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simile

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a comparison using like or as

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metaphor

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A comparison of two or more things not using like or as

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hyperbole

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Exaggeration or overstatement.

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personification

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Giving human-qualities to non-human things

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irony

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Something happens that was the opposite of what was expected.

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bias

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A judgment based on a personal point of view.

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author's purpose

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The author's intent either to inform or teach someone about something, to entertain people, or to persuade or convince their audience to do or not do something.

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alliteration

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The repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words.

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allusion

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An implied or indirect reference in literature to a familiar person, place or event.

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autobiography

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The story of a person's life written by himself or herself.

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biography

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The story of a person's life written by someone other than the subject of the work.

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Cause and Effect

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Cause statements stem from actions and events, and effects are what happen as a result of the action or event.

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Characterization

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The method an author uses to reveal characters and their various personalities.

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Climax

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the high point of suspense in a short story or novel.

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compare

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To find the similarities between two things.

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conflict

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The problem or struggle in a short story or novel.

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context clues

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Information from the reading that identifies a word or group of words.

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contrast

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To find differences between two things.

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Dialogue

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conversation between people in a literary work

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Differentiate

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Distinguish, tell apart and recognize differences between two or more items.

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Editorials

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A newspaper or magazine article that gives the opinions of the editors or publishers; an expression of opinion that resembles such an article.

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Exaggeration

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To make an overstatement or to stretch the truth.

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Fiction

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A story or novel that is not true; it is made up from the imagination.

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Figurative Language

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Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling.

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First Person

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A personal point of view using the "I" point of view. May also contain me, our, we, us.

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Free Verse

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Poetry that does not have meter or rhyme scheme. It sounds more like regular speech.

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Generalization

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A conclusion, drawn from specific information, that is used to make a broad statement about a topic or person.

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Imagery

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A word or group of words in a literary work which appeal to one or more of the senses: sight, taste, touch, hearing and smell using figurative language.

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Inference

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understandings gained by "reading between the lines"

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Informational Text

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It is nonfiction, written primarily to convey factual information. (e.g., textbooks, newspapers, reports, directions, brochures, technical manuals, etc.).

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Sarcasm

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The use of a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or usual meaning

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Limerick

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A light or humorous verse form of five lines, of which lines 1, 2 and 5 rhymes and lines 3 and 4 rhyme.

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Main Idea

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The main idea is the author's central thought; the topic sentence of a paragraph.

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Meter

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The repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.

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Mood

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The emotion created in the reader

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Narrative

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Text that tells a story. It may contain dialogue.

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Nonfiction

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Writing that is true.

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Onomatopoeia

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The use of words whose sounds express or suggest their meaning (ex.: hiss, pop, bang)

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Plot

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The sequence in which the author arranges events in a story. The structure often includes the rising action, the climax, the falling action and the resolution.

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Point of view

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who tells the story (1st, 2nd, 3rd person)

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Problem/Solution

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An organizational structure in nonfiction texts, where the author typically presents a problem and possible solutions to it.

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Compare/Contrast

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An organizational structure in nonfiction texts, where the author typically finds the similarities and differences between two objects.

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Sequence

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An organizational structure in nonfiction texts, where the author typically shows an order of events in time order OR by using time order words (first, second, next, then).

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Name-calling propaganda

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an attack on a person instead of an issue.

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bandwagon propaganda

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attempts to persuade the reader to do, think or buy something because it is popular or because "everyone" is doing it

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red herring propaganda

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attempt to distract the reader with details not relevant to the argument

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emotional appeal propaganda

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attempt to persuade the reader by using words that appeal to the reader's emotions instead of to logic or reason.

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testimonial propaganda

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to persuade the reader by using a famous person to endorse a product or idea (for instance, the celebrity endorsement).

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repetition propaganda

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attempts to persuade the reader by repeating a message over and over again.

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sweeping generalization (stereotyping) propaganda

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makes an oversimplified statement about a group based on limited information.

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circular argument propaganda

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states a conclusion as part of the proof of the argument.

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appeal to numbers, facts, or statistics propaganda

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attempts to persuade the reader by showing how many people think something is true.

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Resolution

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The solution to the conflict of the story.

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Rhyme

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Identical or very similar recurring final sounds in words usually at the end of lines of a poem.

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Rhythm

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The pattern or beat of a poem.

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Setting

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The time and place in which a story unfolds.

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Sonnet

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A lyric poem of fourteen lines whose rhyme scheme is fixed.

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Symbolism

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A device in literature where an object represents an idea.

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Theme

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a major idea broad enough to cover the entire scope of a literary work.

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Third Person

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the "third person" point of view presents the events of the story from a narrator's point of view (he, she, it, they, them, their, her, his, or character's names are used)

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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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Propaganda

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used to influence people to believe, buy, or do something.

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Connotation

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The range of associations that a word or phrase suggests in addition to its dictionary meaning (e.g., slender/thin/scrawny).

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Denotation

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The direct or dictionary meaning of a word.

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Analyze

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To break something down and assess all parts

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Trace

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List in sequence

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Infer

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Read between the lines

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Evaluate

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Judge

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Formulate

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Build and create

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Describe

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Tell all about it

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Support

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Back up with details

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Evidence

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Support used in written prompts which is taken either from the text (for TDAs) or is formulated from the mind of the student (Regular essays)

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Explain

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Tell why or how

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Summarize

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Telling the short version

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Compare

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Coming up with ways things are alike

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Contrast

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Coming up with ways things are different

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Predict

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Tell what will happen next

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Develop

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Expand upon

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Synthesize

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Combine to make new

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Characterize

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Tell about the qualities of

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Interpret

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Explain your understanding of

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Determine

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Figure it out

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Defend

answer

Write in support of

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Objective summary

answer

A summary based on fact. It is unbiased.

PSSA Practice Grade 7 ELA – Flashcards

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