Plot, Genre, & Text Features Test Review

plot

The series of events in a story

exposition

The first stage of plot; the setting, characters, and conflict are introduced

rising action

The second stage of plot; the series of events leading to the climax in which the tension of the story increases

climax

The third stage of plot; the turning point in the story; the point of greatest tension

falling action

The fourth stage of plot; shows the result of the climax, begins resolving the conflict

resolution

The last stage of plot; loose ends are tied up and the final outcome is revealed

genre

A major category or type of literature

fiction

A story that is not true or is made up

historical fiction

A type of realistic fiction that takes place in a particular time period in the past; often the setting is real, but the characters are made up from the author's imagination.

realistic fiction

A story using made-up characters that could happen in real life

adventure/survival

Stories in which characters are caught in life-threatening or exciting situations; often set outdoors

mystery

Stories in where crime is usually committed and the reader has to figure out "whodunit"; contains a lot of suspense

horror

Characters often have encounters with supernatural forces; eerie mood and/or setting

fantasy

A story containing unreal, imaginary features

fairy tale

Begins with, "Once upon a time", ends with, "...happily ever after"; features a battle between good and evil

fable

A brief story that leads to a moral, often using animals as characters

myth

A traditional story about gods, ancestors, or heroes and told to explain the natural world or the customs and beliefs of a society

modern fantasy

Events are believable, but we know they cannot happen in real life.

science fiction

Writing that tells about imaginary events that involve science or technology

nonfiction

Writing that tells about real people, places, and events; it is always factual

autobiography

An account of a person's life written by that person

biography

Story of a person's life written by another person

table of contents

An ordered list of the topics in a document, along with the page numbers on which they are found; usually located at the beginning of a long document

glossary

A place in the back of the book that gives the definitions or tells the meaning of certain words in the book

index

An alphabetical listing of names and topics along with page numbers where they are discussed

bolded, highlighted, underlined words

Used to draw attention to specific words

heading

A line of text serving to indicate what the passage below it is about

sidebar

Text set off from the main body of text in a text box that provides additional information for the reader

caption

A title or short description of a picture

footnotes

Notes at the bottom of a paper acknowledging sources or providing additional references or information

chronological organization

method of organizing information where items are presented in sequence, from the earliest date to the most recent date

compare and contrast organization

Shows the ways in which two or more subjects are similar and different

cause and effect organization

Organization by discussing a situation and its causes, or a situation and its effects

problem and solution organization

Organization by discussing first a problem and then various solutions

sequence writing

Information is organized in steps or a process is explained in the order in which it occurs

descriptive writing

Information is organized in order of space (top to bottom, left to right)

order of importance

A method of organizing a paper according to the relative importance of the subtopics