Building Blocks of a Story
Question: This is the person, animal, or magical creature that the story is about.
Answer: What is a character?
Question: To do this, you combine what you already know with clues from the book to figure out something the author didn't say out loud.
Answer: What is to infer (or making an inference)?
Question: This is the main character or "good guy" of the story that the reader usually roots for.
Answer: What is the protagonist?
Question: If a question asks for the passage, it is talking about this specific thing.
Answer: What is a short section of text or a quote from the book?
Question: When an author gives you a sneaky hint or clue early on about something that will happen later in the story.
Answer: What is foreshadowing?
Question: This term refers to the sequence of events that happen from the beginning to the end of the story.
Answer: What is the plot?
Question: When a quiz asks you to give a short version of the book covering just the main points, it wants you to do this.
Answer: What is to summarize?
Question: This is the character or force that opposes the main character—often the "bad guy" or villain.
Answer: What is the antagonist?
Question: When a quiz asks "What is the author's purpose?", it wants to know this.
Answer: What is why the author wrote the book (e.g., to persuade, inform, or entertain)?
Question: When an object, color, or place stands for a bigger idea (like a heart standing for love, or a storm standing for anger).
Answer: What is a symbol (or symbolism)?
Question: This is the time and place where a story happens.
Answer: What is the setting?
Question: This is the big idea, moral, or life lesson that the author wants you to learn from reading the book.
Answer: What is the theme (or main idea)?
Question: Quizzes often ask why a character did something. This term means the reason behind a character's actions.
Answer: What is motivation?
Question: If a question asks "Which detail best supports the answer above?", it is looking for this.
Answer: What is evidence (or proof) from the text?
Question: This is the overall feeling or atmosphere that the reader gets while reading a book (like spooky, cheerful, or suspenseful).
Answer: What is the mood?
Question: This is the main problem, struggle, or hurdle that the main character has to face.
Answer: What is the conflict?
Question: When a question asks you to look at how two characters or books are alike, it is asking you to do this.
Answer: What is to compare?
Question: Words like brave, greedy, funny, or loyal describe a character's personality, which are known as these.
Answer: What are character traits?
Question: If a quiz question asks you to predict what will happen next, it wants you to do this.
Answer: What is make a smart guess about the future of the story?
Question: This is how the story is resolved or how the main problem is finally worked out at the very end.
Answer: What is the resolution?
Question: This is the turning point of the story, often the most exciting or intense part, right before the problem gets solved.
Answer: What is the climax?
Question: When a question asks you to look at how two characters or books are different, it is asking you to do this.
Answer: What is to contrast?
Question: This kind of character changes, grows, or learns a lesson by the time the story ends.
Answer: What is a dynamic character?
Question: This point-of-view term is used when the narrator is a character in the story telling it from their own perspective using "I" and "me".
Answer: What is first-person?
Question: This is the author's attitude toward their subject or audience, often shown through their choice of words (like sarcastic, serious, or playful).
Answer: What is the tone?