Level 1 Words
What does it mean to "identify" something? How might you "identify" when a character is feeling sad in a text?
To identify is to find by noting specific features or characteristics. You may identify a character as feeling sad if they are described as frowning, crying, or have dialogue/thoughts expressing sadness.
What does it mean to "summarize" something?
You give only the essential information about something and leave out minor details.
What is "figurative language?" What are some examples?
Figurative language is language that can't be taken literally. Examples include similes, metaphors, personification, alliteration, hyperboles, idioms, etc.
What 3 things do you need in your introductory paragraph for your essay?
Hook, Background, Thesis
What are personal pronouns? Why do we avoid them in essays?
They make you sound less professional and objective.
You've been asked to "demonstrate" your understanding of the themes in a passage. What does it mean to "demonstrate" your understanding?
You describe, explain, or show your understanding with clear examples.
What is "evidence?" How can "evidence" be used to help you with your writing?
Evidence is any information used to prove or disprove a point, any information which helps make what you're saying more clear, or any facts/research to support your writing.
What does it mean to "cite" information from a text?
You quote specific information from a text to support your point, either word for word or by paraphrasing.
What is a thesis statement and what are the steps for writing one?
*Bonus: where does it go?
A thesis is the controlling idea/opinion of your paper. You must take your opinion, plus 2-3 reasons why you have that opinion, and combine them into one sentence to form a thesis statement.
Bonus: It is the last sentence in your introductory paragraph.
What is a protagonist? What is an antagonist? (Clue, this is in fiction!)
A protagonist is the main character/hero
An antagonist is the villain or the person who works against the main character.
What is the difference between "comparing" and "contrasting?"
To compare is to show how two things are alike.
To contrast is to show how two things are different.
What is the difference between "explicit" information in a text and "implicit" information?
Explicit information is clearly stated and direct, there is no room for interpretation. (Ex. A character is described as the protagonist's "arch nemesis," revealing that he is the villain.)
Implicit information is suggested or implied to the reader without being directly stated. (Ex. A character is shown to be suspicious; it may be implied that they are the villain, but it may not be directly stated to the reader.)
What is context? How might you use context clues to determine the meaning of an unknown word?
Context is the set of circumstances or facts surrounding a particular event, situation, etc.
You can use the information given to you to find out what part of speech a word is and use factors like tone or subject matter to try to determine a particular word's meaning.
Explain the process of writing an OREO paragraph. Include how many sentences should be used.
You start with your opinion (1 sentence).
You follow that up with a reason for your opinion (1 sentence).
Next, you provide your evidence/examples/explanation (2-3 sentences).
Last, you provide a conclusion sentence stating your final opinion on the topic (1 sentence).
What is a claim?
An opinion that is asserted as if it is a fact.
(Cookies are better than cake.)
You've been asked to "support" your answer to a question How might a student "support" their answer?
They should use evidence from the passage/text includes quotes or other specific info to justify their answer.
What does it mean to find the "central idea" or "main idea" of a text? What must you think about to find the central or main idea?
The central or main idea is the author's most important idea; it is what the passage is really about. Is typically worded as a one sentence summary of the text.
What does it mean to "analyze" a text? If I asked you to "analyze" Snowball's character in Animal Farm, what would you do?
To analyze is to break something down and examine it in depth in order to determine its meaning. To analyze Snowball's character, I would take a close look at all of his actions, his dialogue, and what other character said about him to be able to describe who he is and what his role was in Animal Farm.
Explain how a counterclaim and rebuttal works in an essay. Where does it go?
A counterclaim is when the writer provides the opposite point of view in their essay. They provide the opposing argument so that they can refute the counterclaim with a rebuttal, making their own argument stronger. The 2 counterclaims and 2 rebuttals are included in the 3rd body paragraph.
What are "key details" in a text?
Specific details or facts support or further explain the main idea.
(Ex. Main idea: How dentists can help children stop being afraid of going to the dentist's office.
Key Detail: By building strong relationships and making a personal connection with the kid, a dentist can ease the child's anxiety when coming into the office.)
Determine the central theme of Animal Farm. Support your answer with details.
Ex. The central theme of Animal Farm is greed because the pigs promise equality to all until they get a taste for power. They then continue to take more and more for themselves, giving less and less to the other animals out of their own greed.
What does is mean to "infer" something based on the text? If I ask you to "infer" how a character's actions will affect them later in the story, how would you do that?
To infer is to make an educated guess; you try to figure out information based on what may be limited evidence.
I would look at the character's actions and how they are currently affecting that character and those around them, and then I would make an educated guess based on the information I have to form an inference as to how those actions would affect them in the future.
What does it mean to evaluate or assess an author's claim?
When you evaluate or assess an author's claim, you make a judgement on whether their opinion/statement is credible, believable, and/or based in fact. You can do this by looking for supporting evidence like facts, research, statistics, and quotes that the author uses to support what he/she is saying.
Compare/contrast the structure of an argumentative essay with an informative essay.
In informative essay, the three body paragraphs are written to elaborate on the three main points in the thesis statement.
In an argumentative essay, the third body paragraph has counterclaims and rebuttals.
Everything else is the same.
What does the word "perspective" mean? What does "perspective" look like in a non-fiction text versus a literary (fictional) text?
Perspective means a position or point of view. In a literary text, this can be first person (I, me, my), second person (you, your, yours), or third person limited/third person omniscient (they, them, he, him, she, her, etc.)
In a non-fiction text, perspective can be arguing for a certain point of view or opinion (argumentative writing) or it can be educational, providing a particular perspective on a topic that is then explained in writing (informative writing).