Literary Elements
The underlying message or big idea of a book, film, or other work of fiction
What is theme?
An appeal to emotion
What is Pathos?
"The morning sun was like a gold coin dropped into a slot of blue sky." Identify the figurative language used here.
What is a Simile?
the most important thoughts/unifying elements of a non-fiction/informational text
What is the Central Idea?
A character refuses to look in the mirror after making a difficult choice. What does this action imply about their internal conflict?
What is Guilt or Self-Loathing ?
Which is correct: "Each of the players has/have a jersey"?
What is has? (Singular subject)
Presents the struggle between two sides due to a disagreement in values, desires, motivations etc
Whta is conflict?
A salesperson uses a chart showing that their product is 50% cheaper and lasts twice as long as the competitor.
What is Logos?
In "The Tell-Tale Heart," the narrator claims his sense of hearing was so sharp that he "heard all things in the heaven and in the earth" and "many things in" this specific, fiery place. Name the literary device.
What is Hyperbole?
Clue: A text like Night is categorized as this—a personal account of a specific period in the author's life.
What is a Memoir?
"Everyone is buying this new phone, so it must be the best one on the market." What is this fallacy called?
What is Bandwagon?
Fix the pronoun: "If a person wants to succeed, they must work hard."
What is he or she? (Traditional) or they (Modern).
This is symbolic for Intense guilt from The Tell-Tale Heart .......
What is the heartbeat?
A political candidate mentions their twenty years of military service and their reputation for honesty to convince voters they are the right choice.
What is Ethos?
In Macbeth, the line "Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage" is a famous example of this.
What is a Metaphor?
An author who is a lifelong environmental activist writes an article about a new highway project, focusing entirely on the destruction of local habitats. This specific "filter" through which the author sees the subject is known as __________.
What is Author’s Perspective (or Point of View)?
"If we let students use their phones in the hallway, pretty soon they’ll be using them during exams, and then nobody will ever learn anything again!" Identify the fallacy.
What is Slippery Slope?
Does this sentence need a comma? "Because the storm was approaching we cancelled the hike."
What is Yes (after "approaching")?
This type of irony occurs when Macbeth believes he is invincible because of the witches' prophecies, but the audience knows they are tricking him.
Dramatic Irony
Why might an author use a Rhetorical Question at the very end of an argumentative or persuasive essay?
What is to leave the reader with a "call to action" or deep reflection?
In Night, Elie Wiesel describes the air as "smelling of burning flesh." This use of specific sensory details to create a vivid mental picture is known as __________.
What is Imagery?
The way a text is organized—examples include Chronological, Problem/Solution, and Compare/Contrast.
What is text structure?
A fire station burning down or a tow truck being towed are examples of this specific type of irony.
What is Situational Irony?
Fix the misplaced modifier: "The narrator stalked the old man with the vulture eye creeping silently through the dark hallway."
What is "Creeping silently through the dark hallway, the narrator stalked the old man with the vulture eye"?
Clue: The "weird sisters" in Macbeth provide this literary device, hinting at the tragic end of the play.
Foreshadowing
In a debate, someone attacks their opponent's haircut instead of their argument. What is the name of this logical fallacy?
What is Ad Hominem or Name Calling?
"Parting is such sweet sorrow" is an example of this, where two opposite words are put together.
What is an Oxymoron?
A reporter describes a new law as a "disastrous, short-sighted scheme" rather than a "legislative amendment." What is the reporter demonstrating through this specific word choice?
What is Bias? (or Slanted/Loaded Language)
A conspiracy theorist points to one blurry photo as "absolute proof" that the moon landing was faked, ignoring thousands of photos and physical samples. This is an example of this logical fallacy.
What is a Hasty Generalization? (Or Cherry Picking)
Use a Semicolon to fix this: "I love Italian food however I dislike pasta."
What is food; however, I
Placing two contrasting ideas or images side-by-side to highlight their differences.
Juxtaposition
A speaker repeats the phrase "We shall fight" at the start of every sentence to build momentum and passion. What device is this?
What is Anaphora /Parallelism/Repetition?
"He was a real Romeo when he brought her those flowers." Identify the device.
What is an allusion?
Based on the informational text "Maybe Mean Girls' Mental Games Have a Purpose," Evolutionary psychologists argue this.......
What is Relational Aggression? A specific form of non-physical manipulation—often involving rumors or social "ghosting"—is used by females to minimize the risk of "maternal injury" while still asserting dominance.
Nature’s First Green is Gold
Her hardest hue to hold. Her early leaf’s a flower; But only so an hour." — Robert Frost
What would be an appropiate theme statement for these lines?
What is the theme is impermanence—the idea that nothing beautiful or "golden" can last forever?
Correct the dangling modifier: "Having analyzed the conspiracy theories for hours, the moon landing evidence began to seem much more complex."
What is "Having analyzed the conspiracy theories for hours, the researchers found that the moon landing evidence began to seem more complex"?
(Explanation: The evidence didn't analyze the theories; the researchers did.)