Elements of a Story Quiz: Test Your Knowledge of Story Elements

Study Notes

A story's setting determines its feel, possibilities for conflict, cultural, and social characteristics.
Characters are the people, animals, or personified inanimate objects that experience the story and can even be used as a setting.
Main characters drive the story, undergo significant development, and perform actions that allow the reader to have experiences through them.

The plot is what happens as characters encounter and attempt to resolve conflict.
Exposition is the beginning of the story where characters, setting, and conflict are established.
Rising action follows the exposition, marks the point where main characters first encounter the conflict, and creates tension.
Climax is the culminating point where characters must confront the conflict, resulting in an intense scene or verbal confrontation.
Falling action is the direct result of the conflict, resulting in positive or negative consequences for the characters.
Resolution marks the end of the conflict and the story's conclusion, sometimes explaining the final outcome for the characters.

Conflict is the problem or challenge that characters face and is necessary for a story.
Conflict can be internal (a struggle between one character's competing desires) or external (e.g., facing a hurricane).

The theme is the overall message or lesson that the reader gathers from the story.
The author's purpose is to offer a certain insight, which is the theme of the story.

Point of view is the perspective from which the story is told and can be 1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person limited, 3rd person omniscient, or 3rd person objective.
Tone is the author's attitude toward the subject of the story, established through word choice and portrayal.
Style is the way the author writes, contributing to tone through mechanical writing choices like syntax, diction, and figurative language.

Authors make intentional choices to shape stories, including setting, character, plot, conflict, and theme.
Changing one element can dramatically affect a story's structure and impact.
Authors use narrative elements to create a story, building a message or observation about life through their choices.