Plot Parts
The beginning of a plot where characters are introduced and the setting is established.
Exposition
A struggle or problem in a story.
Conflict
The narrator is a character and usually uses words such as I and me.
First-person
Material that supports a point.
Evidence
The part of a story where tension and problems begin to build.
Rising action
Hints about something that may happen later in a story.
Foreshadowing
The narrator is outside the story and uses words such as he and she.
Third-person
Information that is clearly and directly expressed.
Explicit
The moment of greatest tension or excitement in a story.
Climax
A scene or memory that shows something that happened earlier.
Flashback
The narrator is outside the story but knows the thoughts of only one character.
Third-person limited
Information that is not clearly or directly expressed.
Implicit
The release of tension after the climax.
Falling action
The feeling of not knowing what will happen next.
Suspense
The narrator is outside the story and knows the thoughts of all the characters.
Third-person omniscient
A conclusion you reach by combining what you read with what you already know.
Inference
The point where the conflicts of the story have been resolved.
Resolution
This is created when a problem or unresolved conflict causes suspense.
Tension
A narrator whose version of events may be heavily biased or untrustworthy.
Unreliable narrator
The underlying central idea or message of a literary work, usually expressed as a complete sentence.
Theme