200 terms and definitions for language arts
A group of scenes in a play an act
A small part added to the beginning or end of a word to change its meaning. an affix
Repetition of initial consonant sounds: “Peter Piper Picked a peck of pickled peppers.” alliteration
A book containing lists of facts, published every year. an almanac
A comparison between two pairs of things: apple : red :: banana : yellow an analogy
Clearly stated; easy to see apparent
Transfer an idea from your reading to a new situation in real life. apply
Take something for granted. assume
A book of maps an atlas
How the author feels about his or her topic. attitude
The person who wrote the selection an author
The story of a person’s life; written by that person. an autobiography
A summary of events that happened before the story begins. background information
The start of a selection the beginning
A strong opinion about a topic that influences the way a writer writes. bias
The story of a person’s life written by another author a biography
Words written in dark, heavy type that looks like this. bold print
A list of all the characters in a play, found at the beginning of the script. cast of characters
Something that makes something else happen a cause
A person or animal who takes part in a story a character
Details that describe what kind of person a character is. characteristics
Make the writing clearer and easier to understand. clarify
The most important event in the story; the moment the conflict is resolved. the climax
A play with a happy ending; usually funny but it doesn’t have to be! a comedy
Tell how two things are alike. compare
A statement that tells how two things are alike or different a comparison
A decision a reader makes about what is happening in the story, based on evidence. a conclusion
The problem characters in a story are trying to solve. a conflict
Explain how ideas in a selection are similar to other texts and the real world. connect
Words around an unknown word that help you figure out its meaning. context clues
Tell how two things are different. contrast
A moveable piece of cloth separating the audience from the stage in a drama a curtain
Writing that gives details about a person, place, thing, or action. descriptive writing
A variety of English spoken by a certain group of people: “You ain’t gone?” a dialect
Words characters say to one another in piece of writing. dialogue
A book of words and their definitions a dictionary
Twist the facts out of their true meaning. distort
A piece of writing intended to be performed by actors. drama
Changed a story into a drama dramatized
The result of a cause an effect
Point something out as being important. emphasize
Feelings that make you act in a certain way. emotional factors
A book or set of books containing facts and explanations of a wide variety of subjects encyclopedia
Judge the quality of something good; decide how good or bad something is. evaluate
A piece of writing that tells how good or bad something is. an evaluation
Something that happens in a story an event
Stretching the truth; making something greater than it really is. exaggeration
Things that have happened in a person’s life experiences
A description of an event by a person who was there eyewitness account
A statement that can be proved to be true a fact
Reasoning that has mistakes: the facts do not support the conclusion. faulty logic
A story made up by an author. fiction
Words that don’t mean exactly what they say, such as similes and metaphors. figurative language
The story is told by a character inside the story. first person
A scene in a story that brings the reader back to an event that happened before. flashback
Hints the author gives about what will happen next. foreshadowing
A broad statement that could apply to more than one situation a generalizationA category of writing genre
A section in a book that gives the meaning of words used in that book a glossary
A combination of words and pictures that show how a selection is organized graphic organizers
The title of one section of a selection a heading
Exaggeration: “Your dog is so ugly it could…” hyperbole
A picture, diagram, drawing, figure, graph, or table that adds information to the selection. an illustration
A picture that a selection makes in your mind an image
Make an educated guess about what is happening in the story. infer
An educated guess you make about what is happening in the story. an inference
Understand and explain the meaning of something. interpret
Writing at the beginning of a selection that tells you what will come. introduction
When a character says one thing and means another. verbal irony
When events do not work out as planned situational ironyWhen the reader knows something the characters do not. dramatic irony
Writing that slants to the side like this italic
A group of words next to one another in a poem a line
A publication printed regularly that focuses on one particular topic. a magazine
What the author says about the topic; the most important message of the selection. main idea
The conflict of the story main problem
Blank space around the edges of the page margin
The story of a person’s life, written by that person (Also called autobiography) memoir
A comparison between two things that does not use “like” or “as” metaphor
A long speech by one character in a drama monologue
The feeling of the selection; the way the author wants the reader to feel. mood
A word that can have more than one meaning, such as orange multiple-meaning word
A story told in prose. a narrative
The person telling the story narrator
Bad (used to describe feelings) negative
Not having any emotions about a topic, not negative or positive. neutral
A publication usually printed every day that contains current news updates. newspaper
Writing that is true, telling about real-life people, places, things, or ideas. nonfiction
A statement about the way a person feels about something; it cannot be proven to be true for everybody. an opinion
Re-stating an idea in your own words paraphrase
A comparison between a non-human and a human, giving a non-human human qualities. personification
A group of words, not a complete sentence phrase
A piece written that is intended to be performed by actors, also called a drama. a play
The author of a drama a playwright
What happens in the story. plot
The author of a poem a poet
A piece of writing that uses sounds and figurative language to express an imaginative thought. poetryWho’s telling the story (in fiction) OR The author’s perspective on his/her topic (in nonfiction) point of view
Good (used to describe feelings) positive
Guess what will happen next. predict
A guess about what will happen next. a prediction
A group of letters added to the beginning of a word that change the word’s meaning. a prefix
A piece of writing written by someone who was involved in the event he/she describes. primary source
Something that causes difficulty for one or more characters a problem
An object an actor uses or carries on stage. a prop
Writing that tries to persuade the reader to act based on emotions and not on facts propaganda
Writing in sentences and paragraphs (not drama or poetry) prose
The reason why a person does something purpose
Punctuation marks that surround dialogue; they look like this: “ “quotation marks
Emphasizing a sound, word, or idea by using it over and over again repetition
The way the conflict in the story is solved. resolution
Something or someone that can give you needed information. a resource
Repetition of the ending sounds of words: hat/cat/mat or take/break/shake. rhyme
The “beat” in a poem, a pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables rhythmA small part of a word that gives it a basic meaning root
A section of a play taking place in a single setting scene
A drama written for TV or movies a screenplay
The written copy of a drama, containing dialogue and stage directions a script
A piece of writing written by someone who was not involved in the event he/she describes. secondary source
Language that appeals to any of the five senses: touch, taste, sound, smell, or sight. sensory words
Anything that is constructed or painted to make the stage look like the setting of the play a set
When and where a story takes place setting
A shorter story next to the main selection that gives more detail about a topic related to the main selection a sidebar
Important significant
A comparison between two things that uses the words “like” or “as” simile
A short, informal drama a skit
The way a problem could be solved. solution
The narrator of a poem speaker
The area where a play is performed stage
Instructions to the actors about how to move and say their lines stage directions
The author’s position on a topic: how he/she feels about it. stance
A group of lines in a poem a stanza
Said or written. stated
A graphic organizer that shows the parts of a story (character, plot, setting, sequence, resolution, etc) story map
A plan for how to complete a task a strategy
A smaller heading that gives the title of one section of a selection subheading
Words underneath the title of a selection that give more information subtitle
A group of letters added to the end of a word that change the word’s meaning. a suffixRe-tell the story by listing the most important events: to “make a long story short.” summarize
A brief re-telling of the most important events in a story a summaryA fact or idea that helps to prove that the main idea is correct supporting detail
Something that stands for something else a symbol
The building in which a play is performed. a theater
The moral or lesson about life that a story teaches themeA book of words and their synonyms a thesaurus
A narrator, who is not a character in the story, tells the story. third person
The name of a selection a title
The way the author feels about his or her topic. tone
What the selection is about. topic
A drama with a sad ending a tragedy
The appearance of words, lines, or stanzas in the poem that add to the poem’s meaning visual elements
The decisions a writer makes about what words to use. word choice
Overused or commonplace trite
Vague or unclear ambiguous
Unnecessary repetition of a word or idea redundant
Worried, anxious distraught
Present reasons for or against something argue
Gloomy, sad, serious somber
Wild excitement pandemonium
Overused expression cliché
Extreme confusion bedlam
Showing remarkable originality ingenious
Suffering severely from hunger; starving. famished
Words imitating sounds onomatopoeia
To condemn openly, criticize. denounce
To plunge into a liquid, submerge. douse
To give up, desert, disown forsake
Back up with details or evidence. support
To illustrate and explain demonstrate
To give more details elaborate
To cause somebody to adopt a certain position, belief, or course of action persuade
Not clearly seen, heard, or understood. indistinct
Extremely sorrowful or emotionally painful grievous
Feeling of guilt remorse
The reason a character behaves a certain way. motivation
The art of evaluating or analyzing the play critique
Uncertainly tentatively
The items needed to make the food. ingredients
One follows this to make a cake, cookies, or any other food. recipe
A cup, teaspoon, tablespoon, pinch, dash, or an ounce measurementsTurn on the oven early to get it to a specific temperature before putting the food in to cook or bake. preheat
The character who opposes the main character antagonist
The main or central character in a literary work protagonistA story from the past, often about a famous person or event, based at least somewhat on historical fact a legend
A story that attempts to explain something about the world a myth
A brief tale, usually about an animal, that teaches a moral or lesson. a fable
A story passed down from one generation to the next. a folktale
The person or persons for whom you are writing audience
To look quickly through a reading for specific information scan To look quickly at a reading for a general idea of what it is about. skimA main idea that is not directly stated; but discovered by inference. implied
A reading strategy to help with comprehension by going back and reading the selection again re-readingAn alphabetical list in a printed work that gives each item listed the page number where it may be found. index
To foresee and deal with or provide for beforehand anticipate
A wrong or mistaken idea misconception
To think seriously and carefully about what occurred. reflect
A device used in a household, especially in the kitchen. utensil
So clear in statement that there is no doubt about the meaning explicit
A newspaper or magazine article that gives the opinions of its editors editorial
A changing from one state, stage, place, or subject to another a transition