Which term describes the directly stated message of the story?

• A. Theme
• B. Stated theme
• C. Resolution
• D. Exposition

Answer: (B)

The main idea here is how a story’s message is communicated. When the author tells you the message of the story directly, that exact message is called the stated theme. So you’re looking for the term that means the message the author explicitly says.

A theme, on the other hand, is the overall idea about life or people that the story conveys, which you can often infer from plot and details rather than from a direct statement. The resolution is the ending of the story that wraps up the conflict, not the message itself. Exposition is the setup—introducing characters, setting, and situation.

If you see a line or a sentence in the story that states the message plainly, that’s the stated theme.