Short Story Terms Exam

The sequence of events in a short story, usually divided into five (or six) parts.

• plot
• theme
• exposition
• flashback

Introduces the setting, the characters and the basic situation.

• plot
• introduction

• rising action
• dialect

Introduces the conflict, or problem in the story

• universal theme
• falling action
• inciting force

• climax

The turning point of a story

• irony
• motivation
• universal theme
• climax

The part of the story when the conflict lessens.

• characterization
• falling action
• rising action
• irony

The story’s conclusion

• motivation
• exposition
• resolution
• plot

The central/main message expressed in a story

• theme
• universal theme
• irony
• motivation

The time and place of the story

• conflict
• setting
• irony
• exposition

Problem in the story

• motivation
• conflict
• dialect
• irony

People or animals who take part in a story’s action.

• indirect characterization
• motivation
• resolution
• characters