| Term | Definition |
| Plot | major events in a story |
| Characters | people or animals in a story |
| Conflict | the main problem |
| Theme | the main point, lesson |
| Setting | where and when the story takes
place |
| Persuade | to convince the audience |
| Inform/Explain | to tell about something |
| Entertain | to capture the audience/tell a
story |
| Express | to express feelings (usually in
poetry) |
| 1st Person | told by one of the characters;
“I”, “me”, “my” |
| 2nd Person | the narrator is speaking directly
to the audience; “you”, “your” |
| 3rd Person | told by an observer not a
character; “he”, “she”, “they” |
| Exposition | the introduction/beginning of
the story |
| Rising Action | the events leading up to
climax; building suspense |
| Climax | the most intense part of the story;
the turning point |
| Falling Action | the events after the
climax/turning point, that lead to the
resolution |
| Resolution/Denouement | solution; how the
story turns out |
| External Conflict | a struggle between a
character and an outside force |
| Internal Conflict | a struggle within the
character’s mind |
| Man vs. Man | conflict between two
characters |
| Man vs. Self | conflict between a character
and his own thoughts/feelings |
| Man vs. Society | conflict between a
character and a large group |
| Man vs. Nature | conflict between a
character and a natural force |
| Man vs. Technology | conflict between a
character and some form of technology |
| Man vs. Supernatural | conflict between a
character and something that is not normal
in some way |
| Tone | author’s attitude |
| Mood | feeling created by the story; reader’s
emotions |
| Foreshadowing | hinting at future events in the story |
| Flashback | taking a break from present events to
explain something that happened in the past |
| Imagery | words meant to create a picture in the
reader’s mind |
| Genre | type or category of literature |
