LINEAR AND NON-

LINEAR PLOT
STRUCTURES
OBJECTIVE

• Today we will compare non-linear and

linear plot structures.
DO NOW:

• Recall your favorite childhood memory by

writing in your journal for 5 minutes, when the
timer goes off share what you wrote with one
of your classmates.
LINEAR PLOT STRUCTURE
• A linear plot consists of a series of events that have a clear
beginning, middle and end. The story unfolds in a chronological
order, which means they are told in the order they happened.
• Most linear plots are shown through Aristotle’s pyramid which
shows a beginning, middle, and an end. Linear structure often
follows a chain of cause and effect that leads to a resolution of
the conflict.
LINEAR PLOT STRUCTURE
• Later, Freytag modified Aristotle’s model and added a rising
and falling action to the pyramid. Now instead of just a
beginning, middle, and end we have further actions that add to
the depth of the plot.
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTQ-bt5IA3I
NON-LINEAR PLOT STRUCTURE

• A non-linear plot is a story told out of chronological order.

• Includes: Flashbacks, foreshadowing, sub plots, and parallel
plot structures.
FLASHBACK

•  Is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time

from the current point in the story.
FORESHADOWING
• Foreshadowing is a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of
what is to come later in the story.
• An example of foreshadowing can be seen in Romeo and Juliet:
• “A pair of star-crossed lovers…Doth with their death bury their parents’
strife” (1.1..)
• This line from the prologue of the play hints towards the death of Romeo
and Juliet which happens at the end of the play.
SUB PLOTS

• A subplot is a secondary plot, or a strand of the main plot that runs parallel
to it and supports it.
• In Romeo and Juliet, we also see an example of subplot through the long-
standing rivalry between their two families (the Montagues and the
Capulets) unfolds to increase conflict and add to the drama of their
forbidden romance.
PARALLEL PLOT

• In a parallel plot the writer weaves two or more dramatic plots that are

usually linked by a common character and a similar theme.
COMPARING LINEAR AND NON-LINEAR
PLOT STRUCTURE
• Linear structure:
Chronological order and follows one plot.
• Non-Linear:
Can have multiple plots and is not in chronological order.
ACTIVITY

• Look back at the journal entry we did earlier, do you think you followed a
linear or non-linear plot structure? Brainstorm how you can edit your story
to fit in the non-linear plot structure.
EXIT TICKET

• On a note card, tell me what makes a plot linear and what makes it non-
linear.