G3 NH SAS ELA Vocabulary

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

antonym

a word that has the opposite meaning of another word (bad and good)

article/magazine article/newspaper article

a piece of writing on a particular subject that appears in a newspaper, magazine, or book

audience (as in writer's audience)

the target group to whom a writer is speaking through their work

author

the writer of a book, play, story, or other written work

capitals/capitalization

a letter of the alphabet written or printed larger than and in a somewhat different form from its lower-case equivalent and used to designate a proper noun or begin a sentence

central idea

the focus or topic of a piece of written work

character(s)

a person in a story, play, or movie

character's actions

the decisions a person makes in a story based on their qualities and needs

characters' relationships

the bond and/or connection one person has to other people, places and things in a story

clear language

the author's use specific vocabulary and details to describe something or someone

conclude/conclusion

the very end of a piece of writing, and it usually summarizes the main points of an argument or demonstrates an opinion about a topic

conclusion drawn/drawing a conclusion

a summary of the main points of an argument or a summary opinion about a topic

connect ideas (transitions in writing)

a word or phrase that connects one idea to another; this connection can occur within a paragraph or between paragraphs. THey are used to show how sentences or paragraphs are related to each other and how they relate to the overall theme of the paper

convince/convincing (in opinion writing)

using effective writing in which writers make their opinions believable to the audience through logic, by invoking emotions, and by proving their own credibility

definition

a statement of the exact meaning of a word or group of words

describe/description/descriptive

this is when writing aims to show, not tell, the reader about the subject or experience, often relying on sensory details: what something looks like, what it sounds like, what it feels like, and what it smells or tastes like

details/realistic details

a particular item of information (including descriptive, illustrative, and statistical information) that supports an idea or contributes to an overall impression in an essay, report, or other kind of text

develop ideas (evidence/elaboration)

this is how writers choose to elaborate their main ideas; these specifics help make generalizations (the main idea, claim or thesis) more concrete

dialogue

any communication between two characters—generally spoken out loud, though there are exceptions to this rule. Dialogue is denoted by quotation marks and dialogue tags

dictionary/dictionary entry

a book or electronic resource that lists the words of a language (typically in alphabetical order) and gives their meaning, or gives the equivalent words in a different language, often also providing information about pronunciation, origin, and usage

draft

any process of generating preliminary versions of a written work

edit

a process of making changes to an original text intending to improve it

encyclopedia

a book, set of books, optical disc, mobile device, or online informational resource containing articles on various topics, usually in alphabetical arrangement, covering all branches of knowledge or, less commonly, all aspects of one subject

errors

mistakes

event

an action or series of actions depicted in a literary work. It may be verbal as well as physical, so that speaking or telling a story within the story may be an example

examples

illustrations (either to be imitated or to avoid imitation)

explain

make (an idea, situation, or problem) clear to someone by describing it in more detail or revealing relevant facts or ideas

facts

a thing that is known or proved to be true or information used as evidence or as part of a report or news article

flashback

a sequence of events that interrupts a chronological sequence, the front line action or “present” line of the story, to show readers a scene that unfolded in the past

global notes

a notepad tool available in the writing section of the NH SAS ELA test. It can be used to take notes, record textual evidence, and organize ideas.

grammar usage

the structural makeup of written or spoken language and how words are used in sentences

heading

similar to a title, this is a word, phrase, or sentence at the beginning of a written passage that explains what it's about

illustration

pictures or diagrams meant to explain or decorat,e or to make clear by using examples

imaginary

existing only in the imagination

infer/inference(s)/inference(s) made

the act or process of reaching a conclusion about something from known facts; a conclusion or opinion reached based on known facts

inform

to give or impart knowledge of a fact or circumstance to; to supply (oneself) with knowledge of a matter or subject

information

facts provided or learned about something or someone

informational paper/informational article

an academic paper that's written with the main purpose of informing the audience about an object, person, event, or phenomenon; this type of essay requires you to gather information about your topic

Internet

a global computer network providing a variety of information and communication facilities, consisting of interconnected networks using standardized communication protocols

introduce setting/characters/problems (writing)

the location and time frame in which the action of a narrative takes place

introduction

a beginning section which states the purpose and goals of the following writing; this is generally followed by the body and conclusion

key details

character, setting, problem, major events, and resolution—and how they interact

lesson/moral

a message that is conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event; it may be left to the hearer, reader, or viewer to determine for themselves, or may be explicitly encapsulated in a maxim

main character

the character(s) with the most amount of influence on the plot or the character(s) that the plot has the most influence on

main idea

the author's message about the topic. It is often expressed directly or it can be implied

meaning

what is meant by a word(s), text, concept, or action

mental picture (writing)

an image of something not real or present that is produced by the memory or the imagination

message (e.g., author's message)

an example of a big idea, or the theme, of a story; they are specific to the story, related only to the characters, and are concrete

narrator

the fictional construct the author has created to tell the story through. It's the point of view the story is coming from

notes

a synthesis of observations collected while reading

opening (beginning)

a short introductory section that gives background information or sets the stage for the story to come; it is usually pretty short, maybe a few pages (five minutes or so in a film)

opinion/agree/disagree

a view or judgment formed in the mind about a particular topic or issue

opposite

a contrast, when something or someone is completely different from another thing or person

order of events

a timeline, usually chronological, in which events occur so that audiences can follow what happens

organize(d)/organization of ideas

the arrangement of ideas, incidents, evidence, or details in a perceptible order in a paragraph, essay, or speech

paragraph

a series of sentences that are organized and coherent, and are all related to a single topic

passage

a portion or section of a written work; a paragraph, verse, etc.

phrase

a grammatical term referring to a group of words that does not include a subject and verb

plot

the structure of interrelated actions, consciously selected and arranged by the author; it involves a considerably higher level of narrative organization than normally occurs in a story or fable

point of view

the vantage point from which a story is presented

pre-writing

the formulation of ideas and information before writing a first draft

presentation (listening stimulus)

to convey information from a speaker to an audience; they are typically demonstrations, introduction, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, inspire, motivate, build goodwill, or present a new idea/product

punctuation/punctuated

the practice or system of using certain conventional marks or characters in writing or printing in order to separate elements and make the meaning clear, as in ending a sentence or separating clauses

purpose for writing (informative, opinion, narrative writing)

the goal or aim of a piece of writing: to express oneself, to provide information, to persuade, or to create a literary work

quotation/direct quotations/quoting directly

something that a person says or writes that is repeated or used by someone else in another piece of writing or a speech

reason(s)

a statement offered in explanation or justification

relationship

a connection between two people or things

report

a specific form of writing that is organised around concisely identifying and examining issues, events, or findings that have happened in a physical sense, such as events that have occurred within an organisation, or findings from a research investigation

research

finding something new within a literary work; just like a lab scientist, you are being asked to take what is already there and find a new way to interpret the information, and then discuss it

research report

a compilation of research of different previously published scholarly works pertaining to the given topic

revise

to alter something already written or printed, in order to make corrections, improve, or update

root word

a basic word with no prefix or suffix added to it (a prefix is a string of letters that go at the start of a word; a suffix is a string of letters that go at the end of a word)

sentence/pair of sentences/set of sentences/line

a group of words that makes a statement, asks a question, or expresses a command, wish, or exclamation

setting

the time and place in which a story is told

similar

the act of having characteristics in common

skim

to read quickly and superficially, in order to pick up the important or significant details

source(s)

the person, place, or thing from which you get information

speaker

someone who is the voice of text, the person who we imagine is saying things

specific word choice

the usage of effective and precise language that conveys information not just in a functional way, but also to enlighten the reader

spell check

a computer program or function (as in a word processor) that identifies possible misspellings in a block of text by comparing the text with a database of accepted spellings

spelling errors

an error in the conventionally accepted form of spelling a word

stanza

a division of a poem consisting of a series of lines arranged together in a usually recurring pattern of meter and rhyme

support/supporting details

facts, statements, examples-specifics which guide us to a full understanding of the main idea; they clarify, illuminate, explain, describe, expand and illustrate the main idea

synonym

a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as another word or phrase, for example shut is a synonym of close

title

a name for the work which is usually chosen by the author; it can be used to identify the work, to put it in context, to convey a minimal summary of its contents, and to pique the reader's curiosity

topic

a particular issue or idea that serves as the subject of a paragraph, essay, report, or speech

trustworthy source

a source that is written by someone who is an expert in their discipline and is free of errors and bias

underlined

to mark something (such as a word) with a line underneath, to emphasize something

verb(s)/verb tense

informs when the action in a sentence takes place—whether it happened in the past, is happening in the present, or will happen in the future