首先是發送者接收者和信息。在文學活動裏面，作品總是從作者傳遞給讀者。作品、作者和讀者是文學活動的基本要素。文學活動也可以看作是一次言談：作者創作一部作品，讀者閱讀這部作品。然後是三個客觀條件，接觸、信碼和語境。文學作品總要有物理上的載體，紙質的或者是電子的，或者是被讀給別人聽的，這是媒介。文學作品總要以某種語言來創作和閱讀，中文英文或者別的語言，這是信碼。文學作品總要在某個文化背景下才有能理解的意義，這是語境。

Firstly, there is the addresser, the addressee, and the message. Within a literary event, the Work is always transmitted from the Author to the Reader. The Work, the Author, and the Reader are the basic elements of a literary event. The literary activity can also be seen as discourse: the author creates a work and the reader reads it. Then there are three objective conditions, contact, code, and context. A literary work always has a physical vehicle, a Media, paper or electronic, or be read to someone else, which is the contact. A literary work must be created and read in a Language, Chinese or English, or another language, this is the code. A literary work always has a meaning that can be understood in a certain cultural Context; this is the context.

因此，我们可以使用这样一种图表来表现这六个要素。
Therefore, we can use such a diagram to represent these six elements.

文學的六要素

而每個要素又對應六個功能。

作者對應表達的功能，作品總是作者用來表達自己所思所想所感的東西。讀者對應接受的功能，讀者總是在自己的意識內重新理解接受和闡釋作品。作品對應自洽的功能，作品總是被看作是一個內在自足的符號體系，一個客體。媒介對應流通的功能，作品以物質為載體在現實中流通。語言對應元語言的功能，探索某種語言的表達和用法，成為「使用英語的典範」。語境對應文化的功能，作品要代表某種觀念和文化。

Each element in turn corresponds to six functions.

The Author corresponds to the Expressed function; the work is always something that the author uses to express what he or she thinks and feels. The Reader corresponds to the Accepted function; the reader always re-interprets and re-interprets the work within his or her own consciousness. The Work corresponds to the Self-consistent function, the work is always seen as an inherently self-sufficient system of symbols, an object. The Media corresponds to the Circulated function, in which the work circulates in reality on a material basis. Language corresponds to the Meta-lingual function, exploring the expression and usage of a certain language, becoming a 'paradigm for the use of English'. Context corresponds to the Cultural function, where the work refers to certain ideas and cultures.

而這六種功能同樣可以以一張圖表的形式來表現。

These six functions can also be represented in the form of a diagram.

文學的六功能

一個文學事件總是由六種基本要素所構成，對應有六種可能的功能。而作品在特定的情境下可能以不同的功能為主，比如作品可以是作者表達自己思想和情緒的工具，這時它的主導性的功能就是表達。可以是塑造民族語言用法的典型，這時則是元語言的功能。

A literary event is always made up of six basic elements, corresponding to six possible functions. And the work may be dominated by different functions in a given situation. For example, the work may be a tool for the author to express his thoughts and emotions, its dominant function is expressed. It may be typical of the shaping of national language usage, and this is a meta-lingual function.