Identifying themes and conventions
In summary
A theme is the primary idea or message that readers are supposed to get out of a
text. Conventions are the methods the writer uses to convey these ideas and
themes. In this summary, you’ll learn about the different themes and conventions in
writing.
Theme
A theme is a recurring idea or image in any work. In stories, a theme is a message
which a writer is trying to show the reader. The theme of a text is not what the text is
about or what happens.
Writers sometimes have views or opinions about concepts like love, religion, evil or
coming of age, and they use their writing to explore such themes and show readers
what they think about these ideas.
Tip: A story can contain many different themes at once.
Conventions
Conventions
are the features which
are expected in certain genres of writing, such as fairy tales, mystery stories, science fiction
and ghost stories. These different conventions, characteristics and rules make each genre
recognisable.
