AP Literature Short Story Terms

The sequence of events in a short story, usually divided into five parts.

• plot
• theme
• exposition
• flashback

Introduces the setting, the characters and the basic situation.

• plot
• exposition
• rising action
• dialect

Introduces the conflict, or problem in the story

• universal theme
• falling action
• rising action
• 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

Recurring theme about life that is expressed in different cultures and time periods.

• theme
• characterization
• irony
• universal theme

The time and place of the story

• conflict
• setting
• irony
• exposition

Problem in the story

• motivation
• conflict
• dialect
• irony