 Events are told by a character in the story
 The narrative will read, “I sat at my wooden desk,
looking up at that huge circle with its eternally
trapped hands, and cried.” from The Year of Fog,
Michelle Richmond
 The events of the story are told by someone outside of
the story
 The narrative will read, “Armpit sighed as he set the
phone back in its cradle. Maybe he was crazy.” from
Small Steps, Louis Sachar
 A quality or qualities of a particular character that
identify what the character is like
 For example in Charlotte’s Web, the reader comes to
understand that Charlotte is kind, not because the
author says so, but because over and over again, the
reader sees her treating the other animals with
kindness.
 The most exciting point of a story, where is action is at
its greatest point and the story begins to turn
 The climax of the novel Holes is when the characters
realize that Camp Green Lake is not a legitimate
juvenile facility.
 The problem or struggle faced by the characters in a
story
 External conflict- a conflict between character and an
outside force- another character, a group, nature,
society, fate- for example- character vs. nature
 Internal conflict-a conflict or problem within a
character- character vs. self
 An author’s use of hints or clues to give the reader an
ideal of what may happen next
 Use of extreme exaggeration
 For example, “My car is a million years old.” OR
“I walked five-thousand miles to school.”
 A static character is one who remains unchanged
throughout a book or story. Scar was a static character
in The Lion King.
 A dynamic character is changed in the course of a book
or story. Simba changed a great deal in The Lion King,
so that makes him a dynamic character.
 The theme of a literary work is the central message or
idea that is expressed in a written work. The theme
should go beyond a one word answer. The theme of
Romeo and Juliet is NOT love. Rather, the thoughtful
student would state that the theme of Romeo and
Juliet is, “Love matters beyond all else!”
 Words or phrases used to appeal to one or more of the
senses, in order to create a more vivid reading
experience
 “The scent of roses-wild roses- mingled with a strange
briny scent: waves crashing on rocky shores, dolphins
diving.” from Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
 A conclusion reached by the reader, based on the
available information in the text
 We can infer that the three bears were very trusting
since they left their house open and their bowls of
porridge out on the table.
 A situation where the opposite of what is expected to
occur DOES in fact happen.
 “The ambulance driver rushed to the scene of the
accident, but in his haste, he ran over the victim
because the victim had crawled into the middle of the
street in the darkness of night.”
 A comparison of two unlike things
 Simile uses the words like or as- “Her cheeks were like
red apples.”
 Metaphor omits the like or as- “Her cheeks were red
apples.”
 The narrative is the writing or speech that tells a story.
 The narrator is the person who actually tells the story.
 A figure of speech that contains contradictory words or
phrases
 Examples: Dark light, almost exactly, clever fool
 Giving human characteristics to a non-human subject
 “The cat grinned at me and began her wicked plan.”
 “The daisy lifted its face to the sun.”