Lit and Comp 1 Final Study Guide: Course Vocab

Allusion

A reference to a well-known person, event, story, or work of literature.

Alliteration

The repetition of the same beginning consonant sound in nearby words.

Foreshadowing

Clues or hints that suggest what may happen later in a story.

Hyperbole

Extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or effect.

Imagery

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses, such as sight, sound, taste, touch, or smell.

Irony: Verbal, Situational & Dramatic

A contrast between expectation and reality.

Verbal Irony: When someone says the opposite of what they mean.

Situational Irony: When what happens is different from what’s expected.

Dramatic Irony: When the audience knows something the characters do not.

Metaphor

A comparison between two unlike things without using “like” or “as.”

Mood

The feeling or atmosphere a text creates for the reader.

Motif

A recurring image, idea, symbol, or pattern that helps develop a theme.

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates or suggests the sound it describes.

Oxymoron

A phrase that combines two contradictory terms.

Personification

Giving human qualities or actions to nonhuman things or ideas.

Pun

A play on words that uses multiple meanings or similar-sounding words for humor or effect.

Simile

A comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as.”

Symbol

A person, place, object, or action that represents a larger idea or meaning.

Tone

The author’s attitude toward the subject or audience.

Annotation

Notes or marks added to a text to highlight important details, questions, patterns, or ideas.

Analysis

A close examination of a text or idea to explain how or why it works.

Archetype

A common character type, symbol, situation, or pattern that appears across many stories.

Claim

A statement or argument that a writer is trying to prove.

Diction

An author’s choice of words and phrases.

Characterization (Static & Dynamic)

The way an author develops a character.

Static: Stays mostly the same.

Dynamic: Changes in an important way.

Evidence

Specific details, facts, quotes, or examples used to support a claim.

Figurative Language

Language that goes beyond the literal meaning to create comparisons, images, or deeper meaning.

Inference

A conclusion reached by combining clues from the text with prior knowledge.

Observation

Something noticed directly in a text, image, or situation.

Synthesis

Combining ideas or information from different sources or parts of a text to form a new understanding.

Theme

The central message, lesson, or insight about life in a text.