SI & Vocab

Factual

Ask about information provided in the text

Background

Ask about a text’s larger context, such as the setting or cultural details

Speculative

Ask about events that do not take place in the text

Interpretive

Ask about the meaning or significance of elements in the text

Evaluative

Ask about the readers’ judgments toward the author’s ideals or events in a text

portmanteau

A word formed by blending the sounds and meanings of two different words.

portfolio 

a collection of work

blithe

satisfied and without worry

prototype

the first example of something, such as a machine or other industrial product, from which all later forms are developed

inviolate 

not harmed or damage

zeitgeist

the general set of ideas, beliefs, and feelings of a particular period

shrift

treated without sympathy and given little attention

eponymous

belonging to the same name 

oxeye

a large oval window above a door  

lath 

a long, thin, flat strip of wood, used to make a structure to support plaster on walls or tiles on the roof of a building

ambient

existing in the surrounding area

exacerbate

to make something that is already bad even worse

distill

to reduce it but keep the most important part

flibbertigibbet

a frivolous, flighty, or a talkative person

discourse

shared ideas through conversation

perfunctory

carried out with a minimum of effort or reflection

ambiguity

the quality of being open to more than one interpretation; inexactness

excrement

waste matter

savor 

to enjoy slowly 

hindrances

a thing that provides resistance, delay, or obstruction to something or someone

vigilance

the action or state of keeping careful watch

cowered

crouch down in fear

synchronizing

cause to occur or operate at the same time or rate

morality

the set of standards for “right” and “wrong” behavior

freedom

the quality or state of being free

citizenship

membership in a political community 

battalion

a military unit

equality

the state of being equal, especially in status, rights, and opportunities

clammy 

unpleasantly cool and damp weather

transmitter

a device that converts an input signal into an output signal

burdened

weighed down with worry, guilt, or responsibility

vague

unclear, indefinite, or not expressed clearly

ball-peen hammer

metalworking hammer with a flat face on one end and a ball-shaped end

glimmeringly

in a faint, weak, or unsteady way 

bulletin

a brief, official announcement

extraordinarily

done in a way that is remarkable

luminous

giving off light

grackle squawk

loud, harsh cry, like that of a grackle (bird)

calibrated

marked with measurement

spectacles

a pair of eyeglasses

symmetry

balanced arrangement

snaggletooth

a tooth that sticks out, or is crooked compared to the others in a person’s mouth

consternation

fear or bewilderment

hobbled

to walk awkwardly with a limp

harness

a set of straps used to connect a person to something for control

delicacy

a fine and subtle quality

baron

a nobleman who held service from the king

dukes

a male member of the highest rank of the British nobility

earls

a nobleman with higher rank than a marquis

weightlessness

the state of having little to no apparent weight 

swiveled

to turn on a central point

flounced

to move in an exaggerated or annoyed way

capered

to have run and jumped in a happy way

gamboled

to have run or jumped about playfully 

neutralizing

to make something ineffective, harmless, or neutral

gauge

a type of shotgun barrel

reprieve

to delay the punishment of