Literary Terms
This is the central message or insight about life in a text.
What is theme?
The viewpoint or lens through which a story is told, shaped by a narrator's or character's personal experiences, beliefs, and emotions
What is perspective?
Use a comma to fix this sentence:
Before the movie started we bought popcorn.
What is
Before the movie started, we bought popcorn.
The main argument or controlling idea of a piece of writing
What is a thesis?
A comparison using like or as.
What is a simile?
A struggle between opposing forces is known as this literary element.
What is conflict?
True or False: The author sets the tone of a piece of writing.
What is true?
Identify the sentence that correctly uses a semicolon:
A. I love summer; and I can’t wait for break.
B. I love summer; it’s my favorite season.
C. I love summer it’s my favorite season.
What is B?
A type of writing that explains, informs, or analyzes.
What is expository writing?
Repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words.
What is alliteration?
A universal, recurring symbol, character, theme, or plot pattern that represents fundamental human experiences, deeply embedded in the "collective unconscious" and appearing across different cultures and time periods
What is an archetype?
The moment of greatest tension in a story is this plot element.
What is the climax?
Add a colon where needed:
She packed everything for the trip sunscreen a towel snacks and sunglasses.
What is
She packed everything for the trip: sunscreen, a towel, snacks, and sunglasses.
To credit sources and avoid plagiarism, writers must do this.
What is cite their sources?
A poem’s pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables
What is meter?
When the audience knows something the character does not, this is the type of irony.
What is dramatic irony?
The main reason an author writes a text, their goal or intent
What is author's purpose?
Which sentence uses commas correctly?
A. My brother who lives in Texas, is visiting.
B. My brother, who lives in Texas is visiting.
C. My brother, who lives in Texas, is visiting.
What is C
This organizational pattern focuses on similarities and differences.
What is compare and contrast?
A figure of speech where an object or idea is given human characteristics.
What is personification?
This narrative perspective uses “he,” “she,” and “they,” but only reveals one character’s thoughts.
What is third-person limited?
When an author shows a character’s personality through actions, speech, and interactions rather than stating it directly, this type of characterization is being used.
What is indirect characterization?
Choose the correct punctuation:
I studied for hours I still didn’t pass the test.
What is
I studied for hours; I still didn’t pass the test.
This organizational strategy places ideas in the order in which events occurred, often used in narratives and historical writing.
What is chronological order?
A reference to a well-known person, event, or text.
What is an allusion?