PSSA Vocab Set 1
placing together characters, situations or ideas to show common or differing features in literary selections Example: similarities
What is Compare?
To compare or appraise differences
Example: differences
What is Contrast?
The author's central thought; the topic sentence of a paragraph
Example: In yesterday’s softball game, the seventh grade pounded the eighth grade.
What is the Main Idea?
a figure of speech that expresses an idea through the image of another object.
Example: The lake was a moonlit mirror.
What is a Metaphor?
a comparison of two unlike things in which a word of comparison like or as is used
Example: She eats like a bird. She is as quick as a fox.
What is Simile?
the portion of a story following a climax, in which the conflict is resolved
Example: End of story
What is a Resolution?
a judgment based on a personal point of view.
Example: not presenting both sides of an issue fairly
What is a Bias?
a word that is the opposite of another word.
Example: sharp and dull, hot and cold
What is an Antonym?
the story of a person's life written by himself or herself
Title: Bill Peet An Autobiography Author: Bill Peet
What is an Autobiography?
a struggle of clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions.
What is Conflict/Problem?
Personal point of view; relates events as they are perceived by a single character.
Example: I, we, us, me, us
What is First Person?
The angle from which a story is told; dependent upon who is telling the story.
Examples: First person: one of the characters is telling the story
Third person: someone outside the story is telling the story
What is Point of View?
a device in literature where an object represents an idea.
Example: Dove=Peace, Donkey = Democratic Party
What is Symbolism.
a literary work based on the imagination and not necessarily on fact.
Example: Harry Potter Series
What is Fiction.
one of two or more words in a language that have highly similar meanings.
Example: sorrow, grief, sadness
What is a Synonym
the action of the story. consists of: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution
What is the Plot.
The prevailing emotions of a work or of the author in his or her creation of the work
Example: humor, frustration, sadness
What is Mood.
an object or abstract idea given human qualities or human form
Example: The flowers danced about the lawn
What is Personification.
Cause statements stem from actions and events, and effects are what happen as a result of the action or event.
Example: You stayed up late studying for a test; therefore, you are tired the next day
What is Cause and Effect?
The method an author uses to reveal characters and their various personalities.
Example: How the narrator describes the character: mean, nervous, confident…
What is Characterization.
the turning point in a narrative; the moment when the conflict is most intense
What is the Climax?
Daily Double:
language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling.
Example: personification, simile, alliteration, metaphor, hyperbole, imagery
What is Figurative Language?
Uses you, your, and/or yours to address a reader. Usually found in self-help books or step-by-step instructions.
Example: If you want to loose weight, you need need to exercise every day
What is 2nd person point of view
The attitude of the author toward the audience and characters.
Example: sarcastic, unhappy, humorous, optimistic
What is Tone?
To make an overstatement or to stretch the truth.
Example: “I'm so hungry, I can eat a horse."
What is an Exaggeration.