Keystone Preparations

Author’s Purpose

The reason why an author wrote the piece; persuade, inform, entertain, etc.

Figurative Language

Tools used by writers to compare one idea to a second idea to make the first idea easier to visualize.

Purpose of Figurative Language

A way of communicating an idea that is not easily understood because of its abstract nature or complexity.

Fiction vs. Nonfiction

Fiction is literature created from the imagination while nonfiction is literature based in fact.

Purpose of personification

Gives human-like characteristics to non-human like things to help the reader relate to and better understand the text. Makes the text more engaging for the reader.

Purpose of imagery

To envoke emotion and vivid mental images in a readers mind.

Keystone Exam: Constructed Response

* CARS - complete and clear, accurate, relavant, specific
* Include 2 pieces of evidence from the passage
* Prompt always is asking 2 things
* ANSWER THE PROMPT

Main Idea

* The main idea of a text is the central point or message that the author is trying to convey to the reader. It is the most important concept or theme that ties together all the information presented in the text.


* key information the author wants you to know after reading

Main Idea vs. Theme

Main idea is what the book is mostly about. The theme is the message, lesson, or moral of a book.

Finding the main idea

* Ask yourself what or whom the writing is about
* Ask “What does the author was me to know about the topic?”
* Ask yourself what the charcters are learning.
* Authors often explicitly state the main idea in the intro or conclusion.
* Look for reversals transitions… words like but, otherwise, however.
* Look for ideas that are repeated in different ways.

Connotation

* The way a word feels


* The feeling a word evokes
* Help understand the tone of a passage

Denotation

Dictionary definition of a word

Satire

* a joke
* 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
* Poking fun in order to provide humor in order to evoke change

Purpose of Satire

* Promote change THROUGH comedy

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)

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.

Alliteration

The repetition of initial sounds in neighboring words.

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

A word that is the opposite in meaning to another word.

Arguement/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.

Bias

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

Biography

A written account of another person's life.

Characters

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

Charcterization

The method an author uses to reveal characters and their various traits and personalities (e.g., direct, indirect).

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.

Conflict/Problem

A struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions.

Context Clues

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

Cultural Signifigance

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

Defense of a Claim

Support provided to mark an assertion as reasonable.

Rhyming pattern

Rhyming pattern refers to the arrangement of rhymes in a stanza or poem. It is usually represented using letters to indicate the pattern of rhymes, with each letter representing a different rhyme. For example, in an ABAB rhyming pattern, the first and third lines rhyme with each other, and the second and fourth lines rhyme with each other. Other common rhyming patterns include AABB, ABBA, and ABCB.

Meter

Meter in poetry refers to the rhythmic structure of a poem, determined by the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in each line. Common meters include iambic pentameter, which consists of five iambs (an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable) per line, and trochaic tetrameter, which consists of four trochees (a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable) per line. Meter can greatly affect the tone and mood of a poem, and is often used to create a sense of musicality or to emphasize certain words or phrases.

Prose

Prose is a form of written or spoken language that does not follow a metrical structure, unlike poetry. It is the most common form of writing and is used in everyday communication, such as novels, essays, and articles. Prose is typically organized into paragraphs and is written in a natural, conversational style.

stanza

A stanza is a group of lines in a poem, typically separated from other stanzas by a blank line. Stanzas often have a fixed number of lines and a regular rhyme scheme.

Syntax

Syntax refers to the set of rules that dictate the structure and organization of programming languages. It defines how statements and commands are written and arranged to create valid programs. In other words, syntax is the grammar of a programming language.

free verse

Free verse is a type of poetry that does not follow a specific rhyme scheme or metrical pattern. It is characterized by its lack of traditional structure and often relies on the natural rhythms of speech and language.

Sonnet

A sonnet is a 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme and structure. It traditionally follows the rhyme scheme of ABAB CDCD EFEF GG and is written in iambic pentameter. The first 12 lines present a problem or question, while the final two lines provide a resolution or conclusion.

ballad

A ballad is a type of narrative poem that tells a story through song. It typically has a simple and repetitive structure, with a strong emphasis on melody and rhythm. Ballads often focus on themes of love, tragedy, and adventure, and have been a popular form of storytelling for centuries.

heroic couplet

A heroic couplet is a pair of rhyming lines in iambic pentameter, often used in epic and narrative poetry to convey a sense of grandeur and heroism. It was popularized by poets such as John Dryden and Alexander Pope in the 17th and 18th centuries.

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.

differenciate

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.

dramatic script

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

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.

explict

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

The 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).

headings, graphics and 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 lists.

hyperbole

an exaggeration or overstatement

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.

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.

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.

key words

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

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.

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.)

metaphor

monologue

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

mood

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

A recurring subject, theme, or idea in a literary work.

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.

pov

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.

testmonial

attempts to persuade the reader by using a famous person to endorse a product or idea (for

instance, the celebrity endorsement).