Plot Notes

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Plot Notes

• 7th Grade ELA

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Plot Diagram
Climax
Rising Action
Falling Action
Exposition
Resolution
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Exposition
Exposition Situation The basic situation at the
start of the story. (Meet the characters. How
the story starts) Setting The time, place, and
location a story takes place
Exposition
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Rising Action
A series of events that lead to the climax
Rising Action
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Climax
The turning point in the story
Climax
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Falling Action
The events that happen after the climax and
before the resolution
Falling Action
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Resolution
How the story ends. Loose ends may be tied up
Resolution
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Point of View

• 3 kinds of point of view
• 1st person POV story teller is IN the story
• personal pronouns I, me, us, mine, etc
• 2nd person POV story teller talks to audience
• personal pronouns you
• 3rd person POV story teller is OUTSIDE the story
  (narrator, author)
• personal pronouns he, she, they, them, etc

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Characters

• Protagonist
• The main character of a story
• Antagonist
• The character that works against the main
  character (usually the bad guy)
• Be sure to explain why you think he/she is the
  antagonist (How do they work against the
  protagonist?)

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Characterization

• Direct The author comes right out and tells you
  what a character looks like or the type of person
  he/she is.
• Becky is a nice girl.
• Indirect The writer reveals information about a
  character and his personality through that
  character's thoughts, words, and actions.
• Billy pushed Sam down in the hall.

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Theme

• Central message
• Lesson learned
• Main idea of the story

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Types of Conflict

• External (outside)
• Person vs. Person fight, argument
• Person vs. Nature tornado, storm, bear
• Person vs. Society go against an organization,
  group, or societal norm
• Internal (inside)
• Person vs. Self making a decision

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Symbolism

• When an object or character represents something
  else
• The object or character usually represents an
  abstract idea.
• Look at examples
• Its still the object/character but it also stands
  for something bigger.

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Irony

• The opposite of what you expect to happen occurs
• Examples
• A teacher cheats on a test
• A murder detective turns out to be the killer
• The Titanic, which was said to be unsinkable,
  sunk on its maiden voyage

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Foreshadowing

• The author hints at something that will occur
  later in the story
• Many times we discover foreshadowing AFTER we
  have finished a story
• Example
• He felt a cold chill as he walked through the
  dark alley ( foreshadowing something bad will
  happen).