Short Story Notes You do not need to copy word for word, however make sure you write down enough to remember!

Writing prompt Choose one of the following prompts. Begin brainstorming first before you start writing. I will be looking closely at your thesis (how you argue or prove your point/opinion). You can use first person. You will have the entire class period to complete it.

Pick one 1.It has been said that first impressions are almost impossible to change. Based on your experiences, do you agree or disagree with your statement? Take a position on this issue. Support your response with reasons and specific examples. 2.Imagine your school cafeteria plans to change to a new, healthier school lunch menu, which would eliminate some of the students’ favorite cafeteria foods. Take a position on this issue and write to convince your principal whether this change to the school menu is a good idea or a bad idea. Use specific reasons and examples to support your position.

Plot Mountain

 Chronologically – Events take place in chronological order  Flashback – The story begins at a later point and then flashes back to the beginning  In medias re - Latin for "into the middle of things." It usually describes a narrative that begins, not at the beginning of a story, but somewhere in the middle — usually at some crucial point in the action. Stories can be told…

 Protagonist – the leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or other literary work  Antagonist - the adversary of the hero or protagonist of a drama or other literary work

 Prediction – informed guess about what will happen next

 Inferences – logical assumptions based on details in a story

 External conflict – a character struggles against an outside force, such as another character, society, or nature  Man vs. Man, Man vs. Nature, Man vs. Society, Man vs. Technology, Man vs. Supernatural, etc.

 Internal conflict – a character grapples with his or her own opposing feelings, beliefs, needs, or desires  Man vs. Self

 Narrator - speaker or character who tells the story  First-person point of view – the narrator is a character who participates in the action of the story and uses the first-person pronouns I and me to describe himself or herself

 Third-person point of view – the narrator is not a character in the story but is a voice outside the action. The narrator uses the third-person pronouns he, she, him, her, they, and them to refer to all characters.

 Third-person omniscient point of view – the narrator knows everything, including the thoughts and feelings of all the characters

 Third-person limited point of view – the narrator sees things through one character’s eyes and reveals that character’s feelings and thoughts. The narrator can describe what other characters do or say but not what they feel or think.

 Characterization – the act of creating and developing a character

 Direct characterization – the author directly states a character’s traits

 Indirect characterization – the author provides clues about a character by describing what a character looks like, does, and says, as well as how other characters react to him or her

 Symbol – a person, place, thing, or event that represents both itself and a larger idea or feeling  Symbolism – the use of symbols in literature

 Theme – central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work

 Allegory – a poem or story that has parallel literal and symbolic meanings. On the literal level, the story appears simply as it is told. On the symbolic level, every element in the story, including the characters, events, descriptions, and features of the setting, has a symbolic meaning. While an allegory can be understood on the literal level, its full meaning is only clear on the symbolic level.  Example: “The Sneetches,” by Dr. Seuss