Copy of 9th Grade - English - OL Final Exam 2026 Study Guide

9th Grade Literature and Composition Final Exam Study Guide

  1. Characters of Sarah Koenig’s “Serial”

Adnan Syed

Hae Min Lee

Jay Wilds

  1. Personality- Seems innocent and nice

  2. Family Life- Very religious and a is a family person

  3. Dating Life- Would hang with girls often

  4. Trustworthy or Not (Why):- I think that he’s trustworthy, because after looking into his background it looks like he values his family and religious beliefs that just makes it hard for me to believe that he would have killed Hae. Also he doesn’t switch his story at trial a lot like Jay.

  5. Story of Events:- It was a normal day

  1. Personality- A nice girl that talked to everyone (bubbly)

  2. Family Life- Close to family

  3. Dating Life- Dated a few boys and got a boyfriend after Adnan

  4. Evidence:- In episode 9, Koenig explicitly describes her as "cheerful, and light, and funny,"

  1. Personality- Not too trustworthy, but is a good person in a way for helping Adnan.

  2. Friendship(s)- He was friends with Anan

  3. Dating Life- Dont really know anything

  4. Trustworthy or Not (Why):- Not trustworthy, because he changes his story at every trial

  5. Story of Events: He kept on changing it

II. Romeo and Juliet - William Shakespeare

  1. Monologue- A character talks by themselves in front of the characters in the story

  2. Soliloquy- Talks by themself with no one on stage.

  3. Aside

  4. Foil Character- The opposite of another character.

  5. The Family Feud- An ongoing fight between two groups of people

  6. Montague Characters (and allies)

Romeo's family

  1. Capulet Characters (and allies)

Juliet’s family

  1. Who and Why Romeo and Juliet are married- Romeo and Juliet get married fast, because they think that they are in true love. Friar Lawrence marries them.

  2. Romeo’s Banishment - Romeo is banished for killing Juliet’s cousin Tybalt.

  3. Friar Lawrence’s Plan- He tells Juliet to fake her death, so that she would marry Paris, ,and can marry Romeo.

  4. Theme of Love- The theme of love is shown throughout the whole story. The main theme is don’’t fall in love so easily without knowing the consequences.

  5. Theme of Conflict

Conflict is shown from the feud between the Montague’s and Capulet.

  1. Mercutio’s Fate

He has a slow death

  1. The Tragic Ending

Both lovers commit suicide thinking the other one already died.

  1. Shakespearean Sonnet

  2. Three quatern and and one couplet

III. Dystopias + Scythe - Neal Shusterman

Dystopian Protagonist Characteristics

Dystopian Characteristics

  1. Citra

  2. Rowan

  3. Scythe Faraday

  4. Scythe Cuire

  1. Scythe Goddard

  2. Xenocrates

  3. “New order scythes

d.

e.

f.

g.

  1. Thunderhead- AI that controls the utopia.

  2. Dystopia vs. Utopia

  3. Old Guard vs. New Guard

  4. Old Guard were scythes that were nicer when they killed people, and were more humane. New order scythe’s were one that made the killing more brutal.

  5. Scythe Nanites

  6. Microscopic robots that flow through the bloodstream of every human.

  7. Scythe Faraday Personality

  8. Helpful and kind

  9. Scythe Goddard Personality

  10. He was a cruel man

  11. Citra Personality

  12. Determined and hardworking

  13. Rowan Personality

IV. Annotated Bibliography/MLA Format

MLA Header (Example)

MLA Page Header (Example)

  1. Name

  2. Instructors name

  3. course

  4. date

Title

e. _____________ f. ______________

  1. MLA Format Basics

  2. Primary Source

  3. Secondary Source

Novel Citation

(authors last name, page number)

Research Citation

Shakespeare Citation

(author,act,scene,line)

  1. Quote Integration/Lead-In

V. Literary Terms Review

Oxymoron

Two opposite words

Allusion

Personification

Comparing person with object

Alliteration

Sentence with words with same starting letter

Foreshadowing

Clue to something that happens later

Repetition

Repeating a word or phase for effect

Tone

Mood

Theme

Hyperbole

Extreme exaggeration

Metaphor

Comparing something without using like or as

Symbolism

Situational Irony

When the outcome of an event is the exact opposite of what was initially expected

Dramatic Irony

When someone knows something someone else doesn't

Verbal Irony

Sarcasm

Internal Conflict

A struggle that is with an outside force

External Conflict

A struggle that is with a psychological or emotional force

Indirect Characterization (STEAL)

Direct Characterization

A character being described written specifically in the text.

VI. Don’t forget to review Shrek before the final exam!