Easy Literary Analysis Terms
Giving human attributes to a non-human thing.
What is personification?
This is, typically, the first sentence of every body paragraph, and it tells the reader what the rest of the paragraph is going to be about.
What is a topic sentence?
This is a paragraph in a poem.
What is a stanza?
This is another word for a main or independent clause; it can stand on its own.
What is a simple sentence/complete sentence?
Use this strategy when you are answering multiple choice questions.
What is QUEST?
This expresses the author's/speaker's attitude towards the subject they are focusing on.
What is tone?
This is the term for the way an author's word choices or patterns of words affect the reader.
What is mood?
True or False: Poems have themes.
What is true?
This sentence contains one independent clause and one dependent clause.
What is a complex sentence?
When working on short answer questions, up to two paragraphs in length, use this paragraph construction.
What is RACES?
This is the moral of the story; it expresses universal human life lessons without using specific names or details from a single text.
That is theme?
This is the last sentence of your essay. It tells the reader what they must do if they agree with your position.
What is the conclusion?
Language that writer's use that requires analysis to discover its hidden meaning; the opposite of literal language.
What is figurative language?
This sentence contains at least one dependent clause and two independent clauses.
What is a compound-complex sentence?
After reading the question and underlining the important terms, you should do this when using the QUEST strategy.
What is eliminate wrong answers?
This term describes the one-sentence summary of a text that includes names and details from the text.
What is central idea?
From the Greek word meaning "over, above," this term describes outrageous exaggerations or statements that cannot be taken literally.
What is hyperbole?
Unlike other forms of writing, poetry often includes words that sound alike or have the same number of beats.
What is rhyme or rhythm?
This clause contains a subject and a verb, yet it cannot stand on its own because it, usually, begins with a subordinating conjunction.
What is a dependent clause?
It may seem simple, but many test takers fail to do this before answering text-based questions.
What is read the text?
This figure of speech compares one thing to another, and it uses the words "like" or "as" in its comparisons.
What is a simile?
In a text, this is the term used to describe whether the perspective of first, second, or third person voice.
What is the point of view?
This type of language allows the reader to imagine the action with their five senses.
What is sensory language or imagery?
This sentence contains two independent clauses joined together by a comma plus a coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS) or a semicolon.
What is a compound sentence?
Turn this question into the "R" part of the RACES method for writing paragraphs: Who here is capable of focusing and avoiding frustration while testing?
What is "Everyone here is capable of focusing and avoiding frustration while testing."