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Literature vocabulary · Plot and Structure

Chronological order

Meaning in literature, with examples

nounCore term

In literature, chronological order means: The arrangement of events according to the time they happen, from earlier moments to later ones.

In Turkish: kronolojik sıra

How it is used

Used in plot summaries, biographies, reports, and classroom writing. It contrasts with structures that begin in the middle or move through flashbacks.

Example sentences

  1. The intern rewrote the plot summary in chronological order so new readers could follow the hero's decisions without confusion.

    Here, chronological order means the summary now follows the sequence of events in time, making causation easier to understand.

  2. Our textbook places the letters in chronological order, which reveals how the author's political views changed over a decade.

    In this example, the term emphasizes time-based arrangement as a tool for tracing development across separate documents.

Common collocations

  • in chronological order
  • arrange chronologically
  • chronological sequence
  • chronological account
  • plotThe series of connected events in a story and the way the writer arranges them, especially how one event causes another.
  • flashbackA scene that interrupts the main story to show events that happened earlier, often to explain a character's past or motives.

More terms: Plot and Structure

Practise with graded reading

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