Vocabulary
If a host wants guests to feel relaxed, welcomed, and eager to talk with one another, the atmosphere should be described as
convivial
If a contract states that an agreement will continue without a specified end date, it will last
Indefinitely
If an argument is supported by reliable evidence and sound reasoning, it is considered
valid
The radiator hissed and clanked in the darkness, tick-tick-ticking as the pipes cooled.
onomatopoeia
Which rhetorical device is primarily used in the excerpt below?
“Studies from three independent universities show that schools implementing later start times saw a 20% increase in student attendance and improved test performance.”
logos
If a car’s engine is running while the vehicle remains parked and unmoving, it is
idling
If a career in medicine requires years of study, long shifts, and emotional resilience, that career ______ sacrifice and commitment.
entails
If a town heats its buildings using steam from underground hot springs, it relies on ______ energy.
geothermal
The silence in the courtroom hung like frost over a winter field, delicate yet suffocating.
simile
Which rhetorical device is most clearly used in this sentence?
“You can’t just sit there while innocent families suffer—you have a responsibility to act.”
direct address
If floodwaters slowly pull back from the shoreline after a storm, they are
receding
When engineers describe a single bolt as the part that keeps an entire bridge stable, they are emphasizing that it is ______.
crucial
When historians evaluate the policies carried out during a president’s time in office, they are analyzing that president’s ______.
administration
Silver strands of air quietly, silently float through the stillness of the sleeping city.
alliteration
What rhetorical device is being used in the following statement?
“This reckless and heartless decision has devastated hardworking citizens across the country.”
loaded words
A character standing alone at a train station after missing her last chance to leave might feel
forlorn
If astronauts must shield themselves from invisible energy emitted by the sun, they are protecting themselves from ______.
radiation
A scientist who is frequently cited in research journals and interviewed by national news outlets would be considered ______ in her field.
prominent
The ancient oak refused to surrender its leaves, clutching them stubbornly against the advancing chill of November.
personification
Which rhetorical device is used in the sentence below?
“How many more warnings will we ignore before we finally decide to listen?”
rhetorical question
If a writer pauses during a walk to reflect quietly on life’s uncertainties, she is
musing
If a witness provides a story that changes several times under questioning, the testimony may seem ______.
dubious
If constant technical glitches continue to disrupt an online learning platform, those issues ______ the system.
plague
Regret is a locked room with no windows, and memory is the only key that never quite fits.
metaphor
Which rhetorical device is used in this example?
“Imagine a child going to bed hungry each night, wondering if tomorrow will bring another empty plate.”
pathos