Story Grammar Tips

Hello! Welcome to the Philippine Literature (USEP) blog! What you will find in this blog are supplementary readings to help you with our coursework this semester. I googled these items, I chose the good ones and compiled them here.

So, what you will see here are URL's and their excerpts.

For Activity 8 of the module, you were asked to identify various short story items in the folk narrative "Legend of Sampaguita". Below are websites that give you very practical ideas on how to analyze short stories. (This is also useful for you since you were asked to analyze a short folk narrative which is a kind of short story.)


1. How to Analyze a Short Story by Jerri Rivers

Excerpt:

Setting refers to the when and where the story is taking place. Also make a note of the course of time in which a story takes place. Does the action occur with in the course of a day or an hour? Or is it stretched out over a period of several years?

It is important to identify the characters in the story. Who are the protagonists? Are there well-developed round characters, or are the characters flat? Pay attention to descriptions of characters, including their body type, facial expressions, and clothing. The character's description usually says something about the character in the larger sense. Also, pay attention to the character's dialogue and his actions.

Outline the plot by identifying the main events (or episodes) in the story. What event initiates the conflict? What events make up the rising action of the plot? What is the climax of the story? Finally, what events make up the falling action and the resolution?

Identify the theme. This is essentially the main idea of the story. Does the story have a moral or a lesson to be learned? If so, what is it? What do you think was the author's purpose for writing this story? How successful was the author in fulfilling this purpose?

2. Analyzing a Short Story

Excerpt:

What are the constituents of Plot?

Exposition/Introduction is the information needed to understand what will happen during the time frame of a story. It usually consists of background information.

Complication is the catalyst that begins the major conflict.

Climax or crisis is the turning point in the story that occurs when characters try to resolve the complication.

Resolution is the tying up of the loose ends of the story, the ending or outcome.

Epiphany: a moment of startling, sudden insight gained by the main character as a result of the unfolding of events in the story

The location of a story's action, along with the time in which it occurs, is the setting. Setting can add an important dimension of meaning, reflecting character and embodying theme.

Identify the conflict. Conflict is what compels the reader to continue reading, so all well-written short stories have a conflict. It may be as obvious as a struggle between two characters in the story, or it can be subtle, like the main character's internal struggle to decide what is right. Identifying the conflict will help you understand the plot, since the plot is the main character's journey toward resolving the conflict.

3. A Brief Reader’s Guide to Short Stories and Novels by Terry P. Rizutti



What I want you to do is to take a look at these articles listed above (or even just the excerpts) and based on the tips you read, re-write the Story Grammar for the Legend of Sampaguita.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask me by either visiting me in the Faculty Room on MWF from 9 to 11 am or leave a comment here.