Literary Terms
Readers do this when they read context clues and make a guess or prediction about the text.
Ex: She stomped inside, slammed the door, and screamed.
What is infer?
This is when the author gives something nonhuman human characteristics.
What is personification?
Tommy went to the store and I went to the park. What does this sentence need?
What is a comma?
When writing your essays, you need this to back up your claims.
What is evidence?
__________ is when the author presents a memory to explain a character's motives. __________ is when the author hints at what is going to happen in the future.
What is flashback and foreshadowing?
Authors use this to paint the scene in the reader's mind. It utilizes our five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell).
What is imagery?
________ is a comparison using like or as. ________ is a comparision without using like or as.
What is a simile and metaphor?
Because I love cheesecake. I ate the entire thing.
How can you fix this fragment?
What is add a comma?
This is what you need after a quote because without it, you "hit and run" your reader.
What is explanation?
This is the central message of the story.
Ex: Love is all around.
What is theme?
The _________ is the dictionary definition of the word. _______ is the emotional meaning of the word.
Hot: Change in temperature vs. attractiveness
This is when the audience knows something that the characters do not.
Ex: We know Mary Maloney murdered her husband, but the detectives do not.
What is dramatic irony?
_________ is a type of sentence that relies on another sentence to make sentence. _____________ is a type of sentence that can stand on its own.
What is dependent and independent?
What is a capital letter and a period?
There are seven main types of this.
EX: Man vs. Man
Man vs. Self
What is conflict?
This is the author's emotions portrayed through word choice (diction) and sentence structure (syntax).
What is tone?
This is when the author presents a sentence with words that start in the same way.
Ex: While I nodded, nearly napping.
What is alliteration?
Sarah is a talented musician. She plays the cello.
How could you combine these two sentences?
What is Sarah, a talented musician, plays the cello?
What is a personal connection?
On the plot diagram, this is where the tension peaks.
What is climax?
This is the reason why the author wrote his story.
Ex: Persuade, Inform, Entertain
What is author's purpose?
This is when the author presents an object or image, which represents something else.
Ex: A heart sometimes represents love
What is a symbol?
Alvin sang the lead; _______________, Theodore claimed he would sing it better.
What transitional word/ phrase fits best here?
What is however?
This is a writing method that you should follow when answering your prompts.
This is when we have two characters who are exact opposites from one another.
Ex: Woody and Buzz
What is character foil?