Characterization
Characterization is the way in which the author lets the reader know what the individuals in a story are like.
Indirect Characterization
The author SHOWS what characters are like through speech, thoughts, actions, and the reactions of other people.
Direct Characterization
The author TELLS the reader what characters are like through description.
Character vs. Character
One character causes a problem for another Character that hurts or upsets him/her.
Conflict
Conflict is the problem or issue a character faces in a piece of literature.
Characters vs. Nature
Weather conditions or an animal creates a survival problem for a character.
Characters vs. Society
A character or group of characters are in conflict with a society’s social traditions or beliefs.
Characters vs. Self
A character struggles to make a moral decision or struggles to discover who he/she truly is.
Metaphor
The author makes a comparison between two unlike things WITHOUT using “like” or “as”.
Simile
The author makes a comparison between 2 unlike things USING “like” or “as”.
Personification
The author gives NON-HUMAN objects human qualities.
Flashback
A scene that takes the reader back in time from the current point in the story, to present relevant information to it.
Foreshadowing
When the author includes a hint or clue that suggests what action is to come.
Irony
A contrast between what is stated, and what is really meant or between what is expected to happen, and what really happens.
Juxtaposition
When the author places a person, concept, place, or idea next to another. the purpose of juxtaposing two related entities close together in literature is to highlight the contrast between the two, and compare them.
Mood
the atmosphere or major emotions that a story arouses in the reader. the mood is consistently established by all the other elements of the story in combination.
Symbol
An object that suggests something beyond itself. In fiction, A character, object, setting, or action may suggest a larger meaning or idea.
Theme
The moral or lesson the author conveys through a piece of literature.
Expanded moment
The more advanced writer goes on to elaborate with details that show rather then tell the meaning.
Sensory details
Focus on a detail that an observer can see, hear, smell, taste, and touch.
Simile or Metaphor
Expands or extends the meaning of a description.
Magic 3
a list of 3 words, phrases, or clauses – in parallel structure – completes the picture, providing a beginning, a middle, and an end.
Sentence fragment
Sometimes fragments can prove effective in capturing the reader’s attention, and pumping up the drama of the writing.
Repetition
The trick here is to use repetition like the refrain of a song or poem: a repeated word or phrase that adds dramatic emphasis
