<P> Narrative exposition is the insertion of important background information within a story; for example, information about the setting, characters' backstories, prior plot events, historical context, etc . In a specifically literary context, exposition appears in the form of expository writing embedded within the narrative . Exposition is one of four rhetorical modes (also known as modes of discourse), along with description, argumentation, and narration, as elucidated by Alexander Bain and John Genung . Each of the rhetorical modes is present in a variety of forms, and each has its own purpose and conventions . There are several ways to accomplish exposition . </P> <P> Indirect exposition, sometimes called incluing, is a technique of worldbuilding in which the reader is gradually exposed to background information about the world in which a story is set . The idea is to clue the readers in to the world the author is building without them being aware of it . This can be done in a number of ways: through dialogues, flashbacks, characters' thoughts, background details, in - universe media, or the narrator telling a backstory . Instead of saying "I am a woman", a first person narrator can say "I kept the papers inside my purse ." The reader (in most English - speaking cultures) now knows the character is probably female . </P>

Where is the exposition located in a story