English Exam Terms — Literary Devices & Genres

Simile

Comparison using "like" or "as"

Alliteration

Repeating the same starting sound in nearby words

Onomatopoeia

A word that imitates a sound (e.g., buzz, bang)

Personification

Giving human traits to non-human things

Hyperbole

An exaggeration for effect

Traits of a Person

Qualities or characteristics someone has

Foreshadowing

Hints about what will happen later in the story

Nonfiction

Real facts and information

fiction

Made-up stories

mystery

Fiction about solving a problem or crime

Historical Fiction

Made-up story set in the past with real history

Science Fiction

Made-up story with science and technology ideas

Realistic Fiction

Made-up story that could happen in real life

Fairy Tale

Story with magic, royalty, talking animals, moral lesson

Fantasy

Story with magic, mythical creatures, other worlds

Why words can be capitalized

Start of sentence, names, titles, or "I"

How to find information from a graph

Read title, labels, units, and compare data

How to find information from a comic strip

Read panels in order, look at speech bubbles, pictures, actions, expressions