CAHSEE English Words – Flashcards
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Active voice
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the action is performed by the subject of the sentence, not the object
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Allegory
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a visible symbol representing an abstract idea
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Almanac
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a reference source published yearly, with tables of facts and information on many subjects
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Ambiguity
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An event or situation that may be interpreted in more than one way.
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Analysis
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the process of studying of something closely and critically
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Antagonist
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opponent
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Anti-hero
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a protagonist who lacks the characteristics that would make him a hero (or her a heroine)
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Argument
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a statement put forth and supported by evidence
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Aside
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a line spoken by an actor to the audience but not intended for others on the stage
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Audience
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The intended reader or readers of a piece of writing
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Author's purpose
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The reason the author has for writing. ( Inform, persuade, express, & entertain)
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Ballad
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a type of poem that is meant to be sung and is both lyric and narrative in nature
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Bar graph
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a graph that uses horizontal or vertical bars to display data
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Beliefs
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specific ideas that people hold to be true
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Bias
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opinion formed before there are grounds for it; prejudice; predilection; partiality
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Biography
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story of a person's life written by another person
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Body paragraph
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A middle paragraph in an essay. It develops a point you want to make that supports your thesis.
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Business letter
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• A business letter is a formal communication sent from one party (person or organization) to another.
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Character
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the inherent complex of attributes that determine a persons moral and ethical actions and reactions
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Foil
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anything that serves by contrast to call attention to another thing's good qualities
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traits
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particular qualities or characteristics of a person or thing
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Clarity
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clearness in thought or expression
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Clause
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(grammar) an expression including a subject and predicate but not constituting a complete sentence
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Climax
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the decisive moment in a novel or play
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Coherent
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holding together; making sense
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Colon
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a punctuation mark (:) used after a word introducing a series or an example or an explanation (or after the salutation of a business letter)
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Comedy
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light and humorous drama with a happy ending
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Comma
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a punctuation mark (,) used to indicate the separation of elements within the grammatical structure of a sentence
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Complete sentence
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a sentence with two parts, a subject and a verb
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Conscience
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Sense of right and wrong
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Conclusion paragraph
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The final paragraph of an essay in which the thesis statement is restated.
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Connotative meaning
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emotional meaning
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Consumers
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People who use goods or services for their personal benefit
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Contract
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a binding agreement between two or more persons that is enforceable by law
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Contraction
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a word formed from two or more words by omitting or combining some sounds
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Contradiction
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a statement that is opposite to another statement
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Contrast
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to show differences when compared
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Count noun
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A noun that can be counted (one car, two cars, three cars...)
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Credibility
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the quality of being believable or trustworthy
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Culture
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the attitudes and behavior that are characteristic of a particular social group or organization
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Denotative meaning
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refers to the dictionary definition of a word
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Drama
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a dramatic work intended for performance by actors on a stage
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Epic
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a long narrative poem telling of a hero's deeds
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Evidence
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proof
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Expository Essay
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presents or explains information or ideas in a formal format
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Exernal conflct
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A conflict that occurs between main character and the world and society.
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Fact
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a statement that can be proved
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Falling Action
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events that occur between the climax and the conclusion of a story
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Fiction
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a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact
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Figurative Language
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Writing or speech that is used to create vivid impressions by setting up comparisons between dissimilar things, [examples are metaphor, simile, and personification.
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Flashback
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a scene that interrupts the action of a work to show a previous event
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Flashforward
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a brief look into a character's future
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Focus
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special emphasis attached to something
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Form
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make something, usually for a specific function
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Foreshadowing
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events or information presented to prepare for later events
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Generalization
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a conclusion that is used to make a broad statement about a topic or person
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Genre
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type or category of literary work (e.g., poetry, essay, short story, novel, drama)
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Hero/heroine
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the principal character in a play or movie or novel or poem
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Homophones
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words that have the same sound but differ in spelling, origin, and meaning
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Hypotheses
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scientists' explanations that may or may not be true
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Idiom
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An expression that cannot be understood if taken literally (ex- "Get your head out of the clouds").
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Imagery
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description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)
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Imply
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express or state indirectly
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Infer
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believe to be the case
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Internal conflict
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struggle within a character
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Introduction paragraph
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The first paragraph in a essay it includes a thesis statement
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Irony
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a contrast between what is expected and what actually exists or happens
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Journal
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a daily written record of (usually personal) experiences and observations
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Literary Device
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technique that produces a specific effect, esp. a figure of speech, narrative style, or plot mechanism
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Literal language
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language that means exactly what it says
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Main idea
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what a piece of writing is all about
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Media
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term applied to agencies of mass communication, such as newspapers, magazines, and telecommunications
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Metaphor
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comparison of two unlike things using the verb "to be" and not using like or as as in a simile.
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Memo
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correspondence written to people within the same business or organization
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Monologue
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a (usually long) dramatic speech by a single actor
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Mood
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the overall emotion created by a work of literature
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Motivation
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the force that moves people to act
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Narrative
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The telling of a story or an account of an event or series of events.
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Narrator
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The person telling the story
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Nonfiction
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writing that tells about real people, places, and events
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Omniscient narrator
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a narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all, including the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters
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Opinion
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a personal belief or judgment that is not founded on proof or certainty
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Passive voice
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When the subject of a sentence is being acted upon.
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Perspective
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point of view
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Persuasive essay
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presents arguements and tries to convince readers to adopt a certain point of view
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Personification
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giving human qualities to animals or objects
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Persuade
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to convince
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Pie chart
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chart in the shape of a circle that shows data values as a percentage of the whole
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Plot
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the sequence of events in a story
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Point of view
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the perspective from which a story is told
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Precise
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clearly expressed; exact; accurate in every detail
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Predict
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to say what will happen before it occurs
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Prefix
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a syllable or word that comes before a root word to change its meaning
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Primary Source
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firsthand information about people or events
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Prior knowledge
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what you already knew before reading
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Procedure
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a method of doing things
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Protagonist
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the main character
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Quotation
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words repeated word for word from another person or source
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Red Herring
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Something that draws attention away from the main issue
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Reliable
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trustworthy; able to be counted on
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Repetition
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repeated use of sounds, words, or ideas for effect and emphasis
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Resolution
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End of the story where loose ends are tied up
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Restatement
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expressing the same idea in different words
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Rising Action
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the series of conflicts or struggles that build a story toward a climax.
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Root
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(linguistics) the form of a word after all affixes are removed
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Run-on sentence
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two-complete sentences, totally fused
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Sarcasm
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saying something and meaning the exact opposite; verbal irony
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Secondary Source
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information gathered by someone who did not take part in or witness an event
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Semicolon
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a punctuation mark (';') used to connect independent clauses
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Sensory details
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details that appeal the five senses
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Sentence fragment
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a sentence missing a subject or verb or complete thought
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Sequence
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order
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Setting
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The time and place of a story
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Simile
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comparison using "like" or "as"
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Soliloquy
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in drama, a character speaks alone on stage to allow his/her thoughts and ideas to be conveyed to the audience
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Sonnet
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a short poem with fourteen lines, usually ten-syllable rhyming lines, divided into two, three, or four sections
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Source
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anything that provides inspiration for later work
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Statistics
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numbers that represent facts
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Style
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the arrangement of words in a way that best expresses the author's individuality, idea, intent
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Subordinate character
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less important or minor characters
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Subtle
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not obvious
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Suffix
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syllables at the end of a word
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Summary
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a brief statement that presents the main points in a concise form
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Suspense
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Uncertainty or anxiety the reader feels about what is going to happen next in a story
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Symbol
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something that stands for something else
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Synonym
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A word that means the same as another word
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Synthesize
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combine so as to form a more complex, product
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Theme
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the general idea or insight about life that a work of literature reveals
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Thesis
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The basic argument advanced by a speaker or writer who then attempts to prove it; the subject or major argument of a speech or composition.
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Tone
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The attitude of the author toward the audience and characters (e.g., serious or humorous).
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Topic sentence
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A sentence that states the topic of its paragraph
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Tragedy
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a type of serious drama that usually ends in disaster for the main character
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Tragic flaw
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the flaw that leads to the hero's downfall
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Tragic Hero
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character who has a error of judgement or fatal flaw
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Transitions
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words or phrases that link ideas together, to show a change in thought, or to convey relationships.
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Universal
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concerning everyone; existing everywhere
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Universal theme
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The theme transcends any time period, place, generation, etc. It could apply to ANYONE at ANYWHERE during ANYTIME
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Villain/villainess
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the principle bad character in a film or work of fiction
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Voice
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The fluency, rhythm and liveliness in writing that makes it unique to the writer
