How to Write a Third Grade Plot Essay

Understanding plot is an analytical skill third-graders can practice.

By third grade, you should be able to identify basic elements of a story's plot. Though plot essays are fundamentally the same regardless of scholastic level, third-grade plot essays should place an emphasis on identifying the climax of a story's plot, while avoiding more technical plot jargon such as denouement and catharsis. Additionally, third-grade plot essays should not attempt to draw connections between different elements of the plot. Instead, while writing a third-grade plot essay you should focus your energy on simply identifying the different elements of the story's plot.

Things You'll Need

• Pen or pencil
• Paper
• Computer

Instructions

1. Summarize the story in your first paragraph. Mention characters when it is necessary, but do not attempt to describe them in this paragraph. Include a description of how the story starts, how it ends and the path it follows from beginning to end. This is your introductory paragraph.

2. Identify the main characters of the story in your first paragraph after the introduction. Main characters are people or animals the story is about. They can be either good characters or bad characters. Describe each character and their role in the story.

3. Identify the climax of the story in your second paragraph. The climax is the height of the action in the story. It usually occurs when two or more of the main characters in the story are locked in a great struggle or conflict. Identifying the plot will enable you to identify other elements of the plot.

4. Identify the rising action of the story in your third paragraph. The rising action is the development of the struggle or conflict between two or more of the main characters. The result of the rising action is the climax of the story.

5. Identify the falling action of the story in your fourth paragraph. The falling action is what happens to the characters after the climax of the story. The falling action will result in the resolution of the story.

6. Identify the resolution of the story in your fifth and final paragraph. The resolution is how the story ends. It includes a description of what happens to the main characters following their struggle or conflict with each other.

References

• What a Plot IS: An Essay by Bill Johnson
• BBC Raw: Skills for Everyday Life: Story Writing
• What is Plot?
• Soquel Union Elementary School District: Third Grade Standards