Elements of Literature
Nonfiction Literature
Text Structures
Poetry & Figurative Language
Writing
100
A narrative text's protagonist decides to purchase a machine that will erase all of her memories. She realizes before using it, however, that it will erase not only her negative memories, but also her positive ones. She cannot decide whether or not to use the machine. In literature, the above problem is an example of this.
What is internal conflict
100
This term refers to the main idea/point/argument that an informative or argumentative text makes.
What is central idea?
100
A narrative--whether it is a poem or a short story--will use this type of structure to tell events in the order in which they occur
What is chronological order
100
"The buzz-saw snarled and rattled in the yard And made dust and dropped stove-length sticks of wood, Sweet-scented stuff when the breeze drew across it. And from there those that lifted eyes could count" Using THIS technique (seen in Robert Frost's "Out, Out"), language may be either figurative or literal, but the text uses words that appeal to the five senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell).
What is imagery/descriptive language
100
These two paragraphs should be included at the beginning and end of an essay to help organize the text and keep the writer focused.
What is an Introduction and Conclusion
200
This term describes the overall attitude or emotion that a speaker conveys while telling a story
What is tone
200
In the following excerpt from a House Bill, THIS type of language is used: (i) If by reason of resignation or termination the office of superintendent for the Aberdeen School District becomes vacant during the applicable moratorium period as determined by its date of release from conservatorship, the school board, in establishing the salary of the newly appointed or elected superintendent of schools, shall not compensate said person in an amount exceeding the salary of the immediate preceding superintendent.
What is formal or technical?
200
Both Edgar Allen Poe's poem "The Raven" and Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech use THIS rhetorical device to create effect.
What is repetition?
200
"Earth felt the wound; and Nature from her seat, Sighing, through all her works, gave signs of woe." These lines from "Paradise Lost" by John Milton are an example of THIS literary device.
What is personification?
200
In an essay, these types of phrases are used to join together ideas and can be found at the beginning, end, and within the text of paragraphs. (Examples: in other words, for example, on the other hand)
What are transitions?
300
When reading a story or poem, a reader should consider the major events and topic to determine the big idea that the writer is trying to make about life, which is called THIS.
What is theme?
300
This type of writing, often used in expository essays and scientific reports, does not show favoritism or contain personal opinions.
What is objective/unbiased?
300
This rhetorical technique is often used in speeches and arguments to help a reader understand a complex idea or emphasize points. It involves using similar grammatical form in a series of phrases, sentences, or paragraphs.
What is parallelism?
300
In poetry, colors often represent emotions or abstract concepts, for example: White- purity/innocence Black/Red- death or evil Green- greed/jealousy or nature/newness When used this way, colors serve as THIS.
What are symbols?
300
In the following prompt, THIS type of essay is required: Analyze the character of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol, and evaluate the effectiveness of the use of text structure to affect Scrooge's character.
What is an expository/informative essay?
400
In the following passage from "The Tell-Tale Heart," the Edgar Allen Poe uses pacing to create THIS: When I had waited a long time, very patiently, without hearing him lie down, I resolved to open a little --a very, very little crevice in the lantern. So I opened it --you cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily --until, at length a simple dim ray, like the thread of the spider, shot from out the crevice and fell full upon the vulture eye.
What is tension/mystery/surprise?
400
In THIS type of writing, an author describes true accounts of real events in the form of a narrative.
What is a memoir/biography/autobiography?
400
Both of these literary techniques disrupt the order of a narrative; one takes the reader to the past, and the other takes the reader to the future.
What are flashback and flash-forward?
400
'You can't cry over spilled milk! ' my mother always said. 'Life's not a piece of cake! ' she hammered in my head. 'That's the way it goes, ' that's the way the cookie crumbles' John Randal's poem contains three examples of this literary device.
What is an idiom?
400
George is writing an argument essay about the importance of exercising on a regular basis for maintaining health. He includes a paragraph that explains how some people can maintain a healthy weight without exercise but that healthy weight does not always indicate overall health. In adding this this statement, George has included THIS for his argument.
What is a counterclaim?
500
Based on the word choice used in the following Langston Hughes stanza, other than characterization, a reader can make an inference about THIS literary element. I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong.
What is setting (time & place)?
500
When answering questions about a nonfiction passage that asks to choose a quote as evidence, this is what the reader should do before selecting an answer.
What is read the paragraphs that contain each quote?
500
When prewriting for an essay or analyzing the structure of a text, one of these can be used to help organize the main ideas and details.
What is an outline or graphic organizer?
500
Thank Heaven! the crisis, The danger is past, And the lingering illness Is over at last, And the fever called "Living" Is conquered at last.. These lines from Edgar Allen Poe's "For Annie" is an example of THIS. (Hint- "Living" is described as an illness that is cured by death)
What is irony/paradox?
500
A student wrote an essay preparing for the state test. He included an effective introduction, body and conclusion, varied his sentence structures, and used correct grammar. He only received 2 out of 4 points for Ideas and Details, and his teacher wrote: "Don't just summarize- provide proof!" The student failed to include THIS important element in his writing.
What is textual evidence/direct quotes?