English Writing & Reading GED (copy)

Onomatopoeia

Onomatopoeia

Sound-effect word: bam, swish, boom, fizz

Alliteration

Same letter or sound at the beginning of most or all of the words in a sentence.

Example: She sells sea-shells down by the sea-shore

Caption

Brief description in a newspaper or magazine telling who or what appears in the picture.

Character Development

Way in which an author shows how a character changes as the story continues.

Comparative Adjective

Used to compare a noun to another noun such as:

She is the smarter of the two sisters.

Concluding Paragraph

The last paragraph in your essay or story. It generally summarizes the essay, presents the main idea of the essay, or gives an overall solution to a problem or argument given in the essay.

conflict

The central struggle between opposing forces in a story or play.

Examples are man vs. man, man vs. himself, and man vs. nature.

Coordinating Conjunction

A word that is used to join words, phrases, or sentences

Examples include and, but, or, not, yet, for, and so.

Free Verse

Poetry that doesn't follow a set pattern....It doesn't rhyme necessarily.

Generalization

A broad statement that applies to many individuals.

Idiom

An expression that doesn't mean what it says:
We are all in the same boat.
Barking up the wrong tree
Costs an arm and a leg

Interjection

A word spoken suddenly and used to express surprise, pain, or delight.

Bah! That was a total waste of time
Wow! That was a great shot.
Ouch!

Metaphor

Comparison of two unlike things not using the words like or as.

The snow is a white blanket.
The playground was a zoo.
The alligator's teeth are white daggers.

Minor Character

Characters in a story that come into contact with the main character, but are not as important.

Parts of Speech

There are 8: Nouns, Verbs, Pronouns, Adjectives, Adverbs, Prepositions, Conjunctions, Interjections

Personification

Giving human characteristics or traits to non-living things:
The flowers danced.
The moon blinked in the sky.

Poetic Style

The way a poem is written.
In poetry it involves the method which a poet uses to convey meaning, tone, and emotion in his/her poem.
It may include rhythm, rhyme or repetition.

Reference Source

Books and other sources that contain facts about many different subjects and are referred to for information.

Resolution

Finding the solution to a problem in a story.

Rhythm

The internal feel or "beat" when poetry is read aloud.

In poetry, it is expressed through stressed and unstressed syllables.

Simile

A comparison of two unlike things using the words like or as.

Stereotypical

Unoriginal: conforming to a standard pattern.

Stress

Put stress on a syllable; utter that syllable stronger.

Superlative Adjective

Shows the highest degree of comparison. You must add "est" or most to these adjectives.

Text Structure

An author's method of organizing text. A strategy that helps students understand that a text might present a main idea and details;

Transitional Words

A word that connects two thoughts or ideas together.

Word Origins

Where words "originated" from. Where the word came from: Greek, Latin, Old English, etc.

Noun

A noun names a person, place or thing

Proper noun

1) It will name a specific [usually a one-of-a-kind] item
2) It will begin with a capital letter no matter where it occurs in a sentence.

Verb

Words like run, sit or talk that show action or state of being

Adjective

Words that describe or modify a noun

Example: beautiful, noisy, new, small, large, blue, orange, red

Adverb

Words that modify verbs or adverbs and answer questions such as:
How? In what way? When? Where? How much?

Preposition

Words like on, under, and over that form phrases that modify nouns or verbs

Pronoun

Words like he, she or it that replace a noun

Conjunction

Words like and, but, or that join other words or phrases

Figurative Language

Using figures of speech to be more effective, persuasive and descriptive. Figures of speech may include metaphors, similes, personification, and hyperbole

Hyperbole

Using exaggeration for the sake of emphasis

Assonance

The repetition of vowel sounds

Example: Try to light the fire.

Expository Essay

Writing that is used to explain, describe, give information or inform.

Subject

The topic of a text. What the text is about.

Noun

A person, place, thing, or idea

Verb

A word that is used to express action or a state of being

Essay Format

1. Introduction
2. Body
3. Conclusion

Introduction

The BEGINNING of the story where the characters and the setting is revealed.

Body

The MAIN SECTION of a story, speech or essay.

Conclusion

The END or FINISH of a story or essay.

Draft

Using your notes from prewriting. Getting your ideas down on paper. (Not worrying about any mistakes.)

Revise

To make corrections to; edit or redo

Edit

To make changes by adding, deleting, or modifying text, graphics, or other items in a document

Publish

To make a document available to the general public

Present

Display, observation, examination or consideration.

Comma

Used to separate parts of a sentence

Semicolon

A punctuation mark that signals a break in a sentence, halfway between the full stop of a period and the short pause of a comma

Colon

Mainly used to introduce a list, and put in between numbers to show what time it is.

Quotation marks

Used to quote what someone is saying

Apostrophe

Used primarily to show possession and to form contractions.

Parentheses

Used to set off numbers or letters in a list, or to include extra information in a sentence.

Autobiography

Story of person's life written by that person.

Biography

Story of person's life written by another person.

Article

Nonfiction writing that informs, entertains

Attitude

Opinions or beliefs that author brings to subject

Context

Words before or after that help determine the meaning

Inference

Assumption about point the author is trying to make

Plot

Sequence of events in a story

4 different plots

-People against nature.
-People against People.
-People against themselves.
-People against society.

Action

The way characters respond to each other.

Denouement

An outcome; result

Drama

Piece of writing intended for performance

Exposition

A comprehensive description and explanation of an idea or theory.

Falling action

Events after the climax, leading to the resolution.

Participant

A person who takes part in something

Author

The person who writes the story

Rising action

Events leading up to the climax

Script

The written text of a play, movie, or broadcast

Alliteration

Repetition of initial consonant sounds

Allusion

A reference to another work of literature, person, or event

Assonance

Repetition of vowel sounds

Metaphor

A comparison (WITHOUT) using like or as

Simile

A comparison of two unlike things using like or as

Exclamation point

This is used after a word or words that have special emphasis or feeling.

Question Mark

A punctuation mark placed at the end of a sentence to indicate a question

Bias

prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.

Cause and Effect

The reason something happens and the result of it happening.

Chronological Order

The order in which events happen in time

Protagonist

Main character in a story

Setting

Where and when the story takes place

Short Story

A brief work of fiction that involves a small number of characters and one conflict