Literary Terms
What is the struggle between opposing forces in a story called?
Conflict
What does the word vivid mean?
Bright, clear, or detailed
What part of speech is a word that names a person, place, thing, or idea?
Noun
What do we call the sentence that tells the main idea of an essay?
The thesis statement.
What is a synonym?
A word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word.
What do we call the central message or lesson of a story?
Theme
If a character is described as resilient, what does that mean?
They are able to recover quickly from difficulties.
What type of sentence is this: “Wow! That was amazing!”
Exclamatory sentence
What should every paragraph begin with?
A topic sentence.
What is an antonym?
A word that means the opposite of another word.
Giving human qualities to non-human things is called what?
Personification
What does meticulous mean?
Showing great attention to detail; very careful.
Which is correct: Their going to the game or They’re going to the game?
They’re going to the game.
What is the purpose of a concluding sentence or paragraph?
To wrap up ideas and give a sense of closure.
If “bene-” means good, what does “beneficial” mean?
Something that is good or helpful.
The use of hints or clues about what will happen later in the story is known as what?
Foreshadowing
What does inevitable mean?
Certain to happen; unavoidable.
Identify the subject and verb in this sentence: “The dog barked loudly.”
Subject = dog; Verb = barked
Name two types of evidence you can use to support your ideas in writing.
Quotes from texts, examples, facts, statistics, or personal experiences.
What is the process of using clues in the text to figure out the meaning of an unfamiliar word?
Using context clues
What is the difference between simile and metaphor?
A simile compares two unlike things using like or as (example: Her smile was as bright as the sun). A metaphor compares two unlike things directly, without like or as (example: Her smile was the sun).
What does ambiguous mean?
Open to more than one interpretation; unclear.
Combine these two sentences into one using a conjunction: “I like to read. I don’t like to write.”
I like to read, but I don’t like to write.
What are the three parts of a strong paragraph?
Topic sentence, supporting details/evidence, and concluding sentence.
The prefix anti- means “against” or “opposite.” What does the word antibiotic mean based on this prefix?
A medicine that works against (kills or stops) bacteria.