Creative Nonfiction

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Creative Nonfiction
Quarter 2 – Module 7: The Relationship of Elements and Ideas Found in the
Various Forms and Types of Creative Nonfictional Texts through a Close
Reading: Blogs
First Edition, 2020

Republic Act 8293, Section 176 states that no copyright shall subsist in any
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these materials from their respective copyright owners. The publisher and authors
do not represent nor claim ownership over them.

Published by the Department of Education - Schools Division of Pasig City

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Management Team: Ma. Evalou Concepcion A. Agustin
OIC-Schools Division Superintendent
Carolina T. Rivera, CESE
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Pasig City

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 Creative Nonfiction

Quarter 2
Self-Learning Module 8
The Relationship of Elements and Ideas
Found in the Various Forms and Types of
Creative Nonfictional Texts through a
Close Reading: Testimonies

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Introductory Message

For the Facilitator:

Welcome to the (Creative Nonfiction) Self-Learning Module on (The

Relationship of Elements and Ideas Found in the Various Forms and Types of
Creative Nonfictional Texts through a Close Reading: Testimonies)!

This Self-Learning Module was collaboratively designed, developed and

reviewed by educators from the Schools Division Office of Pasig City headed by its
Officer-in-Charge Schools Division Superintendent, Ma. Evalou Concepcion A.
Agustin, in partnership with the City Government of Pasig through its mayor,
Honorable Victor Ma. Regis N. Sotto. The writers utilized the standards set by the K
to 12 Curriculum using the Most Essential Learning Competencies (MELC) in
developing this instructional resource.

This learning material hopes to engage the learners in guided and independent
learning activities at their own pace and time. Further, this also aims to help learners
acquire the needed 21st century skills especially the 5 Cs, namely: Communication,
Collaboration, Creativity, Critical Thinking, and Character while taking into
consideration their needs and circumstances.

In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the
body of the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies that
will help you in guiding the learners.

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this
module. You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing them to
manage their own learning. Moreover, you are expected to encourage and assist the
learners as they do the tasks included in the module.

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 For the Learner:

Welcome to the (Creative Nonfiction) Self-Learning Module on (The

Relationship of Elements and Ideas Found in the Various Forms and Types of
Creative Nonfictional Texts through a Close Reading: Testimonies)!

This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful
opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace and time. You
will be enabled to process the contents of the learning material while being an active
learner.

This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:

Expectations - This points to the set of knowledge and skills

that you will learn after completing the module.

Pretest - This measures your prior knowledge about the lesson

at hand.

Recap - This part of the module provides a review of concepts

and skills that you already know about a previous lesson.

Lesson - This section discusses the topic in the module.

Activities - This is a set of activities that you need to perform.

Wrap-Up - This section summarizes the concepts and

application of the lesson.

Valuing - This part integrates a desirable moral value in the

lesson.

Posttest - This measures how much you have learned from the
entire module.

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 EXPECTATIONS

This is your self-instructional learner module in Creative Nonfiction 12.

All the activities provided in this lesson will help you learn and understand
Creative Nonfiction as you do “The Relationship of Elements and Ideas
Found in the Various Forms and Types of Creative Nonfictional Texts
through a Close Reading: Testimonies”.

PRETEST

Write TRUE if the statement is correct but if false, change the

underlined word/s to make the whole statement correct.

_______________________ 1. A testimony is a statement from a future

customer that describes how a product or service

helped them.

_______________________ 2. Testimonies are different from reviews because

reviews are generally unguided and are written

directly by the customer.

_______________________ 3. Testimonies are important because they help you

build credibility with future customers.

_______________________ 4. Start your testimony with a little bit of

information about who you are.

_______________________ 5. End your testimony by describing the problem

that you were facing before you tried the product

or service that is the subject of the testimony.

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 RECAP

From the previous discussion, we have learned to the relationship of

elements and ideas found in the various forms and types of creative
nonfictional texts through a close reading: Blog. We were able to distinguish
thoroughly how to come up with your own blog. =

This time, using the same platform, we will venture to a much technical
type of writing. We will explain the relationship of elements and ideas found
in the various forms and types of creative nonfictional texts through a close
reading: Testimonies.

LESSON

What is a Testimonies?
A testimony is a statement from a past customer that describes how a
product or service helped them. Testimonies are often written by the business
based on specific questions they ask satisfied customers. They usually show
impact through before-and-after comparisons or provide specific
improvement statistics.
Testimonies are different from reviews because reviews are generally
unguided and are written directly by the customer. Testimonies can help build
trust and credibility with your customers, especially if they are used to
overcome skepticism. Companies usually display them on the front page of
their website, marketing materials and social media profiles.

Why are Testimonies Important?

Testimonies are important because they help you build credibility with
future customers. Testimonies allow you to use your customer's words to
show how your product or service solved a problem for them.
Future customers respond to testimonies as more authentic than a
company's statements about their own products, especially if there is a
before-and-after image, a video or statistics to clearly show the results.
Testimonies help your future customers see what your company can offer
them through a marketing tactic that seems very similar to word of mouth.

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How to Write a Testimony?
A. Describing Your Problem
1. Introduce yourself. Start your testimony with a little bit of information
about who you are. Include details that would give your testimony more
weight or make your opinion more valuable.

• How much, and what type, of detail about yourself you include will
depend on the product or service for which you're writing your
testimony. Your testimony should be relatively short, so don't include
anything that wouldn't add weight or value to your testimony.
• For example, if you're writing a testimony about a new herbal dog
shampoo, the fact that you're a licensed dog groomer would be
important. However, if you were writing a testimony for a personal
trainer, the fact that you are a dog groomer would probably be
irrelevant.
2. Discuss your situation. Open your testimony by describing the
problem that you were facing before you tried the product or service that
is the subject of the testimony. Be brief, but include as many specific
facts as possible.
• Facts allow people reading your testimony to compare your situation
before and after you used the product or service. Showing this
evidence yourself makes the testimony more helpful to people.
• Since you still want your testimony to be brief, only include facts that
were directly affected by the product or service. For example, if your
business had a problem managing its social media accounts, you
might say "My business's Facebook page only had 10 followers and
averaged less than one view a day."
3. List alternatives you tried. If relevant, you might also include a line
or two about other products or services you used in an attempt to solve
your problem. Describe specific ways those products or services failed to
help you.
• Listing alternatives can be especially beneficial if you tried a direct
competitor and they were unable to solve your problem. To continue
with the social media example, you might say "We hired Social Media
X to manage our accounts, but after 30 days they failed to bring in
any additional page views or followers."
• Include a personal note regarding how it made you feel to try different
alternatives and have them all fail. Readers will empathize with you
and be drawn into your story.

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 4. Note any obstacles. Every product or service has its drawbacks. If
there was some reason you initially rejected the product or service you
writing about, talk about how you got past that issue. Then you can
transition smoothly into the solution of your problem.

• Cost typically is one potential obstacle. For example, you might say,
"We were reluctant to use Social Media Z because they charged twice
as much as Social Media X. But after X failed to deliver, we decided to
give Z a shot – and that was the best decision we could have made."

B. Demonstrating the Benefit

1. Describe how the product or service solved your problem. Start a
new paragraph, and turn your attention to the product or service you're
writing your testimony about. List two or three important facts about the
product or service.
• Take a moment to introduce the product or service and talk a little
about what it is or what it does. Then state specifically what it did for
you and how it helped you.
• For example, you might say "Social Media Z focuses on increasing
social media reach through entertaining and informative social media
posts. Since hiring Social Media Z, we've gained 237 new followers and
our sales have increased by nearly a third."
• Highlight a unique or creative approach. If there's something about
the business or product that sets it apart from competitors, talk about
that thing specifically. Mention if custom solutions were offered that
were tailored specifically to your problem.
• It can help to describe your expectations, if they help put the creativity
of the business you're talking about into perspective. For example,
you might write "I didn't expect Social Media Z to get us more than 20
or 30 followers, but they found a way to bring in ten times as many
people."
2. Include a personal note. If your contact person was a pleasure to
work with, or if the company went above and beyond the call of duty,
make an enthusiastic note about this. If you worked closely with a
particular employee, mention them by name.

• Personal notes also mean something to the people you name, and can
help employers identify and reward their best employees. If someone
specific impressed you, talk about them in your testimony.
• For example, you might write "While the whole team went above and
beyond, Sally spent a lot of time getting to know our company and our
needs. We would not have achieved the success we did without Sally's
hard work and attentiveness."

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 3. Use specific figures to show impact. Go back to your description of
the project you faced. The figures you use to show the results should
match the figures you used when describing your problem, so readers
can easily compare.

• For example, if you're hiring a social media management company for

your business, and you focused on the low numbers of people
following your social media accounts, state specifically how many
followers you had after the company you hired went to work.

4. Explain how you overcame any obstacles. If you mentioned any

obstacles in the first part of your testimony, tell your readers how you
feel about them now. Typically either it wasn't as big of an issue as you
thought, or the success was worth it.

• For example, if you were skeptical about using the product or service
because of its cost, you might say "I was concerned Social Media Z's
fees were too high, but after such overwhelming success, I'm now
convinced they are worth every penny!"

C. Closing Your Testimony

1. Summarize your experience. Use the third paragraph of your

testimony to briefly recap how the product or service you're writing about
solved your problem. You might also add something about why you are
writing a testimony.

• For example, if the company providing the product or service asked

you for a testimony, you might say "When Sally from Social Media Z
asked if I would be willing to write a testimony about their work for
my company, I didn't hesitate. They increased our social media
following by 300 percent and really put our company on the map here
in our community."

2. State whether you would recommend the product or service to

others. It may seem like a no-brainer, but the best testimony should
include specific words indicating that you want to encourage others to
use the product or service as well.

• Depending on the product or service you're writing about, you may

want to directly target specific people. For example, you might write "I
highly recommend Social Media Z, particularly to small businesses
looking to establish a foothold in their community."

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 3. Include a call to action. You could close your testimony with your
recommendation. However, if you're confident enough, you might provide
further encouragement for readers to reach out to the company offering
the product or service.
• For example, you might say "If you are a small business owner
struggling with your social media presence, call Social Media Z today!
They offer a free initial consultation, so you have nothing to lose."

Let’s try a few items as an exercise. Make a thumbs up if the statement

is correct. Do the thumbs down if the statement is incorrect.

Start your testimony with a little bit of information

about who you are.

Correct! You should start your testimonies with a little information about
yourself so that it can be properly documented.
Open your testimony by describing the problem that
you were facing before you tried the product or service
that is the subject of the testimony.

Correct! You should provide an accurate description of the problem you

encountered which resort you to try their product as solution.
If relevant, you might also include a line or two about
other products or services you used in an attempt to
solve your problem.

Correct! You also need to share other products that you have tried to address
your problem. This may be beneficial as point of comparison.
You should close your testimony by summarizing
your experience. Use the third paragraph of your
testimony to briefly recap how the product or service
you're writing about solved your problem
Correct! Wrapping up the entire testimony with a brief summary is a good way
to emphasize import key points of your claims.
In the summary, state whether you would recommend
the product or service to others.

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Correct! You must state whether the product is worth recommending because
other consumers might have the same problem as yours.

ACTIVITIES

Activity 1
Let’s try a few items as an exercise. Make a thumbs up if the statement
is correct. Do the thumbs down if the statement is incorrect.

Start your testimony with a little bit of information

about who you are.

Open your testimony by describing the problem that

you were facing before you tried the product or service
that is the subject of the testimony.

If relevant, you might also include a line or two about

other products or services you used in an attempt to
solve your problem.

You should close your testimony by summarizing

your experience. Use the third paragraph of your
testimony to briefly recap how the product or service
you're writing about solved your problem

In the summary, state whether you would recommend

the product or service to others.

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Activity 2 Identify what part of a testimony is provided for each item. Write
your answers in the blank before each item.
A. List alternatives you tried
B. Discuss your situation
C. Note any obstacles
D. Include a personal note
E. Describe how the product or service solved your problem
______________________ 1. My business's Facebook page only had 10 followers
and averaged less than one view a day.
______________________ 2. We hired Social Media X to manage our accounts,
but after 30 days they failed to bring in any
additional page views or followers.
______________________ 3. We were reluctant to use Social Media Z because
they charged twice as much as Social Media X. But
after X failed to deliver, we decided to give Z a shot
– and that was the best decision we could have
made.
______________________ 4. Social Media Z focuses on increasing social media
reach through entertaining and informative social
media posts. Since hiring Social Media Z, we've
gained 237 new followers and our sales have
increased by nearly a third.
______________________ 5. While the whole team went above and beyond, Sally
spent a lot of time getting to know our company and
our needs. We would not have achieved the success
we did without Sally's hard work and attentiveness.

WRAP-UP

To wrap-up everything that we discussed in this lesson, do the 3

Important Things activity:
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The three important things I learned for today’s lesson are …
1. _______________________________________________________________
2. _______________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________

VALUING

Health and Personal Safety

Reflect on writing a testimony can contribute to the health and personal
safety of the community. Write your reflection on your paper.

POSTTEST

Choose the word that will complete each analogy. Write the letter of the
answer on the space before every item.

_______ 1. Blog : Blogger :: __________ : Customer

A. Testimonies C. Title

B. Testament D. Travelogue

_______ 2. Introduce Yourself : Information About You ::

Discuss Your Situation : __________________

A. Discuss Yourself C. Discuss the Problem

B. Discuss the Company D. Discuss the Competitor

_______ 3. List alternatives you tried : Other Products ::

Note any obstacles : __________

A. Drawbacks in using the product

B. Benefits in using the product

C. Prices of the product

D. Ratings from other customers

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_______ 4. Include a personal note : Mention people who helped you ::

Use specific figures to show impact : __________

A. Use figures that represents the product

B. Use figures that show results

C. Use figures to call attention

D. Use figures for mathematical purposes

_______ 5. Closing a Testimony : __________ ::

Demonstrating the Benefit:

Explain how you overcame any obstacles

A. State whether you would recommend the product or service to

others.

B. Introduce yourself.

C. Discuss your situation

D. List alternatives you tried

KEY TO CORRECTION

5. A 5. D 5. TRUE
4. A 4. E 4. TRUE
3. A 3. C 3. TRUE
2. C 2. A 2. TRUE
1. A 1. B 1. PAST
TEST
POST ACTIVITY PRETEST

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 References
Indeed Career Guide. “How to Write a Testimonial (With Examples)” 2020.
Web.

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/how-to-
write-a-
testimonial?fbclid=IwAR2gwqtDJx7AFdwEEb1BpPcqa0kINA9J7-
P3_m6dZJhFeLtdKPQGd4E6N_k Accessed August 18, 2020,

WikiHow. “How to Write a Testimonial?” 2019. Web.

https://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-
Testimonial?fbclid=IwAR2gwqtDJx7AFdwEEb1BpPcqa0kINA9J7-
P3_m6dZJhFeLtdKPQGd4E6N_k August 18, 2020,

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