Praxis 5156 - Pennsylvania Grades 4-8 Subject Concentration: English Language Arts

Personification

involves endowing abstractions, ideas, and inanimate objects with human characteristics and sensibilities

an affix

an additional element placed at the beginning or end of a root, stem, or word, or in the body of a word, to modify its meaning; affixes include prefixes, suffixes, combining forms and infixes

morphemes

affixes, combining forms, and roots of words

phonemic awareness

the ability to hear, identify, and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words

phoneme

any of the perceptually distinct units of sound in a specified language that distinguish one word from another, for example p, b, d, and t in the English words pad, pat, bad, and bat.

orthography

study that deals with letters and spelling

aphorism

a statement of truth revealed in a witty manner

gerund

a verb form functioning as a noun; example: Swimming is my favorite sport.

participle

a verb form that is used as an adjective; example: The crying baby drew a long breath.

connotation

an implied meaning

denotation

strict dictionary meaning of a word; denote=definition

comma splice

the use of a comma to join two independent clauses (similar to a run-on sentence). example: It is nearly half past five, we cannot reach town before dark.

parallelism

use of components in a sentence that are grammatically the same; or similar in their construction, sound, meaning or meter. Examples: like father, like son; easy come, easy go; wanted dead or alive

hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally. Examples: My grandmother is as old as the hills; suitcase weighs a ton; dying of shame

synecdoche

a figure of speech in which a part is made to represent the whole or vice versa. Examples: referring to a businessman as a "suit;" referring to all carbonated beverages as "Coke"

metonymy

a word to describe another that is closely linked to that particular thing, but is not a part of it. For example, "Crown" which means power or authority; "Washington" meaning the government

assonance

takes place when two or more words close to one another repeat the same vowel sound but start with different consonant sounds. Example: Go and mow the lawn; here, there and everywhere

slant rhyme

rhyme in which the stressed syllables of ending consonants match, however the preceding vowel sounds do not match. Example: If love is like a bridge

or maybe like a grudge,

fallacy

faulty reasoning; misleading or unsound argument.

bandwagon

encouraging people to think or act in some way simply because other people are doing so. Example: "All your neighbors are rushing down to Mistri Motors to take advantage of this year-end sale. You come, too!"

unreliable testimonial

having an unqualified person endorse a product, action, or opinion. Example: "Hi, I'm Bart Bearson. As a pro-football quarterback, I have to be concerned about my health. That's why I take Pro-Ball Vitamin Supplements."

emotional appeal

logical fallacy, whereby a debater attempts to win an argument by trying to get an emotional reaction from the opponent and audience.

circular arguments

often logically valid because if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true. Example: There isn't a problem with the rule, because if everyone obeyed it there wouldn't be a problem."

narrative nonfiction

information based on fact that is presented in a format which tells a story.

drama

genre of literature that's subject for compositions is dramatic art in the way it is represented. This genre is stories composed in verse or prose, usually for theatrical performance, where conflicts and emotion are expressed through dialogue and action.

fantasy

the forming of mental images with strange or other worldly settings or characters; fiction which invites suspension of reality.

fable

story about supernatural or extraordinary people Usually in the form of narration that demonstrates a useful truth. Animals often speak as humans that are legendary and supernatural tales.

fairy tale

a kind of folktale or fable. Sometimes the stories are about fairies or other magical creatures, usually for children.

science fiction

a story based on impact of potential science, either actual or imagined. One of the genres of literature that is set in the future or on other planets.

folklore

songs, stories, myths, and proverbs of a person of "folk" that was handed down by word of mouth. A genre of literature that is widely held, but false and based on unsubstantiated beliefs.

tall tale

humorous story with blatant exaggerations, swaggering heroes who do the impossible with an heir of nonchalance.

legend

a story that is sometimes of a national or folk hero. It is based on fact but also includes imaginative material.

mystery

genre of fiction that deals with the solution of a crime or the unraveling of secrets. Anything that is kept secret or remains unexplained or unknown.

mythology

a type of legend or traditional narrative. This is often based in part on historical events, that reveals human behavior and natural phenomena by its symbolism; often pertaining to the actions of the gods. A body of myths, as that of a particular people or that relating to a particular person.

credible online source

look for .gov extension

Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines opposite or contradictory terms in a brief phrase.

Euphemism

An indirect, less offensive way of saying something that is considered unpleasant

wistful, nostalgic

remembering with longing

eerie

weird; mysterious; strange and frightening

logic

Logos is a literary device that can be described as a statement, sentence, or argument used to convince or persuade the targeted audience by employing reason

sympathy

feelings of pity and sorrow for someone else's misfortune

Patriotism

The patriotism in literature makes the reader relate to the heroes, just like comic books or in movies; it presents for the most part, the positive side of someone and a situation without presenting the negative aspects.

Testimonial

attempts to persuade the reader by using a famous person to endorse a product or idea

Glittering Generalities

propaganda technique using short phrases or words to promote positive feelings or emotions

polemic

controversy; argument; verbal attack

expository prose

a very special kind of writing whose only function is to expound, set forth, or explain facts—information, data, ideas, concepts, and the like. EX: works include directions for finding a route or destination while driving, instructions for starting a fire in the woods,

Odes

Poems that express strong emotions about life

Elegies

poems of loss that express both praise for the dead and an element of consolation

Ballads

Song like poems that tell a story, often dealing with adventure and romance

Sonnets

a poem of fourteen lines using any of a number of formal rhyme schemes, in English typically having ten syllables per line.

split infinitive

occurs when a verb in its infinitive form (e.g., to think, to laugh) has an adverb between the to and the verb (e.g., to really think, to wholeheartedly laugh).

Parodic

Comic imitation often intended to ridicule an author, an artistic endeavor, or a genre.

ominous

unfavorable, threatening, of bad omen

appositive phrase example

A noun that renames or clarifies another noun

relative clause

cannot stand alone, contains a subject and a verb; begins with a relative pronoun (who, whom, whose, that, or which) or a relative adverb (whre, when, why); functions as an adjective (answers, "What kind?", "How many?", "Which one?"

dangling modifier

a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence

neologism

a new word, expression, or usage; the creation or use of new words or senses

ambiguous pronoun

- make sure a PRONOUN CAN ONLY REPRESENT 1 NOUN

- replace ambiguous pronouns with noun it represents

Ex: "Sally and Anne love ice cream. She always orders a cone when they are at Fentons."

" No one knew if they had won the game or not."

Syntax

The arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences in a language.

Satire

A literary work that criticizes human misconduct and ridicules vices, stupidities, and follies.

myth

A traditional story about gods, ancestors, or heroes, told to explain the natural world or the customs and beliefs of a society.

circular reasoning

a fallacy in which the writer repeats the claim as a way to provide evidence

slippery slope

A fallacy that assumes that taking a first step will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented

False Analogy

When two cases are not sufficiently parallel to lead readers to accept a claim of connection between them.

epitaph

(n.) a brief statement written on a tomb or gravestone

Enjambment

A run-on line of poetry in which logical and grammatical sense carries over from one line into the next.

Apostrophe

A figure of speech that directly addresses an absent or imaginary person or a personified abstraction, such as liberty or love.

Card Stacking

telling one side of the story as though there is no opposing view

association

an informal inductive fallacy of the hasty-generalization or red-herring type and which asserts, by irrelevant association and often by appeal to emotion, that qualities of one thing are inherently qualities of another.

common noun

A general name for a person, place, or thing

proper noun

a SPECIFIC person, place, thing, or idea

Concrete noun

A thing that can be seen, heard, smelled, touched, or tasted

abstract noun

names an idea, a feeling, a quality, or a characteristic

Planning

anything you do before you write a draft of your document. It includes thinking, taking notes, talking to others, brainstorming, outlining, and gathering information (e.g., interviewing people, researching in the library, assessing data).

Drafting

occurs when you put your ideas into sentences and paragraphs. Here you concentrate upon explaining and supporting your ideas fully. Here you also begin to connect your ideas

Revising

is the key to effective documents. Here you think more deeply about your readers' needs and expectations

Editing

Check for such things as grammar, mechanics, and spelling.

Narrative

Tells a story, to entertain, conflict, dialogue, characters, theme, story line, beginning, middle, end

Expository

explanation/directions, to inform, thesis, compare and contrast, cause and effect, order, problem and solution, question and answer

subject-verb agreement

subject stays the same; verb must be singular or plural to match the subject

Pronoun Agreement

agreement in number and case between a pronoun and its antecedent. Ex. Mary and Susie saw their cousins over the holiday. The pronoun "their" is plural. It agrees with the nouns "Mary and Susie."

Tense Consistency

tense stays in one type of tense such as past, present, or future

imperative

extremely necessary; vitally important

declarative sentence

a sentence that makes a statement or declaration

compound sentence

a sentence with two or more coordinate independent clauses, often joined by one or more conjunctions

simple sentence

A sentence consisting of one independent clause and no dependent clause

complex sentence

A sentence that includes one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.

Analogical Evidence

often used with new or groundbreaking evidence, uses an analogy to make a point

emotional appeal (pathos)

When a writer appeals to readers' emotions (often through pathos) to excite and involve them in the argument.

Testimonial Evidence

what is said in court by a competent witness; also called direct evidence or prima facie evidence

logical appeal (logos)

When a writer tries to persuade the audience based on statistics, facts, and reasons. The process of reasoning

Circular Argument

An argument that commits the logical fallacy of assuming what it is attempting to prove.

Red Herring

A fallacy that introduces an irrelevant issue to divert attention from the subject under discussion

Slippery Slope

A fallacy that assumes that taking a first step will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented

Understatement

the presentation of something as being smaller, worse, or less important than it actually is.

false analogy fallacy

Fallacy in which the premises are based on two or more cases that contain more differences than similarities

ad hominem

a fallacy that attacks the person rather than dealing with the real issue in dispute

Allusion

an expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

irnoy

the expression of one's meaning by using language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.

Hyperbole

exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.