Archetype noun Archetypal examples Definition A character symbol

Archetype (noun) Archetypal examples Definition: A character, symbol (motif), story pattern, or other element common to human experience across cultures; occurs more in literature, myth, and folklore Characters: Symbols: Story Patterns:

Definition: Descriptive or figurative language used to create pictures in the reader’s mind. Imagery (noun) Example Imagery sparks the imagination. Appeals to the reader’s 5 senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell) I could hear the popping and crackling as mom dropped the bacon into the frying pan, and soon the salty, greasy smell wafted toward me.

Details (noun) Context (noun) Definition: The words that describe a character, setting, event, etc. Definition: The circumstances or facts that surround a certain event or situation Context helps readers understand the time and place (setting), which helps them better understand the characters, etc.

Setting (noun) Definition: The time and place of the story Example: 1950 s, Manhattan, New York City

Definition: The perspective from which the story is told Point of View (noun) 1 st person POV: The character tells his/her own story (I, me, my…) 3 rd person POV: The narrator is not a character in the story (he, she, they…)

Definition: The struggle between opposing forces Conflict (noun) Internal: Man vs. Self (emotions, decisions…) External: Man vs. Man, Society, or Nature

Definition: A way of carrying out a particular task. Technique (noun) Example: Visual techniques are used to evoke a response from the viewer. Literary techniques are used to evoke responses from readers.

Mood (noun) Definition: The overall emotion the reader feels as a response to the author’s literary techniques. Example: L’Engle’s 2 dimensional society creates an uneasy and nervous mood or feeling.

Protagonist (noun) Definition: The leading or main character in a drama, movie, novel, etc. Example: Ed and Al are both protagonists in Fullmetal Alchemist.

Plot (noun) Definition: The sequence of related events that make up a story. Example: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution

Pacing (noun) Definition: A narrative technique that refers to the amount of time a writer gives to each event/stage of the plot. Example: The pacing of this story was too slow so I lost interest.

Epic (noun) Definition: A long narrative poem about the actions of heroes or gods Example: The Odyssey is an epic poem

Concise (adjective) Definition: to be brief and to the point; expressing a lot in just a few words. Example: His points were concise and wellconnected to his thesis statement.

Definition: A writer’s or speaker’s attitude toward a subject Tone (noun) Example: Her short and clipped words revealed an impatient tone in her speech.

Definition: A writer’s or speaker’s choice of words. Diction (noun) Example: Don’t use general or boring diction in your narratives.

Denotation (noun) Definition: The direct meaning of a word or expression (dictionary definition) Example: Even though the denotation of “great” is positive, her sarcastic tone told me she didn’t mean it.

Connotation (noun) Definition: The implied meaning or emotion behind a word Example: She called him “skinny”, but he didn’t like the word’s connotation.

Definition: The subtle difference in a word’s meaning Nuance (noun) Example: There are many nuances of the word “good”, such as _________________.

Allegory (noun) Definition: A literary device of extending a metaphor through an entire poem or story, so that more than one object, person, or action has a meaning that lies outside of the text itself. Example: “O Captain! My Captain!” is an allegory in which Lincoln is the Captain and the ship is our post-Civil War country.

Formal Style (noun) Informal Style (noun) Definition: School or academic writing, which shows care and appropriate language Definition: Writing which can be used in emailing, texting, or conversation in a casual context

Coherence (noun) Definition: The clear and orderly presentation of ideas in a paragraph or essay Internal coherence: Using transitions within a paragraph External Coherence: Using transitions between paragraphs

Thesis (noun) Definition: The last sentence of the introduction of an essay; states the writer’s position on the topic; the controlling idea of the essay Clearly shows the reader what the essay will prove or explain. All topic sentences point back to thesis.