EOC 11th Grade American Literature Review Terms 73-96

satire

A work that reveals a critical attitude toward some element of human behavior by portraying it in an extreme way. It doesn't simply abuse (as in invective) or get personal (as in sarcasm). It targets groups or large concepts rather than individuals.

topic/subject

what a paragraph or selection of text is about. This is usually a word or phrase.

genre

a specific type of writing or literature that has a particular style, form, and content. Examples include narrative, expository, opinion, and argumentative writing for writing, and fiction, nonfiction, information, biographies, autobiographies, histories, science fiction, drama, and poetry for literature.

characterization

the choices an author makes to reveal

(or not reveal) a character's traits or personality.

setting

When and where a narrative such as a story, drama, or poem takes place and establishes the context for the literary work. The "when" can include the time of day, season, historical period, or political atmosphere. The "where" can be as focused as a room in a house or as broad as a country. It can clarify conflict, illuminate character, affect the mood, and act as a symbol.

perspective

How characters see or feel about something. Characters can describe the same event but have differing opinions because they were physically located in different places and saw the event differently or because for some reason their opinions differ from those of others who saw or heard about the same event.

context

The language surrounding the word that a reader uses to find clues to the word's meaning. By reading the sentence or paragraph that contains the unfamiliar word, you should get a sense of the overall meaning of that portion of the text. Also, the word's position or function in the sentence is

often a clue to its meaning.

informational text

Also known as expository nonfiction. Writing that explains or informs, including business letters and memos; how-to passages that explain a process or project; news stories; and historical, scientific, and technical accounts (including digital sources) written for a broad audience. May include vivid descriptions or the narration of personal stories and events that actually happened.

literary nonfiction

Narrative writing that tells a story and often employs the literary devices found in stories and novels. Examples include anecdotes, a diary (personal record of the writer's thoughts and feelings), a journal (record of events and ideas, less private than a diary), a memoir, a biography, an

autobiography, or another retelling of true events.

implicit

A descriptor for ideas that are not stated outright, meaning they are implied or hinted at indirectly, rather than explained or stated directly.

explicit

A descriptor for ideas that are stated directly and outright. No inference needed.

infer

To come to a reasonable conclusion based on evidence.

author's purpose

The specific reason or purpose for writing the text.

Often it is not directly stated in the text, and you have to figure out the reason for the text. Sometimes it is stated directly.

fact

a statement that can be proven.

opinion

a statement that cannot be proven because it states a writer's belief or judgment about something.

claim

The primary message of a piece of writing--the controlling idea. Sometimes authors state this very clearly, while sometimes they imply it. Understanding it is crucial to understanding the passage. It is difficult to understand an essay without realizing what the controlling idea of the essay is.

paraphrasing

Using someone else's ideas and expressing those ideas in your own words. It is an acceptable way to support your argument as long as you attribute the ideas to the author and cite the source in the text at the end of the sentence.

plagiarism

Presenting the words, works, or ideas of someone else as though they are one's own and without providing attribution to the author.

audience

the intended reader of a text--the reader the text is directed towards.

organization

how a writer chooses to structure and order his/her text, based on its purpose and/or intended audience.

research

gathering and evaluating information about a question or topic

semicolon (;)

A punctuation mark used to combine two ideas that are each expressed as an independent clause.

clause

A grouping of words that has a subject and verb. It can stand alone or can fail to form a complete thought that makes a sentence a sentence. Can be "dependent" or "subordinate."

hyphen (-)

A symbol used to combine words and/or prefixes and words. Used to combine two adjectives that describe the noun equally (e.g., well-known president). Can also be used to separate a prefix when the addition of the prefix could cause confusion (e.g., re-sign the receipt v. resign from your position). Are also used to combine large numbers such as seventy-four or to show the break in a word at the end of a sentence that carries over to the next line.