Literary Terms and Concepts

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Text Structure

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The way a text is organized. There are five main types: compare & contrast, problem & solution, description, chronological order (sequence), and cause & effect.

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Chronological Order

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When a story or event is told in time order. It uses sequencing words to describe the order of events such as first, second, then, next, after, and lastly.

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Sequencing Words

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Words that describe when something happens. It helps a reader understand the timing of something. They describe the order of events.

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Nonfiction

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A story or text that is real, not imagined. The people and places exist or existed in real life. The events really occurred.

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Fiction

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A story that is imagined, not real. The people, places, and/or events were not real or did not really happen as described in the story.

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Quote

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When a person’s words are used verbatim and require quotation marks to give proper credit. Verbatim means exactly as spoken or written, no alterations or substitutions.

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Paraphrase

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When only a section or part of a text is used or summarized it is a paraphrase. Paraphrases are not always written exactly as the original, but close to it.

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Elaboration

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When a writer or speaker provides more information, details, or reasoning to support their ideas.

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Thesis Statement

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A statement that summarizes an author’s point of view or stance on a topic with the main or most important reasons to support it. It is usually no more than 1-2 sentences with a second sentence used only to clarify a specific point in the first sentence.

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Author

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The name of a person who wrote a story or text. Sometimes they have a special name such as a poet who writes poetry or playwright who writes plays.