Things to Know About Literature

Writing Plan

Purpose - the aim, or the reason you are writing (e.g. to sell a car, to thank someone)

Audience - the people who will read what you write (e.g. adults, early readers, teens)

Form - the type of writing (e.g. magazine article, essay, poem)

Topic - what the writing is about (e.g. Lucky the super hero)

Aims or Purposes for Writing

Narrative Writing - to tell a story, fiction or nonfiction, of something that happened (e.g. biography, memoir)

Persuasive/Argumentative Writing - to persuade the reader to agree with an issue, change their view on a problem, or carry out an action (e.g. editorial, petition)

Imaginative Writing - to entertain the reader by using an interesting and artistic form such as poetry (e.g. poem, short story)

Informative Writing - to inform the reader (e.g. news article, research paper)

Personal/Expressive Writing - to reflect on a personal experience (e.g. journal entry)

Aim - the purpose or objective of the literature

Some pieces of literature may have more than one aim. The aim of The Legend of Sleepy Hollow is to tell a story and to entertain the reader.

Parts of a Story

Setting - time and place where the story happens

Characters - the people (sometimes animals or objects) who have roles in the story

Mood - the atmosphere of the story

Theme - the main idea of the story

Plot - the events that happen in the story

Conflict - the problem of the story, a fight between opposing forces

Climax - the point of greatest interest and suspense

Conclusion/Resolution - the ending of the story

Other Literacy Terms

Antagonist- the character who struggles with the main character

Protagonist - the main character in the story who faces am conflict

Internal Conflict - a problem or struggle that takes place inside the mind of the character

External Conflict - a problem

First-Person Point of View - the narrator takes part in the action and refers to himself using the word “I”

Third-Person Point of View - the narrator does not take part in the story and uses words such as “he,” “she” and “they”

Omniscient Point of View - the narrator knows everything and can see into the minds of all the characters

Characterization - describing a character

Cliché - unoriginal, overused expression

Crisis - turning point of events

Denotation - dictionary definition of a word

Exposition - part of the plot that introduces the setting and main characters

Foreshadowing - hinting at events that will later happen

Genre - a type of literary work

Hyperbole - exaggeration

Irony - the difference between appearance and actuality

Memoir - a nonfiction narration that tells a story

Moral - lesson of the literacy work, usually relating to the idea of right and wrong

Motive - reason for doing something

Parable - a story that tells a moral lesson

Prose - work that is not drama or poetry

Pseudonym - name used by a writer instead of his or her own name (Washington Irving used many pseudonyms for his books)

Tone - a writer's attitude toward the reader

Take the Literature Test now that you know more about literature!

Forms of Writing