Buzzwords
Trope = Overused plot device
Quotes
A trope is a convention. It can be a plot trick, a setup, a narrative structure, a character type, a linguistic idiom… you know it when you see it. Tropes are not inherently disruptive to a story; however, when the trope itself becomes intrusive, distracting the viewer rather than serving as shorthand, it has become a cliché.
– http://tvtropes.org
Elsewhere on the Web
http://tvtropes.org
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=trope
http://gointothestory.blcklst.com/2016/03/wanted-cliches-in-scripts.html
http://variety.com/2016/voices/columns/femscriptintros-twitter-1201746659
Recommended Listening
How racist tropes inform the present – From noble savage to helpless victims locked in unending tragedy, racist tropes from the colonial archive persist today and are invoked in contemporary politics.
Wikipedia
Trope_(literature)
Examples
Planeta.com