Story
| Type | Note |
|---|---|
| Key Details | Important details that are vital for the story’s context |
| Summaries | Summarize each chapter / section |
| Quotes | What is interesting? Memorable? |
| Setting | How does the setting influence the mood or characters? |
| Characters | - Analysis - Traits - Development - Relationship |
| Plot | - Plot Points - Twists - Events |
Analysis
| Type | Note |
|---|---|
| Questions | What questions do you have? |
| Opinions | Your own thoughts and opinions about the text or characters |
| Vocabulary | Unknown words |
| Themes | - The central / main idea - A theme is an idea and the author’s opinion /specific views |
| Author’s Purpose | - Why did the author write this? - Why did the author choose these specific words? - Persuasive techniques - Biases |
| Symbols | Objects or phrases that may symbolize larger concepts |
| Imagery | Descriptions that evoke strong images or appeal to the senses |
| Tone and Mood | |
| Critical Assessments | Critically assess arguments, logic, and quality of the text |
Conflicts
Internal Conflict
- Character struggles with their own opposing desires or beliefs
- It happens within them and drives their development as a character
- Character VS Self
External Conflict
- Character is against something or someone beyond their control
- External forces stand in the way of a character’s motivations and create tension as the character tries to reach their goals
- Character VS Character
- Character VS Nature
- Character VS Supernatural
- Character VS Technology
- Character VS Society
Literary Devices
| Literary Device | Definition | Example(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Alliteration | Repeated initial letter | ”Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers” |
| Anachronism | A chronological inconsistency where you juxtapose people, places, or sayings from different time periods | Reading a book set in the 1700s where the characters talk about flying cars. |
| Anaphora | Repeated words or phrases at the beginning | ”It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age…” |
| Anthropomorphism | Giving human traits, emotions or intentions to non-human creatures, things, or nature | - “Charismatic fox” - “The tree danced in the wind” |
| Aphorism | - A concise statement of a general truth or principle - Good for emphasis because they are quick, clear, and to the point. They aren’t dressed up in nice and pretty words, and their simplicity makes them memorable. | ”If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” |
| Assonance | - When you repeat vowel sounds throughout a particular word or phrase - Has nice rhythm and smooth flowing text | ”penitence” and “reticence” |
| Chiasmus | - When grammatical constructions or concepts are repeated in reverse order - Effective way to make a significant point because it is unexpected an punchy | ”The happiest and best moments go to the best and happiest employees.” |
| Colloquialism | - Informal language - Slang, jargon - Feels more relatable and personal | ”Cuz” is a colloquialism for “Because” |
| Consonance | - When you repeat consonant sounds throughout a particular word or phrase - Has nice rhythm and smooth flowing text | - “Do you like blue?” (u sound) - “I wish I had a cushion to squash” (sh sound) |
| Dramatic Irony | - When something differs from what actually is - When the reader / audience knows something that the characters do not - Increases tension | - When you know a character is about to propose to their girlfriend, but has no idea that their girlfriend was planning to leave him. - When someone laughs at someone who has just been arrested, but isn’t aware their own son was arrested with that boy for the same crime. |
| Epigraph | - Short quotation at the beginning of a book or chapter - Usually intended to suggest its theme | |
| Epistrophe / Epiphora / Antistrophe | - The repetition of the same word or words at the end of successive phrases, clauses, or sentences - Repetition happens at the beginning of successive phrases | ”of the people, by the people, for the people” |
| Euphemism | A polite way of describing something indirectly | ”Passed away” is a euphemism for “died” |
| Figurative Language | A more colourful, dramatic, evocative, and engaging way of writing | ”He was chained to her desk for sixty hours a week” instead of “He worked a lot” |
| Figure of Speech | A word or phrase that’s used in a non-literal sense to create a dramatic effect | |
| Flashback | A scene set in an earlier time than the main story | |
| Hyperbole | An exaggeration that is not meant to be taken literally | |
| Litotes | - Use an understatement to emphasize a point - Usually uses double negatives for effect | - “You won’t be sorry” instead of “You will be glad” - “He wasn’t the worst lawyer I had ever seen, but he could have been more organized.” This shows there’s room for improvement. |
| Malapropism | - A mistaken use of a word in place of a similar-sounding one - Usually for a humorous effect, like a pun | ”I can dance the flamingo” instead of “I can dance the flamenco” |
| Metaphor | - Directly comparing two different things in an interesting way - Similarities between two different ideas | ”The classroom was a zoo” |
| Metonymy | A thing or concept is referred to by the name of something closely associated with that thing or concept | ”Lend me your ears” instead of “Give me your undivided attention” |
| Onomatopoeia | Words that resemble sounds | |
| Oxymoron | Contradictory words | - “Silent scream” - “Only choice” |
| Personification | Giving human attributes to non-living things | ”The moon is sleeping” |
| Polysyndeton | - Conjunctions are used repeatedly in quick succession - Conjunctions: and, but, or, … | - “I wanted an employee who was self-motivated and enterprising and skilled. I needed someone who could write and talk and network like a pro.” - “You’ll find everything in this book, from billing and buying to marketing and sales.” |
| Rhetorical Question | A question asked for effect, not for an answer | ”Do you want to make lots of money? Do you want to sleep better at night? Do you want to run a successful company?” |
| Similes | - Something is like something else - Uses “like” or “as" | "He was as stubborn as a mule” |
| Synecdoche | A part of something stands in for the whole, or vice versa | - If you have “hungry mouths to feed,” you actually need to feed people. Their mouths are a stand-in for the whole person. - “All of society was at the gala” instead of “All of high society was there” |
| Verbal Irony | - When someone says one thing but means another - Sarcasm | ”It was a great meal” when the food was disgusting and the group showed up late. |
Point of View
| Perspective of who tells the story | Definition | Pronouns |
|---|---|---|
| First Person | Told from an individual perspective, describing something that is happening to them | I, me, my, mine, we, ours, us |
| Second Person | Told from the reader’s perspective | You, your, yours |
| Third Person | See below | - He / his / him / himself - She / her / hers / herself - It / they / them / their / theirs / themselves - Character Names |
| Third Person Omniscient / All-Knowing | Third Person Limited | Third Person Objective |
|---|---|---|
| Told from the perspective of a narrator who knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters | Told from the perspective of one character in the story | Told from the perspective of a total outsider |
| Sometimes told from the perspective of a narrator who tells the story from multiple characters’ perspectives | Shows how the character feels and what happens around them | Creates distance between the characters and the reader |
Make Connections
| ”This reminds me of…” | Self | Text | World |
|---|---|---|---|
| What does this remind you of…? | In your own life | In another book that you have read | In the real world |
| A connection between the text and … | - your own experiences, life, and ideas | - to another text (books, movies, songs, etc.) | - to history, news, events - to the larger, real world - to the past, present, future - is occurring or has occurred in the world |
| Examples | ”This happened to me" | "I read something in the book about ABC about this." | "I saw something on TV that talked about the scene.” |
| Questions | Can you relate to the scene or characters described? | How is this text similar or different to other things you have read? | How are events in this scene / story similar or different to things that happen in the real world? |