Personal Narrative Vocabulary Study Guide
Point of View / § Refers to the NARRATOR of the piece of writing§ Use FIRST-PERSON point of view for a personal narrative
o The narrator of the story is a character in the story
o The narrator uses I, me, and my
Chronological Order / § Refers to the organization plan for a piece of writing
§ The events of a story are arranged in the order that they happened
§ A personal narrative has a beginning, middle, and ending
Dialogue / § Conversation between characters in a story
§ The author uses quotation marks
§ The author uses dialogue in a personal narrative to provide info about the characters and to make a story more interesting to read
Plot / § The events of a story
§ PLOT DIAGRAM: shows the different parts of a plot
o EXPOSITION: beginning of the story; introduces the characters, setting, and maybe the conflict
o CONFLICT: Refers to the “struggle” or main problem in the story
o RISING ACTION: events that occur before the climax; the events develop and increase in interest
o CLIMAX: the “turning point” in the story; the highest point in the conflict; usually the conflict is solved
o FALLING ACTION: events after the climax; events that result from the decision or action of the climax
o RESOLUTION: the end of the story; the final events of a story
Personal Narrative Vocabulary Study Guide
Name Date
Part 1 Directions: Match the parts of the PLOT with their definitions.
1. _____ resolution
2. _____ exposition
3. _____ climax
4. _____ rising action
5. _____ falling action
A. the turning point or the most important event of the story where the conflict of the story is solved
B. the ending of the story
C. the events of the story before the main problem is solved;
D. the beginning of the story where the author introduces the setting, characters, and the basic conflict
E. the events that occur AFTER the conflict is solved
Part 2 Directions: Label the parts of the PLOT DIAGRAM. (Hint: Use the words listed in Part 1)
Application: On your quiz, you will read a story and then you will have to identify the elements of the plot within that story.
Part 3 Directions: Match the definitions with the type of figurative language.
1. ______alliteration
2. ______hyperbole
3. ______metaphor
4. ______onomatopoeia
5. ______personification
6. ______simile
A. compares two things that are unlike but have some qualities in common; it DOES use like or as
B. the repetition of CONSONANT sounds at the beginning of words
C. words that imitate the sound they name
D. giving human qualities to an animal, object or idea.
E. an obvious exaggeration
F. compares two things that are unlike but have some qualities in common; it DOES NOT use the words like or as
Part 4: Directions Match the figure of speech with the example below.
A. Onomatopoeia
B. Hyperbole
C. Alliteration
D. Simile
E. Metaphor
F. Personification
______The wild and woolly walrus waits and wonders when we'll walk by.______Mile-high ice-cream cones
His feet were as big as a boat
Ms. D. gives tons of homework
______He is a pig.
The tree is a ballerina in green.
______buzz, hiss, roar, woof
______The stuffed bear smiled as the little boy hugged him close.
The pencil danced across the paper.
______The sun is like a yellow ball of fire in the sky.
The leaves, as agile as ballerinas, seemed to dance in the wind.