Literary & Writing Terms

The background of a story, usually presented at the beginning, in order to understand the story properly.

• Exposition

• Plot
• Character
• Theme

An acronym indicating what to look for when finding indirect characterization: Speech, Thoughts, Effects on others, Actions, Looks.

• STOAL
• STEAL
• SATEL
• SLATE

Ideas from other people that writers use as evidence to back up and prove their own ideas.

• Plagiarism
• Support

• Citation
• Quotation

1. The main work of literature a writer focuses on and uses for an essay.

• Thesis
• Primary Source
• Secondary Source
• Bibliography

1. Various texts a writer uses to find support for an essay.

• Third Party Sources

• Fake Sources

• Primary Sources

• Secondary Sources

1. An essay written for the purpose of informing, explaining, or describing the author’s subject matter.

• Narrative Essay
• Expository Essay
• Persuasive Essay
• Descriptive Essay

1. An essay that asks a student to describe something in particular.

• Descriptive Essay
• Argumentative Essay
• Expository Essay
• Narrative Essay

1. An essay that requires the writers to convince readers to agree with their position or opinion on a topic.

• Narrative Essay
• Descriptive Essay
• Expository Essay
• Persuasive Essay

An essay where the writer tells a story.

• Narrative Essay
• Expository Essay
• Descriptive Essay
• Persuasive Essay

1. The various books, essays, and other places a writer finds the support for an essay.

• Sources
• Thesis
• Topic
• Conclusion