Structural Features - Techniques Flashcards
Dialogue
Conversation between two or more characters
Flashback
A section in a text that is set before the events of the main story
Future tense
A verb that describes something that will happen in the future e.g. “they will laugh”
Narrator
The person who tells the story
Past tense
A verb that describes something that happened in the past. e.g. ‘they laughed’
Point of view
The way a character regards events or people
Present tense
A verb that describes something that is happening now. e.g. ‘they laugh’ or ‘they are laughing’
Sequence
The order in which things happen
Setting
Where the events take place
Structure
The organisation of a text
Narrative
A written story or account
Narrative voice
The person telling the story from their point of view
Perspective
A particular view of something
Empathise
To understand and share someone else’s feelings
Plot
The events in a story
Narrow focus
The writer focuses in on specific (often small details) section of the text.
Wider focus
Often deals with bigger details - setting etc.
Switch of focus
When the writer changes their focus from:
one character to another, one setting to another, what a character is thinking to what he is doing.
Cyclical cycle (circular)
Where a story ends in a similar way to how it begins. This could be through the setting, the action, the characters, language choice.
Climax
The most exciting part of the story.
Anti-climax
Disappointing part of the story is not as exciting as you hoped
Rising action
Where the tension/excitement of the story is building towards a climax
Falling action
Where the atmosphere/action of the story starts to fall away. (This often happens after a climax)
Contrast
Clear difference between things
First person perspective
The point of view of a character involved in the action of a story using ‘I’
Pace
The speed at which something happens
Symbolism
The use of symbols to represent something else
Third person perspective
The point of view of someone not involved in the action of a story using ‘he’, ‘she’, or ‘they’
Connotations
The underlying ideas and feelings suggested by a word
Opening Dialogue
Characters are speaking as the narrative begins
Description opening
Sets the scene or describes a character
Character opening
Introduces a character’s thoughts
Mystery opening
An intriguing event or question is set up.
Thematic statement opening
Indicates what ideas or themes will be significant
Action opening
A physical description of something happening
