English EXAM vocab

June 2023

Alliteration

Same letter or sound repeating in a sentence

Allusion

Expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly

Analogy

Comparison between two things, typically for the purpose of explanation

Antagonist

Person who actively opposes or is hostile to protagonist

Author’s Purpose

The author’s reason for or intent in writing

Author’s Style

Literary element that describes the ways that the author uses words

Claim (Thesis Statement)

The topic that sets up your argument

Conflict (general definition)

Dispute, quarrel, disagreement

Direct Characterization

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Consists of the author telling the audience what a character is like

Dramatic Irony

When the audience knows something the characters don’t

Dynamic Character

Character that changes throughout the story

Evidence (Thesis Statement)

Factual information that shows a claim true

External Conflict

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Conflict that happens on the outside

Flat Character

Characters that do not change throughout the story

Foreshadowing

A warning or indication of a future event

Hook (intro paragraph)

An opening statement (first sentence) in an essay that attempts to grab the reader’s attention

Hyperbole

Exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally

Indirect Characterization

Literary device that reveals details about a character without stating them explicitly

In-Text Citations

An acknowledgement you include in your text whenever you quote or paraphrase a source

Internal Conflict

Conflict that happens inside a character

Irony

Expression of one’s meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite

Metaphor

Word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable

Mood/Atmosphere

The overall emotion and atmosphere the author intends the reader to feel while reading the book

Motif

Distinctive feature or dominant idea in an artist or literary composition

Narrator

Person that tells the story in third person

Onomatopoeia

Formation of a word from a sound associated with what is named

Oxymoron

Apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction

Paradox

Seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true

Paragraph Structure (PEEL)

Group of related sentences that support one main idea

Personification

Attribution of personal nature or human characteristics to something nonhuman

Direct Plagiarism

Using someone else’s work without paraphrasing

Echo Plagiarism

Reworking someone else’s work to disguise it as one’s own

Ghost Plagiarism

Fails to reference another author who willingly contributes to the work

Patchwork Plagiarism

Using someone else’s work and weaving it together with the author’s ideas

Self Plagiarism

Recycling the author’s own work misleadingly

POV

Narrator’s position in relation to a story being told

Protagonist

Leading character or one of the major characters in a story

Pun

A joke exploiting the different possible meanings of a word

Quote Blending

Your words blend right into those of the author, as if the author’s words dropped right into one of your sentences

Ethos

Used to convince an audience of the author’s credibility or character

Logos

To appeal to the audience’s sense of reason or logic

Pathos

To persuade an audience by purposely evoking certain emotions to make them feel the way the author wants them to feel

Round Character

Deep and layered character in a story

Setting

Time and Place of the story

Simile

Comparison of two things using like or as

Situational Irony

When the outcome is the opposite or completely different from what was expected

Static Character

Character that doesn’t change from the start of the story through to the end

Stereotypical Character

Character based on common social or literary stereotypes

Symbolism

Symbolic meaning attributed to natural objects or facts

Synecdoche

Part is made to represent the whole or vice versa

Theme

Subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person’s thoughts, or an exhibition

Thesis Statement

Sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay

Tone

General character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.

Tragic Flaw

Character defect that causes the downfall of the protagonist of a tragedy

Tragic Hero

Protagonist of a tragedy

Verbal Irony

Irony in which a person says or writes one thing and means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning