Find It or Figure It Out
If the text says, "The golden retriever barked," and you answer, "The dog barked," you are using this type of evidence that is directly on the page.
What is Explicit evidence? (or "Find It")
Another word for a "receipt" in English class—it's the exact sentence you pull directly from the text to prove your answer.
What is Textual Evidence?
"I couldn't believe my eyes when the spaceship landed." This sentence is written in this point of view.
What is First-Person?
If an informational paragraph begins with the phrase "For instance," its primary structural job is to provide this.
What is Providing Evidence?
This is the emotional feeling or atmosphere that the reader experiences while reading a text.
What is Mood?
This is the literal, strict dictionary definition of a word, without any emotion attached to it.
What is Denotation?
"Her smile was as bright as the sun" is an example of this figure of speech.
What is a Simile?
This is the very beginning of a narrative where the author introduces the characters, setting, and background information.
What is the Exposition?
"Maya gripped the edge of the diving board until her knuckles turned white." Recognizing that she is terrified without the author explicitly saying "she is terrified" is an example of making one of these.
What is an Inference? (or "Figure It Out")
Claim: The hiker was physically exhausted. Which is the stronger receipt?
A) "The mountain trail was ten miles long."
B) "His legs felt like heavy lead and he gasped for air."
What is B?
"Leo felt a surge of pride, while across the room, his rival, Sam, boiled with jealousy." This uses the "drone camera" perspective known as this.
What is Third-Person Omniscient?
If an author uses a paragraph to acknowledge the opposing side of the issue by saying "Some critics argue...", they are addressing this.
What is Addressing Counterarguments?
This is the author's attitude toward the subject or the audience. (e.g., sarcastic, serious, passionate).
What is Tone?
This is the emotional feeling, cultural idea, or "vibe" attached to a word.
What is Connotation?
"The wind howled in the night, scratching its claws against the door" is an example of this.
What is Personification?
Without this driving force—the main problem or struggle the character faces—there is no story.
What is the Conflict?
If a test asks you what time of year a story takes place, and the text says, "Crunchy orange and brown leaves blanketed the sidewalk," your logical inference is this season.
What is Fall/Autumn?
If an evidence option is somewhat related to the claim but doesn't fully prove it on its own, it is called this kind of support.
What is Partial Support?
First-person narrators are "restricted" because they cannot do this.
What is Read other characters' minds / see what happens when they aren't there?
In an article about deep-sea diving, Paragraph 1 explains what the word "Bioluminescence" means before the author talks about the fish. Paragraph 1's structural job is to do this.
What is Define a Key Term / Provide Foundation?
"The golden sun danced on the sparkling waves as the children giggled on the shore." The mood of this sentence is best described as this.
What is Joyful / Cheerful / Happy?
Between the words "Curious" and "Nosy," this word has a negative connotation.
What is Nosy?
"The classroom was a zoo the moment the substitute teacher walked in" is an example of this figure of speech.
What is a Metaphor?
This is the highest point of tension or the major turning point in a story that changes the protagonist's fate forever.
What is the Climax?
This is the term for a multiple-choice answer that is 100% explicitly stated in the text, but is a trap because it doesn't answer the specific question being asked.
What is a Trick-True? (It's a true detail, but doesn't answer the prompt).
Claim: The storm was highly destructive. Which of these is the Trick-True distractor?
A) "The hurricane ripped the roof off the middle school."
B) "The local news anchor said the storm started on Tuesday afternoon."
What is B?
Read this text: "As the test was passed out, Derek tapped his pencil nervously, while Sarah smiled, secretly knowing she would get an A." This text uses this Point of View.
What is Third-Person Omniscient?
Paragraph 1: Electric cars save gas. Paragraph 2: However, manufacturing their batteries is very expensive. Paragraph 2 contributes to the text by adding this to the argument.
What is Complexity / Nuance / A Limitation?
"The principal crossed his arms, glared over his glasses, and tapped his foot impatiently." The tone here is best described as this.
What is Strict / Authoritative / Stern / Angry?
To create a positive tone about a character who saves money, an author should describe them as "thrifty" instead of this negative "C-word."
What is Cheap?
"I have a million hours of homework to do tonight!" is an example of this extreme exaggeration used for effect.
What is Hyperbole?
In Chapter 3, the author pauses the current action to tell the story of how the main character got a scar on his arm when he was five years old. This structural technique is called this.
What is a Flashback?
Read this: "Elias stared at the giant red 'F' on his math test, crumpled it up, and shoved it deep into his backpack just before his friends walked over." Make a logical inference about why he shoved it in his backpack.
What is "He is embarrassed/doesn't want his friends to see he failed"?
Claim: Chloe is a very generous friend. Provide a fictional sentence that would act as "Direct Support" (the strongest receipt) for this exact claim.
What is [Any sentence showing Chloe giving or sacrificing something for a friend, e.g., "Chloe gave Sarah her last ten dollars so she could buy lunch."]?
Read this: "David started to feel an unsettling chill creep up his spine as the clerk seemed to follow him throughout the aisles. He wondered why he was being tailed so persistently." This text uses this Point Of View
What is Third-Person Limited?
If you remove a paragraph full of statistics and the author's central idea suddenly has no proof, that paragraph was doing this to the idea.
What is Advancing it / Supporting it?
If an author wants to change the tone of a scene from "calm" to "terrifying," they don't have to change the plot; they only have to change this.
What is their Word Choice / Diction / Connotation?
"The car was a vintage classic" vs. "The car was an old clunker." Changing "vintage classic" to "old clunker" changes the connotation in this direction.
What is From Positive to Negative?
"Crash!", "Bang!", and "Hiss" are all examples of this sound-based figurative language.
What is Onomatopoeia?
This plot element is a series of events that build suspense, complicate the conflict, and lead directly up to the climax.
What is the Rising Action?