1. Plot: is what happens in the story; the sequence of events
2. Plot Pattern:
a) Introduction: Explains the situation, introduces setting, introduces characters
b) Rising Action: The series of increasingly suspenseful complications and events
c) Climax: The point at which one force in the main conflict wins over the other force in the main conflict
d) Falling Action: Is the outcome of events
e) Conclusion: is what happens after the outcome of the struggle is known
3. Conflict: Is created by the conflict between opposing forces. There are 3 main types of conflicts used by the story authors. A single story can contain all or one of these types of conflict
a) Man versus man (external) – you and your friend argue
b) Man versus Self (internal) – should you go to the party or stay home
c) Man versus Nature (External) – lost in the woods
d) Man versus Society (external) – being arrested wrongfully
4. Character: is the fictional representation of a person in the story
a) Direct characterization: occurs when the author tells us directly what a character looks like
b) Indirect characterization: occurs when we learn about the character through their actions (words, actions, other characters, reactions)
5. Setting: the time and place that the story takes places
6. Theme: The author’s message to the reader, what the author is saying about the subject. (e.g. love conquers all)
7. Point of view: The person through whose mind the story is told to the reader
a) First Person: a character in the story talking about themselves
b) Third Person Objective: He or She can only tell facts and details
c) Third Person Omniscient: He or she can see into the minds of characters and know how they feel.
