STUDY GUIDE LANGUAGE ARTS TEST PREP

LITERARY TERMSTheme – the deep meaning or insight gained from a passage or selection (life lessons). Conflict – The problem in a story.Foreshadowing – Hints the author gives the reader so that he/she can make predictions.Character - a person, animal or thing that takes part in a story.Dynamic character – Characters who change significantly throughout the story.Static character – Characters who stay the same throughout the story.

LITERARY TERMS Tone – The writer’s attitude about the subject; think of the voice of the story (amused or angry).Mood – The feeling the story evokes in the reader (happiness, sorrow, anger) Irrelevant – Not Important Extraneous – Extra, Unimportant

AUTHOR’S PURPOSETo Persuade – To use convincing strategies / techniques to try to get someone to agree or see that your view is worth considering.To Inform – To give information or news.To Entertain – To humor or enlighten.To Explain – To discuss how something works or how to do something.To Teach – To gives directions on how to do something.To Describe – To give a picture with words of a person, place, event, or item.

READER’S PURPOSE There are many reasons you might have for reading the selection. You might want to gain information, learn something, understand a difficult subject, be entertained, etc.

FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE Onomatopoeia – Sound words (buzz, bang, boom, ding, zoom) Simile – Using “like or as” to compare two things.Personification – Giving nonhuman things HUMAN traits.Hyperbole – An exaggerated expression.Alliteration – Repetition of the same sound or letter within a line.Imagery – Addresses the senses of a reader.Idiom – A group of words that have meaning when used together. Cannot be taken literally.Symbolism – Objects that stand for something else.

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURESThe way a text is organized: Chronological Order – The order in which events occur (first, next, finally).Order of importance: organized with the most important facts/information first followed by the least important. Comparison and Contrast – Shows how two or more things (subjects) are alike and different (signal words .Signal words – Comparison : like, also, too, all Contrast: different, unlike, however

ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURESCause and Effect – Describes an event or condition that causes other things to happenSignal words – Cause: so, therefore, as a result, Effect: because, since, as a resultProblem and Solution – Describes a current problem and proposes a solution, or show how a past problem was solved.Question and Answer – Asks a question and proposes or provides an answer. Spatial Order – Puts things in order based on their location. Classification – Writer groups similar things.

PLOT DIAGRAM

Exposition – Introduces the characters, setting, and tone of a story.Rising Action – The part of the story that introduces the conflict.Climax – “Turning Point” or highest anticipation point of a storyFalling Action – The story is headed towards a solution.Resolution – The major conflict in the story is resolved.

TYPES OF FICTION (GENRE) Genre is the name used to identify different types of literature.Realistic fiction – stories with situations that can happen in real life.Historic fiction – stories that take place during past historical times.Mystery – stories involving suspense, danger and intrigue.Fantasy – imaginative stories, characters and settings are different from real world, often dealing with magic, battles of good vs. evil.Folktales – Traditional stories that revel the values and beliefs of a culture.

CONTEXT CLUES The different ways authors help readers figure out unfamiliar words.The clues are usually found around the word as a definition, explanation, example, synonym or antonym.

AFFIXES Common PrefixesAmbi- both (ambidextrous, ambiguous)Anti- against (antibody, antifreeze)Dis-the opposite of, not (disappear, disagree) Il- against, not (illiterate, illegal) In- not, into (incorrect, inject) Mis-badly, wrong, not (misprint, misjudge) Non-the opposite of, not ( nonsense, nonrefundable) Pre-in front of, before (preheat, prejudge) Un-the opposite of, not (unlikely, unheard)

AFFIXESCommon Suffixes -able: able to be or to become something (avoidable, lovable)-al: of, like, or relating to (memorial, industrial)-en: to make more so; made of s(strengthen, wooden)-ful: having a lot of (beautiful, fearful)-ity: having or being a certain way (agility, fertility)-less: without something (odorless, spineless) -ly: in such a manner; like or suited to: occurring every so often (heavenly ,quickly ,weekly )-ness: the state of being something (preparedness, goodness) -ous: full of or having something (adventurous, famous) -tion; act of, state of, result of (regulation, dehydration)

NOUNS Singular = man, girl, partyPlural = men, girls, partiesCollective Nouns = group, chorus, herd Common Nouns = school, park, museum Proper Nouns = Conyers Middle School, Centennial Park, The High MuseumAbstract Nouns (Ideas) = love, beauty, wisdom, home, courage, intellectConcrete Nouns (touchable) = house, book, lady, table, desk, phone, stove

ADJECTIVES / ADVERBSAdjectives describe and modify nouns and pronouns. Tells what kind? How many? Which one?Articles (a, an, the) are adjectives !

Adverbs modify adjectives (really cute), verbs (extremely fast), and other adverbs (very easily).Tells how? When? Where? To what extent?NOT is always an adverb.

PRONOUNSPronouns take the place of a noun. An antecedent is the noun that the pronoun replaces.Types of pronouns: Personal pronouns (subject) – I, he, she, they, we, you, itPersonal pronouns (object) – me, him, her, them, us, you, itPossessive pronouns – his, her, yours, theirs, ours, its Demonstrative pronouns – this, that, these, and thoseInterrogative pronouns – what, which, who, whomReflexive- herself, himself, themselves, ourselves, itself, yourself

CONJUNCTIONS Subordinate Used to join complex sentencesAfter, although, as, as if, as long as, because, before, even if, even though, if, since, so that, though, unless, when, whenever, whether, while

Coordinate (FANBOYS) Used to join compound sentences For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so

SUBJECT COMPLIMENTSDirect Object – Comes after an action verb and answers “what” or “who.”Indirect Object – Comes in between the action verb and direct object and answers “to/for whom” or “to what” Predicate Noun- The noun in the predicate that “renames” the simple subject.Predicate Adjective – The adjective in the predicate that “describes” the simple subject. NOTE: NONE OF THESE WILL EVER BE IN A PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE!

SENTENCE TYPESSimple = One independent clause.Compound = Two independent clauses joined by a semi-colon or a comma and a coordinating conjunction.Complex = One independent clause and one dependent clause joined by a subordinate conjunction. The subordinate conjunction always begins the dependent clause.Compound Complex = Two independent clauses and one dependent clause.

SENTENCE KINDSDeclarative – Makes a statementThe musical begins at 9:00.Interrogative – Asks a questionDoes the musical begin at 9:00? Imperative – Gives a commandStart the musical at 9:00.Exclamatory – Shows strong expressionWow! That was the best musical!

TEST TAKING TIPS 1. Examine key words (KNOW YOUR VOCABULARY) 2. Pay attention to signal words in a passage (first, next,

finally, similar)3. Try to answer the question without looking at answer

choices.4. Immediately eliminate two incorrect answers.