| A | B |
|---|
| personification | A figure of speech where animals, ideas or objects are given human characteristics |
| fiction | A literary work whose content is produced by the imagination and is not necessarily based on fact |
| symbol | A person, place, thing, or an event that has meaning in itself and stands for something beyond itself as well; it can signify something else |
| irony | A term that suggests some sort of discrepancy between appearance and reality; says one thing and means another |
| biography | An account of a person’s life written or told by another person |
| metaphor | An imaginative comparison between two unlike things in which one thing is said to be another thing |
| hyperbole | An overstatement or exaggeration |
| dialogue | Conversation between characters in a drama or narrative |
| science fiction | Fiction that deals with the influence of real or imagined science on society or individuals; many of the events recounted are within the realm of future possibility |
| fantasy | Imaginative fiction featuring esp. strange settings and grotesque characters; things happen that can not happen in real life |
| flashback | Interruption in the present action of the plot to show events that happened at an earlier time |
| point of view | The angle or perspective from which a story is told |
| autobiography | The angle or perspective from which a story is told |
| antagonist | The character that contends with or opposes another character |
| plot | The events or main story in a literary work |
| theme | The general idea or insight about life that a work of literature reveals |
| foreshadowing | The introduction of clues early in a story to suggest or anticipate significant events that will develop later |
| resolution | The last part of the story when the characters’ problems are solved and the story ends |
| characters | The people or animals in a work of fiction or drama |
| narrator | The person who tells the story |
| climax | The point of highest dramatic tension or a major turning point in the action; the most emotional or suspenseful moment in story |
| protagonist | The main character in a literary work |
| alliteration | The repetition of a consonant sound at the beginning of words |
| conflict | The struggle between persons or forces in a work of drama or fiction |
| setting | The time and place in which the events of a work of literature take place |
| dialect | The way of speaking that is characteristic of a certain geographical area or a certain group of people |
| nonfiction | Writing that deals with real people, things, events, or places |
| Theme | In literary text, what the writer wants you to remember the most (larger abstract ideas) |
| Paraphrase | To use your own words to tell what you've read, heard, or seen; a strategy that can help you make sense of the information needed. |
| Character | A person or animal represented in or acting in a story, poem, or drama. |
| Plot | The action or sequence of events in a story. |
| Figurative language | Language enriched by word meanings and figures of speech (i.e., similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole) |
| Tone | An author's attitude toward the characters and events in the story. |
| Onomatopoeia | The use of a word whose sound suggests its meaning (i.e., buzz) |
| Personification | A form of metaphor in which animals, ideas, things, etc., are represented as having human qualities (i.e., The drums were weeping today.) |
| Plausibility | If something is reasonable |
| Setting | The physical background, time, and location, against which the action in a story takes place. |
| Alliteration | The repetition of the same consonant sound at the beginning of two or more words of a sentence or line of poetry (i.e., Waves want to be wheels...) |
| Simile | A figure of speech that makes a comparison of two things that are not alike, usually using the words, like or as (i.e., brown as fruitwood, thin as a curve) |
| Haiku | A type of Japanese poetry about nature that is three lines long. The first line is five syllables, the second line is seven syllables, and the third line is five syllables long. |
| Analyze | To examine, closely study, and evaluate in order to better understand |
| Base word | A word to which a prefix or suffix may be added to create related words (i.e., hemisphere, coauthor) |
| Compound word | A combination of two or more words that function as a single unit of meaning, such as "barefoot" |
| Graphic organizer | Visual representations of information used for constructing meaning in reading, writing, and speaking |
| Hypertext | An online feature that provides network links between key elements, allowing you to move through electronic information non-sequentially |
| Point of view | The author's choice of narrator for a story. this choice determines the amount of information a reader will be given, as well as the angle from which this information will be presented. |
| Narrative text | A story/description of events |
| Mood | The emotional atmosphere expressed by an author in his/her work; the dominant impression of the feelings of the listener, observer, or reader |
| Drama | A written story meant to be acted out on stage |
| Message | In an informational text, what the writer wants you to remember the most |
| analyze | Break it down into parts. Tell about each of the parts. |
| infer | Read between the lines. What is the hidden meaning? |
| evaluate | Tell the good and the bad. Judge it. |
| support | Back up the information. Prove. Provide evidence. |
| explain | Teach me or show me. Tell the steps. |
| describe | Tell me about it. Give details about it. Paint a picture with words. |
| summarize | Tell the main idea. Tell the beginning, middle, and end. |
| compare | Tell all the ways they are the same. |
| contrast | Tell all the ways they are different. |
| predict | Hypothesize. Make an educated (smart) guess. |
| formulate | Create. Put together. |
| trace | Outline. Explain the development. Follow (or explain) the path. |
