1st person point of view - The narrator is a character in the work who tells everything in their own words.

3rd person omniscient point of view - The narrator is an all-knowing, objective observer who stands outside the action and reports what different characters are thinking.

Characterization - The four techniques that writers use to develop characters are physical description, their actions/speech/thoughts/feelings, others’ actions/speech/thoughts/feelings, and direct comments.

Claim - A statement that presents an assertion to prove an argument.

Climax - The moment when the reader’s interest reaches a peak and usually occurs toward the end of a story and often results in a character change or a solution.

Exposition - Provides important background information and introduces the setting, characters, and conflict.

External conflict - Pits a character against nature, society, or another character.

Falling action - Shows the effects of the climax after the suspense is over.

Flashback - A scene that interrupts the action of a narrative to describe background information from the past.

Foreshadowing - A writer’s use of hints or clues to indicate events that will occur later in a story.

Genre - The distinct types into which literary works can be grouped, some are fiction, poetry, nonfiction, and drama.

Imagery - Words and phrases that create vivid sensory experiences that can appeal to all senses of the reader.

Inference - Educated guess.

Internal conflict - A conflict between opposing forces within a character.

Metaphor - Compares two things that have something in common without the words like or as.

Mood - The feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader through connotation, imagery, figurative language, sound and rhythm, and descriptive details.

Narrator - The character or voice that relates the story’s events to the reader.

Paradox - A statement that seems to contradict itself but, in fact, reveals some element of truth.

Personification - Human qualities are attributed to an object, animal, or idea to communicate feelings and images in a concise, concrete way.

Resolution - Reveals the final outcome of events and ties up loose ends.

Rising action - The conflict becomes more intense, and suspense builds as the main characters struggle to resolve their problem.

Setting - The time and place (larger historical and cultural contexts as well) in which the action occurs.

Simile - Compares two things that have something in common, using a word such as like or as to intensify emotional response, stimulate vibrant images, provide imaginative delight, and concentrate the expression of ideas.

Symbol - A person, place, or object that has a concrete meaning in itself and also stands for something beyond itself, such as an idea or feeling.

Theme - An underlying message that a writer wants the reader to understand that are usually not stated directly but must be inferred.