literary techniques matrix education

Matrix English Techniques

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Allegory – Story with a double meaning: one primary (on the surface) and one secondary.

Alliteration – Repetition of consonants at the start of words or in a sentence or phrase.

Cliché -An over-used, common expression.

Consonance – Repetition of consonants throughout a sentence or phrase.

Contrast – Paradox, antithesis, oxymoron, juxtaposition, contrast in description etc.

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The Matrix Literary Elements

By the wachowskis.

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.

Written by people who wish to remain anonymous

The Wachowskis

Leading Actors/Actresses

Keanu Reeves

Supporting Actors/Actresses

Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, and Hugo Weaving

The Matrix won four Academy Awards including: Best Film Editing, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects

Date of Release

March 31st 1999

Joel Silver

Setting and Context

The U.S., set partially in the future but mostly in the future

Narrator and Point of View

The Matrix is told through the point of view of Neo.

Tone and Mood

Strange, Mysterious, Conspiratorial, Intelligent, Sad, Smart, Stifling, Technological, Frantic, and Crafty

Protagonist and Antagonist

Neo/Agent Smith(s)

Major Conflict

The major conflict of the film is Neo and his group of rebels struggle to survive against the simulation and Agent Smith(s) as they try to free humankind.

After Neo successfully rescues Trinity and Morpheus, Neo fights Agent Smith and defeats him.

Foreshadowing

Everything that Oracle says foreshadows things that will happen in the future.

Understatement

Agent Smith/the Matrix's strength is understated in the film.

Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques

The bullet time effect was brand-new and incredibly innovative. However, the film was not innovative in filming or lighting or camera techniques.

To mythology (particularly the names of the characters -- ex: Morpheus), religion, popular culture, other films, as well as science and technology (some of the technology that is used by Neo and the rebels)

The Oracle (played in the film by Gloria Foster) is a normal human herself but is able to predict the future 100% of the time.

Parallelism

There are no significant examples of parallelism in The Matrix.

Update this section!

You can help us out by revising, improving and updating this section.

After you claim a section you’ll have 24 hours to send in a draft. An editor will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback.

The Matrix Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Matrix is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

What is outside the Matrix?

The "new " reality which is actual reality is a dystopian world rule by Artificial Intelligence. Humans are enslaved in cocoons for their raw energy. Waking up puts you in a strange post-apocalyptic world of metal and robots.

Elements of the film

What kind of elements are you referring to? Narrative, CGI, cinematography?

Computers or AI (artificial intelligence) control reality hence they control the world.

Study Guide for The Matrix

The Matrix study guide contains a biography of The Wachowskis, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Matrix
• The Matrix Summary
• Character List
• Director's Influence

Essays for The Matrix

The Matrix essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of The Matrix by The Wachowskis.

• Jean Baudrillard’s Concepts of Simulacrum and Hyper-Reality Across Media: Strange Days, The Matrix, and White Noise
• Philosophy in Film - The Matrix

Choose Your Test

Sat / act prep online guides and tips, the 31 literary devices you must know.

General Education

Need to analyze The Scarlet Letter or To Kill a Mockingbird for English class, but fumbling for the right vocabulary and concepts for literary devices? You've come to the right place. To successfully interpret and analyze literary texts, you'll first need to have a solid foundation in literary terms and their definitions.

In this article, we'll help you get familiar with most commonly used literary devices in prose and poetry. We'll give you a clear definition of each of the terms we discuss along with examples of literary elements and the context in which they most often appear (comedic writing, drama, or other).

Before we get to the list of literary devices, however, we have a quick refresher on what literary devices are and how understanding them will help you analyze works of literature.

What Are Literary Devices and Why Should You Know Them?

Literary devices are techniques that writers use to create a special and pointed effect in their writing, to convey information, or to help readers understand their writing on a deeper level.

Often, literary devices are used in writing for emphasis or clarity. Authors will also use literary devices to get readers to connect more strongly with either a story as a whole or specific characters or themes.

So why is it important to know different literary devices and terms? Aside from helping you get good grades on your literary analysis homework, there are several benefits to knowing the techniques authors commonly use.

Being able to identify when different literary techniques are being used helps you understand the motivation behind the author's choices. For example, being able to identify symbols in a story can help you figure out why the author might have chosen to insert these focal points and what these might suggest in regard to her attitude toward certain characters, plot points, and events.

In addition, being able to identify literary devices can make a written work's overall meaning or purpose clearer to you. For instance, let's say you're planning to read (or re-read) The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. By knowing that this particular book is a religious allegory with references to Christ (represented by the character Aslan) and Judas (represented by Edmund), it will be clearer to you why Lewis uses certain language to describe certain characters and why certain events happen the way they do.

Finally, literary techniques are important to know because they make texts more interesting and more fun to read. If you were to read a novel without knowing any literary devices, chances are you wouldn't be able to detect many of the layers of meaning interwoven into the story via different techniques.

Now that we've gone over why you should spend some time learning literary devices, let's take a look at some of the most important literary elements to know.

List of Literary Devices: 31 Literary Terms You Should Know

Below is a list of literary devices, most of which you'll often come across in both prose and poetry. We explain what each literary term is and give you an example of how it's used. This literary elements list is arranged in alphabetical order.

An allegory is a story that is used to represent a more general message about real-life (historical) issues and/or events. It is typically an entire book, novel, play, etc.

Example: George Orwell's dystopian book Animal Farm is an allegory for the events preceding the Russian Revolution and the Stalinist era in early 20th century Russia. In the story, animals on a farm practice animalism, which is essentially communism. Many characters correspond to actual historical figures: Old Major represents both the founder of communism Karl Marx and the Russian communist leader Vladimir Lenin; the farmer, Mr. Jones, is the Russian Czar; the boar Napoleon stands for Joseph Stalin; and the pig Snowball represents Leon Trotsky.

Alliteration

Alliteration is a series of words or phrases that all (or almost all) start with the same sound. These sounds are typically consonants to give more stress to that syllable. You'll often come across alliteration in poetry, titles of books and poems ( Jane Austen is a fan of this device, for example—just look at Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility ), and tongue twisters.

Example: "Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers." In this tongue twister, the "p" sound is repeated at the beginning of all major words.

Allusion is when an author makes an indirect reference to a figure, place, event, or idea originating from outside the text. Many allusions make reference to previous works of literature or art.

Example: "Stop acting so smart—it's not like you're Einstein or something." This is an allusion to the famous real-life theoretical physicist Albert Einstein.

Anachronism

An anachronism occurs when there is an (intentional) error in the chronology or timeline of a text. This could be a character who appears in a different time period than when he actually lived, or a technology that appears before it was invented. Anachronisms are often used for comedic effect.

Example: A Renaissance king who says, "That's dope, dude!" would be an anachronism, since this type of language is very modern and not actually from the Renaissance period.

Anaphora is when a word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of multiple sentences throughout a piece of writing. It's used to emphasize the repeated phrase and evoke strong feelings in the audience.

Example: A famous example of anaphora is Winston Churchill's "We Shall Fight on the Beaches" speech. Throughout this speech, he repeats the phrase "we shall fight" while listing numerous places where the British army will continue battling during WWII. He did this to rally both troops and the British people and to give them confidence that they would still win the war.

Anthropomorphism

An anthropomorphism occurs when something nonhuman, such as an animal, place, or inanimate object, behaves in a human-like way.

Example: Children's cartoons have many examples of anthropomorphism. For example, Mickey and Minnie Mouse can speak, wear clothes, sing, dance, drive cars, etc. Real mice can't do any of these things, but the two mouse characters behave much more like humans than mice.

Asyndeton is when the writer leaves out conjunctions (such as "and," "or," "but," and "for") in a group of words or phrases so that the meaning of the phrase or sentence is emphasized. It is often used for speeches since sentences containing asyndeton can have a powerful, memorable rhythm.

Example: Abraham Lincoln ends the Gettysburg Address with the phrase "...and that government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the Earth." By leaving out certain conjunctions, he ends the speech on a more powerful, melodic note.

Colloquialism

Colloquialism is the use of informal language and slang. It's often used by authors to lend a sense of realism to their characters and dialogue. Forms of colloquialism include words, phrases, and contractions that aren't real words (such as "gonna" and "ain't").

Example: "Hey, what's up, man?" This piece of dialogue is an example of a colloquialism, since it uses common everyday words and phrases, namely "what's up" and "man."

An epigraph is when an author inserts a famous quotation, poem, song, or other short passage or text at the beginning of a larger text (e.g., a book, chapter, etc.). An epigraph is typically written by a different writer (with credit given) and used as a way to introduce overarching themes or messages in the work. Some pieces of literature, such as Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick , incorporate multiple epigraphs throughout.

Example: At the beginning of Ernest Hemingway's book The Sun Also Rises is an epigraph that consists of a quotation from poet Gertrude Stein, which reads, "You are all a lost generation," and a passage from the Bible.

Epistrophe is similar to anaphora, but in this case, the repeated word or phrase appears at the end of successive statements. Like anaphora, it is used to evoke an emotional response from the audience.

Example: In Lyndon B. Johnson's speech, "The American Promise," he repeats the word "problem" in a use of epistrophe: "There is no Negro problem. There is no Southern problem. There is no Northern problem. There is only an American problem."

A euphemism is when a more mild or indirect word or expression is used in place of another word or phrase that is considered harsh, blunt, vulgar, or unpleasant.

Example: "I'm so sorry, but he didn't make it." The phrase "didn't make it" is a more polite and less blunt way of saying that someone has died.

A flashback is an interruption in a narrative that depicts events that have already occurred, either before the present time or before the time at which the narration takes place. This device is often used to give the reader more background information and details about specific characters, events, plot points, and so on.

Example: Most of the novel Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë is a flashback from the point of view of the housekeeper, Nelly Dean, as she engages in a conversation with a visitor named Lockwood. In this story, Nelly narrates Catherine Earnshaw's and Heathcliff's childhoods, the pair's budding romance, and their tragic demise.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is when an author indirectly hints at—through things such as dialogue, description, or characters' actions—what's to come later on in the story. This device is often used to introduce tension to a narrative.

Example: Say you're reading a fictionalized account of Amelia Earhart. Before she embarks on her (what we know to be unfortunate) plane ride, a friend says to her, "Be safe. Wouldn't want you getting lost—or worse." This line would be an example of foreshadowing because it implies that something bad ("or worse") will happen to Earhart.

Hyperbole is an exaggerated statement that's not meant to be taken literally by the reader. It is often used for comedic effect and/or emphasis.

Example: "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse." The speaker will not literally eat an entire horse (and most likely couldn't ), but this hyperbole emphasizes how starved the speaker feels.

Imagery is when an author describes a scene, thing, or idea so that it appeals to our senses (taste, smell, sight, touch, or hearing). This device is often used to help the reader clearly visualize parts of the story by creating a strong mental picture.

Example: Here's an example of imagery taken from William Wordsworth's famous poem "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud":

When all at once I saw a crowd, A host of golden Daffodils; Beside the Lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Irony is when a statement is used to express an opposite meaning than the one literally expressed by it. There are three types of irony in literature:

• Verbal irony: When someone says something but means the opposite (similar to sarcasm).
• Situational irony: When something happens that's the opposite of what was expected or intended to happen.
• Dramatic irony: When the audience is aware of the true intentions or outcomes, while the characters are not . As a result, certain actions and/or events take on different meanings for the audience than they do for the characters involved.
• Verbal irony: One example of this type of irony can be found in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado." In this short story, a man named Montresor plans to get revenge on another man named Fortunato. As they toast, Montresor says, "And I, Fortunato—I drink to your long life." This statement is ironic because we the readers already know by this point that Montresor plans to kill Fortunato.
• Situational irony: A girl wakes up late for school and quickly rushes to get there. As soon as she arrives, though, she realizes that it's Saturday and there is no school.
• Dramatic irony: In William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet , Romeo commits suicide in order to be with Juliet; however, the audience (unlike poor Romeo) knows that Juliet is not actually dead—just asleep.

Juxtaposition

Juxtaposition is the comparing and contrasting of two or more different (usually opposite) ideas, characters, objects, etc. This literary device is often used to help create a clearer picture of the characteristics of one object or idea by comparing it with those of another.

Example: One of the most famous literary examples of juxtaposition is the opening passage from Charles Dickens' novel A Tale of Two Cities :

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair …"

Malapropism

Malapropism happens when an incorrect word is used in place of a word that has a similar sound. This misuse of the word typically results in a statement that is both nonsensical and humorous; as a result, this device is commonly used in comedic writing.

Example: "I just can't wait to dance the flamingo!" Here, a character has accidentally called the flamenco (a type of dance) the flamingo (an animal).

Metaphor/Simile

Metaphors are when ideas, actions, or objects are described in non-literal terms. In short, it's when an author compares one thing to another. The two things being described usually share something in common but are unalike in all other respects.

A simile is a type of metaphor in which an object, idea, character, action, etc., is compared to another thing using the words "as" or "like."

Both metaphors and similes are often used in writing for clarity or emphasis.

"What light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun." In this line from Romeo and Juliet , Romeo compares Juliet to the sun. However, because Romeo doesn't use the words "as" or "like," it is not a simile—just a metaphor.

"She is as vicious as a lion." Since this statement uses the word "as" to make a comparison between "she" and "a lion," it is a simile.

A metonym is when a related word or phrase is substituted for the actual thing to which it's referring. This device is usually used for poetic or rhetorical effect .

Example: "The pen is mightier than the sword." This statement, which was coined by Edward Bulwer-Lytton in 1839, contains two examples of metonymy: "the pen" refers to "the written word," and "the sword" refers to "military force/violence."

Mood is the general feeling the writer wants the audience to have. The writer can achieve this through description, setting, dialogue, and word choice .

Example: Here's a passage from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit: "It had a perfectly round door like a porthole, painted green, with a shiny yellow brass knob in the exact middle. The door opened on to a tube-shaped hall like a tunnel: a very comfortable tunnel without smoke, with panelled walls, and floors tiled and carpeted, provided with polished chairs, and lots and lots of pegs for hats and coats -- the hobbit was fond of visitors." In this passage, Tolkien uses detailed description to set create a cozy, comforting mood. From the writing, you can see that the hobbit's home is well-cared for and designed to provide comfort.

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia is a word (or group of words) that represents a sound and actually resembles or imitates the sound it stands for. It is often used for dramatic, realistic, or poetic effect.

Examples: Buzz, boom, chirp, creak, sizzle, zoom, etc.

An oxymoron is a combination of two words that, together, express a contradictory meaning. This device is often used for emphasis, for humor, to create tension, or to illustrate a paradox (see next entry for more information on paradoxes).

Examples: Deafening silence, organized chaos, cruelly kind, insanely logical, etc.

A paradox is a statement that appears illogical or self-contradictory but, upon investigation, might actually be true or plausible.

Note that a paradox is different from an oxymoron: a paradox is an entire phrase or sentence, whereas an oxymoron is a combination of just two words.

Example: Here's a famous paradoxical sentence: "This statement is false." If the statement is true, then it isn't actually false (as it suggests). But if it's false, then the statement is true! Thus, this statement is a paradox because it is both true and false at the same time.

Personification

Personification is when a nonhuman figure or other abstract concept or element is described as having human-like qualities or characteristics. (Unlike anthropomorphism where non-human figures become human-like characters, with personification, the object/figure is simply described as being human-like.) Personification is used to help the reader create a clearer mental picture of the scene or object being described.

Example: "The wind moaned, beckoning me to come outside." In this example, the wind—a nonhuman element—is being described as if it is human (it "moans" and "beckons").

Repetition is when a word or phrase is written multiple times, usually for the purpose of emphasis. It is often used in poetry (for purposes of rhythm as well).

Example: When Lin-Manuel Miranda, who wrote the score for the hit musical Hamilton, gave his speech at the 2016 Tony's, he recited a poem he'd written that included the following line:

And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love cannot be killed or swept aside.

Satire is genre of writing that criticizes something , such as a person, behavior, belief, government, or society. Satire often employs irony, humor, and hyperbole to make its point.

Example: The Onion is a satirical newspaper and digital media company. It uses satire to parody common news features such as opinion columns, editorial cartoons, and click bait headlines.

A type of monologue that's often used in dramas, a soliloquy is when a character speaks aloud to himself (and to the audience), thereby revealing his inner thoughts and feelings.

Example: In Romeo and Juliet , Juliet's speech on the balcony that begins with, "O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou Romeo?" is a soliloquy, as she is speaking aloud to herself (remember that she doesn't realize Romeo's there listening!).

Symbolism refers to the use of an object, figure, event, situation, or other idea in a written work to represent something else— typically a broader message or deeper meaning that differs from its literal meaning.

The things used for symbolism are called "symbols," and they'll often appear multiple times throughout a text, sometimes changing in meaning as the plot progresses.

Example: In F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby , the green light that sits across from Gatsby's mansion symbolizes Gatsby's hopes and dreams .

A synecdoche is a literary device in which part of something is used to represent the whole, or vice versa. It's similar to a metonym (see above); however, a metonym doesn't have to represent the whole—just something associated with the word used.

Example: "Help me out, I need some hands!" In this case, "hands" is being used to refer to people (the whole human, essentially).

While mood is what the audience is supposed to feel, tone is the writer or narrator's attitude towards a subject . A good writer will always want the audience to feel the mood they're trying to evoke, but the audience may not always agree with the narrator's tone, especially if the narrator is an unsympathetic character or has viewpoints that differ from those of the reader.

Example: In an essay disdaining Americans and some of the sites they visit as tourists, Rudyard Kipling begins with the line, "Today I am in the Yellowstone Park, and I wish I were dead." If you enjoy Yellowstone and/or national parks, you may not agree with the author's tone in this piece.

How to Identify and Analyze Literary Devices: 4 Tips

In order to fully interpret pieces of literature, you have to understand a lot about literary devices in the texts you read. Here are our top tips for identifying and analyzing different literary techniques:

Tip 1: Read Closely and Carefully

First off, you'll need to make sure that you're reading very carefully. Resist the temptation to skim or skip any sections of the text. If you do this, you might miss some literary devices being used and, as a result, will be unable to accurately interpret the text.

If there are any passages in the work that make you feel especially emotional, curious, intrigued, or just plain interested, check that area again for any literary devices at play.

It's also a good idea to reread any parts you thought were confusing or that you didn't totally understand on a first read-through. Doing this ensures that you have a solid grasp of the passage (and text as a whole) and will be able to analyze it appropriately.

Tip 2: Memorize Common Literary Terms

You won't be able to identify literary elements in texts if you don't know what they are or how they're used, so spend some time memorizing the literary elements list above. Knowing these (and how they look in writing) will allow you to more easily pinpoint these techniques in various types of written works.

Tip 3: Know the Author's Intended Audience

Knowing what kind of audience an author intended her work to have can help you figure out what types of literary devices might be at play.

For example, if you were trying to analyze a children's book, you'd want to be on the lookout for child-appropriate devices, such as repetition and alliteration.

Tip 4: Take Notes and Bookmark Key Passages and Pages

This is one of the most important tips to know, especially if you're reading and analyzing works for English class. As you read, take notes on the work in a notebook or on a computer. Write down any passages, paragraphs, conversations, descriptions, etc., that jump out at you or that contain a literary device you were able to identify.

You can also take notes directly in the book, if possible (but don't do this if you're borrowing a book from the library!). I recommend circling keywords and important phrases, as well as starring interesting or particularly effective passages and paragraphs.

Lastly, use sticky notes or post-its to bookmark pages that are interesting to you or that have some kind of notable literary device. This will help you go back to them later should you need to revisit some of what you've found for a paper you plan to write.

What's Next?

Looking for more in-depth explorations and examples of literary devices? Join us as we delve into imagery , personification , rhetorical devices , tone words and mood , and different points of view in literature, as well as some more poetry-specific terms like assonance and iambic pentameter .

Reading The Great Gatsby for class or even just for fun? Then you'll definitely want to check out our expert guides on the biggest themes in this classic book, from love and relationships to money and materialism .

Got questions about Arthur Miller's The Crucible ? Read our in-depth articles to learn about the most important themes in this play and get a complete rundown of all the characters .

For more information on your favorite works of literature, take a look at our collection of high-quality book guides and our guide to the 9 literary elements that appear in every story !

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Hannah received her MA in Japanese Studies from the University of Michigan and holds a bachelor's degree from the University of Southern California. From 2013 to 2015, she taught English in Japan via the JET Program. She is passionate about education, writing, and travel.

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Building a Matrix for Leo Lionni Books: An Author Study

• Resources & Preparation
• Instructional Plan
• Related Resources

In this author study, students listen to four books by author Leo Lionni over the course of four days. Each reading is followed by discussion focusing on literary elements and comparing characters and plots. After discussion, students participate in creating and organizing information on a large matrix which depicts the main elements of that day's story. During the week, the matrix helps students review and retell each story and to compare details of two or more stories at a time. On the final day of this lesson, individual students choose any two books to compare using a Venn diagram.

Featured Resources

Interactive Venn Diagram : Students use this online tool to compare and contrast the details of two books. The tool can also be used to organize ideas for a compare and contrast essay.

From Theory to Practice

Engaging students in making text-to-text connections through classroom discussion can contribute to a deeper comprehension of stories. As Joy Moss explains, "Through genuine dialogue, teachers and students collaborate as they respond to literature, explore possibilities, and construct meanings together. These literary conversations offer students opportunities to discover new ways to think about literary texts, to enrich their own responses as readers, and to extend their language competence. The invitation to 'think out loud' in the context of these literary conversations provides students with the opportunity to practice the strategies that readers use to build understanding in response to literary texts" (7). Gambrell and Almasi similarly address the importance of discussing texts to increase comprehension in Lively Discussions! Fostering Engaged Reading . It follows that engaging students in making text-to-text connections can contribute to a deeper comprehension of stories. Additionally, comparing a series of texts by one author can help students identify an author's tendencies of plot and character relationships, giving them tools for making predictions as they read books in the future. Further Reading

Common Core Standards

This resource has been aligned to the Common Core State Standards for states in which they have been adopted. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, CCSS alignments are forthcoming.

State Standards

This lesson has been aligned to standards in the following states. If a state does not appear in the drop-down, standard alignments are not currently available for that state.

NCTE/IRA National Standards for the English Language Arts

• 1. Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts to build an understanding of texts, of themselves, and of the cultures of the United States and the world; to acquire new information; to respond to the needs and demands of society and the workplace; and for personal fulfillment. Among these texts are fiction and nonfiction, classic and contemporary works.
• 3. Students apply a wide range of strategies to comprehend, interpret, evaluate, and appreciate texts. They draw on their prior experience, their interactions with other readers and writers, their knowledge of word meaning and of other texts, their word identification strategies, and their understanding of textual features (e.g., sound-letter correspondence, sentence structure, context, graphics).
• 6. Students apply knowledge of language structure, language conventions (e.g., spelling and punctuation), media techniques, figurative language, and genre to create, critique, and discuss print and nonprint texts.
• 11. Students participate as knowledgeable, reflective, creative, and critical members of a variety of literacy communities.

Materials and Technology

• Books by author Leo Lionni: Inch by Inch (1960), Swimmy (1963), Frederick (1967), and A Color of His Own (1975)
• White butcher paper (about 7 feet long)
• Blank white copy paper
• Fine-tipped black markers
• White construction paper (full sheets)

Literature Response Sheet

Preparation

• Each cell should measure 9 inches vertically and 12 inches horizontally, so that there is adequate room for students to glue their drawings into the cells.
• In the top row, label the columns as follows: title, character, setting, problem, solution, ending.
• Attach the matrix to the wall, and plan to leave it on display during the entire lesson.
• Make photocopies of each book cover and, if desired, a copy of each main character. Color copies are nice if you have access to a color photocopier. Glue the book cover copies into header cells of the matrix and save the character copies for use during the class sessions.
• Gather books for read aloud: Inch by Inch (1960), Swimmy (1963), Frederick (1967), and A Color of His Own (1975).
• Read background information on Leo Lionni’s life, using the resources at Random House's Leo Lionni Author's Page , which includes a brief biography of Lionni, an annotated bibliography, and a tribute to the author..
• Make copies of the literature response sheet . (Optional)
• Test the Interactive Venn Diagram on your computers to familiarize yourself with the tool and ensure that you have the Flash plug-in installed. You can download the plug-in from the technical support page.

Student Objectives

Students will

• respond orally in group discussion to a series of texts by an author.
• collaborate on drawings depicting information about setting, character, and plot.
• identify patterns in setting, character, and plot.
• compare the details of two stories of their choice.

Session One: <em>Inch by Inch</em>

• Introduce students to the unit by showing them the matrix and explaining that they will be listening to the four books by Leo Lionni.
• If desired, tell students a few details of Lionni’s life and work, especially that Leo Lionni was an artist before he was a writer, and that he was very interested in art as a child. His first children’s book was Little Blue and Little Yellow, which was created orally one day when he told it to his grandchildren while traveling. He used torn paper from magazines to create the characters.
• Show students the four books they will be listening to, and explain that they will compare the books by identifying things that are alike and different among the books.
• Show students the cover of Inch by Inch and ask for predictions about the story. Introduce the book by explaining that it is a story of an inchworm who does a lot of measuring.
• Read the book aloud to students. While reading, model "thinking aloud" and questioning and predicting strategies.
• Elicit student reactions to the text. Ask questions about the character, setting, problem, solution, and ending. Make sure students can retell the main parts of the story, especially details which will go into the cells of the matrix.
• Move to the matrix. Ask students what animal is the main character in the story and what color it is. Write that information in the ‘character’ cell, and glue on the color photocopy of the inchworm or draw a simple picture of the inchworm.
• Explain to students that they will work together in small groups to work on pictures for the matrix, that each group will work on one drawing, and that you will do the writing for them on their drawings.
• Break students into four groups and assign one element to each group: setting, problem, solution, ending. Have all students (as a whole group) agree first to what happened in the story, especially the problem/solution relationship, before students join their groups to do their drawings.
• As students work, circulate and add sentences to their drawings with a black marker.
• As the groups finish, glue their drawings on to the matrix. When all cells are filled in, have groups talk about their drawings, and retell the story together by reading the sentences on the drawings.

Session Two: <em>Swimmy</em>

• Gather students together, and show the group the cover of Swimmy. Ask for predictions about the story.
• Introduce the book by explaining that it is a story of a little fish who solves a big problem. Ask students again what they think might happen in the story.
• Repeat the discussion and drawing process used in Session One.
• After retelling Swimmy by reviewing the drawings and sentences on the matrix, have students compare the two books read so far. Ask for similarities and differences of character and plot.

Session Three: <em>Frederick</em>

• Gather students together, and show the group the cover of Frederick. Ask if students can make any predictions about the story.
• When all predictions have been given, introduce the book Frederick by explaining that it is a story of a mouse who does something special for his friends.
• After retelling Frederick by reviewing the drawings and sentences on the matrix, have students compare the book to either of the books read so far. Ask for similarities and differences of character and plot.

Session Four: <em>A Color of His Own</em>

• Gather students together, and show the group the book cover and ask if students can make any predictions about the story.
• When all responses have been given, introduce the book A Color of His Own by explaining that it is a story of a chameleon who is unhappy with his color.
• After retelling A Color of His Own by reviewing the drawings and sentences on the matrix, have students compare the book to any of the books read so far. Ask for similarities and differences of character and plot.

Session Five

• Review the matrix, and retell each story by reading the sentences on the students’ drawings.
• In a whole group discussion, have students make any comparisons of the books.
• Have students respond to the question, "Is there anything that is the same about ALL of Leo Lionni’s characters?"
• Explain to students that they will be comparing any two of the Leo Lionni books. Have students work with partners or in small groups to discuss two books of their choice, naming similarities and differences. Use the Interactive Venn Diagram to record and print out students’ information (an adult helper or two would be beneficial for this part of the lesson).
• What is the same about these two characters? What is different?
• Where do these stories take place? Where do they happen?
• How do the main characters (use the names) act with the other characters?
• What is one of the main things that happens in each story? Are they the same?
• What problems do these two main characters have? Are they the same or different?
• What other things happen in the stories that are the same?
• What other things happen in the stories that are different?
• Print a copy of the Venn Diagram for each group member.
• When all students have finished recording their information, or while they are waiting to have it recorded for them, have them draw comparison pictures of the two main characters of the books they chose. Use a full sheet of construction paper for each student, folded in half and then unfolded so that one character can be drawn in each half. Have students write something about each character on their drawings. If students need help, do the writing for them.
• Attach students’ Venn Diagram printouts to the bottom of the drawings and display the work.
• Use the book list at Random House's Leo Lionni Author's Page . Have students use the pictures on the screen to find other Leo Lionni books in the classroom.
• Gather more Leo Lionni books and encourage students to make more comparisons.
• Read other children’s mouse stories on Random House's Leo Lionni Author's Page . Use these stories as inspiration to write stories using one of Leo Lionni’s characters.
• Put the school of fish back together at the Swimmy interactive Website .
• Make fish prints, and write your own fish story.
• Make torn paper mice, and write your own mouse story.
• Have each student choose a favorite book, and write a book review of the book with an illustration of his or her favorite part. If desired, use the Book Cover Creator to highlight the favorite part on a new book cover or dust jacket.
• Prepare and make copies of literature response sheets headed with "My favorite Leo Lionni book is _______________ because ___________________." Have students write and draw about their favorite Leo Lionni book on the literature response sheet.

Student Assessment / Reflections

• Monitor student progress during the lesson and as students work independently through anecdotal notetaking and kidwatching.
• As students retell their stories, listen for details and references to the literary elements that have been explored (character, etc.).

Main Characters The student should list at least one similiarity and one difference in the main characters. Character Relationships The student should include at least one reference to the main character’s relationship with other characters for each book, whether the relationship is a similarity or there is a difference. Plots and Events The student should list at least two main events in the stories which are similar or different. Details The student should list at least two details which are similar or different in the two stories. These could be details of setting, illustration, plot structure, problem/solution, or ending of the story.

• Calendar Activities
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• Student Interactives

Students research different awards given by the ALA and do an activity based on one of the awards.

This step-by-step literature response template for use with read-alouds asks students to use drawing and writing to respond to increasingly-complex prompts which address literary elements as well as personal connections.

This interactive tool allows students to create Venn diagrams that contain two or three overlapping circles, enabling them to organize their information logically.

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• Kindergarten K

Module 4: Strategic Reading

Organize your Readings with a Literature Review Matrix

The next step after reading and evaluating your sources is to organize them in a way that will help you start the writing process.

Review Matrix

One way to organize your literature is with a review matrix. The review matrix is a chart that sorts and categorizes the different arguments presented per topic or issue. Using a matrix enables you to quickly compare and contrast your sources in order to determine the scope of research across time. This will allow you  to spot similarities and differences between sources. It is particularly useful in the synthesis and analysis stages of a review (See Module 1 Conducting a Literature Review with the SALSA Framework ).

Example of a Review Matrix

My research question:

How can we use machine learning to analyze social media data related to HIV?

Writing a Literature Review Modified from The WI+RE Team,  UCLA. Creative Commons CC-BY-NA-SA

Create a Review Matrix

Start with a charting tool you are most familiar with (for example MS Word, MS Excel, Google Sheets, Numbers etc).

• Organize your sources from oldest to most recent. This way you can see how the research on your topic has changed over time.
• First Column: citation (i.e., author, title, source, publication year)
• Second Column: purpose or summary (1-2 sentences)
• methodology
• intervention

Key Takeaways

Here are some examples of different review matrices and templates:

• Evidence Synthesis Matrix Template, Jane Schmidt, Toronto Metropolitan University (Google Sheets)
• The Matrix Method for Literature Reviews, Brandeis University, Writing Resources.
• Literature Review Synthesis Matrix , Concordia University (MS Word)
• Write a Literature Review: Synthesize . Johns Hopkins University, Sheridan Libraries

Advanced Research Skills: Conducting Literature and Systematic Reviews (2nd Edition) Copyright © 2021 by Kelly Dermody; Cecile Farnum; Daniel Jakubek; Jo-Anne Petropoulos; Jane Schmidt; and Reece Steinberg is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Writing Resources

The matrix method for literature reviews.

This handout is available for download in DOCX format and PDF format .

What is the Matrix Method, and why should I use it?

Using a review matrix enables you to quickly compare and contrast articles in order to determine the scope of research across time. A review matrix can help you more easily spot differences and similarities between journal articles about a research topic. While they may be helpful in any discipline, review matrices are especially helpful for health sciences literature reviews covering the complete scope of a research topic over time. This guide focuses on the review matrix step in the literature review process and offers tips on how to use it effectively.

Organize your sources

Once you complete your research, organize your source by date in order to make it easier to see changes in research over time.

Begin by creating the blank matrix. The matrices can be easily constructed using table-making software such as Microsoft Excel, Word or OneNote, Google Sheets, or Numbers. Every review matrix should have the same first three column headings: (1) authors, title, and journal, (2) publication year, and (3) purpose.

Be aware that it may be difficult to determine purpose from just a cursory review of the article. In some cases, it may be necessary to first read the paper fully to identify its purpose.

Choose your remaining column topics

Next, carefully read all your articles. Note any important issues you identify. The following broad categories provide some suggestions for determining your own subject headings:

Methodological

Methodology is often an important question. For example, if you are looking at tests of an Ebola vaccine beyond human subjects, it will be important to note what type of animal the test was carried out on, i.e. macaques or mice.

Content-specific

Consider noting what was actually studied. For example, when looking at the effectiveness of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of illnesses, it would be important to note what illness was being studied.

Geographical

It may be important to note where the research was completed. For example, if you want to compare the effects of the AIDS epidemic in different countries, you would use country as a column heading.

There are many ways to choose your column headings, and these are just a few suggestions. As you create your own matrix, choose column headings that support your research question and goals.

• Do not include column headings that are explicit in your research question. For example, if you are looking at drug use in adolescents, do not include a column heading for age of study participants. If the answer will be the same for every study, it's generally a bad choice for a column heading.
• Do not try to fully complete a review matrix before reading the articles. Reading the articles is an important way to discern the nuances between studies.

Credit: Adapted from David Nolfi, “Matrix Method for Literature Review: The Review Matrix,” Duquesne University, https://guides.library.duq.edu/matrix , 2020.

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AMA Writing Guide: Literature Matrix

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• Literature Matrix

What is a literature matrix?

As defined by Judith Garrard in her handbook entitled  Health Sciences Literature Reviews Made Easy: The Matrix Method , a “Review of the literature consists of reading, analyzing, and writing a synthesis of scholarly materials about a specific topic. When reviewing scientific literature, the focus is on the hypotheses, the scientific methods, the strengths and weaknesses of the study, the results, and the authors’ interpretations and conclusions.” When reading materials for a literature review, you should critically evaluate the study’s major aims and results. 

The purpose of completing a literature matrix is to help you identify important aspects of the study. Literature matrixes contain a variety of headings, but frequent headings include: author surname and date, theoretical/ conceptual framework, research question(s)/ hypothesis, methodology, analysis & results, conclusions, implications for future research, and implications for practice. You can add additional columns as needed, and you might consider adding a “notes column” to proactively have important quotations and your thoughts already collected.  As you read journal articles, have your literature matrix ready. It is best to fill in the matrix directly after reading a work, rather than returning to the matrix later.  

Literature Matrix Files

You should use a literature matrix that best helps you to organize your reading and research. Excel workbooks can help to organize your research. Sample basic and complex literature matrixes are provided below: 

• Literature Matrix Basic BLANK
• Literature Matrix Basic SAMPLE
• Literature Matrix Complex BLANK

Synthesize vs. Summarize

When writing your literature review, you will not simply summarize the materials that you found related to your topic. A summary is a recap of the information provided in research articles. Summaries provide basic information about the study, but the details provided in a summary are not enumerative or systematic. 

Synthesizing goes beyond summarizing to explore specific aspects of the research study. When synthesizing the literature, rely on your completed literature matrix to inform your writing. Do you see any tends across publications? Was one type of methodology used repeatedly, why or why not? Did separate teams of researchers come to the same conclusion, differing conclusions, or is the literature inconclusive? Synthesizing requires that you look at the current state of the research overall. 

When preparing to write a synthesis, you will read the literature available, tease apart individual findings and supporting evidence across different articles, and then reorganize this information in a way that presents your understanding of the current state of research in this field.  

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