1. Irony Situational irony: surprising turn of events Verbal irony: the opposite of what you would expect Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows something the characters do not.

2. Characterization Direct: what the narrator says about the character Indirect: what the characters do, say, think

3. Figurative Language Meaning beyond words (Metaphors, simile, personification, onomatopoeia)

4. Imagery Words that appeal to the 5 senses; use of words and phrases to create “mental images” for the reader

5. Symbol Object that stands for something beyond itself

6. Theme Main idea or life lesson of the story

7. Mood The feeling or atmosphere that the writer creates for the reader

8. Narrator Person telling the story Credible (to be trusted or not)

9. Point of View the mode of narration that an author employs to let the readers “hear” and “see” what takes place in a story 1. First person point of view involves the use of either of the two pronouns “I” and “we”. 2. Second person point of view employs the pronoun “you”. 3. Third person point of view uses pronouns like “he”, “she”, “it”, “they” or a name.

10. Setting Time, place, background of the story

11. Tone The writer’s attitude toward his/her subject

12. Style the technique which an individual author uses in his/her writing

13. Parable a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson

14. Plot: Exposition Introduces characters & setting; supplies background; sets tone

15. Plot: Rising Action Introduces complications; builds suspense; is when plot “thickens”

16. Plot: Climax/Crisis Turning point of the story; the moment suspense reaches its peak; results in a change for main character; sometimes occurs at the end of story, without being followed by falling action

17. Plot: Falling Action the conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist unravels, with the protagonist winning or losing against the antagonist. The falling action may contain a moment of final suspense, in which the final outcome of the conflict is in doubt.

18. Plot: Resolution/Denouement Conflicts are resolved, creating normality for the characters and a sense of catharsis, or release of tension and anxiety, for the reader. It is the unravelling or untying of the complexities of a plot.