English 10 Final Review

Flashcards for reviewing key literary terms and essay structure concepts covered in English 10.

Thesis Statement

The main argument the paper is making.

Closed Thesis Statement

A thesis statement that gives the main argument the paper is making, but also contains a list of smaller, more specific claims supporting the main argument.

AEC

Acronym for Assertion, Evidence, and Commentary – a common structure for body paragraphs in essays.

Assertion

The main idea or claim of a paragraph within an AEC structure.

Evidence

The facts, summary, paraphrase, or direct quotes from a relevant source that support the assertion.

Commentary

The reasoning that explains how the evidence relates to the assertion and the main argument.

Alliteration

Repetition of the same or similar consonant sounds in words that are close together.

Allegory

Story or poem in which characters, settings, and events stand for other people or events, or for abstract ideas or qualities.

Allusion

An indirect reference to something (usually from literature, history, etc.).

Connotation

The associations and emotional overtones that have become attached to a word or phrase, in addition to its strict dictionary definition.

Denotation

A word’s objective meaning, as found in the dictionary.

Dialogue

The spoken words used by characters as they interact.

Diction

A speaker or writer’s choice of words.

Epiphany

A moment of revelation or insight in which a character recognizes some truth.

Hubris

Excessive or presumptuous pride; a fatal flaw in tragic characters.

Hyperbole

A figure of speech that uses an incredible exaggeration or overstatement for effect.

Imagery

The use of language to evoke a picture or a concrete sensation of a person, a thing, a place, or an experience by appealing to the senses.

Verbal Irony

Occurs when someone says one thing but really means something else.

Situational Irony

Takes place when there is a discrepancy between what is expected to happen and what really does happen.

Dramatic Irony

Occurs when the audience knows something that a character does not.

Juxtaposition

Poetic and rhetorical device in which normally unassociated ideas, words, or phrases are placed next to one another, creating an effect of surprise and wit.

Metaphor

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things without using 'like' or 'as'.

Motif

A recurring element (image, word, phrase, etc.) that unifies a work by tying situations or ideas to the theme.

Simile

A figure of speech that makes a comparison between two unlike things using words such as 'like' or 'as'.

Syntax

The arrangement of words into a coherent thought; the rules governing this arrangement.

Voice

A metaphor used about literature which seeks to describe the writer’s tone, style, and manner.