Dramatic Arc in Five Acts

Create a storyline following a dramatic arc in Five Acts:

Exposition: introduce protagonist (get your audience to care about what happens to the protagonist), background information about the setting, events occurring before the main plot, characters' back stories, etc. through visuals, dialogues, or a narrator.
Rising Action: protagonist confronts a challenge or problem, tension rises.
Climax: The climax is the turning point, which changes the protagonist’s fate.
Falling Action: tension falls.
Resolution

Example Story Outline

See the eLearning Brothers story about a forklift that illustrates a story in five acts.

Cliffhangers: Create Suspense...

Try ending on a cliffhanger by posing an intriguing question that will not be answered until the next installment. Even better, ask students to hypothesize about what will happen next.

Short scenarios & anecdotes

If you can't provide a full story, offering a small anecdote puts a human face on the subject matter.