Reading Comprehension - Review of Parts of a Story

As you will be called upon to begin doing a lot more reading and writing, this quiz will give you the opportunity to review the parts of a story.

It is important to really understand each part and its importance. Knowing and understanding those parts will help you when it comes time to write book reports, as book reports pull from each part. It will also help you to develop your own writing skills as you understand what you need to include in your writing to make it a successful piece of work. Repetition makes perfect so here again is a brief overview of the parts of a story.

PLOT and COUNTERPARTS

The plot, as you may recall, is divided into counterparts. The first counterpart is the exposition. In the exposition the leading characters will be introduced, along with some secondary characters. Part of what the writer needs to do in this section is to give the readers a feel for each of the characters, their personalities, their past experiences and, perhaps, a hint as to what their role will be in resolving the conflict of the story.

The second counterpart is known as the rising action and this is the point in the story where the conflict (or conflicts) will be set up. Often the reader sees the conflict before the main characters see what they are heading for. Then, as the story plays out, you have the third counterpart which is a climax or the turning point of the story where the character(s) and conflict(s) reach their pique. At this point, the character(s) usually changes, generally becoming stronger than before due to the conflict(s).

The fourth counterpart is that of the falling action. In this stage all of the loose ends of the story are tied up and resolved (unless the story will have a sequel). Finally, the fifth counterpart is the resolution or the closing paragraphs of the story that gives the readers satisfaction and, in the case of a sequel, leads the readers to want to continue on to the next story.

THEME and SETTING

In addition to having a plot, characters, a conflict and a resolution, all good stories will include a theme. The theme is really the writer’s main purpose for telling the story in the first place. The theme can deal with social issues, moral values, religious views and/or political opinions that the writer holds.

Now that the story has all of the above-mentioned elements, there is one last element that still needs to be added and that is the setting. The setting will usually describe when and where the story takes place. It will also include the time of the day and weather conditions. Each of these setting factors helps the reader to become part of the story as they can develop an image of the where and when and can draw upon their own life experiences as to time of day and weather conditions. The whole point of telling a story is to let the readers “experience” the story. The setting is where you try to paint a picture for the readers to see everything in their own minds which then brings the words of the story to life!