Study Guide for the English Final
You will have THREE cold reads and a poem. You need to know literary devices for this portion of the exam.
LITERARY TERMS
1. Simile: Comparing two unlike objects using ‘like’ or ‘as’ to compare the two.
EX: She is like an encyclopedia.
2. Metaphor: Comparing two unlike objects. ( you do NOT use like or as)
EX: She is an encyclopedia.
3. Personification: Giving non-living objects human traits.
EX: The washing machine danced in the basement.
4. Hyperbole: using a blatant exaggeration for effect.
EX: I have a million things to do tonight for homework.
5. Imagery: using words that appeal to the senses.
EX: The salty, crunchiness of popcorn tantalizes my tongue!
6. Foreshadowing: when the author hints about future events to come in the story.
7. Allusion: a direct reference to another literary work or character from somewhere else.
EX: In the Simpson’s, the writers constantly make allusions to things in art, literature, and other cultures.
8. Tone: the attitude of the author that is portrayed in the text.
EX: sarcastic, light-hearted, matter-of-fact, gloomy
9. Mood: the overall feeling that the text creates for the reader.
EX: suspenseful, eerie, depressing, intense
WRITING TECHNIQUES
1. Onomatopoeia: words that create sounds.
EX: Bam, Tweet, Plop, Crackle
2. Alliteration: A repetition of the first letter or a word in a sentence.
EX: She sells seashells by the seashore
3. Repetition: Repeating a word or phrase. It is used to bring emphasis to an idea or situation.
4. Specific Diction/Word Choice: careful choice of nouns and verbs to create voice, tone and imagery to a piece.
5. “Small Snapshots/Exploding the Moment”: zooming in on one aspect of a piece and giving it lots and lots of little details.
6. Dialogue Tags: Allows for “showing and not telling,” and creates more characterization for the reader.
7. Show not Tell: uses lots of descriptive details to SHOW a situation, instead of just telling about it.
8. Deliberate Fragments/Sentence Variation/Sentence Fluency: the use of short sentences, compound, or long complex sentences to create voice, fluency and rhythm for the reader.
VOCABULARY:
You will need to study the vocabulary. Only 10 questions will be on the exam, but you need to study all of the words.
SAT Words:
1. sully (verb) – to soil, stain, tarnish, defile
2. tantalize (verb) – to tease, to provoke wanting
3. terse (adjective) – brief and to the point
4. illegible (adjective) – difficult or impossible to read
5. subjugate (verb) – to conquer by force, bring under complete control
6. lucrative (adjective) – bringing in money, profitable
7. jeer (noun) – a rude remark of ridicule; (verb) – to make fun of rudely or unkindly
8. mediocre (adjective) – average, ordinary, undistinguished
9. proliferate (verb) – to reproduce, increase, or spread rapidly
10. unflinching (adjective) – firm, showing no signs of fear, not drawing back
The Secret Life of Bees:
Vocabulary Unit 1
1. presumptuous: (adjective) to behave excessively forward or confident, to make bold assumptions.
2. orneriness: (noun) a state of being grouchy or irritable disposition.
3. cowlick: ( noun) a lock or tuft of hair growing in a different direction from the rest of the hair.
4. oblivious: (adjective) unmindful, unconscious or unaware; forgetful
5. perimeter: (noun) the outer limits or boundary of an area.
6. parsonage: (noun) the house provided by a church for the pastor/priest/minister.
7. grits: (noun) : A ground, usually white meal of dried and hulled corn kernels that is boiled and served as a breakfast food or side dish. Coarsely ground grain, especially corn
8. snuff: (noun) a product made from ground or pulverized tobacco leaves. It is an example of smokeless tobacco
9. sprig: (noun) small shoot or twig of a plant; a young, immature person.
10. blaspheme: (verb) to speak disrespectfully against God, the church or anything sacred; to curse
Vocabulary Unit 2
1. ponder: (verb) to think about; to reflect on
2. beseeching: (verb) to beg or request urgently or anxiously
3. accommodate: (verb) to make fit or suited for; to give consideration to; to provide with something desired or needed
4. indignation: (noun) strong displeasure at something considered unjust, offensive, insulting, or base; righteous anger.
5. consternation: (noun) a sudden, alarming amazement or dread that results in utter confusion; dismay.
6. immunity: (noun) being resistant from a particular disease; exemption from obligation, service, duty, or liability to taxation, jurisdiction, etc.:
7. anointed: (verb) to rub or sprinkle on with any liquid; to dedicate to the service of God.
8. elusive: (adjective) hard to express or define; hard to grasp
9. ingenious: (adjective) clever or resourceful
10. incessantly: (adjective): continuing without interruption; ceaseless; unending.
Grammar:
Rules for applying quotation marks:
1) SPEAKER BEGINS THE SENTENCE: Speaker first, Comma, Quotation Marks, Capitalize, QUOTE, End Mark, Quotation Marks.
Ex: Brandon yelled, “Please don’t step on my flowers!”
Or Megan whispered, “Please don’t step on my flowers.”
2) SPEAKER COMES AFTER THE QUOTE: Quotation Marks, Quote, Endmark(comma, exclamation mark or question mark) quotation marks, speaker last.
Ex: “Please don’t step on my flowers!” yelled Brandon.
Or “Please don’t step on my flowers,” whispered Megan.
Rhetorical Devices:
Ethos: Using the authority of a person or company to persuade the reader/audience.
Ex: Researchers from Duke University found that……
Pathos: Appeals to the emotions of the audience.
Ex: using emotionally appealing words or images
Logos: Appealing to the audience’s logic.
Ex: Nine out of ten couples surveyed…..; Evidence has shown that…..
Persuasive Techniques:
Bandwagon- persuading people to do something by letting them know others are doing it; encouraging people to "jump on the bandwagon"
Testimonial- using the words of a famous person to persuade another; or having someone testify that the “product” did indeed help him/her or is a good one because they tried it, and it worked
Transfer- using the names or pictures of famous people, but not direct quotations; attaching a message to a symbol
Repetition- the product name is repeated at least four times; repeating an element within one advertisement so that viewers will remember the advertisement and will buy the product
Emotional words- words that will make one’s audience feel strongly about someone or something
Name calling- describing bad aspects of a competitor's product so that the advertised product seems better
Rhetorical Questions: a question to which no answer is expected
Hero’s Journey:
Review the handouts on the Hero’s Journey that we used for class (Circle Map and Info sheets).
Reading Strategies:
1. Building ContextBefore and during the reading, a good reader pulls forth what he/she knows about the text: “Do I know this author? What do I know about the information here? How about style?” / R
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Good readers ask questions the whole time they’re reading. The better they are at coming up with questions, the better they read. “Why did the author do that? What are the characters doing? What does that word mean?”
2. Summarizing
Summarizing means reducing the text down to the fewest possible words while keeping the essential meaning. What happened in a nutshell? / 8. Visualizing
A reader makes a movie in the mind, literally seeing the scene inside the head.
3. Predicting
Guessing about what’s to come in the text. Good predictions are based upon hints in the text. / 9. Connecting
Readers constantly make connections to their personal lives, other books or texts, the news, etc. The more connections, the better the comprehension.
4. Marking
Readers constantly mark the text—literally with a pen or a sticky note or mentally. They mark the place they left off, they mark the main points to remember, they write in the margins (if they can), they keep notes. / 10. Interpreting
Good readers read between the lines. They peer behind the text to see more than what’s literally there. An interpreter says: “I wonder if this author believes in ______. Maybe the character’s motives are ______. The big picture might be ______.”
5. Hearing
Good readers run a sound track in their heads, literally hearing the voices and the tone of the text. If the characters speak with a dialect, they hear it. If the tone of the text is somber or funny or ironic, they hear it and respond appropriately. / 11. Synthesizing
When readers synthesize, they make connections to their own experiences, other texts they’ve read, and connections to the world. They also make something new out of what they’ve read.
6. Monitoring
Good readers are constantly keeping track of their brains during reading. “Am I paying attention? Do I understand this? Does this relate to me?” These are ways readers monitor their reading. / 12. Evaluating
Readers evaluate what they read—comparing the values they interpret in the text to their own belief systems. Evaluators read between the lines to find out the themes; then they relate these themes to their own values. An evaluator is metacognitive: thinking about oneself as a thinker and learner.
Freshman English
Archetypes in Mythology
Archetypes are recurring patterns, characters, images and plots found in myths, literature and movies.
Creation – Most creation stories involve the ideas of “order” and “chaos”. As humans, we have limitations as to what we know about the time before out existence. Creation stories help to fill a “void” and allow us to establish reasons as to why things are as they are. They also allow us to use our imaginations in order to escape feelings of insignificance and ignorance. Think about your personal belief about the creation of the world – from where did you learn that belief?
End-Of-Childhood – This archetype is founded on the idea that every experience we have takes us further away from the innocence of childhood. As we see things through adult eyes, we realize that there is an inherent ugliness in our existence. Loss of innocence can occur on an individual level, as when we break toys or learn a bad behavior, and it can also occur on a social level – think about what happens to a society when it goes to war. Also consistent with this archetype is the concept of “self” or “ego”. Babies, who have little or no sense of identity, are perceived to have the most innocence. What are some signs of end of childhood in our culture? How are those signs treated?
Flood – Pertaining to this archetype are the ideas of “the end of the world” and mass destruction as a punishment to human beings. This pattern supports the notion that a natural occurrence will eliminate humans so that a new sense of order and purity can be established. This archetype, at times, considers other methods of disaster to be effected in place of an actual flood in order to achieve the “clean slate” needed to begin a new cycle of creation and cultivation of a better human society. What is the cause of disaster? After a disaster, what is left? What is often the result of clean-up efforts?
Metamorphosis – Change is inevitable. Not only does this archetype recognize that, but it also supports that change is necessary in order to perpetuate life cycles as well as human curiosity and motivation. We see real metamorphoses on a daily basis – landscapes change and certain species of wildlife, life the butterfly, take on new appearances in order to grow and continue the natural process. It is also important to realize that, while some metamorphoses are highly visible, others may take place over a long period of time and be noticed only after careful examination. Describe a metamorphosis that you have observed. What did the entire process signify?
Rituals – Think of the word “rhythm” and all of its implications. To one degree or another, everything in existence experiences some sort of ritual. Without rituals, how would we know how to live? Rituals can be observed on many levels; while our society decides on and adapts to certain cultural rituals, natural rituals can be considered the organic “seeds” of some human rituals. Think about spring and summer – how do your behavior and attitude parallel the environment during that time of year?
God-Teacher – It is best to think of the god-teacher figure as a link between humans and divinity. The god-teacher is an authority figure who continually evaluates human behavior and activity. Without being taught, humans would not know what is expected of them and to what standards they should aspire. As with most authority figures, god-teachers provide gifts to humanity that enhance quality of life, but, at the same time, can be misused and cause self-destruction. What gift have you ever received that was beneficial to you while also being potentially harmful?
Created by Ms. Trivento