Checklist of Elements in Literature

When reading and evaluating literature, students should focus on the basic elements of literature: plot, characterization, setting, point of view, and theme. The following checklist serves as a guide for identifying and analyzing the key elements of a piece of literature (adapted from M. Mast, CAL).

The checklist table breaks each element of literature into components. There are spaces where students can fill in specific examples from the work that illustrate each component and page numbers where the examples are located. A template is provided below. The elements of literature are considered in different formats in the Key Questions to Ask and the Story Star and Story Map sections of this page.

Show Me The Checklist Template

Information Organization

In addition to the character analysis worksheets, story stars and story maps, fiction plot maps, and fiction plot diagrams discussed elsewhere in this page, flash cards and matrices are used to organize information in the study of literature.

Flash Cards

Critical elements of a piece of literature may be organized on flash cards. Individual elements of literature, like plot and setting, may also be put on flash cards.

Matrices

Tables or matrices are useful for organizing the key elements of a piece of literature, as in the Building Background, Literature Checklist, and Character Analysis strategies described elsewhere in this page. Matrices may also be used to compare and contrast more than one piece of literature, as in the Poetry Matrix (REFERENCE) shown below.

Poetry Matrix