MTEL Vocab

adjective

a word that modifies, or describes, a noun or pronoun

adverb

a word that modifies, or describes, a verb, adjective, or adverb

antecedent

the word or phrase to which a pronoun refers

antonym

a word that is the opposite in meaning to a particular word

audience

the intended readers of a written work

bias

a personal tendency to judge a person, people, or ideas favorably or negatively

clarity

freedom from confusion and extraneous information

coherence

logical connection and adherence of ideas

colloquial language

conversational or informal language

concise

free from elaboration and unnecessary detail

context clues

the words or ideas that surround an unfamiliar word and provide clues to its meaning; clues may be in teh form of examples, definitions, restatements, or explanations

conventions

established practices, methods, and rules

credibility

believability, trustworthiness

deductive reasoning

drawing a specific conclusion from a general premise

demonstrative pronoun

a pronoun used to indicate a particular person or thing

explicit

clearly or directly stated

extraneous

not essential or pertinent

fallacy

a false or mistaken idea

figurative language

language that has a meaning that is not literal or exact

fluent

smooth and flowing

focus

the point of concentration or emphasis

graphic representation

a table, chart, graph, or other non-text-based form of representing information

implications

ideas expressed indirectly

implicit

suggested without being directly stated

infer

to derive a conclusion by reasoning from evidence

intent

a clearly formulated aim

main idea

the central idea on which a paragraph or selection is based

modifier

a word that describes another word in the sentence

noun

a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea

objective

dealing with facts without distortion by personal feelings or interpretation

Occasion

the circumstance for which an action is taken

organized

structured as a coherent, unified whole

paragraphing

dividing writing into paragraphs

phrase

two or more words forming a distinct part of a sentence

point of view

a technical term in writing that refers to the person (i.e., first, second, third) in which a piece of writing is presented; or the opinion, viewpoint, or stand taken by a writer

precise

defined exactly

preposition

a word that shows the relationship between a noun/pronoun and another word in the sentence (e.g. in, over, with, before, of)

pronoun

a word that takes the place of a noun (e.g., I, her, theirs, everyone)

purpose

a reason/goal

qualifying language

language, including adjectives and adverbs, used to explain or describe other words in the sentence (e.g. “They, the boys and girls, were excited about their vacation.“; “The speaker was quite adamant about her point.“)

redundancy

needless repetition/excessive use of words in an explanation or description

relative pronoun

a pronoun that introduces a clause

relevant

applicable to the matter at hand

run-on sentence

two or more sentences written and punctuated as one sentence

sentence fragment

an incomplete sentence punctuated as a complete sentence

structural analysis

the identification of prefixes, suffixes, and bases to help with word identification

subject-verb agreement

a correct match between the number (e.g., singular, plural) of the subject and verb in a sentence

supporting information

details, anecdotes, and other information provided to support a main idea

synonym

a word with the same meaning as/similar meaning to a particular word

syntax

the way in which words are arranged to form meaningful phrases, clauses, and sentences

theme

a subject or topic of discussion

thesis

a point set forth and defended in writing

transitions

words or phrases that serve to link ideas in a clear order

valid

both relevant and meaningful

verb

a word that expresses action or a state of being/becoming

verb tense

the form a verb takes to show time (e.g., past, present, future)

voice

individual distinction of form/expression