Story structure
Three-act structure
The foundational Western dramatic model: setup, confrontation, resolution, with turning points at the act breaks.
Three-act structure is the foundational Western dramatic model that nearly every later framework builds on: Act I (setup, ending at the first plot point), Act II (confrontation, the rising action through the midpoint to the second plot point) and Act III (resolution, climax and denouement). Its usual beats: exposition, inciting incident, plot point one, rising action, midpoint, plot point two, climax, resolution.
Syd Field's 1979 Screenplay did much to fix the modern version. Its descendants add resolution: the Hero's Journey mythologizes it, Save the Cat itemizes it into fifteen beats, the Story Circle compresses it to eight, and kishotenketsu offers the main alternative that does not run on conflict.