| A | B |
|---|
| author's purpose | the main reason for writing; examples: to entertain, to inform, or to persuade |
| climax | part of the plot; the turning point or high point; a moment of great tension in the story |
| conflict | a struggle or problem between opposing forces; starts the rising action in the plot |
| first-person point of view | told by a character within the story using the pronoun "I" |
| third-person point of view | the storyteller is not a character in the story and tells events from the "outside"; uses "he," "she," and "they" |
| characterization | the act of creating and developing a character |
| foreshadowing | the author's use of clues to hint at what might happen later in the story |
| fiction | writing that tells about imaginary characters and events, as in short stories and novels |
| nonfiction | writing that tells about real people, places, objects or events; includes autobiographies, biographies, essays, reports, letters, memos and articles |
| falling action | part of the plot; the events that follow the climax and bring the reader toward the resolution |
| mood | the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage |
| plot | the sequence of events in a work of fiction |
| resolution/denouement | the part of the plot where the loose ends are tied up and the reader learns the final outcome and how the conflict is resolved |
| rising action | the part of the plot that begins when the conflict or struggle is introduced |
| setting | the time, place, and circumstances(such as weather or history) in a story |
| theme | the central message or lesson in a literary work; not a summary |
| tone | the writer's attitude toward his or her audience or subject he or she is writing about |
| metaphor | a comparison that describes one thing as if it were something else, does not use "like" or "as" |
| simile | a comparison using "like" or "as" |
| exposition | introduction of the setting, the characters, and the basic situation |
| personification | an animal or inanimate object that has human qualities |
| alliteration | the repetition of the beginning sound in words |
| hyperbole | using exaggeration for effect |
| symbol | to use something to stand for something else |
| onomatopoeia | use of words that imitate sounds |
| rhyme | the repetition of sounds at the end of words |
| protagonist | the main character |
| antagonist | the character in conflict with the main character |
| flashback | interruptions in the story’s sequence of events which take the reader back to an earlier time |
