Context & Nuance
In the sentence, "After hiking ten miles in the Texas heat, Marcus was famished and ate three sandwiches," context clues show that famished means this.
A) Exhausted from walking
B) Extremely hungry
C) Sunburned and dizzy
D) Irritated by the weather
What is extremely hungry?
In an essay arguing that high schools should start at 9:00 AM so teenagers get more sleep, that main debatable opinion is called this.
A) The counterargument
B) The claim
C) The anecdote
D) The call to action
What is the claim (or thesis)?
Words like gloomy, shadow, creaking, and shiver in a story's opening paragraph create this type of mood.
What is a spooky, suspenseful, or dark mood?
Saying "My backpack weighs a thousand pounds today" uses extreme exaggeration, also known as this rhetorical device.
A) Understatement
B) Red herring
C) Overstatement (hyperbole)
D) Straw man
What strange overstatement (hyperbole)
Which words need to be capitalized in this sentence: "In october, our class took a field trip to the alamo in San Antonio."?
What is October and Alamo?
Both confident and arrogant describe someone who believes in themselves, but an author describing a team captain as arrogant gives the sentence this type of connotation (positive or negative).
What is a negative connotation?
If an informational article's thesis is "Solar energy is growing rapidly in Texas," the author should follow it with statistics, facts, and data—also known as this structural element.
A) A fictional story about the sun
B) A personal opinion about electricity bills
C) Supporting evidence such as statistics and data
D) A summary of unrelated wind farms
What is supporting evidence?
Calling a crowded hallway "chaotic" instead of "busy" uses stronger word choice (diction) to give the sentence a more stressful or negative version of this.
What is tone?
After getting caught in a massive thunderstorm and soaking his clothes, Jake says, "Well, it's a little damp outside." What rhetorical device is he using for humor?
A) Understatement
B) Overstatement
C) Straw man
D) Foreshadowing
What is understatement?
What is the best way to fix this run-on sentence: "I wanted to go to the Friday night football game, I had too much homework."
What is "I wanted to go to the Friday night football game, but I had too much homework"?
Clue: In the sentence, "The principal decided to table the dress code discussion until next month's meeting," the word table is used as a verb meaning this.
A) To permanently cancel a rule
B) To write down notes on a chart
C) To argue loudly about a policy
D) To postpone or put off until later
What is to postpone, delay, or put off until later?
In an article about the dangers of distracted driving, a paragraph describing the author's favorite pizza place should be cut because it is not this type of example.
What is an important, pertinent, or relevant example?
The clock ticked. 3... 2... 1... Time was up." Using very short sentences like these creates a fast-paced feeling of this.
What is urgency, tension, or suspense?
"I think our school needs healthier lunch options." Leo replies, "So you want to ban all snacks and force us to eat plain lettuce forever?" Which logical fallacy is Leo using?
A) Red herring
B) Understatement
C) Overstatement
D) Straw man
What is a straw man fallacy?
How should you revise this sentence to fix the faulty parallel structure: "My favorite hobbies are swimming, hiking, and to ride my bike."?
What is changing to ride my bike to riding my bike?
Read this sentence: "Even though the coach yelled at him, David remained stoic, keeping a calm expression and never complaining." Based on context, stoic means showing no sign of this.
A) Emotion or frustration
B) Athletic skill
C) Respect for authority
D) Understanding the rules
What is emotion, pain, or frustration?
Besides restating the thesis in a fresh way, a strong conclusion in an informational essay should leave the reader with this.
What is a final takeaway, big-picture thought, something to think about or why the topic matters?
An author writes a movie review using slang like "total snoozefest" and "epic fail" alongside exclamation points. This creates a casual, conversational type of this (voice or mood).
What is author's voice?
When asked why he didn't finish his group project, Sam replies, "Why are we talking about the project when the Wi-Fi in this school is always so slow?" Which logical fallacy is Sam using to change the subject?
A) Straw man
B) Red herring
C) Hyperbole
D) Understatement
What is a red herring fallacy?
What is the clearest way to combine these two sentences: "The storm knocked out the power. We lit candles and played board games."
"Because the storm knocked out the power, we lit candles and played board games"?
Read this sentence: "The singer's melancholy ballad left the audience wiping away tears, a sharp contrast to the jubilant pop song she sang next." Explain the difference in meaning between the two italicized words using context.
What is melancholy meaning sad/sorrowful, while jubilant means joyful/celebratory?
Instead of stating their main claim in the first paragraph, an author shares three real-life stories of people helped by local food banks before asking readers to donate in paragraph four. Why is waiting until paragraph four effective?
A) It hides the author's true purpose so readers feel tricked.
B) It builds empathy first so readers are more likely to agree with the claim.
C) It proves the author forgot to write a thesis statement.
D) It makes the essay longer without adding real information.
What is building empathy and trust with the reader first so they are more likely to agree with the claim?
Read this sentence: "We studied for weeks, made dozens of flashcards, stayed up until midnight, and still failed the quiz." How does the sentence structure make the ending feel funnier or more ironic?
What is listing three big efforts in a row to build up expectations before suddenly dropping to a disappointing ending?
Why is understatement considered a valid rhetorical device in writing, while a straw man is considered a logical fallacy?
What is understatement creating humor or emphasis without lying, while a straw man unfairly twists someone's argument?
Which revision makes this sentence clearer and less wordy: "Due to the fact that it was raining outside, the track meet was canceled."
What is "Because it was raining, the track meet was canceled"?