SEMESTER EXAM REVIEW

Vocabulary

VIVID VERBS

Verbs that are descriptive• Ex. Instead of run – sprint, jog, race

Avoid “to be” verbs• Ex. Instead of “He was hit by the car.” –

“The car slammed into the boy.”

SENSORY DETAILS

Imagery

Senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell,

taste

Vivid descriptions that appeal to one

or more of the five senses.

SYNTAX

The arrangement of words and the

order of grammatical elements in a

sentence; the way in which words are

put together to make meaningful

elements, such as phrases and clauses

METAPHOR

A strong comparison that does not use

“like” or “as”• Ex. “…Juliet is the sun.” - Romeo and

Juliet II, ii, 3

ALLUSION

An indirect reference to a famous

person, place, event, or literary work• Ex. At the beginning of Romeo and Juliet

there are a lot of allusions to Cupid. “He jests at scars that never felt a wound.” – Romeo and Juliet II, i

OXYMORON

A combination of two contradictory words

that form a verbal paradox.• Ex. “heavy lightness” “loving hate” - Romeo

and Juliet I, i

ALLITERATION

The repetition of consonant sounds at

the beginning of words• Ex. “From forth the fatal loins of these

two foes”

SIMILE

Comparison using the words “like” or

“as”.• Ex: “Death lies on her like an untimely

frost Upon the sweetest flower of all the field.” – Romeo and Juliet IV, v, 28-29

DIALOGUE

Written conversation between two or

more characters

Used to bring characters to life and give

readers insight into the character’s

qualities, traits, and reactions to other

characters

RHYMING COUPLETS

Two consecutive lines of verse with end

rhyme; usually expresses a complete unit

of thought• Ex: “The which if you with patient ears

attend,What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend.”

INTERNAL RHYME

Rhyme that occurs within a single

line of poetry• Ex. “I love thee to the depth and

breadth and height” – “Sonnet 43” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning

SONNET

A 14 line poem written in iambic

pentameter (10 syllables per line) and

with the rhyme scheme ABAB CDCD

EFEF GG

FREE VERSE

Poetry without a fixed pattern or

meter or rhyme

CONFLICT: INTERNAL & EXTERNAL

Conflict (Problem) – struggle between opposing forces

External Conflicts – The character is opposed by some

outside force. • Character v. Character, Character v. Nature, Character v.

Society

Internal Conflicts – the conflict takes place within the

mind of the character.• Character v. Himself.

PUN

A play on words that have two meanings

or two words that sound the same• Ex: “Ask for me tomorrow and you shall

find me a grave man” – Romeo and Juliet III, i, 91-92

• Grave = serious or a place where a body is buried

STAGE DIRECTIONS

Instructions, usually printed in italic

type, that serve as a guide to directors,

set and lighting designers, performers,

and readers

NARRATIVE

AKA. Story: A report of related events

presented to the listeners or readers in words

arranged in a logical sequence.

Told by a narrator• may be a direct part of that experience; often

shares the experience as a first-person narrator• may only observe the events as a third-person

narrator

SYMBOLISM

When a symbol (person, place, object,

activity that stands for something

beyond itself) is used• Ex. In To Kill a Mockingbird, a

mockingbird symbolizes an innocent person that should be protected

IMAGERY

Descriptive or figurative language that appeals

to the senses and is used to create word pictures• Ex. “The Radley Place jutted into a sharp curve beyond our

house. Walking south, one faced its porch; the sidewalk turned and ran beside the lot. The house was low, was once white with a deep front porch and green shutters, but it had long ago darkened to the color of the slate-gray yard around it. Rain-rotted shingles drooped over the eaves of the veranda; oak trees kept the sun away. The remains of a picket drunkenly guarded the front yard – a “swept” yard that was never swept – where johnson grass and rabbit-tobacco grew in abundance.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE

Language that uses figures of speech,

words, or phrases that describe one thing in

terms of another and are not meant to be

interpreted literally; ex. simile, metaphor,

onomatopoeia, personification, hyperbole,

oxymoron, idiom, extended metaphor

CONNOTATION

An attitude or a feeling associated

with a word• Ex: School – friends, socializing, work,

clubs, lunch, boring, interesting, mandatory

DENOTATION

Literal or dictionary meaning• Ex: School – “an educational institution

for pupils up to 19 years of age”

THESIS STATEMENT

An expression of the main idea of

purpose of the piece of writing; the

claim the writer or speaker is trying to

support

CITATION

Used whenever information from researched material is used Tells the reader where to look to find the original information An internal citation appears in parenthesis at the end of the

researched information.  

Examples:

QUOTED RESEARCH: “All little siblings are annoying” (Oldenberg 51). 

AUTHOR’S NAME INCLUDED IN TEXT: According to Michael Oldenberg, “All little siblings are annoying” (51). 

PARAPHRASED INFORMATION: Some older siblings find all their younger brothers and sisters to be irritating (Oldenberg 51).

TRANSITION WORDS

phrases or words used to connect one idea to the

next

help the reader progress from one significant idea to

the next

show the relationship within a paragraph/sentence

between the main idea and the support the author

gives for those ideas• Ex: also, first, for example, however, consequently,

previously

DRAMATIC IRONY

When the reader knows something

that the characters do not.• Ex: In Romeo and Juliet, when the Nurse

finds Juliet’s body, we know she’s not really dead.

MOOD

Feeling or atmosphere that the reader

feels

TONE

The attitude a writer takes toward a

subject; reflects the feelings of the

writer; communicated through choice

of words and details

EVOKE

Create, materialize, recall, recollect,

remember, review, summon

THEME

The underlying message of the story.

A theme takes the form of a statement.

MAIN IDEA

Aka. Controlling Idea

The central idea of an entire work or of

just a paragraph

Often expressed in a topic sentence

FOIL CHARACTER

A person who, in contrast to the main

character – the protagonist – accentuates

the main character’s distinctive qualities

or characteristics• Ex: In Romeo and Juliet, the Nurse is a foil

to Lady Capulet and Mercutio is a foil to Romeo.

TEXTUAL SUPPORT / TEXT EVIDENCE

Using a quotation from an already

published author that helps to prove a

statement or to lend credibility to an

idea 

PARALLEL SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Parallel structure means using the same

pattern of words to show that two or more

ideas have the same level of importance. This

can happen at the word, phrase, or clause

level. • Ex: • Not Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming,

and to ride a bicycle.• Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and

riding a bicycle.

LITERARY DEVICE

Refers to the typical structures used by

writers in their works to convey his or

her message(s) in a simple manner to his

or her readers. When employed properly,

the different literary devices help readers

to appreciate, interpret and analyze a

literary work.

PURPOSE( O F A PA R A G R A P H O R L I N E )

A paragraph/line should serve a

specific purpose. Ask yourself the

following question:

What am I trying to say in this

paragraph/line?

NARRATOR

Character or voice from whose point

of view a story is told

CONCLUDE

Close, complete, wrap-up