Springboard Unit 1 Terms and Vocab Flashcards
Annotation
a note of explanation or comment added to a text
Commentary
the expression of opinions or explanations about an event or situation
Inference
a conclusion about ideas or information not directly stated
Literary analysis
the practice of processing or closely examining sections of literary writing to uncover how they relate to or affect the work as a whole. Structural literary analysis focuses predominantly on the theme, plot, setting, character(s), and several other literary devices used by the author to create the true meaning of their work
Claim
a thesis statement describing the position the writer is taking on an issue
Telling details
authors use telling details to create rich worlds over a sustained period
Allusion
reference to someone or something commonly known from literature, history, religion, or other area of culture
Connotation
the association and emotional overtones attached to a word beyond its literally definition or denotation, a connotation may be positive, negative, or neutral
Diction (aka word choice)
a writer’s word choices, which convey voice and tone
Exposition
events that give a reader background information needed to understand a story (characters are introduce, the setting, is described, and the conflict begins to unfold)
Figurative Language
the use of words to describe one thing in terms of another
Irony
a literary device that exploits readers’ expectations irony occurs when what happens turns out to be quite different from what was expected
Dramatic Irony
when the reader or audience knowns more then what the characters in the story do
1st person point-of-view
the narrator is a character in the story; the narrator used the 1st person pronoun “I”.
2nd person point-of-view
is typically used for directions and commands; the author uses (or implies) the 2nd person pronoun “you”
3rd person omniscient point-of-view
The narrator is not a character in the story, and therefore, uses 3rd person pronouns such as “he,” “she,” and “they”. The word “omniscient” means all-knowing, so this type of narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all the main characters
3rd person limited point-of-view
The narrator is not a character in the story, and therefore, uses 3rd person pronouns such as “he,” “she,” and “they”. Unlike the omniscient the narrator, this type of narrator is limited knowing the thoughts and feeling of only one character
Symbolism
the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities
Syntax
the arrangement of words and the order of grammatical elements in a sentence; the way is which words are put together to make meaningful element, such as phrases, clauses, and sentences
Theme
a writer’s central idea or main message
Tone
a writer’s (or speakers) attitude toward a subject, character, or audience
Characterization
the process by which a writer reveals the personality of a character
Complex (or dynamic) characters
a character that has multiple or conflicting motivations
Chronological order
A text that is structured in chronological order arranges events in the order that they happened
Non-linear plot
a text that is structured in a non-linear way arranges event out of chronological order using devices such as flashbacks or flash-forwards
Flashback
an interruption or transition to a time before the current events in a narrative
Foreshadowing
the use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action
Parallelism/ Parallel structure
refers to a grammatical or structural similarity between sentences or parts of a sentence, so that elements of equal important are equally developed and similar phrases for emphasis
Suspense
a state or feeling of excitement or anxious uncertainty about what may happen
Clause
a group of related words that contains both a subject and a verb
Independent clause
a type of clause that has a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought
Dependent clause
a type of clause that has a subject and verb - but DOES NOT express a complete thought. A dependent clause begins with a “signal word” of some sort, such as a subordination conjunction
Subordination conjunction
a conjunction that introduces a dependent clause
Introductory clause
an introductory clause is one type of dependent information or “sets the stage” for the main part of the sentence, a.k.a the independent clause
Complex sentence
a sentence containing one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses
