ELA PSSA Terms

Question 1

a comparison using like or as

Answer 1

simile

Question 2

A comparison of two or more things not using like or as

Answer 2

metaphor

Question 3

Exaggeration or overstatement.

Answer 3

hyperbole

Question 4

Giving human-qualities to non-human things

Answer 4

personification

Question 5

The repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words.

Answer 5

alliteration

Question 6

Something happens that was the opposite of what was expected.

Answer 6

irony

Question 7

The author’s intent either to inform or teach someone about something, to entertain people, or to persuade or convince their audience to do or not do something.

Answer 7

author’s purpose

Question 8

An implied or indirect reference in literature to a familiar person, place or event.

Answer 8

allusion

Question 9

The story of a person’s life written by himself or herself.

Answer 9

autobiography

Question 10

The story of a person’s life written by someone other than the subject of the work.

Answer 10

biography

Question 11

the high point of suspense in a short story or novel.

Answer 11

climax

Question 12

The method an author uses to reveal characters and their various personalities.

Answer 12

characterization

Question 13

The problem or struggle in a short story or novel.

Answer 13

conflict

Question 14

Information from the reading that identifies a word or group of words.

Answer 14

context clues

Question 15

conversation between people in a literary work

Answer 15

dialogue

Question 16

To make an overstatement or to stretch the truth.

Answer 16

exaggeration

Question 17

A story or novel that is not true; it is made up from the imagination.

Answer 17

fiction

Question 18

Language that cannot be taken literally since it was written to create a special effect or feeling.

Answer 18

figurative language

Question 19

Poetry that does not have meter or rhyme scheme. It sounds more like regular speech.

Answer 19

free verse

Question 20

The use of words or phrases to paint a picture in the reader’s mind. Language that appeals to the five senses to describe the way something looks, sounds, feel, tastes or smells.

Answer 20

imagery

Question 21

understandings gained by “reading between the lines”

Answer 21

inferences

Question 22

A type of nonfiction, written primarily to convey factual information. (e.g., textbooks, newspapers, reports, technical manuals, etc.).

Answer 22

informational text

Question 23

The main idea is the author’s central thought; the topic sentence of a paragraph.

Answer 23

main idea

Question 24

Another name for a story.

Answer 24

narrative

Question 25

Writing that is true or factual.

Answer 25

nonfiction

Question 26

The use of words whose sounds express or suggest their meaning (ex.: hiss, pop, bang)

Answer 26

onomatopoeia

Question 27

The sequence in which the author arranges events in a story. The structure often includes the rising action, the climax, the falling action and the resolution.

Answer 27

plot

Question 28

who tells the story (1st, 2nd, 3rd person)

Answer 28

point of view

Question 29

The solution to the conflict of the story.

Answer 29

resolution

Question 30

Identical or very similar recurring final sounds in words usually at the end of lines of a poem.

Answer 30

rhyme

Question 31

The pattern or beat of a poem.

Answer 31

rhythm

Question 32

The time and place in which a story unfolds.

Answer 32

setting

Question 33

A device in literature where an object represents an idea.

Answer 33

symbolism

Question 34

the central idea or truth a story reveals about life.

Answer 34

theme

Question 35

The narrator tells the story from the viewpoint of one character in the story. (he, she, it, they, them, their, her, his, or character’s names are used)

Answer 35

third person limited point of view

Question 36

The attitudes, feelings and emotions suggested, or caused, by a word (e.g., slender/thin/scrawny).

Answer 36

connotation

Question 37

The direct or dictionary meaning of a word.

Answer 37

denotation

Question 38

To break something down and examine all parts; to examine the elements of a text, or one element of a text, such as character, setting, plot or theme of a story.

Answer 38

analyze

Question 39

A type of essay requiring readers to support their ideas/claims with textual evidence in writing and to demonstrate comprehension.

Answer 39

TDA (text-dependent analysis)

Question 40

To tell a shortened version of a text

Answer 40

summarize

Question 41

A personal point of view using the “I” point of view. May also contain me, our, we, us.

Answer 41

first person point of view

Question 42

The narrator has unlimited knowledge and can describe the thoughts and feelings of two or more characters in a story. (he, she, it, they, them, their, her, his, or character’s names are used)

Answer 42

third person omniscient point of view