of disbelief).
- Non-fiction makes a referential contract: it claims reference to actual persons/events and can be evaluated for accuracy, evidence, and integrity.
But both are shaped by:
- selection,
- framing,
- narrative voice,
- rhetorical strategy.