Teachermama's English Class Nifty Fifty
These terms are more than likely to appear on the Virginia State English test. Learn them!
Terms
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- Hyperbole
- An EXTREME exaggeration used for effect.
- Static/Flat character
- A character who remains unchanged.
- Mnemonic
- A way to remember stuff.
- Climax
- The turning point in a story; the point where the conflict reaches its peak
- Resolution
- The final stage of plot in a story- loose ends are tied up, and the story is brought to a close
- Irony
- A contrast between what is expected and what actually happens.
- Word Choice/ Diction
- The words an author chooses to use to convey a particular message or to create a particular mood
- Antagonist
- Villain
- Rising Actions
- In a story, the events that take place after the initiating event and lead up to the climax
- Theme / Main Idea
- The central, universal message of a story(what the author is trying to tell the readers by writing the story)
- Simile
- A comparison of two unlike things using "like" or "as."
- Alliteration
- The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of wordsEx/ the Big Blue Balloon
- Foreshadowing
- When a writer provides hints which suggest future events in a story.
- Third Person Point of View
- The narrator is an outsider (not part of the story). Two types: limited, omniscient.
- Third Person limited
- Point of view in which an outsider tells the story and can enter the mind of only one character.
- Central Conflict
- The main conflict or problem that the main character of a story faces
- Figurative language
- Poetic language.
- Quatrain
- A four line poem OR a stanza with four lines
- Internal Conflict
- A conflict that a character faces within him/herself (individual v. self)Ex/ guilt
- Flashback
- An interruption of the action to present events that took place at an earlier time.
- Homophone
- Two or more words which sound the same but have different meanings.
- S. STINS
- A mnemonic to remember the six kinds of conflict: individual vs. SELF, SOCIETY, TECHNOLOGY, INDIVIDUAL, NATURE, and SUPERNATURAL.
- Antonym
- Two or more words which mean the opposite or nearly the opposite.
- Dynamic/Round character
- Character with a major change in thinking.
- Organizational Patterns / Internal Text Structure
- The way a piece of writing is organized/structured: problem-solution, compare-contrast, chronological/sequence, cause-effect
- Mood
- The way the READER feels about the events, characters, and setting of a story.
- Repetition
- The repeating of words or phrases in a poem used to emphasize a particular thought
- Imagery
- The words an author uses to involve any of the readers' five senses.
- Cite
- To quote actual words from a story or a poem.
- Narrator
- The TELLER of the story.
- Sequence of Events
- The order of the events in a story; the plot
- First Person Point of View
- A character in the story tells the story.
- Initiating Event
- In a story, the event that sets the main conflict into motion.
- Tone
- The AUTHOR'S attitude toward the subject of his/her writing
- Metaphor
- A comparison of two unlike things by saying one this IS the other.
- Allusion
- A literary technique writers use in which a famous person, place, or historical event is referenced. Often used for emphasis.
- Synonym
- Two or more words which mean the same or nearly the same.
- External Conflict
- A conflict that a character faces against some outside force: individual v. individual, individual v. nature, individual v. society, individual v. technology, individual v. supernatural
- Onomatopoeia
- Words in which their sounds suggest their meaningEx/ buzz, sizzle
- Protagonist
- Hero
- Stanza
- A group of lines in a poem.
- Author
- The WRITER of the story.
- Falling Actions
- In a story, the events that lead from the climax to the resolution
- Plot
- The sequence of events in a story:Initiating event, rising actions, climax, falling actions, resolution.
- Setting
- The conditions under which a story takes place: time, place, weather conditions, culture, etc.
- Idiom
- A figure of speech which does NOT mean what the words literally mean Ex./ break your heart.
- Character Development
- The ways in which a character changes and evolves throughout a story, often as a result of some conflict within the story.
- Exposition
- The boring stuff at the beginning; information you need to understand the conflict.
- CCPEVQ (Crazy Cats Probably Eat Very Quickly)
- A mnemonic to remember our reading strategies: CONNECT, CLARIFY, PREDICT, EVALUATE, VISUALIZE, QUESTION
- Narrative
- Writing that tells a story.
- Third person omniscient
- Point of view in which a god tells the story and can enter any mind.
- Couplet
- A two line stanza.
- Rhythm
- The pattern of beats in a poem
- Personification
- Giving non-human things human qualities/characteristics