Advanced English 9

Ms. Engelke
Name: _________________________ Hour: _____

Plot, Characters, and Dialogue

PLOT: the main events of a story; traditionally, a plot contains the following six components:
EXPOSITION: introduces setting, characters, and the basic premise of the story
CONFLICT: the problem or situation that arises between people, forces, or ideas
INTERNAL: a psychological struggle; a characters inner dilemma
Example: depression (happens within character)
EXTERNAL: struggle between a character and an outside force such as nature or
another character
Example: hurricane (happens outside/around character)
RISING ACTION: events that develop the main conflict; the plot thickens
CLIMAX: the highest point of interest or suspense; the peak of the story
FALLING ACTION: the events following the climax and leading up to the end
RESOLUTION: the conflict has been resolved and story comes to close
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------CHARACTER: any person, animal, or living thing that takes an active part in the story
Five ways in which a reader learns about characters:
Appearance
Speech
Actions
Personality
Character to character dialogue
Four categories of characters:
FLAT: two-dimensional and fairly uncomplicated
ROUND: a major character who is more fully developed; presented with a
conflict
STATIC: undergoes little or no change
DYNAMIC: experiences an important change, especially within
CHARACTERIZATION: the way in which the author describes and presents the characters in a
given story
DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION: the author tells the reader about a character in a direct
manner; descriptions are explicit (stated clearly)
Example: Barb is mean.

 INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION: the author allows the reader to draw his or her own
conclusions about a character based on the information provided; characterization is
implicit (not plainly stated--read between the lines)
Example: Barb punched Julie in the face for no good reason.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------DIALOGUE: conversation between two or more people in a story; allows further development
of plot and characters