English
First Additonal Language
Language & Grammar
STUDY GUIDE
Grade 10
© 2026 Knap Opsommings
All notes, summaries, and study materials are owned by Knap Opsommings. Please use them only for your personal school learning. Do not copy,
share, or sell our content without permission.
, Literary texts
Important features of literary texts
Plot
The plot is the action of the story – what happens, when and to whom.
The plot often follows a particular pattern:
set-up – the start of the story when we are introduced to the characters and
setting
rising action – further on into the story – the movement towards the climax
the climax – the peak of the action when the conflict between characters,
characters and nature or other circumstances has reached breaking point
falling-action – the part after the story where things are resolved in one way
or another and the story comes to an end.
Setting
The setting is where the story takes place. It is both the physical place as well
as the time in which the plot happens.
The setting can have an impact on the characters and the themes of the work.
Narrative point of view
The narrator is the story-teller. The narrative point of view can be of two main
types:
1. The Omniscient or Third Person narrator – here the story is told as though
some outsider is watching the story unfold. The narrator tells us what is
happening, and can also say what characters are thinking. We will read: ‘The
man walked into the shop. …’
2. First Person narrator – here the story is told from the point of view of one of
the characters. We will read: “I walked into the shop. …’ Because we see all the
action through this character’s eyes, we cannot know what other characters
are thinking. We are limited to what the narrator knows and shares with us as
readers.
© 2026 Knap Opsommings
All notes, summaries, and study materials are owned by Knap Opsommings. Please use them only for your personal school learning. Do not copy,
share, or sell our content without permission.
, Character
The characters are the people (or animals) in a story. We learn about the
characters through what they say, what they do and what other people say
about them.
The main character (protagonist) in a text will develop and grow in response to
the setting, events in the plot and other characters. Less important characters
will not change much at all.
Theme
Themes are the main ideas, concerns, or issues that are explored in the novel, short
story or poem. The theme can also be thought of as a moral the writer wants us to
be aware of.
Imagery
A writer will use imagery – pictures made up of words – to create the ideas and
feelings he or she wants in a poem or other piece of writing.
The more vivid or alive the image, the more powerful the writing is for the
reader.
Writers use rhetorical devices or figures of speech to create these images.
© 2026 Knap Opsommings
All notes, summaries, and study materials are owned by Knap Opsommings. Please use them only for your personal school learning. Do not copy,
share, or sell our content without permission.
First Additonal Language
Language & Grammar
STUDY GUIDE
Grade 10
© 2026 Knap Opsommings
All notes, summaries, and study materials are owned by Knap Opsommings. Please use them only for your personal school learning. Do not copy,
share, or sell our content without permission.
, Literary texts
Important features of literary texts
Plot
The plot is the action of the story – what happens, when and to whom.
The plot often follows a particular pattern:
set-up – the start of the story when we are introduced to the characters and
setting
rising action – further on into the story – the movement towards the climax
the climax – the peak of the action when the conflict between characters,
characters and nature or other circumstances has reached breaking point
falling-action – the part after the story where things are resolved in one way
or another and the story comes to an end.
Setting
The setting is where the story takes place. It is both the physical place as well
as the time in which the plot happens.
The setting can have an impact on the characters and the themes of the work.
Narrative point of view
The narrator is the story-teller. The narrative point of view can be of two main
types:
1. The Omniscient or Third Person narrator – here the story is told as though
some outsider is watching the story unfold. The narrator tells us what is
happening, and can also say what characters are thinking. We will read: ‘The
man walked into the shop. …’
2. First Person narrator – here the story is told from the point of view of one of
the characters. We will read: “I walked into the shop. …’ Because we see all the
action through this character’s eyes, we cannot know what other characters
are thinking. We are limited to what the narrator knows and shares with us as
readers.
© 2026 Knap Opsommings
All notes, summaries, and study materials are owned by Knap Opsommings. Please use them only for your personal school learning. Do not copy,
share, or sell our content without permission.
, Character
The characters are the people (or animals) in a story. We learn about the
characters through what they say, what they do and what other people say
about them.
The main character (protagonist) in a text will develop and grow in response to
the setting, events in the plot and other characters. Less important characters
will not change much at all.
Theme
Themes are the main ideas, concerns, or issues that are explored in the novel, short
story or poem. The theme can also be thought of as a moral the writer wants us to
be aware of.
Imagery
A writer will use imagery – pictures made up of words – to create the ideas and
feelings he or she wants in a poem or other piece of writing.
The more vivid or alive the image, the more powerful the writing is for the
reader.
Writers use rhetorical devices or figures of speech to create these images.
© 2026 Knap Opsommings
All notes, summaries, and study materials are owned by Knap Opsommings. Please use them only for your personal school learning. Do not copy,
share, or sell our content without permission.
