| A | B |
| setting | the time and location in which a story takes place |
| mood | the feeling created at the beginning of a story (how the reader feels) |
| plot | how the author arranges a sequence of events to develop his central idea or theme |
| exposition | the beginning of the story where the reader is introduced to characters and setting elements |
| rising action | important events in the story in between the exposition and the climax where the conflict of the story is revealed and events occur as a result of the conflict |
| climax | the point of most interest, tension, or suspense in a story |
| falling action | important events that occur after the climax of the story |
| resolution | the final outcome of all plot events |
| conflict | the opposition of forces that ties plot events together into a sequence |
| external conflict | a force outside of the main character comes against him/her |
| internal conflict | a struggle within a character |
| man vs. man | the main character is in conflict with another character in the story |
| man vs. nature | the main character struggles with a force of nature |
| man vs. society | the main character struggles against ideas, practices, or customs of other people |
| man vs. self | the main character struggles with himself/herself |
| protagonist | the main character of a story |
| antagonist | a character who opposes/comes into conflict with the main character |
| characterization | the information the author gives the reader about the characters |
| point of view | the perspective from which a story is told |
| 1st-person point of view | told by a character who uses the first-person pronoun "I" |
| 2nd-person narration | the author directly addresses the reader and uses the second-person pronoun "you" |
| 3rd-person narration | the narrator uses third-person pronouns such as he and she to refer to the characters |
| theme | the underlying meaning or message for the reader that the author wants you to think about |
| tone | the writer's attitude toward his or her audience and subject |