Literary Genres and Subgenres
Name the five main genres of literature.
Fiction, Nonfiction, Folklore, Drama, Poetry
Name the 6 parts of a plot diagram in order.
Exposition, conflict (inciting incident), rising action, climax, falling action, resolution
Name the steps of the writing process in order.
A comma splice is a type of run-on sentence that tries to connect two ___________ with just a comma—which is too weak for the job!
independent (main) clauses OR complete sentences
What are the correct font, font size, and line spacing for your essays?
Times New Roman, 12 pt, double spaced with no extra line spaces
Name 2 common characteristics of all folklore.
Any of the following: originally passed down orally, “unknown” author or “retold” or “adapted” by the author, passes down traditional culture/values
What is the purpose of the exposition?
Sets the scene for the story; introduces the characters, setting, background, and anything the reader needs to know before the story really begins
During this stage of the writing process, you might free-write or create an outline.
Prewriting
What are 3 ways to fix a comma splice?
Replace the comma with a period, add a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) after the comma, or replace the comma with a semicolon
Name the five subgenres of folklore.
Fables, Fairy Tales, Myths, Legends, Tall Tales
Identify the genre and subgenre of this text: Actor Simu Liu—Marvel's newest recruit, the superhero Shang-Chi—writes about his own inspiring and unexpected origin story, from China to Canada to the bright lights of Hollywood.
Nonfiction, Autobiography/Memoir
What happens at the climax of a story?
The story reaches its most intense or exciting moment (in action or emotionally), a turning point. It's usually when the main character faces the conflict and solves it or makes a decision/reveals something that begins to solve it
Revising a piece of writing means making improvements to...
BIG things like ideas, details, organization, examples
Correct sentence or comma splice? If there's an error, fix it: I liked reading that book, it was very eye-opening.
Comma splice.
I liked reading that book. It was very eye-opening.
I liked reading that book, as it was very eye-opening.
I liked reading that book; it was very eye-opening.
Name 3 types of bold beginnings you might start a piece of writing with, to grab your reader's attention.
Any of the following: Action, dialogue, thought/question/feeling, sound effect
Identify the genre and subgenre of this text: A young orphan named Beth finds a lost kitten named Scamp. When she discovers that the kitten belongs to Miss Florence Nightingale, the famous British nurse, an unlikely friendship begins between the great lady, her mischievous pet, and penniless Beth.
Fiction, Historical Fiction
This element of the plot diagram usually takes up the biggest/longest part of the story.
Rising action
Why do we only start focusing on spelling and grammar in the Editing stage, and not in earlier stages?
In earlier stages, you want to focus on getting all your great ideas on paper without being blocked or slowed down by worrying about the little perfect details. It also doesn't make sense to edit minor details until you've settled on your big ideas/points/examples. Otherwise, if you delete or replace a whole paragraph later, you would've wasted all that effort editing spelling and punctuation.
Correct sentence or comma splice? If there's an error, fix it: Veronica loves the opera, unfortunately, she thinks it's a sing-along.
Comma splice. Fixed:
Veronica loves the opera; unfortunately, she thinks it's a sing-along.
Veronica loves the opera, but unfortunately, she thinks it's a sing-along.
Veronica loves the opera. Unfortunately, she thinks it's a sing-along.
Describe 4 characteristics of a memoir essay.
Any of the following: written in 1st person; focuses on one event/experience from the author's life; tells a story with a beginning, middle, and end; uses sensory details; includes thoughts and feelings; includes a reflection about a lesson learned
Both of these folklore subgenres exaggerate the skills or qualities of the main character. Name the subgenres and explain what makes them different.
Legends and tall tales. Legends exaggerate in a serious way, while tall tales exaggerate for humorous effect (usually to a ridiculous degree).
Map this story to a plot diagram:
An anonymous teacher moves into a new house in upstate New York. One day, a giant spider—her worst fear—blocks her way back into her room. She tries calling her housemate, but she's not home. She tries shouting at it to go away, but it doesn't listen. Finally, she musters up her courage and grabs a vacuum cleaner. After a long, tense standoff, she charges at the spider and successfully vacuums it up. She cleans the vacuum cleaner and disinfects the whole room. At that moment, her housemate walks in the door with a can of bug spray—but thanks to her conquered fear and trusty vacuum, she doesn't need it.
Exposition: intro teacher, upstate NY setting
Conflict: teacher vs. giant spider
Rising action: calling roomate, shouting, vacuum cleaner standoff
Climax: vacuums spider
Falling action: cleans vacuum and room, housemate arrives
Resolution: conquered fear, knows what to do next time
What is the "So what?" rule/test? Explain how a piece of writing passes this test.
It must give the reader a reason to care about the writing. It should matter or be significant in some way, whether it's informative, inspiring, touching, surprising...
Correct sentence or comma splice? If there's an error, fix it: When Tommy went to the zoo, he waved to a monkey, an elephant, and a penguin, none of them waved back.
Comma splice.
When Tommy went to the zoo, he waved to a monkey, an elephant, and a penguin; none of them waved back.
When Tommy went to the zoo, he waved to a monkey, an elephant, and a penguin. None of them waved back.
When Tommy went to the zoo, he waved to a monkey, an elephant, and a penguin, but none of them waved back.
Answers may vary, using sensory details, actions, thoughts, dialogue.