Content and structure
Content is what the text says: the events, people and ideas. Structure is how the parts are arranged: the order and the shape.
Two stories can have the same events but feel different because the order is different. Structure shapes how we feel as we read.
The parts of a plot
- Beginning: who, where, when. We meet the character.
- Rising action: a problem starts and grows.
- Climax: the most tense moment. The problem is at its biggest.
- Falling action: things start to be solved.
- Ending: the story settles. Something has changed.
Some storytellers use other shapes, such as four parts: introduce, develop, turn, conclude. Always ask: where is the turn?
Poems have structure too
In a poem the parts are lines and stanzas (groups of lines). Each stanza often holds one idea. Look at how the poem begins, where it turns (often with "but" or "yet") and how it ends. Rhyme and repeated lines also give structure.
Follow the plot and summarise
To follow a plot: list the events, put them in order, find what causes what (because...), find the climax. To summarise: write the main idea of each part in your own words. A good summary is short, in order, and has no small details.
Try it yourself: pick a cartoon episode. Write five events. Draw a mountain and place each event on it by tension. Then write a three-sentence summary. In the 3D, press Next and say the event aloud before you read it.
Key formulas and definitions
- Plot = Beginning + Rising + Climax + Falling + Ending
- Climax = the highest-tension moment
- Summary = main idea of each part, in order, in your own words
- Poem structure = lines + stanzas + turn
Worked examples
1. Mina builds a kite. It flies. The string snaps and the kite sticks in a tree. A neighbour brings a ladder. Mina flies it again. Which event is the climax?
The string snaps and the kite sticks in a tree. This is where the problem is biggest and Mina is most scared.
2. Summarise the above story in one sentence.
Mina's kite got stuck in a tall tree, but a neighbour helped her and she flew it again.
3. A poem has two stanzas. Stanza 1: sunny day, children play. Stanza 2 begins "But the clouds came..." Where is the turn?
At the start of stanza 2, with the word "But". It changes the mood from happy to worried.
Common mistakes
- Putting events in the wrong order, so cause and effect are lost.
- Calling the first exciting thing the climax instead of the most tense moment.
- Writing a summary that retells every small detail.
- Copying sentences from the text instead of using your own words.