| A | B |
|---|
| short story | a narrative; must have a beginning, middle and an end |
| exposition | story beginning where characters are introduced, the time and place are told, and conflict is introduced |
| resolution | the final solution to the story's problem |
| falling action | occurrences after the climax which bring about the final resolution |
| rising action | tells how the conflict builds and becomes complicated |
| conflict | a problem or struggle between opposing forces |
| person v. self | internal struggle; character struggles against conscience, for example |
| person v. person | external struggle; one character opposes another |
| person v. nature | a character struggles to survive against weather or animals, for example |
| person v. unknown | character struggles to overcome an unreal force or evil |
| person v. society | a character does not want to conform to the rules of a group or laws of family or society |
| person v. technology | character struggles to overcome mechanical strength or artificial intelligence |
| plot | the sequence of events in a story |
| theme | the message about life or human nature that a reader learns from a story |
| dynamic character | this character grows and changes significantly in the story |
| static character | character who changes little or not at all during the story |
| genre | a major category of literature |
| protagonist | the main character who is confronted with a problem or condition which must be solved |
| antagonist | presents the problem; the force working against the main character |
| setting | the time and place at which the events of a story happen |
| author's purpose | to entertain; to explain or inform; to express an opinion or to persuade, for example |
| characterization | a writer's techniques used to create and develop interesting characters |
| flashback | a scene that interrupts the present to describe an earlier event in a story |
| foreshadowing | author's use of hints to suggest what will happen later in a story |
| idiom | Example: Mike said, "When I'm mad I get really hot under the collar!" |
| inference | a logical guess or conclusion based upon evidence given in a story or article |
| irony | the contrast between what we expect to happen and what really happens in a story |
| metaphor | a strong comparison of two unlike things; does NOT use the word "like" or "as" |
| point of view | the perspective from which a story is told; e.g. - first person |
| first person | the narrator is the main character and uses the pronouns "I/me" |
| third person | the narrator is NOT in the story and relates the tale using pronouns "he/she/it" |
| third person limited | the narrator is able to read into the mind and feelings of only ONE character in the story |
| third person omniscient | the narrator is all-knowing; knows everything about all character and can see into their minds and feelings |
| mood | the atmosphere or feeling created in a story |
| dialogue | a conversation between two or more characters |
| simile | a comparison to two unlike things; uses "like" or "as" to compare |
| stereotype | a broad generalization about groups of people; used to judge a person, usually unfairly, based on group characteristics such as race, or physical appearance, etc. |
| imagery | words and phrases that appeal to a reader's senses and allow imagining about how things look, feel, smell, sound, and taste |
| plot line | a diagram that shows the pattern of main events in a story |
| fiction | writing that tells an imaginary story |
| biography | the story of a person's life written by another person |
| alliteration | the repeating of consonant sounds at the beginnings of words; e.g. Regina raised a rosebush for Renee. |
| prose | ordinary spoken and written language; NOT poetry |
| poetry | expresses ideas in compact, imaginative and rhythmic language; sometimes rhymes |
| onomatopoeia | the use of words that imitate sounds to suggest what they mean; e.g. "hiss" and "sizzle" |
| personification | the giving of human qualities to an animal or item of nature; e.g. The hurricane is an agile dancer that whirls on the tip of its toes. |
| nonfiction | writing that tells about real people, places, and events |
| hyperbole | extreme exaggeration made for humorous effect; e.g. Is this porridge or cement? |
| symbol | a person or object that stands for something else; e.g. our flag symbolizes freedom |
| climax | high point of tension in a story; it brings about the solution to the story's problem |
