• APPENDICES: TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

     

     

    ELEMENTS OF FICTION PLOT LINE

     

    • Plot- the action or sequence of related events that make up a story; consists of 5 basic elements
    • Exposition-the characters and setting are introduced
    • Rising Action-the complications that build to the climax; conflict(s) developed
    • Climax-the turning point in the story
    • Falling Action-events leading to the resolution
    • Resolution-conflict(s)resolved; loose ends are tied up

     

     

    ELEMENTS OF FICTION

     

    Irony- using a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal meaning, 3 types:

                   Dramatic- where the reader or the audience is aware of a character’s mistakes, but the  character does not

                   Verbal-where the writer says one thing and means another

                   Irony of situation- where there is greater difference between the purpose of an action and the        result
     

    Setting- the time of day or year, historical period, place, situation; influence on story

     

    Characterization-the techniques the author uses to create and develop character (4 types)

                   a. thoughts, speech,and actions of the character

                   b. thoughts, speech,and actions of other characters

                   c. physical description

                   d. direct comments

     

    Protagonist-the main character in the story
     
    Antagonist- the person or force working against the main character
     
    Foreshadowing-the clues or hints given by the author about what might happen later in the story
     
    Flashback-a scene that interrupts the present action to describe an event that took place at an earlier time
     
    Mood- the feeling the text creates in the reader (gloomy, scary, humorous, romantic, adventurous,lighthearted)
     
    Suspense- the growing tension and excitement the reader feels
     

    Symbolism- the authors use of symbols to represent concrete ideas, events, or relationships

    Theme- the underlying idea/message/statement the author is trying to convey

    Point of View-the perspective from which the story is told

                   1st person- the narrator is a character who tells the story as he/she experience, saw, heard, and understood; identified by the use of first person pronouns: I, we, me, us, etc.

                   3rd person omniscient- the narrator is all-knowing with the ability to see into the minds of more than one character

                   3rd person limited- the narrator has the ability to see into the mind of only one character

    Conflict-a struggle or problem between or among opposing forces that triggers the action in literature              
          
                   Two kinds of conflict-      internal and external

                   Four types of conflict-     person vs. person                            person vs. society

                                                             person vs. him/herself                      person vs. nature

     

    Tone- the writer/narrator’s attitude towards a subject through his or her own word choice (sarcastic,ironic, serious, funny, hesitant, angry, cheerful, etc.)
     

    Style- the method in which the author writes (simple, blunt, flowery, fast paced, full of digressions,full of flashbacks, stream-of-consciousness, etc.)

     

    ELEMENTS OF READING
     
    Inference- logical guess or conclusion based on evidence; read between the lines
     
    Prediction- using prior knowledge and/or details to guess what will happen in the future
     
    Drawing Conclusions-combining several pieces of information to make a decision
     
    Sequencing-arranging events to aid in understanding of a text: developmental, chronological, level of difficulty (easy to hard, hard to easy), structure (part to whole/whole to part)
     
    Author’s Purpose- the intent the author had when writing (to entertain, inform, persuade, etc.)
     
    Compare/Contrast-identifying similarities or differences in the reading
     
    Fact-a statement that can be proved or disproved
     
    Opinion- a belief or conclusion that is not supported by evidence or facts
     
    Visual Aids- visual representation of the information presented; usually helps clarify or explaininformation to the reader (graphs, charts, etc.)
     
    Cause/Effect- describes a relationship between events; the first event in time is the cause and thesecond event is the effect
     
    Bias- the writer’s attitude,outlook or prejudice; writer’s leaning or belief about a topic
     

    Main Idea-the most important idea in a passage; the point the author is trying to make

                   Literal-adhering to the fact or the primary meaning or intent

                   Implied-a suggested meaning or intent (as opposed to explicit)

                   Explicit-clearly revealed or expressed
     
    Propaganda- the spreading of ideas, information, or rumor for the purpose of helping or hurting a cause
     

    Bandwagon-a persuasive technique that attempts to get people to follow the crowd using the logical fallacy that since “everyone likes it”, it must be good

     

     

    ELEMENTS OF POETRY

     

    Epic- a narrative poem,usually about the heroic adventures and heroic deeds of a folk hero (e.g.,Homer’s “Iliad”)
     
    Lyric- a short poem that expresses personal feelings or emotions, often in a song-like style or form
     
    Sonnet-a poem consisting of 14 lines with a formal rhyme scheme which expresses a thought or feeling in a unified way
     
    Ballad- a narrative, often of folk origin and intended to be sung; consists of simple stanzas, usually with a refrain
     
    Elegy- a song or poem written as a lament for the dead
     
    Haiku-a style of Japanese poetry consisting of three unrhymed lines of 5,7,5 syllables; traditionally about nature or the seasons
     

    Free Verse- a style of poetry that has an irregular rhyme or line pattern; verse that is developed according to the author’s own style

     

    ELEMENTS OF FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE
     
    Simile- comparison of two unlike objects using like or as
     
    Metaphor- direct comparison of two unlike objects
     

    Personification- giving human attributes to non-human things

    Hyperbole- a figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or humor

    Idiom- expression that means something different that the words actually mean; understandable to a particular culture, language, or group of people (e.g. “let the cat out of the bag”)

     

     

    PARAGRAPHING TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

     

    Topic Sentence- providesclear and easily identifiable purpose and main idea
     
    Supporting Sentences- the details used in writing to prove, explain, or describe a topic
     
    Conclusion Sentence-summarizes or retells the main idea as an effective way to end
     
    Transitions-words or phrases that connect or tie ideas, words, sentences, or paragraphs together
     
    Introductory Paragraph- the first paragraph that grabs the reader’s attention, makes him or her want to read the rest of the composition, and states the main idea
     
    Thesis Statement-a statement that gives the main idea or focus of an essay
     

    Body Paragraph-the details used in paragraphs to prove, explain, or describe a topic; all paragraphs in the body work together to support the main idea

    Concluding Paragraph- the final paragraph that ties the ideas together and restates the main idea

     

     

     

     

     

     
     
     
    Last Modified on May 25, 2016