Key Academic Vocabulary

inference

An inference is a type of intelligent guess. When you make an inference, you add together details in the selection with what you already know from your own life and experience.

What I Read + What I Know = Inference

conclusion

A conclusion is another type of intelligent guess. When you draw a conclusion, you add together the details in the selection.

(Detail + Detail = Conclusion)

prediction

A prediction is a guess about the way things will happen in the selection.

text evidence

evidence from the text to support your answer – you can use examples, details, facts, things characters say, and things that happen in the text

summarize

To summarize you find the most important information in a passage and restate it in your own words. (who, what, when, where, why, how or Who, Wanted, But, So, Then)

paraphrase

when you put information in your own words you, paraphrase it.

true story

a story that is real or could actually happen

Elements of Fiction

fiction

books/stories that are made up by the author, or are not true – fiction includes made up characters and events

folktale

a story passed on by word of mouth rather than by writing

(folktales include legends, fables, jokes, tall tales, fairy tales – they may have similar beginnings [Once upon a time] and similar endings [and they lived happily ever after])

fable

brief fictional tales that entertain and include animals that talk and act like humans and teach a moral lesson

legend

historical facts of human wars, migrations, great deeds, and royalty

(characters of legends include heroes and heroines that reflect a strong sense of goodness that overcome worldly evils)

myth

A myth is a traditional story dealing with supernatural beings, ancestors, or heroes that informs, as by explaining aspects of the natural world.

(Mythology is the body of myths from a particular culture.)

tall tale

a story with unbelievable elements, related as if it were true

plot

Plot is the action of a story. It is the sequence or chronological order of related events that the author describes from the beginning of the story to the end.

exposition

This is how the story begins. It introduces the main character, the setting and the problem.

setting

The setting includes the location and time (where and when) a story takes place, and sets the main backdrop and mood for a story.

character

A character is a person, an animal, or an imaginary creature that takes part in the action of a story.

* We can understand the characters in three ways: what the character says, what the character does, and what others say about him or her.

character traits

An author can give information about a character by describing several aspects of the character:



physical appearance and personality



speech, behavior, and actions



thoughts and feelings



interactions with other characters

character types

Most stories have both main and minor characters.



The main character, or protagonist, is the most important character.



The antagonist is the person or thing working against the protagonist.

conflict

A conflict is a struggle or problem a character faces and needs to solve.

*types of conflict: Man vs. Man Man vs. Nature Man vs. Self

point of view

 First-person Point of View: in the first- person point of view, the story is told by one of the characters. The character uses pronouns such as I or we and usually participates in much of the action.  Third-person Point of View: in the third- person point of view, the story is told by a narrator who is not a character in the story. (Pronouns such as she, he, and they are used when writing in third-person point of view)

rising action

This part of the story shows what the main character does while trying to come up with the solution to the problem.

(The events leading to the climax.)

flashback

when a story moves back in time and an earlier event is inserted into the normal chronological order of the plot

foreshadowing

to provide clues or hints for the reader to indicate what is going to happen later in the story or what the outcome of the story will be

climax

The climax is the most exciting part of the story. The turning point, when the character tries to resolve the problem or else fail.

falling action

This starts bringing the story to an end. It shows what happens as the character tries to solve the problem/conflict.

resolution The events that bring the story to an end.

Plot Triangle

theme

The theme of a story is its deeper meaning or its message about life. The theme is the big idea of the whole selection.

*At times you will need to infer what the theme is from the work's title, key scenes, characters, symbols, and plot events.

dialogue

spoken lines, conversation between two characters in a story

style



Style is how the author says something, the choice of words and the use of language, sentence construction and imagery… not what they author says.



Style adds significance and impact to the author’s writing.



tone

Tone is simply the author’s feelings toward the subject.



You can recognize the tone by the language the author uses. His language will tell his opinion (that is, whether the author feels positive/negative) about the subject.



Tone must be inferred through the use of descriptive words.

mood

The mood of a selection is the feelings that a writer wants readers to have while reading. It’s the emotion that is created.

*Writers can choose words, phrases, and images to create a whole range of moods – from anger to sadness to excitement and fear.

text connections

Text connections occur when you makes a personal connection from the text with something in your own life, another text, or something occurring in the world.

*There are three types of text connections:

text-to-self

,

text-to-text

, and

text-to-world

.