1. Where and when a story takes place
setting
Where and when a story takes place

2. plot
The events that happen in a story

3. Answers --who, what, where, and when
exposition
At the beginning of the story; provides background information about characters and setting

4. exciting force
The event that gets the action of the story going; the event that gets the story moving

5. Rising action
The series of conflicts (struggles) that build the story to its climax

6. The high point, or turning point, in a story
climax
The high point, or turning point, in a story

7. Falling action
Occurs after the climax; minor conflicts are solved

8. The final outcome in a story; the end result
A Royal
Resolution
The final outcome in a story; the end result

9. Plot Diagram Climax Falling Action Rising Action Resolution
Exciting Force
Exposition

10. A struggle (problem) between two forces
Conflict
A struggle (problem) between two forces

11. Internal conflict
A struggle with a character’s mind between needs, desires, or emotions

12. External conflict
A character struggles with an outside force (nature, another character, society, etc.

13. Types of conflict Man vs. man Man vs. self Man vs. society
Man vs. nonhuman (nature, supernatural, beast, fate, etc.)

14. Characters

15. protagonist
The main character in a story; the character you are rooting for

16. antagonist
The character or force opposing the main character

17. Dynamic Character A character who changes over the course of a story
After
Before

18. A character who remains the same over the course of a story
Static character
A character who remains the same over the course of a story

19. Flat character
Has only one or two traits

20. Has many different character traits
Round Character
Has many different character traits

21. A story’s message about life; The moral of a story
The grass isn’t always greener on the other side
You can overcome
your past
Theme
A story’s message about life;
The moral of a story
Never underestimate your opponent
Be careful what
you wish for

22. Symbol
A person, place, thing, or idea that stands for itself as well as something beyond itself

23. Foreshadowing
The use of clues to hint at events that will happen later in a story

24. flashback
A scene that interrupts the present action to replay something that happened at an earlier time

25. Anxiety the reader feels about what is going to happen in a story
Suspense
Anxiety the reader feels about what is going to happen in a story

26. Mood
A story’s atmosphere or feeling it evokes

27. Dramatic irony
Don’t open the door!
When the audience knows something important that a character does not know

28. Situational irony
When there is a contradiction between what we expect to happen and what really does take place

29. Verbal Irony
When a writer or speaker says one thing but really means something completely different
“Wow, that outfit looks great on you.”

30. The attitude the writer takes toward a subject or character
Angry
Serious
Tone
Sarcastic
The attitude the writer takes toward a subject or character
Humorous
Sympathetic

31. Resolves a story’s conflicts in an unexpected way
Surprise ending
Resolves a story’s conflicts in an unexpected way

32. Ambiguous ending
An uncertain ending; an ending that can be interpreted in a number of different ways

33. May not always know the truth or may purposely choose to deceive us
Unreliable narrator
May not always know the truth or may purposely choose to deceive us

34. Point of view
Perspective from which a writer tells the story

35. One of the characters is telling the story, using the pronoun “I”
The “I” narrator
First Person P.O.V.
One of the characters is telling the story, using the pronoun “I”

36. Limited Third Person P.O.V.
The narrator, who plays no part in the story, zooms in on the thoughts and feelings of one character

37. The “all-knowing” point of view
Omniscient P.O.V.
The person telling the story knows everything there is to know about the characters: their thoughts, actions, problems, etc.

38. How an author reveals the personality of a character in a story
characterization
How an author reveals the personality of a character in a story

39. Four types of characterization
“Jim and Della were foolish.”
Four types of characterization
What a character himself says, thinks, does, feels
Physical description of a character
What other characters say, think, or feel
Narrator’s direct comments