English 8 Master Terms (term first)

Question 1

Alliteration

Answer 1

The repetition of speech sounds, usually applied to only consonants, at the beginning of a word or of a stressed syllable within a word.

Question 2

Allusion

Answer 2

An explicit or implicit reference, in a work of literature, to a person, place, or event, or to another literary work or passage.

Question 3

Analogy

Answer 3

An inference that if two or more things are alike in some respects, they will probably agree in others.

Question 4

Argumentative

Answer 4

A piece of writing which takes a stance on an issue, supports a claim with evidence and logic, and stands against the opposing side with logical reasons.

Question 5

Assonance

Answer 5

The repetition in words of identical or similar vowel sounds followed by different consonant sounds.

Question 6

Audience

Answer 6

The person or group for whom a selection is written or performed.

Question 7

Character

Answer 7

A person represented in a story.

Question 8

Cite

Answer 8

To quote (a passage, book, or author) as evidence for or justification of an argument or statement, especially in a scholarly work.

Question 9

Claim

Answer 9

To state or assert that something is the case.

Question 10

Clause

Answer 10

A group of words that has its own subject and verb but may or may not express a complete thought or be a complete sentence.

Question 11

Cohesion

Answer 11

The action or fact of forming a united whole. When the elements of a piece of writing “go together.”

Question 12

Compare

Answer 12

To examine and appraise characteristics or qualities in order to discover similarities.

Question 13

Connotation

Answer 13

The emotional association(s) suggested by the primary meaning of a word, which affects its interpretations; things suggested by a word apart from the thing it explicitly names or describes.

Question 14

Contrast

Answer 14

To examine and appraise characteristics or qualities in order to discover differences.

Question 15

Credible

Answer 15

To be believed, trusted, or found to be reliable.

Question 16

Delineate

Answer 16

Describe or portray (something) precisely.

Question 17

Denotation

Answer 17

The objective meaning of a word independent of other associations the word calls to mind.

Question 18

Figurative Language

Answer 18

Language that deviates from a standard significance or sequence of words in order to achieve a special meaning (e.g. similes and metaphors).

Question 19

Genre

Answer 19

A category used to classify literary works, usually by form, technique, or content.

Question 20

Hyperbole

Answer 20

An intentional exaggeration for emphasis or comic effect.

Question 21

Inference

Answer 21

A conclusion or opinion that draws on known facts, evidence, or intuition to fill in missing information.

Question 22

Irony

Answer 22

A literary technique that involves surprising, interesting, or amusing contradictions.

Question 23

Metaphor

Answer 23

A figure of speech in which two things that are basically unlike but have some qualities in common are compared.

Question 24

Onomatopoeia

Answer 24

The term used to describe words whose pronunciations suggest their meaning (e.g. meow, buzz).

Question 25

Parenthetical

Answer 25

Relating to, o inserted as a parenthesis.

Question 26

Parts of Speech

Answer 26

The eight classes into which words are grouped according to their uses in a sentence: adjective, adverb, conjunction, interjection, noun, preposition, pronoun, and verb.

Question 27

Passive Voice

Answer 27

The voice of a verb whose subject receives an action.

Question 28

Personification

Answer 28

A figure of speech that gives life or human characteristics to non-human objects or ideas.

Question 29

Plagiarism

Answer 29

The practice of taking someone else’s work or idease and passing them off as one’s own.

Question 30

Plot

Answer 30

The structure of the actions in a dramatic narrative or work, ordered and rendered toward achieving particular emotional or artistic effects.

Question 31

Point of View

Answer 31

The perspective or perspectives established by an author through which the reader is presented with the characters, actions, setting, and events that constitute the narrative in a work of fiction.

Question 32

Resolution

Answer 32

Events forming the outcome of the climax of a play or story.

Question 33

Setting

Answer 33

The time and place in which a narrative takes place; the physical and psychological background against which the action of a story takes place; the scenery and stage effects for a dramatic production.

Question 34

Simile

Answer 34

A figure of speech or other comparison of two things that are dissimilar, using the words like or as (or other words of comparison).

Question 35

Technical Vocabulary

Answer 35

Vocabulary relating to a particular subject, art, or craft, or its techniques.

Question 36

Theme

Answer 36

The general idea or insight about life that a work of literature reveals. This may be stated or implied.

Question 37

Tone

Answer 37

Expresses the writer’s attitude toward his or her subject.

Question 38

Active Voice

Answer 38

The voice of a verb whose subject performs the action.