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8th STAAR Vocab
Reading Terms to help study for STAAR test.
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| academic vocabulary | words used across many subjects |
| act | the main division of a drama (play); may be further divided into scenes |
| affix | a letter or group of letters added to a word to create new meaning (prefixes/suffixes) |
| alliteration | the repetition of beginning consonant sounds **Sound device** |
| allusion | a reference to a person, place, thing, or text |
| analogy | an extended comparison that shows a relationship between two sets of things (like a math equation...both sides have to be the same) |
| anecdote | a first-hand story or account of events |
| antiquated language | words or phrases that were once used but are no longer part of everyday language. (Cliche) |
| antonyms | words with opposite meanings |
| argument | a statement of opinion that is supported by logical reasoning and evidence, and is meant to influence or persuade |
| article | a nonfiction text that commonly appears online or in newspapers, magazines, or encyclopedias |
| aside | a statement to the audience of a play that is not heard by the other characters |
| assonance | the repetition of a vowel sound |
| audience | the intended readers of a text; also refers to the viewers of a film, play, or show |
| author's purpose | the main reason an authors has for writing a text; most commonly to Persuade, Inform, or Entertain (P.I.E.) |
| ballad | a poem that tells a story using stanzas of 2-4 lines and a refrain (narrative poem...) |
| bandwagon appeal | a persuasive technique that encourages the audience to do or believe in something because others are doing or believing in it |
| bias | a preconceived and often unfair feeling that an author has for or against something |
| bibliography | formal list of works used to write an informative text |
| biography | factual account of a person's life, written by someone else |
| body | the main part of text that provides reasons, details, and evidence |
| caption | text that provides additional information about a picture, an illustration, or another graphic feature |
| cast of characters | a list of the characters or other performers in a drama (play) |
| clain | statement of the writer's position on an issue or topic |
| climax | turning point in a story; point of highest tension |
| conclusion | the end of a piece of writing in which the writer restates the main points and gives the reader something to think about (the end; the 'happy ever after') |
| conflict | the main problem, or tension, in a story that the characters must resolve |
| conflicting information | facts or details that disagree within the same text or across texts |
| connotation | the meaning suggested or implied by a word, separate from its dictionary definition (the 'feeling' a word has...not the definition) |
| context clue | a word or phrase near an unfamiliar term that helps the reader understand what the unfamiliar term means |
| counterargument | the opposite viewpoint of the one given in the text/the other side of an argument |
| credible | reliable; something you can count on |
| denotation | dictionary definition of a word |
| diagram | a drawing that labels the parts of something or shows how something works |
| dialogue | words that characters speak in a drama or text; a conversation between the characters |
| drama | story written to be performed on a stage by actors; a play |
| dramatic irony | a situation in which the reader or audience knows a detail or plot point that the character(s) do not know |
| exposition | the beginning of a story; characters, setting, and conflict are introduced in the exposition |
| falling action | the events of a story between the climax and the resolution; the falling actions wrap up the problem |
| figurative language | words or phrases that create images, make connections, or provoke emotions; usually means something other than the dictionary definition |
| first-person point-of-view | the narrator is a character in the story (I, me, we, ours, us, mine...) |
| flashback | a scene from the past that gives background about the setting or characters |
| free verse | a poem that does not follow any set rules of rhythm or rhyme |
| government document | an informational text created by a government agency to inform the public |
| graphic feature | visual aid such as a flowchart, timeline, or map, that presents information in an organized way |
| haiku | a poem with three lines and 17 syllables; usually about nature; usually does not rhyme |
| heading | word or short phrase, often in boldface or italics, that summarizes the material in the text that follows |
| historical fiction | genre of writing-including speeches, pamphlets, and government documents-in which factual information is used to tell about events or people from the past |
| idiom | phrase or figurative expression commonly understood to have a meaning different from the literal meaning |
| in-text citation | reference to a source of information, appearing in the text right after a piece of information is presented |
| inference | informed guess!!! about a text based on stated information and prior knowledge what you know + what you read = inference |
| introduction | beginning of a piece of writing that states the main points a writer wants to make |
| irony | contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually happens; used to create a sense of humor usually |
| irrelevant evidence | facts or details that have no direct connection to the author's claim or main idea |
| limerick | a poem with 5 lines and a rhyme scheme of aabba; usually humorous |
| limited | describes a third-person point-of-view in which the narrator reveals the thoughts, feelings, and actions of just one character |
| literary nonfiction | a genre of writing that tells stories using actual facts; examples include biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs |
| loaded language | exaggerated language in a persuasive text or speech that is designed to cause an emotional response in the reader |
| lyric poem | a short poem focused on the speaker's thoughts or feelings; often like a song |
| main idea | the most important idea that an author wants to convey about a topic; also called the central idea or controlling idea |
| metaphor | type of figurative language; comparison of two things without using like or as |
| meter | recurring pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in poetry |
| monologue | a speech given by one character to other characters |
| mood | the general atmosphere of a story or drama (how the READER feels) |
| motivation | the reason that a character acts |
| motive | the reason that a speaker wants to inform and influence an audience; can be social, commercial, or political |
| narrative | a story that a writer tells through a sequence of events or plot |
| objective | neutral; without expressing a point of view |
| ode | a serious poem about a meaningful topic with two or more stanzas and a steady rhyme structure (rhyme scheme) |
| omniscient | third-person point-of-view in which the narrator reveals the thoughts, feelings, and actions of ALL of the characters |
| onomatopoeia | figurative language in which a word's meaning is suggested by the sound it makes (buzz, croak, bang, pow, hiss) |
| opposing argument | an argument that disagrees with the one given in the text |
| opposing claim | a statement of position or perspective that disagrees with the main claim in a text |
| outline | a list of ideas organized by numbers and letters, showing order and importance |
| pacing | the rate in which the action moves in a story |
| paraphrase | to express the ideas of another in one's own words (to put it in your own words) |
| personification | figurative language that uses human characteristics to describe nonhuman things (talking teapot; whispering wind) |
| perspective | the attitude or unique way of thinking about an issue |
| persuasive techniques | the ways in which an author tries to influence the reader's opinion, including loaded language, bandwagon appeal, generalizations, and stereotyping |
| plagiarism | the illegal copying of words or ideas of others |
| plot | the series of events in a story--including the setting and conflict. Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution |
| poetry | writing in which words are chosen and arranged to create a strong message, feeling, or image through meaning, sound, and rhythm |
| point-of-view | the perspective from which a story is told; the author's unique set of ideas and opinions about a topic or issue--also called viewpoint |
| prefix | a word part added at the beginning of the word that changes the meaning of the root word |
| primary source | a record, artifact, or object that was written or created by someone who witnessed or took part in the event |
| pun | a play on the multiple meanings of a word, or on two words that sound alike but have different meanings; generally used for humorous effect |
| quote | to copy what someone has said or the words taken directly from a source; quotes usually appear within quotation marks (" ") |
| reasoned judgement | a logical conclusion based on facts and accepted standards |
| rebuttal | a response to an opposing argument that attempts to disprove or dismiss it |
| reference material | a source of information such as a dictionary, thesaurus, or glossary that can help readers understand a text |
| refrain | a short part of a poem or ballad that is repeated (like the chorus of a song) |
| resolution | the conclusion of a narrative that wraps up the plot events |
| repetition | repeating of words or lines--common in poetry |
| rhyme scheme | the pattern of end rhymes in a poem that is represented by a sequence of letters such as 'aabbcc' |
| rhythm | the repeated pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry |
| rising action | the events in a story that lead up to the climax; rising actions develop the conflict and build tension |
| root | the main part, or base, or a word from which other words can be formed |
| scene | smaller division of an act (in a drama), usually showing a change to the setting or the characters |
| science fiction | a genre of fiction in which a story is set in the future, in space, or on another world; may use scientific details and advanced technology |
| secondary source | a record written by someone who did not directly participate in the even or topic of the text; is usually written long after the event occurred |
| sensory language (sensory details) | words that appeal to a reader's 5 senses |
| setting | the time AND place in which a story occurs |
| simile | a type of figurative language that compares 2 things or ideas using like or as |
| soliloquy | speech given by one character to the audience; usually reveals thoughts and feelings |
| sonnet | 14 line poem with 10-12 syllables per line; often focuses an idea that is questioned in the last lines |
| speaker | the narrator of a poem |
| speculation | a guess about something that is unknown |
| stanza | in a poem, a group of lines set apart by spaces (similar to a paragraph in prose) |
| stage directions | instructions in a drama (play) that tell characters how to speak or act, and describe how sound, lighting, and props should be used |
| stereotype | a generalization about a specific group of people based on limited or inaccurate evidence |
| structure | the way in which text is organized |
| suffix | word part added at the end of a word that changes the meaning of the root word |
| summary | an overview of the most important ideas or events in a text **BME** Main Idea + Supporting Details |
| supporting details | facts, reasons, examples, statistics, and quotations that help convey the main idea of a text |
| symbolism | use of an object or idea to signify something else |
| synonyms | words with the same or similar meanings |
| table | a graphic in which information is arranged in rows and columns; may also be called a chart |
| text feature | a visual aspect of the text, such as a heading or bulleted list, that helps readers locate information in a text quickly |
| theme | the message, lesson, or universal truth that the author wants to convey |
| thesis statement | a sentence that presents the central idea, or main point, of a piece of writing; usually found in the introduction of a text |
| third-person point-of-view | the perspective in which the narrators knows the thoughts, feelings, and actions of one or more characters; can be limited or omniscient |
| tone | the author's or speaker's attitude or approach toward the subject of the thext |
| transition | a words or phrase that conveys sequence, shows time passing, or shifts the setting--by linking sentences, paragraphs, events, and ideas |
| verbal irony | a contrast between what is said and what is meant |
| works cited page (bibliography) | a formal list of sources referenced in an informative text |
Created by:
susyq76
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