Plot Type - basic building blocks

Whatever the style of the plot, the basic building blocks are generally the same:

Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action starts
Rising Action: the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax
Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action
Falling Action: all of the action which follows the climax
Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads

I will not be covering each of these in the plot types here, rather I will save that for adding to the more detailed versions that I will be posting to The Writing Office later.