1. Elements of Literature
Short Story

2. Plot The plot is the sequence of events in a story.
There are five parts of a plot: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
A narrative hook, which is not technically a part of plot, is the point in a story in which the reader becomes emotionally invested or interested.

3. Exposition
The exposition of a story almost always occurs in the first few chapters (or paragraphs, in a short story).
The exposition introduces the characters, describes the setting, and summarizes significant events that took place before the action begins.

4. Rising Action
The rising action refers to the part of the plot in which complications develop and the conflict intensifies.
The rising action builds to the climax of the story.

5. Climax
The climax is the moment when the interest and emotional intensity reach their highest point.
The climax is sometimes called the turning point of a story.
The reader may have guessed how the story will end by the time they read the climax.

6. Falling Action The falling action occurs after the climax.
Falling action refers to the events that occur after the climax and lead to the resolution of the story.

7. Resolution
The resolution is the final part of the story, in which all conflicts are resolved.
Resolution is also called denouement.

8. Draw a plot line on your paper:
Don’t forget to include:
Exposition
Rising Action
Climax
Falling Action
Resolution

9. Conflict A conflict is a problem or struggle.
There are two types of conflict: internal and external.

10. Conflict Internal Conflict External Conflict
An internal conflict is a problem or struggle that occurs within a character.
An external conflict is a problem or struggle that occurs with two characters or more, or with a character and an outside force.

11. Characterization
Characterization refers to the techniques writers use to develop characters.
Characterization can be either direct or indirect.

12. Characterization Indirect Direct
The reader usually has to figure out things about a character on his or her own, based upon what other characters say about the character.
With direct characterization, the author tells the reader what he or she needs to know about a character.

13. Dialect
Dialect is the particular variety of a language spoken by a group of people.
For example: In the North, we call Coca-Cola “pop.” In the South, we call Coca-Cola “soda” or “soda pop.”

14. Setting
The setting is the time and place of a story.

15. Tone Tone refers to the attitude a writer takes toward a subject.
The language and details a writer chooses help to create the tone of a story.
Tone can be playful, serious, angry, or sad, among other possibilities.

16. Point of View Point of view is the way a narrator tells a story.
There are four points of view in stories: first person, third person limited, third person objective, and omniscient.

17. Points of View First person Third person limited
The narrator uses “I” and “me.”
The narrator is a character in the story, telling the story from his/her point of view.
The narrator tells the story from another character’s thoughts, feelings and actions.
The narrator is usually just outside the events in the story, and describes the events and characters in the story.

18. POV, cont’d Third person objective Omniscient
With third person objective, the story reads just like a newspaper report of events and people.
Omniscient means “all-knowing”
The narrator can see all characters thoughts and feelings about events.

19. Irony
Irony is a contrast between what is expected and what actually occurs.
Irony can be situational, dramatic, or verbal.

20. Situational Irony
Situational irony occurs when a character or the reader expects one thing but something entirely different occurs.
Example: You tell your girlfriend that you are sick and cannot go to a school dance. You are actually planning on going with another girl to the dance. When you arrive at the dance, you see your girlfriend dancing with your best friend.

21. Verbal Irony
Verbal Irony occurs when someone says one thing but means another.
An example of verbal irony is when you tell your friend that you have to work all weekend, which means you will miss the big game, and your friend replies, “That’s nice.”
Verbal irony can often be confused with sarcasm.

22. Dramatic Irony
Dramatic irony only occurs in plays, television shows, and movies.
Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something that the characters on-stage do not know.
An example of this would be when you watch a movie where a girl is running from a killer. You see her creep towards a closed door and put her head against it to hear into the other room….where the killer is hiding.