What term describes the main message or what the story is mostly about?

What term describes the main message or what the story is mostly about?

• A. Central idea
• B. Mood
• C. Plot
• D. Metaphor

Answer: (C)

The main message or what the story is mostly about is described by the central idea. It’s the big point the author wants you to take away—the overall message or insight the text lives to convey. This is different from mood, which is the feeling or atmosphere the author creates; it’s not the sequence of events, which is the plot; and it isn’t a figure of speech like a metaphor, which is a way of describing something by saying it is something else. For example, if a story shows characters sticking together through challenges to show that teamwork makes tough tasks easier, the central idea is the value of teamwork. The plot would be the actual events that happen, the mood might feel hopeful or tense, and any metaphor used would be a figurative comparison within the writing.

The main message or what the story is mostly about is described by the central idea. It’s the big point the author wants you to take away—the overall message or insight the text lives to convey. This is different from mood, which is the feeling or atmosphere the author creates; it’s not the sequence of events, which is the plot; and it isn’t a figure of speech like a metaphor, which is a way of describing something by saying it is something else. For example, if a story shows characters sticking together through challenges to show that teamwork makes tough tasks easier, the central idea is the value of teamwork. The plot would be the actual events that happen, the mood might feel hopeful or tense, and any metaphor used would be a figurative comparison within the writing.