Exposition Worksheets

Related ELA Standard: W.5-7.3

Core Standard
Answer Keys Here

The exposition of a story often entails the first few paragraphs of a story that introduces the foundation of the narrative that is being pushed to the audience. This encumbers a wide range of things such as the characters, the scene, and circumstances that may be present. In a book you will often grasp these premises within the first or, at worst, second chapter of the work. Visual forms of this type of narrative often present these same situations in under four minutes. In the end anything that communicates where this story is taking place and the characters that are involved represent this. These worksheets help students and teachers learn how to qualify a exposition to other people.

Exposition Worksheets To Print:

First Two Sentences - Imagine you are going to write a short story that begins with a brief exposition. Write the first sentence or two of your stories.

Narration - Explain the possibilities and limitations of using this in your stories.

True or False - Explore the nature of topic from all angles.

Gaining Balance - Where do you see this starting and ending?

Excursus - Compare and contrast the closely related concepts.

Dialogue - We explore when to use and when not to.

Get Deeper - Read the assigned text. Answer the questions.

Balancing Act - We start thinking about how often you should be using this technique in your own writing.

Flashback - A flashback is a literary technique which means returning to an earlier point in time in a literary work for the purpose of making what is going on in the present more understandable.

Assigned Reading - This is a sheet that you can use with just about work of literature.

You Choose - Choose one of the scenarios below. Write a short scene that contains both dialogue and exposition.

Name That Story - You can use this to analyze a work.

Context - What information or context does each example provide?

Epilogue - An epilogue is a passage that comes at the end of a story, after the final chapter. It is supplemental to, but separate from, the main story.

In My Work - Evaluate a series of different type of work with this sheet.

What Is Exposition in Literature?


An exposition is defined as a literary device that is used to pass on information that is important to the story. A writer will use this technique when they want to somehow add details that are important to the story but cannot be adequately added to the reading material. Instead, they will write an exposition that will give background or context to a character or event which will then contribute to said character or event's narrative. This type of work can often do a good job at creating a connection between reader and character before the story has actually begun.


When writing an exposition, a writer must maintain a balance. You want to give context but not share too many details and ruin the story. Make sure this is written with extreme care because a well-written composition will give back the story and also excite the reader, but a poorly written exposition can give away too much and ruin the tone of the content. This type of work doesn't need to be in a long paragraph form. If the message is conveyed properly in a single sentence, that is good enough.


Sources Of Exposition in Writing


There are several different sources of exposition that can be used in writing. The following is a lot of the most common that can be used:


- Conversation between character


- Describing a certain setting


- A flashback to a point in the past


- A third person point of view


- A letter, newspaper, or diary i.e. a secondary source of information


- The way that a character responds to certain situations in relation to something that happened to them in the past.

 

Examples Of Exposition in Writing


Fairy Tales and folk stories make the best use of exposition because it allows you to understand why a certain character is behaving the way that they are. In other words, it gives you context for their actions. The following is a list of the most common:


- Goldilocks And The Three Bears. The three bears leave their doors unlocked which allows goldilocks to walk in, taste their porridge, and sleep in their beds.


- Snow White. The evil queen in the story is obsessed with beauty and will do anything to attain it. This is why she is always jealous of Snow White and her otherworldly beauty.


- Cinderella. Unlike Cinderella's stepsisters who were evil and cruel, Snow White was kind, caring, and gentle.

 

Methods Of Conveying an Exposition


There are different ways to convey your message in this way. The most common forms are through the use of dialogue or with the help of a narrator.


Narration - A narrator can start by introducing a character while they are busy doing their thing. This is common in most movies where the main character is going about their routine while a narrator is adding context to the things happening around them. This narrator sees everything happening and will even add comments to events that are unfolding. You will get the context as well as an added depth to the content you are reading.


Dialogue - When two or more characters are talking about something in a story, background information can be conveyed effectively. These characters could be two waitresses in a restaurant talking about the main character and his love interest, sharing all the intimate details about how the main character always brings a different type of girl to this place. This is a personal favorite because it allows for a more real conveyance of information.