10th Grade

Plot – The sequence of events in a literary work

            Exposition – Background information including setting and time period

            Rising action – The events that lead up to the climax

            Climax – The high point of interest or suspense in a literary work

            Falling action – Events that follow the climax, leading up to the resolution

            Resolution – The solution to the problem in the book (the problem might be the climax, might not!)

Conflict – The problem

            Internal conflict – A problem within a character (example: a character having an issue dealing with his/her anger; character is climbing Mt Everest and wants to reach his/her goal and struggles with motivation)

            External conflict – A struggle between a character and any other outside force (example: character battles a thunderstorm; a character battles another character; a character battles an animal)

Figurative Language – Figures of speech not meant to be taken literally

            Simile – A direct comparison between two subjects using like, as, or than  Gabe ran faster than a cheetah; Gabe ran as fast as a cheetah; Gabe ran like a cheetah.

            Metaphor – A direct comparison between two subjects without using like, as, or than.  Ms. Wasco says her students are weasels.

            Paradox – A statement that appears to be self-contradictory or silly but might include a latent truth Opposite Day; “I like large parties; they’re so intimate.  At small parties, there isn’t ever any privacy.”

            Personification – Any non-human subject given human characteristics

            Imagery – Any description in literature that evokes  (brings out) the five senses

            Onomatopoeia – The use of words that imitate the sounds they make Va-voom!  Bzzz…

Author’s Craft – Writing style

            Mood – The feeling that a piece of literature evokes (brings out) in the reader

            Tone – The author’s attitude towards his/her subject matter

Poetry

            Rhyme- repetition of similar sounding words occurring at the end of lines in poems or songs

            Rhyme scheme – The pattern of end rhymes at the end of lines in poems or songs

            Consonance – The repetition of similar final consonant sounds at the ends of words or phrases

            Assonance – The repetition of vowel sounds

            Meter – Stressed and unstressed syllabic patterns

            Iambic pentameter – A line consisting of ten syllables alternating unstressed, stressed

Categories of Writing

            Narrative essay – Tells a story and includes all of the components of plot

            Expository essay – exposes or expounds upon a quote or a statement; uses examples from literature, history, personal experiences, film, etc.

            Persuasive essay – Convinces the reader of a particular side of an argument

            Descriptive essay – Evokes the reader’s five senses

Multiple choice questions following the reading of an excerpt from a novel

1 Short answer question following the reading of the same excerpt

1 Essay question comparing and contrasting two characters in the excerpt.