| Theme | central idea of the story |
| Setting | where and when in a story |
| Characters | the person and his characteristics in a work of fiction |
| POV | the angle from which the story is told |
| Plot | the sequence of events |
| genre | any category of literature based on a distinctive stylistic criteria |
| theme | what a specific story is about. |
| exposition | characters are introduced ; backstories |
| rising action | what happens in a story leading up to the most exciting part of a story. |
| climax | a decisive moment that is of maximum intensity or is a major turning point in a plot |
| conflict | a struggle between two opposing forces |
| four types of conflict | person vs. person ; person vs. society ; person vs. nature ; person vs. supernatural |
| falling action | what happens near the end of a story after the climax and resolution of the major conflict |
| resolution | story begins to slow down and work towards its end, tying up loose ends of the plot |
| protagonist | main character |
| antagonist | in conflict with the protagonist |
| dynamic character | changes over time |
| static character | doesn't change over time |
| round | complex personality ; often portrayed as a conflicted and contradictory person |
| flat | stereotype |
| alliteration | repitition of beginning sounds of neighboring words |
| anaphora | several phrases or verses begin with the same word |
| euphemism | substitute for harsh words or expressions |
| hyperbole | uses exaggeration for emphasis |
| irony | marked contrast between what is said and what is meant |
| simile | comparing two unlike things with the words "like" and "as" |
| metaphor | directly comparing |
| onomatopoeia | words that are spelled by how they sound like |
| oxymoron | two contradictory words used together |
| personification | giving human qualities to objects |
