Ela Final

Parts of speech

The main categories of words used to build sentences.

Noun

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

Common noun

A general name for a person, place, thing, or idea and is usually not capitalized.

Proper noun

The specific name of a person, place, or thing and is always capitalized.

Pronoun

A word used in place of a noun.

Personal pronoun

A pronoun that refers to a specific person or thing, such as I, you, she, he, it, we, or they.

Relative pronoun

A pronoun that connects a dependent clause to a noun, such as who, whom, whose, which, or that.

Indefinite pronoun

A pronoun that refers to a nonspecific person or thing, such as anybody, someone, or nothing.

Adjective

A word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun.

Verb

A word that shows action, feeling, or a state of being.

Adverb

A word that modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

Adverb questions

Adverbs often answer how, when, where, or to what extent.

Preposition

A word that shows location or another relationship between a noun or pronoun and the rest of the sentence.

Interjection

A word or phrase that shows emotion and is set apart from the rest of the sentence.

Conjunction

A word that joins words or groups of words.

FANBOYS

For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so - the coordinating conjunctions.

Definite article

The word the, which refers to a specific person, place, or thing.

Indefinite articles

The words a and an, which refer to a nonspecific person, place, or thing.

Adjective vs. adverb

An adjective modifies a noun or pronoun, while an adverb modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb.

Today as a noun

In the sentence Today is beautiful, today names a day and acts as a noun.

Today as an adverb

In the sentence I will do it today, today tells when and acts as an adverb.

Topic sentence

The first sentence of a critical paragraph that states the main arguable point and answers the prompt.

Thesis in a critical paragraph

The arguable main point, usually stated in the first sentence.

Quote sandwich

A structure that includes context, evidence, and analysis.

Context

Background about the speaker, situation, and what happens before a quotation.

Evidence

A meaningful quotation or specific detail from the text that supports the argument.

Signal phrase

Words that introduce a quotation, often using verbs such as argues, claims, explains, notes, or suggests.

Quote integration

Blending a quotation smoothly into your own sentence instead of dropping it in by itself.

Analysis

An explanation of how and why the evidence proves the topic sentence or thesis.

Strong analysis length

Usually at least three to four sentences explaining the meaning and importance of the evidence.

Number of quote sandwiches

A typical analytical paragraph usually uses two quote sandwiches.

Concluding sentence

A final sentence that echoes the thesis and brings the paragraph's ideas together.

Idiom

An expression whose meaning is not completely literal and is understood through familiarity with a language.

Allusion

An indirect reference to something, often used in literature to enrich meaning.

Illusion

A false appearance or misleading impression.

Brief description

A few sentences explaining what is shown and what the work looks like.

Shape

A two-dimensional area created by boundaries or outlines.

Color

A visual element that can create mood, symbolism, contrast, or emphasis.

Unity

The sense that the parts of an image belong together.

Variety

Differences among visual elements that create interest.

Emphasis

The part of an image that attracts the most attention.

Scale and proportion

The size of objects and their size relationships to one another.

Conclusion

An explanation of how and why the visual elements create meaning.

Verse

A single line of poetry.

Stanza

A group of lines in a poem, similar to a paragraph in prose.

Rhyme scheme

The pattern of end rhymes in a poem, labeled with letters.

Couplet

Two consecutive lines of poetry that usually rhyme.

Free verse

Poetry without a regular rhyme scheme or meter.

Repetition

Reusing words, phrases, sounds, or structures for emphasis.

Imagery

Language that appeals to the senses and helps the reader picture or experience something.

Metaphor

A direct comparison in which one thing is said to be another.

Extended metaphor

A comparison developed through several lines or throughout an entire work.

Symbolism

The use of an object, color, season, or image to represent a deeper idea.

Hyperbole

Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or effect.

Mood

The feeling or atmosphere created for the reader.

Tone

The speaker's or author's attitude toward the subject.

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds in nearby words.

Alliteration

Repetition of beginning consonant sounds in nearby words.

Personification

Giving human qualities or actions to something nonhuman.

Forced rhyme

A rhyme that sounds unnatural or uses awkward wording to make lines rhyme.

Diction

An author's deliberate word choice.

Onomatopoeia

A word whose sound imitates its meaning, such as buzz or crash.

Literal meaning

The direct and surface-level meaning of a text.

Metaphorical meaning

A deeper meaning created through comparison or symbolism.

Spring symbolism

Spring often represents rebirth, renewal, or youth.

Fall symbolism

Fall often represents aging, change, or the later stage of life.

Winter symbolism

Winter often represents death, endings, or the final stage of life.

Leaflight rhyme scheme

The poem follows the pattern ABBCDA EFFGHE.

Leaflight literal meaning

The poem describes autumn leaves changing color and falling.

Leaflight extended metaphor

The changing and falling leaves can represent aging, the stages of life, death, and the legacy people leave behind.

Memoir

A true personal narrative based on the author's memories and experiences.

Graphic novel

A book-length story that uses both words and sequential images.

Panel

A square or rectangle containing one scene in a graphic novel.

Gutter

The blank space between panels.

Dialogue bubble

A shape containing words spoken by a character.

Thought bubble

A shape containing a character's private thoughts.

Caption

A box containing narration or information about a scene or character.

Sound effect

A visual word that represents a sound, such as Pow or Crash.

Transition

The movement from one panel to another showing change, time, or action.

Movement-to-movement transition

The same subject is shown through small movements and the passage of time.

Action-to-action transition

The same subject is shown completing different steps of an action.

Subject-to-subject transition

The view changes between subjects within the same scene or idea.

Scene-to-scene transition

The panels move across a large distance in time or space.

Aspect-to-aspect transition

Time pauses while panels show different details of the same place, mood, or scene.

Non-sequitur transition

Two panels have no clear logical relationship.

Graphic novel reading order

Read panels and dialogue bubbles mainly from left to right and top to bottom.

Allusion

A reference to a well-known person, place, event, story, or work of art outside the text.

Conflict

A struggle between opposing forces.

External conflict

A struggle between a character and an outside force.

Internal conflict

A struggle within a character's own mind.

Dramatic irony

The audience knows something that one or more characters do not know.

Dramatic foil

Two contrasting characters placed together so their opposite qualities become clearer.

Fate or destiny

A predetermined course of events that characters feel unable to change.

Star-crossed lovers

Lovers whose relationship is opposed or doomed by fate.

Iambic pentameter

A ten-syllable poetic line with five pairs of unstressed and stressed syllables.

Monologue

A long speech by a character who is not alone onstage.

Soliloquy

A long speech delivered while a character is alone, usually revealing private thoughts.

Petrarchan lover

A character who is obsessed with the idea of being in love and acts lovesick.

Prose

Ordinary written or spoken language arranged in sentences and paragraphs.

Sonnet

A fourteen-line lyric poem, often written in rhymed iambic pentameter.