Plot Structure - Mrs. Maldonado's English Class



Literary Elements - Notes

Fiction: The created text which are narrative and aim to express the feelings and ideas of the writer within a sequence of events, using the created characters and settings.

Short Story: A form of fiction, which is narrative and generally tells a sequence of events within a certain time and place.

Narration: The telling of the story. Each story has a narrator that talks about the events/characters and describes the setting.

Point of View: 1st person: “ I saw…when I woke up…”

2nd person: “you were…when you woke up…”

3rd person: “ He saw…when she woke up…”

Plot

Five Elements of a Story

Climax

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Plot Structure

Exposition: setting is given, background information is provided, characters are

introduced

Rising Action: things start happening, clues are given as to what the climax is,

suspense is building

Climax (high point): the big action, the main happening in the story

Falling Action: things start to fall into place, the clues start adding up, the

mystery starts to become clear

Resolution: the problem or mystery is solved, all the loose ends are tied up, the

happily ever after

Story Elements

Setting: where and when the story takes place

Tone: the feeling of the story ( ex: magical, mysterious, comical)

Characters: the people, animals, etc. in the story

Characterization: the way the author creates the characters, giving them

personality traits (evil, selfish, greedy…), physical characteristics

Problem or Crisis: what is wrong in the story

Descriptive language: words that give details ( ex: colors, sounds, adjectives)

Irony: when the end or actual result is not what was expected

Motive: what causes a person to act

Values: principles, moral or ideals, what “good” lesson was learned

Theme: subject or topic that is dealt with in the story

Personification: Giving human qualities to a non-human being

Metaphor – a comparison of two unlike things without the use of “like” or “as”

Simile – a comparison of two unlike things using “like” or “as”

Allusion – a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art.

Suspense – is the reader’s feeling of curiosity, uncertainty, or even anxiety about the outcome of events in a story

Foreshadowing – is the use of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur

Protagonist: The main character or hero in a story or play. (good guy)

Antagonist: The character or force in conflict with the main character or hero in a story. (bad guy)

5 Types of Conflict

Conflict is the “problem” in a story which triggers the action. There are five basic types of conflict.

Person vs. Person One character in a story has a problem with one or more of the other characters.

Person vs. Society: A character has a conflict or problem with society, the school, the law, tradition.

Person vs. Him/Herself: A character struggles inside himself and has trouble deciding what to do.

Person vs. Nature A character has a problem with some element of nature: a snowstorm, an avalanche, the bitter cold, etc.

Person vs. Fate: A character has to battle what seems to be an uncontrollable problem.

The conflicts in literature usually revolve around the protagonist (main character). There can be many conflicts occurring at the same time throughout a story.

Symbol - an object, a person, or an event that stands for itself but also represents something else. A flag, for instance, may symbolize a country. Writers use symbols in many ways to help illuminate (highlight) a story’s theme or to show an aspect of a character or situation that cannot be described easily.

Dynamic Character – A character who develops and grows during the course of the story.

Static Character – A character who does not change.

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Exposition (introduction)

Rising Action

Falling Action

Resolution

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