Elements of a Story
Plot is the organized pattern or sequence
of events that make up a story.
Diagram of Plot
Climax
Introduction
/ Exposition
Setting, characters,
Resolution
Putting It All Together
1. Exposition
2. Rising Action
Beginning of
Story
Middle of Story
3. Climax
4. Falling Action
5. Resolution
End of Story
Setting
Time and place or where the action occurs
Details that describe setting:
 Scenery
 Customs
 Transportation
 Clothing
 Dialects
 Weather
 Time of day/year
The Functions of a Setting
 To create a mood
 To show a reader a
different way of life
 To make action seem
more realistic
 To increase the
conflict or struggle
 To symbolize an idea
Characters
The person, animals, and
things in the story
• Dynamic under
goes important changes
• Static-remains the
same throughout the
story
Characters
• Protagonist and antagonist
• The protagonist - the main character; the one
with whom the reader identifies.
• The antagonist is the force in opposition of the
protagonist
Conflict
Conflict is the dramatic struggle
between two forces in a story. Without
conflict, there is no plot.
Internal –character is facing a conflict
within him/herself
External-outside factor
Types of External Conflict
Character vs Character
Character vs Nature
Character vs Society
Point of View
• First Person Point of View- uses the
pronouns “I” and “me”. Narrator is in
the story
• Third Person Point of View- an
outside narrator is telling the story;
uses the pronouns “he”, “she”, “they”
Types of Third-Person
Point of View
• Third-Person Limited
• The narrator knows the
thoughts and feelings
of only ONE character
in a story.
• Third-Person Omniscient
• The narrator knows the
thoughts and feeling of
ALL the characters in a
story.
• Objective Point of View• The narrator does not
reveal anyone one
character’s
thoughts/feeling
Literary Terms
• Mood is the feeling that the author tries to convey
throughout the story.
• Tone-expresses the write/author’s attitude
toward his/her subject
• Imagery- words and phrase that appeal to the
five senses . Feel –sight-smell-taste-sound
• Irony- when one thing is expected to happen
but something else happens
Special Techniques used in a Story
 Suspense- excitement, tension, curiosity
 Foreshadowing- hint or clue about what will
happen in story
 Flashback- interrupts the normal sequence of
events to tell about something that happened in the
past
 Symbolism – use of specific objects or images to
represent ideas
 Personification – when you make a thing,
idea or animal do something only humans do
Simile –using like or as to compare two things
Metaphor –a comparison not using like or as
Theme
 theme is the message about life that the
write shares with the reader
Theme-moral-message-lesson
What is this story telling me about how life
works, or how people behave?
Any questions?