Mr. Rodriguez

English III

Benchmark Study Guide

Know the definition to these Vocabulary Words:

  • ab-
  • colloquial
  • equivocal
  • wanton
  • juxtaposition
  • omnipotent
  • path-
  • superfluous
  • perpetual
  • repression
  • garrulous
  • elusive
  • prudence
  • incredulously
  • salutary
  • lulled
  • deference
  • ingratiating
  • apparition
  • voc-

Know the definition to these Literary Terms:

  • Point of view
  • Author’s style
  • Gothic literature
  • Omniscient Point of view
  • Stream of Consciousness
  • Synecdoche
  • Inference
  • Direct characterization
  • Puritan Plain Style
  • Symbol
  • Allegory
  • Single Effect
  • Situational irony
  • Metaphor
  • Tone
  • Imagism
  • Dramatic irony
  • Sonnet
  • Origin Myth
  • Oratory

Know the following information from Native Americans, Puritans, Revolutionary Literature:

  • Know the origin stories, poems, and essays we read and who wrote them for these three sections
  • Know three themes of early American writing (taken from PowerPoint)
  • Know what made the Modoc Sky Spirit so mad and his punishment
  • Know the most important element that gives life according to the Navajo Origin Legend
  • Know the lasting impression that Puritans left on Americans (taken from PowerPoint)
  • Know “To My Dear and Loving Husband” and the one thing that can match the speaker’s love for her husband
  • Know the intention of the sermon“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God”, and the images given to influence listeners
  • Know the persuasive appealthat Thomas Jefferson uses to persuades colonists in “The Declaration of Independence”

Romanticism/Transcendentalism:

  • Know the years that Romanticism took place
  • Know what Romanticism is rebelling against
  • Know the characteristics of Romanticism
  • Know the main principles of transcendentalism and the years it took place (PowerPoint)
  • Know the author of “from Nature” and “from Walden” and the main points they tried to make in their essays
  • Know the kind of genre Edgar Allan Poe represents
  • Know the setting of “The Fall of the House of Usher” and what the title symbolizes

Realism:

  • Know what realism is rebelling against
  • Know the characteristics of Realism and the years it took place
  • Know who wrote “An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge”, why the man is being hanged, and the strange thing that happens and be able to explain the truth about what really happened
  • Know who wrote “The Story of an Hour”, what happens in the story, and why/how Mrs. Mallard dies in the end.

Know the following information from The Adventures of Huck Finn:

(much of this information is found on the Huck Finn packet handout)

  • Know the term that means “coming of age novel”
  • Know the point of view that the novel is written
  • Know the year the novel was published and the setting (location)
  • Know the major and minor themes of the novel
  • Know the literary period the novel represents, the tone, and symbols
  • Know Mark Twain’s real name and penname
  • Know why Jim ran away, the name of the wrecked boat, and the name of the island where Huck and Jim hide.
  • Know how superstition work its way into the novel

Modernism:

  • Know the major event that led to this movement
  • Know the characteristics of modernism and what it is rebelling against
  • Know the author, theme, style of writing, and what the “yellow fog” is in “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”
  • Know Ezra Pound’s advice to modern poets
  • Know the biographies of the poets we studied
  • Know the images used in “Pear Tree”
  • What is the theme of “Grass”
  • What does “Mending Wall” teach us about nature
  • Know what caused the Harlem Renaissance and the characteristics of it
  • Know the author, who/what the speaker is, allusions, and what is being compared in “A Negro Speaks of Rivers”

MLA Formatting:

  • Know where the title of an essay should be placed, what can be included in a good thesis, and how to write the title of a book vs. poem
  • Know the three parts of a concrete detail
  • Know the difference between using an ellipses vs. placing a word in brackets.
  • Know the correct format for citing a book by a single author on a Works Cited page
  • Know how to order the list of sources on a Works Cited page
  • Know the parts of a Jane Schaffer Two Chunk paragraph and the least amount of sentences needed to create one.
  • Know what MLA stands for, the correct format and location for a heading, and what sources should and should not be listed on a Works Cited page

Other Advice:

  • This test counts and has equal weight to the other tests in the class, so it is extremely important that you do well on this test.
  • This test is long and has information from the whole year…there is no way you will pass this test without studying!
  • Do not stay up till 2AM studying the night before the Benchmark Exam—get sleep!
  • Study, study, study!