Grammar & Mechanics
This punctuation mark is used to separate items in a list or pause between thoughts.
What is a comma?
"The wind whispered through the trees" is an example of this device.
What is personification?
The text structure that describes events in the order that they happened, step-by-step.
What is chronological order? (Acceptable: sequential order)
Words that have the same, or almost the exact same, meaning as one another.
What are synonyms?
The very first step in the writing process where you brainstorm ideas, outline, and organize your thoughts.
What is prewriting? (Acceptable: planning)
A word that describes or modifies a verb, an adjective, or another adverb (often ending in -ly).
What is an adverb?
A direct comparison between two unlike things using the words "like" or "as."
What is a simile?
A text organized by describing a challenging issue and then explaining how to fix it.
What is problem and solution?
The prefix "pre-" (as in preview or prepay) means this.
What is before?
A sentence, usually located at the end of the first paragraph, that clearly states the main point or argument of your entire essay.
What is a thesis statement? (Acceptable: a claim)
"Its" shows possession, while "it's" is a contraction for these two words.
What is "it is"?
The underlying central message, moral, or lesson of a literary text.
What is the theme?
Signal words like "because," "therefore," "consequently," and "as a result" are clues for this text structure.
What is cause and effect?
Using the surrounding sentences and paragraphs to figure out the meaning of an unknown word.
What are context clues?
Facts, statistics, quotes, and examples used from a passage to support your claim.
What is evidence?
A sentence that contains an independent clause and at least one dependent clause.
What is a complex sentence?
An extreme exaggeration not meant to be taken literally, such as "I've told you a million times."
What is hyperbole?
A text that points out the similarities and differences between two or more topics.
What is compare and contrast?
The strict, literal dictionary definition of a word, as opposed to its emotional feeling or connotation.
What is denotation?
Fixing spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes happens during this final phase of the writing process.
What is editing? (Acceptable: proofreading)
This grammatical error occurs when two independent clauses are joined together without the proper punctuation or a conjunction.
What is a run-on sentence? (Acceptable: comma splice)
This occurs when the audience or reader knows something important that the characters in the story do not know.
What is dramatic irony?
Visual features like bold print, italics, headings, and sidebars are used by authors to help readers quickly identify this.
What is the main idea? (Acceptable: key information)
The Latin root word "dict" (found in words like dictionary, predict, and dictate) means this.
What is to speak? (Acceptable: to say)
In an argumentative essay, acknowledging the opposing side's argument before proving why your side is better is called this.
What is a counterclaim? (Acceptable: opposing claim)