Springboard Unit 1 Terms and Vocab

Question 1

Annotation

Answer 1

a note of explanation or comment added to a text

Question 2

Commentary

Answer 2

the expression of opinions or explanations about an event or situation

Question 3

Inference

Answer 3

a conclusion about ideas or information not directly stated

Question 4

Literary analysis

Answer 4

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

Question 5

Claim

Answer 5

a thesis statement describing the position the writer is taking on an issue

Question 6

Telling details

Answer 6

authors use telling details to create rich worlds over a sustained period

Question 7

Allusion

Answer 7

reference to someone or something commonly known from literature, history, religion, or other area of culture

Question 8

Connotation

Answer 8

the association and emotional overtones attached to a word beyond its literally definition or denotation, a connotation may be positive, negative, or neutral

Question 9

Diction (aka word choice)

Answer 9

a writer’s word choices, which convey voice and tone

Question 10

Exposition

Answer 10

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)

Question 11

Figurative Language

Answer 11

the use of words to describe one thing in terms of another

Question 12

Irony

Answer 12

a literary device that exploits readers’ expectations irony occurs when what happens turns out to be quite different from what was expected

Question 13

Dramatic Irony

Answer 13

when the reader or audience knowns more then what the characters in the story do

Question 14

1st person point-of-view

Answer 14

the narrator is a character in the story; the narrator used the 1st person pronoun “I”.

Question 15

2nd person point-of-view

Answer 15

is typically used for directions and commands; the author uses (or implies) the 2nd person pronoun “you”

Question 16

3rd person omniscient point-of-view

Answer 16

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

Question 17

3rd person limited point-of-view

Answer 17

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

Question 18

Symbolism

Answer 18

the use of symbols to represent ideas or qualities

Question 19

Syntax

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Theme

Answer 20

a writer’s central idea or main message

Question 21

Tone

Answer 21

a writer’s (or speakers) attitude toward a subject, character, or audience

Question 22

Characterization

Answer 22

the process by which a writer reveals the personality of a character

Question 23

Complex (or dynamic) characters

Answer 23

a character that has multiple or conflicting motivations

Question 24

Chronological order

Answer 24

A text that is structured in chronological order arranges events in the order that they happened

Question 25

Non-linear plot

Answer 25

a text that is structured in a non-linear way arranges event out of chronological order using devices such as flashbacks or flash-forwards

Question 26

Flashback

Answer 26

an interruption or transition to a time before the current events in a narrative

Question 27

Foreshadowing

Answer 27

the use of hints or clues in a narrative to suggest future action

Question 28

Parallelism/ Parallel structure

Answer 28

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

Question 29

Suspense

Answer 29

a state or feeling of excitement or anxious uncertainty about what may happen

Question 30

Clause

Answer 30

a group of related words that contains both a subject and a verb

Question 31

Independent clause

Answer 31

a type of clause that has a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought

Question 32

Dependent clause

Answer 32

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

Question 33

Subordination conjunction

Answer 33

a conjunction that introduces a dependent clause

Question 34

Introductory clause

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Complex sentence

Answer 35

a sentence containing one independent clause and one or more dependent clauses