Sentences
This type of sentence is made by joining two independent thoughts with a comma and a conjunction like "and" or "but."
Compound sentence
This structure is used when an author explains how two things are alike and how they are different.
Compare and contrast
These are the specific facts, examples, or evidence that help "hold up" the main idea like the legs of a table.
supporting details
This comparison uses the words "like" or "as," such as "He is as brave as a lion."
simile
These are clues where the author provides a word that means the same thing nearby.
synonyms
This is the name for the punctuation mark that always comes before the coordinating conjunction in a compound sentence.
comma
If a text uses words like "first," "next," "then," and "finally," it is likely using this chronological structure.
Sequence/chronology
In many informational paragraphs, you can find the main idea written clearly in this specific sentence, often located at the very beginning.
This is a direct comparison that says one thing is another, like "The snow was a white blanket."
metaphor
These are clues where the author provides a word with the opposite meaning to help you understand.
antonyms
"Walking quickly to the park" is an example of this, because it is missing a subject or a predicate to make it a complete thought.
fragment
This structure describes an event and then explains the reasons why that event happened.
cause and effect
If a paragraph is about how to grow a garden, a sentence about the history of lawnmowers would be considered this type of detail.
unimportant/elaboration
"The stars winked at us from the night sky" gives human traits to non-human things, which is called this.
personification
In the sentence "The arid desert had no water and very few plants," arid most likely means this.
dry
A complex sentence is formed by joining an independent clause with one of these, which cannot stand alone as a sentence.
dependent clause/fragment
In this structure, the author identifies a struggle or a "hiccup" and then provides a way to fix it.
problem and solution
To find the main idea when it isn't stated directly, a reader must look at the details and make this, which is an educated guess based on evidence.
This is a common phrase that means something different than its literal words, like "Break a leg!"
idiom
In the sentence "Unlike my gregarious sister who loves parties, I am very shy," gregarious means this.
social or outgoing
This type of sentence contains one independent clause and at least one dependent clause starting with words like "after," "although," or "since."
complex
This structure provides details about a specific topic, person, or idea by using adjectives and characteristics to paint a picture in the reader's mind.
description
While the main idea is what a fiction story is about, this term refers to the underlying message, moral, or "big lesson" the author wants the reader to learn.
theme
This is a "play on words" that uses different meanings of a word or similar-sounding words to be funny, like "I’m reading a book about gravity; it’s impossible to put down."
pun
If a sentence says "The climber felt precarious as he hung by one hand," you can infer precarious means this.
unstable, dangerous, or unsteady