1. Unit 1: Fiction Plot Lecture Notes Outline [Mirrors & Windows logo]
Literary Analysis
Unit 1: Fiction
Plot
Level I
NOTE: This presentation contains slides with fields for recording student responses. Any text you insert will remain in the fields until you delete it manually.

2. Fiction is like a spider’s web, attached ever so lightly, perhaps, but still attached to life at all four corners.
—Virginia Woolf
Lecture Notes Outline
Fiction is like a spider’s web, attached ever so lightly, perhaps, but still attached to life at all four corners. —Virginia Woolf
Navigation Note
In all Unit 1 Literary Analysis presentations, slides 3–7 introduce the genre of fiction. If you choose to skip the genre introduction, use the “<skip intro>” button below the quotation. This button will advance the presentation to the introduction of the specific literary element on slide 8.
Extension Options
Have students respond to other famous quotations about fiction:
• “Fiction reveals truth that reality obscures.” —Ralph Waldo Emerson
• “Fiction is the truth inside the lie.” —Stephen King
• “The difference between fiction and reality? Fiction has to make sense.” —Tom Clancy
• “But I hate things all fiction…. There should be some foundation of fact for the most airy fabric—and pure invention is but the talent of a liar.” —Lord Byron
• “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t.” —Mark Twain
• “Detail is the lifeblood of fiction.” —John Gardner
<skip intro>

3. What is fiction?
Fiction is a category of literature that includes any work of prose that tells an invented or imaginary story.
Lecture Notes Outline
What is fiction? Fiction is a category of literature that includes any work of prose that tells an invented or imaginary story.
Extension Options
• Explain the difference between commercial fiction and literary fiction.
• Tell students that the American Library Association sponsors the John Newbery Medal, an award given annually to the author of the most distinguished American children’s book, and the Randolph Caldecott Medal, an award given annually to the artist of the most distinguished American children’s book. One criterion for this award is that the nominated book be suitable for children through age 14. For a list of past medal winners, have students visit the American Library Association website at

4. What are the two main forms of fiction?
The two main forms of fiction are the short story and the novel.
Lecture Notes Outline
What are the two main forms of fiction? The two main forms of fiction are the short story and the novel.
Extension Options
Ask students to consider the difficulties of writing a short story versus writing a novel.

5. What are your favorite types of fiction?
Realistic fiction
Science fiction
Fantasy
Horror
Historical fiction
Sports fiction
Mystery
Westerns
Lecture Notes Outline
What are your favorite types of fiction? Different types of fiction that students are familiar with include realistic fiction, science fiction, fantasy, horror, historical fiction, sports fiction, mystery, and westerns.
Extension Options
• Discuss with students their experiences with fiction, their favorite types of fiction and why, and the hallmarks of memorable fiction.
• Take an informal classroom poll as to which type of fiction is most popular among students. Ask students to name some of their favorite books and authors.

6. What are the purposes of fiction?
To entertain readers
To show readers new and different ideas
To provide readers with an escape from reality
To teach readers to be understanding and sympathetic
To help readers explore unknown worlds
Lecture Notes Outline
What are the purposes of fiction? Fiction can entertain readers, show readers new and different ideas, provide readers with an escape from reality, teach readers to be understanding and sympathetic, and help readers explore unknown worlds.
Extension Options
• Have students discuss the different purposes of reading fiction and nonfiction and the merits of reading each genre.
• Ask students what factors have contributed to the recent popularity of reading fiction. Possible answers: book clubs, appealing book series (Harry Potter, Twilight), and media based on fictional books.

7. What are the five elements of fiction?
Plot
Point of view
Characters
Setting
Theme
Lecture Notes Outline
What are the five elements of fiction? Plot, point of view, characters, setting, theme

8. Plot Plot is a series of related events that drive a story.
Lecture Notes Outline
Plot is a series of related events that drive a story.
Typically, a plot introduces a conflict, develops it, and eventually resolves it. Plots tend to develop in a cause-and-effect sequence, with one event leading to the next. The readers’ desire to find out why something is happening propels them through the series of events.

9. —Isaac Bashevis Singer
A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise. Because that is how life is—full of surprises.
—Isaac Bashevis Singer
What do you think makes a plot interesting and memorable?
Lecture Notes Outline
A story to me means a plot where there is some surprise. Because that is how life is—full of surprises. —Isaac Bashevis Singer
What do you think makes a plot interesting and memorable?
Navigation Note
An interactive text field has been provided to record student responses. Please note that any text you insert will remain in the text field unless manually deleted.
Extension Options
Have students write 1–2 paragraphs in response to the following questions:
• What is your favorite work of fiction?
• What made the book or story memorable to you? Was it a suspenseful plot, an interesting group of characters, or some other element?
• What ingredients make up a good plot?

10. A plot is the frame that gives a story its structure
A plot is the frame that gives a story its structure. There are five elements of plot:
Lecture Notes Outline
A plot is the frame that gives a story its structure. There are five elements of plot: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
This slide shows the Plot Diagram represented as a mountain. In the slides that follow, you will see how a mountain climbing adventure illustrates the different elements of plot.
Graphic Organizer Sources
A blank Plot Diagram in both interactive and printable PDF formats can be found in the Graphic Organizers section of the Visual Teaching Package. Students may access interactive graphic organizers at

11. The exposition is the introduction to the plot. In the exposition
characters are introduced
setting is revealed
mood or tone is established
Lecture Notes Outline
The exposition is the introduction to the plot. In the exposition, characters are introduced, setting is revealed, and mood or tone is established.
The exposition provides any necessary background information that the reader may need to understand the story. It also sets the plot in motion by providing an inciting incident. An inciting incident is the event that creates a problem for the main character. This problem is usually resolved by the end of the story. This slide introduces the characters (mountain climbers), the setting (a base camp at the foot of a mountain), and the task at hand (a dangerous mountain climbing adventure).

12. In the rising action, the main character tries to solve a problem and runs into several obstacles along the way, resulting in a conflict.
Lecture Notes Outline
In the rising action, the main character tries to solve a problem and runs into several obstacles along the way, resulting in a conflict.
The rising action is where most of the significant events and conflicts of the story line occur. This is also the part of the plot that builds in intensity, creating suspense. This slide indicates the climbers making their ascent on the mountain.

13. Conflict is what drives the plot. There are four types of conflict:
person versus person
person versus society
person versus nature
person versus self
Lecture Notes Outline
Conflict is what drives the plot. There are four types of conflict: person versus person, person versus society, person versus nature, and person versus self.
The first three types of conflict (person versus person, person versus society, and person versus nature) are considered external conflicts—struggles that take place between a character and some outside force. The last type of conflict (person versus self) is considered an internal conflict—a struggle that takes place within a character. Most plots have more than one type of conflict.

14. The climax, or turning point, is the high point of interest and suspense in the plot.
Lecture Notes Outline
The climax, or turning point, is the high point of interest and suspense in the plot.
At this critical point, the main character has to take action or make a decision. Sometimes, fate intervenes and forces him or her to do so. There can be one climax or several climaxes in a story, and the main climax doesn’t necessarily occur in the middle of the plot. In short stories, in particular, the climax often occurs near the end of the story. This slide indicates that the mountain climber has survived the obstacles of the ascent and has accomplished the goal.

15. The falling action consists of all the events that follow the climax
These events include the results of the main character’s action or decision.
Lecture Notes Outline
The falling action consists of all the events that follow the climax, including the results of the main character’s action or decision. This slide indicates the climber’s descent of the mountain now that the goal has been reached. Some stories follow an unusual plot pattern. These stories begin with the falling action and go back in time to fill in the events that led up to it. (See slide 17 for more information on time and plot organization.)

16. The resolution, or conclusion, is the point at which the central conflict is ended, or resolved.
Lecture Notes Outline
The resolution, or conclusion, is the point at which the central conflict is ended, or resolved.
This part of the story is also known as the dénouement. The word dénouement has a French origin. Its literal translation is “to untie a knot.” In reference to a literary work, dénouement means the untying or unraveling of the complex parts of a plot.

17. A story’s plot organization is often framed by time.
Chronological order unfolds events in the order in which they occur.
Flashback interrupts time sequence and presents an event that occurred earlier or in the past.
Foreshadowing provides a hint or clue to events that will occur in the future or later in the story.
Lecture Notes Outline
A story’s plot organization is often framed by time.
Some stories focus on one hour in a person’s life; others may span one hundred years.
Chronological order unfolds events in the order in which they occur.
Words that signal chronological order include first, second, next, then, later, and after.
Flashback interrupts time sequence and presents an event that occurred earlier or in the past.
A flashback provides readers with background information that helps them understand the main character’s actions and motivations. Words and phrases that signal the start of a flashback include once, long ago, last week, I remember, when she was younger, and looking back.
Foreshadowing provides a hint or clue to events that will occur in the future or later in the story.
Foreshadowing is used to build suspense, to set the tone of the story, to offer clues about future events, and to create certain emotional responses in readers.
Extension Options
Explain to students that writers purposefully arrange their plots to achieve a certain response in readers. For example, a horror or mystery writer might start the story in the falling action and then flash back to the beginning where it all began.

18. A Time Line can help you understand a story’s plot organization
A Time Line can help you understand a story’s plot organization. This Time Line is for “Lob’s Girl,” by Joan Aiken.
Sandy meets Lob on the beach when she is five years old.
Lob’s owner gives him to Sandy; Lob and Sandy are inseparable.
Mrs. Pearce sees Lob outside the hospital and brings him in.
Bert and Jean reveal that Lob was hit and killed by the truck.
Lecture Notes Outline
A Time Line can help you understand a story’s plot organization. This Time Line is for “Lob’s Girl,” by Joan Aiken.
Sandy meets Lob on the beach when she is five years old.
After he goes home, Lob keeps coming back to see Sandy.
Lob’s owner gives him to Sandy; Lob and Sandy are inseparable.
Sandy is hit by a truck and taken to the hospital; Lob is missing.
Mrs. Pearce sees Lob outside the hospital and brings him in.
6. Lob is allowed to see Sandy; she finally wakes up.
7. Bert and Jean reveal that Lob was hit and killed by the truck.
8. Bert, Jean, and Mrs. Pearce stare at Lob’s wet footprints.
Graphic Organizer Sources
A blank Time Line in both interactive and printable PDF formats can be found in the Graphic Organizers section of the Visual Teaching Package. Students may access interactive graphic organizers at
Extension Options
Discuss with students the different stories that would result if the events on the Time Line were moved around.
After he goes home, Lob keeps coming back to see Sandy.
Sandy is hit by a truck and taken to the hospital; Lob is missing.
Lob is allowed to see Sandy; she finally wakes up.
Bert, Jean, and Mrs. Pearce stare at Lob’s wet footprints.

19. To understand a story’s plot organization, make a Time Line of events for a fairy tale or folk tale.
Lecture Notes Outline
To understand a story’s plot organization, make a Time Line of events for a fairy tale or folk tale.
Remind students that when outlining a story’s plot, they should avoid getting bogged down in details. A Time Line should only reflect the main characters and events from a story.
Navigation Note
An interactive text field has been provided to record student responses. Please note that any text you insert will remain in the text field unless manually deleted.
Graphic Organizer Sources
A blank Time Line in both interactive and printable PDF formats can be found in the Graphic Organizers section of the Visual Teaching Package. Students may access interactive graphic organizers at

20. Converting a Time Line into a Plot Diagram can reveal which events fall into each part of a story’s plot.
Climax
Rising Action
Falling Action
Exposition
Resolution
Plot
Diagram
Sandy meets Lob on the beach when she is five years old.
Bert, Jean, and Mrs. Pearce stare at Lob’s wet footprints.
Lob is allowed to see Sandy; she finally wakes up.
Bert and Jean reveal that Lob was hit and killed by the truck.
Sandy is hit by a truck and taken to the hospital; Lob is missing.
Lecture Notes Outline
Converting a Time Line into a Plot Diagram can reveal which events fall into each part of a story’s plot.
Exposition: Sandy meets Lob on the beach when she is five years old.
Rising Action: Sandy is hit by a truck and taken to the hospital; Lob is missing.
Climax: Lob is allowed to see Sandy; she finally wakes up.
Falling Action: Bert and Jean reveal that Lob was hit and killed by the truck.
Resolution: Bert, Jean, and Mrs. Pearce stare at Lob’s wet footprints.
(Note: This slide indicates one representative event for each element of the Plot Diagram.)
Graphic Organizer Sources
A blank Plot Diagram in both interactive and printable PDF formats can be found in the Graphic Organizers section of the Visual Teaching Package. Students may access interactive graphic organizers at
Extension Options
Discuss with students how Aiken sets the stage in the rising action of the plot, and why she places the story’s climax near the end of the story. Also have students discuss how they felt when they read the story’s surprise ending.

21. Convert the Time Line you created for a fairy tale or folk tale into a Plot Diagram.
Climax
Rising Action
Falling Action
Plot
Diagram
Lecture Notes Outline
Convert the Time Line you created for a fairy tale or folk tale into a Plot Diagram.
Ask students which events from their Time Lines belong in which parts of the Plot Diagram.
Navigation Note
An interactive text field has been provided to record student responses. Please note that any text you insert will remain in the text field unless manually deleted.
Graphic Organizer Sources
A blank Plot Diagram in both interactive and printable PDF formats can be found in the Graphic Organizers section of the Visual Teaching Package. Students may access interactive graphic organizers at
Exposition
Resolution

22. SUMMARY: Plot A good plot must keep the action moving forward
reveal events in a logical, easy-to-follow order
involve the main character in some type of conflict
provide an element of surprise or suspense
create questions in the readers’ minds
Lecture Notes Outline
A good plot must keep the action moving forward ; reveal events in a logical, easy-to-follow order; involve the main character in some type of conflict; provide an element of surprise or suspense; and create questions in the readers’ minds.