University of Phoenix Material



University of Phoenix Material

Literary Elements Worksheet

Instructions: Use this worksheet to assist in outlining and writing a short story. Pay attention to the literary elements and how they shape the emotions and pace of a story.

Part One: Plot

One way of discussing the plot is to draw the major events on a diagram, like the one below. The major events can fall into one of the following categories:

1) Exposition: events that give the reader background information needed to understand the story

1) Rising Action: major events that lead to the climax (described below)

2) Climax: the turning point or the high point of the story

3) Falling Action: events after the climax before the resolution

4) Resolution: when the outcome of the story is made clear and loose ends wrapped up

Climax

Rising Action Falling Action

Exposition Resolution

Label the most important events that occur in your story on the diagram above.

Part Two: Conflicts

Identify the main conflicts that happen in your story. How are they resolved?

|Conflict |How is it resolved? |

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Part Three: Setting

The writer must answer, very early in the story, “Where are we and when?” A story needs general and specific details of the setting in order to enter the story and allow the reader to imagine themselves in it. Even a title can help identify a story’s setting. List characteristics of the setting. Is the setting symbolic? Real or imaginary? A setting from history? A building?

Part Four: Characterization

Identify and describe two of the main characters in your story. Then, explain what the writer did to help the audience to understand the character. Think about dialogue, behavior, motivation, emotions, and selected language used to describe the character.

|Character Name |Describe Character (what type of character, |What can the writer do to make these characteristics |

| |protagonist, antagonist, flat, round) |clear? |

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Part Five: Theme

A story usually has meaning beyond just the action that occurred. Every story deals with a topic; theme is what the storytellers are saying about that topic. A romantic story might be about love, but its theme might be that “love comes only to those who are willing to risk everything in order to gain it.” Create a paragraph that details the theme of the short story. Note how the characters and plot play into this theme.

Part Six: Other Literary Elements

In one or two sentences for each item, identify the use and effect of any of the following in your story:

1) Irony

5) Flashbacks

6) Metaphors

7) Personification

8) Hyperbole

9) Allusion

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