THE 18 TYPES OF CHRONICLE AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS - LITERATURE - 2025

The types of chronicle are: the informative, interpretive, opinion, impressionist and expressionist, black, judicial, sports, bullfighting, travel, social political, exhaustive, brushstroke, casual, local, national and foreign chronicle.

The chronicle is the review through time of historical events and current events framed within the scenario in which the events took place. The term was used for the first time in the year 1,274, in the work entitled First Chronicle of the General of King Alonso X of Castile. Due to its versatility, this narrative tool has been used both in the historical field, as well as in the literary and journalistic fields.

At present this type of composition is characterized by giving prominence to the chronological order in which the events occur, using the opinions and interpretations given by the writer as links to link the events.

The chronicle is written with a simple and colloquial language that sometimes exaggerates in the use of adjectives to describe the environment and its emotionality.

To develop this type of narrative tool, the chronicler tends to be an eyewitness to events or to use primary sources of information to document the events that are described in the text.

There are no governed structures for this style of narration, however in most of the chronicles it is possible to distinguish at least four parts:

• Title and pretitle. Used to attract the attention of the reader, it is usually a combination of the news fact with the additive of some element of interpretation by the writer. It serves as an opening to show the reader the approach with which the subject is approached.
• Presentation or Entry. It follows the pretitle and does not contain any assertion. Its purpose is to awaken in the reader questions and questions, using as a hook some curious fact, anecdote or exaggerated appreciation of the event that motivates the chronicle.
• Body. It is the development of the chronicle, presents the events through the timeline and intertwines them with the opinions of the author. The good chronicler is able to balance information with opinion in the text, watching over the proper use of language to avoid distorting events.
• Conclusion. It is the idea that synthesizes everything exposed in the text. The location of this component varies according to the chronicler, although it is frequently arranged as the last paragraph in the article or is presented in the pre-title.

How are the various types of chronicle classified?

The types of chronic are grouped and described below using five classification criteria.

- According to the intention of the chronicler

Informative Chronicle

It recounts the events focusing on exposing only concrete facts and when they occurred, without issuing opinions or interpretations of the author.

Interpretive Chronicle

It presents the events accompanied by ideas and opinions suggested by the author who bases his conclusions through the development of theories, parallels with similar historical events or philosophical dissertations.

Opinion Chronicle

This type of composition focuses on the opinion of the chronicler about a relevant event, without the need for their ideas to be supported in a formal and objective way.

- According to the focus of the chronicle

Impressionist chronicle

With the purpose of awakening the senses of the reader, this type of chronicle describes in detail the environment, the atmosphere and the context in which the events occur, and then presents the facts in an objective way. The author does not allow the issuance of value judgments.

Expressionist Chronicle

It is characterized by presenting the events seen through the author's personal perspective, it does not seek to represent the absolute truth, it only exposes the interpretation of the events that have been analyzed and reinterpreted by the chronicler.

- According to the content of the chronicle

Black chronicle

It is related to event information. It is widely accepted by readers and is frequently labeled a sensationalist because of the severe and direct way in which events are presented.

Judicial chronicle

Analyze the legal implications of events related to the perpetration of crimes. It is a specialized chronicle since it requires knowledge of legal language to be able to make assessments of the facts without hindering the development of justice.

Sports chronicle

It addresses the sports theme in a similar way to an epic, where the incidents that competitors must go through are detailed before achieving victory, it aims to keep the reader in suspense before presenting the results that may already be known.

Bullfighting Chronicle

It seeks to describe the controversial art of bullfighting, transmit the uncertainty of the attack, the details of the fight, the heroism of the bullfighter and the euphoria of the public.

Travel Chronicle

It tells the experiences of intrepid travelers when visiting dream destinations. Sometimes it subtly presents recommendations for accommodation, gastronomic tasting and places of recreation and leisure.

Social chronicle

It evaluates issues related to people in general, so it covers topics ranging from parades and celebrations, to highlighting complex problems that highlight the difficult circumstances that some social groups are going through and the indifference of rulers to these events.

Political Chronicle

Due to the complexity and dynamism of the political scene, it has an episodes structure, similar to a novel, where only fragments of a story that is known to be unfinished are analyzed.

- According to the way of exposing the information

Exhaustive

Presents and validates with scientific rigor all the information available on a given event. Investigate the event in depth, contemplating all available approaches, with the aim of bringing the reader closer to the truth.

Brushstroke

It exposes the event in a superficial way since it considers only one approach to the fact, explaining it widely from this perspective.

Casual

In a transgressive way and using sarcasms and ironies, he describes an event from the chronicler's particular perspective, leaving aside the balance between information and opinion that characterizes the conventional chronicle.

- According to the geographic space to which it refers

Local chronicle

It relates the events of daily life in a specific place. According to Luis Malsillash "the important thing for a good local chronicler is that he interprets the facts with a universal sense".

National Chronicle

It presents and analyzes the economic, social and political events that affect a certain country, highlighting any similarities with the contemporary history of the nation and makes it clear that the past is always a good point of reference to understand the present of a region.

Chronicle of the foreigner

It describes the particular situation that a country is going through, presented from the detached and impartial gaze of a correspondent who is immersed in a reality that is not entirely familiar to him.

References

1. Herman, D., et al. (2005). Routledge Encyclopedia of Narrative Theory. Ofdorshire, Routledge Taylor and Francis Group.
2. Danesi, M. (2000). Encyclopedic Dictionary of Semiotics, Media, and Communications. Toronto, University of Toronto Press Incorporated
3. González Briones, E., et al. (2009). The interview and the chronicle. Madrid, Mediascope Publications.
4. Baena, G. and Montero, S. (2014). Communication Sciences 2. Mexico DF, Grupo Editorial Patria.
5. Gómez Muñoz, X. (2014). How is the journalistic chronicle constructed? Madrid, Editorial Redactum
6. Burgueño Muñoz, J. (2008). The invention in news journalism. Barcelona, ​​Editorial Advisory Board
7. Haro de San Mateo, M. (2009). Bullfighting information in the media of the Murcia region. Murcia, University of Murcia
8. Morillo, M. (2.015). Literary Mixture. bloomington, Xlibris.