keystone prep

Fiction vs. Nonfiction

"Fiction" refers to literature created from the imagination. "Nonfiction" refers to literature based on fact.

Author’s Purpose

Author’s reason for writing, P.I.E. - Persuade, Inform, Entertain. We can ask ourselves about word choice, tone, connotations, and opinions an author includes in the writing to find the author’s purpose.

Figurative Language

Used to compare one idea to a second idea to make the first idea easier to visualize

Purpose of Figurative Language

Writers of prose and poetry use figurative language to elicit emotion, help readers form mental images, and draw readers into the work. Authors also use fig. lang. to better communicate their complex and abstract ideas that cannot be easily understood.

Keystone Exam: Constructed Response Grading

RASCAL

Relevent

Accurate

Specific

C - Concise

A - Answer the Prompt

L - Lit

Main Idea

The main idea is the central point or thought the author wants to communicate to readers. Oftentimes it is a single sentence.

In paragraphs - Topic Sentence

In articles - Thesis Statement

How to find Main Idea

Find the topic first. You have to know the topic before you can determine the main idea. Preview your text and ask yourself, “What or who is the article about?” or “What is the author teaching me about?” Ask yourself. “What does the author want me to know about the topic?” or “What is the author teaching me about the topic?” You can answer this by finding the idea that is common to most of the text or what opinion all the parts support.

Main Idea vs. Theme

The main idea is what the story is learned and what the character learned, while the theme is the lesson/morale of the story.

Connotation

The feeling a word evokes

Denotation

Dictionary Definition of a word

Satire

* Making fun of things
* Use to highlight comedy/humor and Social activism
* Satire is the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice or folly. A literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.

Purpose of Satire

Promote Change THROUGH comedy

Allegory

A form of extended metaphor in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative are equated with meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning may have moral, social, religious, or political significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas such as charity, greed, or envy.

Affix

One or more letters occurring as a bound form attached to the beginning, end, or base of a word and serving to produce a derivative word or an inflectional form (e.g., a prefix or suffix).

Allieration

The repetition of initial sounds in neighboring w

Allusion

An implied or indirect reference in literature to a familiar person, place, or event.

Analysis

The process or result of identifying the parts of a whole and their relationships to one another.

Antonym & Synonym

A word that is the opposite in meaning to another word. Words that have similar meaning

Argument / Position

The position or claim the author establishes. Arguments should be supported with valid evidence and reasoning and balanced by the inclusion of counterarguments that illustrate opposing viewpoints.

Author’s Purpose

The author’s intent either to inform or teach someone about something, to entertain people or to persuade or convince his/her audience to do or not do something.

Bias

The subtle presence of a positive or negative approach toward a topic

Biography

A written account of another person’s life.

Character

A person, animal or inanimate object portrayed in a literary work

Characterization

The method an author uses to reveal characters and their various traits and personalities

Climax

The turning point in a narrative; the moment when the conflict is at its most intense. Typically, the structure of stories, novels, and plays is one of rising action, in which tension builds to the climax.

Compare / Contrast

Place together characters, situations, or ideas to show common and/or differing features in literary selections.

Connotation

The range of associations that a word or phrase suggests in addition to its dictionary meaning.

Context Clues

Words and phrases in a sentence, paragraph, and/or whole text, which help reason out the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

Cultural Significance

The generally accepted importance of a work representing a given culture.

Defense of Claim

Support provided to mark an assertion as reasonable

Dialect

A variety of a language distinct from the standard variety in pronunciation, grammar, or vocabulary.

Dialogue

\: In its widest sense, dialogue is simply conversation between characters or speakers in a literary work; in its most restricted sense, it refers specifically to the speech of characters in a drama.

Diction

An author’s choice of words, phrases, sentence structures and figurative language, which combine to help create meaning and tone.

Differentiate

\: Distinguish, tell apart, and recognize differences between two or more items

Drama

The genre of literature represented by works intended for the stage; a work to be performed by actors on stage, radio, or television; play.

Dramatic Script

The written text of a play, which includes the dialogue between characters, stage directions and often other expository information.

Draw Conclusion

To make a judgment or decision based on reasoning rather than direct or implicit statement.

Elements of Fiction

Traits that mark a work as imaginative or narrative discourse (e.g., plot, theme, symbol).

Elements of Nonfiction

Traits that mark a work as reportorial, analytical, informative or argumentative (e.g., facts, data, charts, graphics, headings).

Evaluate

Examine and judge carefully. To judge or determine the significance, worth or quality of something; to assess.

Explain

\: To make understandable, plain or clear.

Explicit

Clearly expressed or fully stated in the actual text.

Exposition

A narrative device, often used at the beginning of a work that provides necessary background information about the characters and their circumstances.

Fact

A piece of information provided objectively, presented as true

Falling Action

The part of a literary plot that is characterized by diminishing tensions and the resolution of the plot’s conflicts and complications.

Fiction

Any story that is the product of imagination rather than a documentation of fact. Characters and events in such narratives may be based in real life but their ultimate form and configuration is a creation of the author.

Figurative Language

Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling

First Person

The “first person” or “personal” point of view relates events as they are perceived by a single character. The narrating character may offer opinions about the action and characters that differ from those of the author.

Flashback

\: An organizational device used in literature to present action that occurred before current (present) time of the story. Flashbacks are often introduced as the dreams or recollections of one or more characters.

Focus

Center of interest or attention

Foreshadowing

\: An organizational device used in literature to create expectation or to set up an explanation of later developments.

Generalization

A conclusion drawn from specific information that is used to make a broad statement about a topic or person.

Genre

A category used to classify literary works, usually by form, technique or content (e.g., prose, poetry).

Heading, Graphics, Charts

Any visual cues on a page of text that offer additional information to guide the reader’s comprehension. Headings typically are words or phrases in bold print that indicate a topic or the theme of a portion of text; graphics may be photographs, drawings, maps or any other pictorial representation; charts (and tables or graphs) condense data into a series of rows, lines or other shortened list

Hyperbole

\: An exaggeration or overstatement (e.g., I had to wait forever.)

Imagery

Descriptive or figurative language in a literary work; the use of language to create sensory impressions.

Implicit

Though unexpressed in the actual text, meaning that may be understood by the reader; implied

Inference

A judgment based on reasoning rather than on a direct or explicit statement. A conclusion based on facts or circumstances; understanding gained by “reading between the lines.”

Informational Text

Nonfiction written primarily to convey factual information. Informational texts comprise the majority of printed material adults read (e.g., textbooks, newspapers, reports, directions, brochures, technical manuals).

Interpret

To give reasons through an explanation to convey and represent the meaning or understanding of a text.

Key/Supporting Details

Points of information in a text that strongly support the meaning or tell the story. Statements that define, describe, or otherwise provide information about the topic, theme, or main idea.

Keywords

Specific word choices in a text that strongly support the tone, mood, or meaning of the text.

Irony

\: The use of a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or usual meaning; incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the expected result.

Literary Device

Tool used by the author to enliven and provide voice to the text (e.g., dialogue, alliteration)

Literary Element

An essential technique used in literature (e.g., characterization, setting, plot, theme).

Literary Form

The overall structure or shape of a work that frequently follows an established design. Forms may refer to a literary type (narrative, short story) or to patterns of meter, lines, and rhymes (stanza, verse).

Literary Movement

\: A trend or pattern of shared beliefs or practices that mark an approach to literature (e.g., Realism, Naturalism, Romanticism).

Literary Nonfiction

Text that includes literary elements and devices usually associated with fiction to report on actual persons, places, or events. Examples include nature and travel text, biography, memoir and the essay.

Main Idea

\: The author’s central thought; the chief topic of a text expressed or implied in a word or phrase; the topic sentence of a paragraph.

Metaphor

\: The comparison of two unlike things in which no words of comparison (like or as) are used (e.g., The speech gave me food for thought.)

Monologue

An extended speech spoken by one speaker, either to others or as if alone.

Moodd

The prevailing emotions or atmosphere of a work derived from literary devices such as dialogue and literary elements such as setting. The mood of a work is not always what might be expected based on its subject matter.

Motif

ght be expected based on its subject matter. Motif:

Multiple-meaning words

Words that have several meanings depending upon how they are used in a sentence.

Narrative

A story, actual or fictional, expressed orally or in text.

Narrator

A person, animal, or thing telling the story or giving an account of something.

Nonfiction

Text that is not fictional; designed primarily to explain, argue, instruct or describe rather than entertain. For the most part, its emphasis is factual.

OPinion

\: A personal view, attitude, or appraisal.

Personification

\: An object or abstract idea given human qualities or human form (e.g., Flowers danced about the lawn.)

Plot

\: The structure of a story. The sequence in which the author arranges events in a story. The structure often includes the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the resolution. The plot may have a protagonist who is opposed by an antagonist, creating what is called conflict.

Poetry

\: In its broadest sense, text that aims to present ideas and evoke an emotional experience in the reader through the use of meter, imagery and connotative and concrete words. Some poetry has a carefully constructed structure based on rhythmic patterns. Poetry typically relies on words and expressions that have several layers of meaning (figurative language). It may also make use of the effects of regular rhythm on the ear and may make a strong appeal to the senses through the use of imagery.

Point of View

The position of the narrator in relation to the story, as indicated by the narrator’s outlook from which the events are depicted (e.g., first person, third person limited, third person omniscient, etc). The perspective from which a speaker or author recounts a narrative or presents information. The author’s manner in revealing characters, events, and ideas; the vantage point from which a story is told.

Prefix

Groups of letters placed before a word to alter its meaning.

Propaganda

\: Information aimed at positively or negatively influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people.

Propaganda Techniques

Propaganda techniques and persuasive tactics are used to influence people to believe, buy or do something. Students should be able to identify and comprehend the propaganda techniques and persuasive tactics listed below.

Name-Calling

\: is an attack on a person instead of an issue

Bandwagon

\: tries to persuade the reader to do, think or buy something because it is popular or because “everyone” is doing it

Red Herring

\: is an attempt to distract the reader with details not relevant to the argument

Emotional Appeal

tries to persuade the reader by using words that appeal to the reader’s emotions instead of appealing to logic or reason.

Testimonial

attempts to persuade the reader by using a famous person to endorse a product or idea (for instance, the celebrity endorsement).

Repetition

attempts to persuade the reader by repeating a message over and over again

Sweeping generalization

(stereotyping) makes an oversimplified statement about a group based on limited information.

Circular Argument

states a conclusion as part of the proof of the argument

Appeal to numbers, facts, or stastistics:

attempts to persuade the reader by showing how many people think something is true.

Resolution

The portion of a story following the climax in which the conflict is resolved. The resolution of Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey is neatly summed up in the following sentence: “Henry and Catherine were married, the bells rang and everybody smiled.”

Rising Action

The part of a story where the plot becomes increasingly complicated. Rising action leads up to the climax, or turning point.

Satire

A literary approach that ridicules or examines human vice or weakness.

Sentence Variety

Various sentence structures, styles, and lengths that can enhance the rhythm of or add emphasis to a piece of text. The presence of multiple sentence structures in a text (simple, complex, compound, compound‐complex) and/or various sentence beginnings (e.g., dependent and independent clauses, phrases, single words).

Sequence of StepsSetting

A literary organizational form that presents the order in which tasks are to be performed.

Setting

The time and place in which a story unfolds.