Narrative Elements
The time and location in which a story takes place.
Setting
A person, animal, or object that takes part in the action of a story.
Character
A change that occurs inside a character's mind, heart, or personality.
Internal Change
Conversation between two or more characters in a story.
Dialogue
This type of noun names a specific person, place, or thing and must always be capitalized.
Proper Nouns
The main character facing the central conflict in a story.
Protagonist (Main Character)
Descriptive language that appeals to the five senses (sight, sound, smell, taste, touch).
Sensory Language
A change involving a character's physical surroundings, appearance, or location.
External Change
A scene set in a time earlier than the main story, used to fill in background details.
Flashback
Punctuation marks used to enclose direct dialogue in narrative writing.
Quotation Marks
The high point of suspense or turning point in a narrative arc.
The process by which an author reveals a character's personality through actions, speech, or appearance.
Characterization
A deep, psychological shift in a character's beliefs, values, worldview, or emotional capacity over the course of a story.
Internal Change
The overall emotional atmosphere or feeling created in a piece of writing.
Mood
A group of words that expresses a complete thought, containing both a subject and a predicate.
Independent Clause/Complete Sentence
A struggle between a character and an outside force, such as nature or society.
External Conflict
The central piece of action that is the focus of a narrative.
Incident
The message, lesson, or moral about life that a character learns as a result of a major change.
Theme
The strategy of using actions, sensory details, and feelings rather than just stating what happened.
Show, Don't Tell
Words that link two ideas, sentences, or paragraphs by showing their relationship.
Transitions words or phrases
The perspective from which a story is told, often categorized as first-person or third-person.
point of view
A story that is told from the author's own life experiences.
Personal Narrative
In Unit 1, texts like "The Jacket" show how growing up causes this specific kind of personal transformation.
maturation / emotional change
A description that explores the significance of the incident.
Reflection
Punctuate/Capitalize the following sentences.
If you complete your homework you can go to the party.
I screamed get out of my room
If you complete your homework, you can go to the party.
I screamed, "Get out of my room!"