Mrs. Levy
Language Arts 8: Periods 3/10 and 4/5/8
Mid-Term Exam 2014: Study Topics
Name _______________________________ Date ________________ Period _____
Overview:
Our exam will be given on Thursday, January 23, 2014
During the following class periods: 8, 9, and 10
Location: Period 3/10 Ms. Royland’s room
Period 4/5/8: Mr. Aguirre’s room
Exam Topics Overview and Exam Breakdown
I: Vocabulary
This section will cover:

Words in units 1-6 of our Vocabulary Workshop workbook
(see attached vocabulary study guide)
Question types:
o Parts of speech
o Definitions
o Completing the sentence
o (NO synonyms/antonyms)
II: Grammar
This section will cover:

Punctuation
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
End marks
Commas
Colons
Semi-colons
Italics
Quotation marks
Hyphens
Dashes
Apostrophes
Parentheses

Clauses and Sentence Types
o Subordinate clauses
o Independent clauses
o Sentence types
 Simple sentence
 Compound sentence
 Complex sentence
 Compound-complex sentence
o Punctuation and the sentence types

Verbals and verbal phrases
o Participles and participial phrases
 Identifying them
 Identifying the words they modify
o Gerunds and gerund phrases
 Identifying them
 Telling their role (subject, PN, DO, IO, OP)
o Infinitives and infinitive phrases
 Identifying them
 Identifying their part of speech
 Identifying the words they modify

Question types
o Multiple-choice and matching
III: Literary Terms
This section will ask you to

Identify literary terms and their definitions

Identify examples of literary terms from the literature we have read (list of literary terms
are in this packet).

Question types: Multiple-choice and matching
IV: Literature and Reading
This section will test your comprehension of the literature we have studied so far this year:
Novella and Play:
Of Mice and Men
Twelve Angry Men (Act One only)
Short story: “The Veldt”
Poetry/Music:
“Harlem” (Langston Hughes)
“To a Friend” (Amy Lowell)
“Incident” (Countee Cullen)
“Mountain Greenery”
Non-Fiction:
“Wired for the Future . . .”
“Internet Generation”
“Life in the Year 2100”
Lindbergh baby kidnapping article
Audio-Visual:
Great Depression video (and accompanying notes sheet)
Juror orientation video (and accompanying notes sheet)
The Literature and Reading portion of the exam will also cover these topics:
 Reading and interpreting non-fiction texts
 Identifying relevant supporting details
 Making connections between non-fiction texts and fiction texts (ex: OMAM and
Great Depression readings)
V. Writing:
This section will ask you to identify examples of and/or apply the following concepts:
 Parts of the introduction and conclusion paragraphs: hook, development, thesis, clincher
 Majors and minors
 Arguments/claims, counter-arguments, and rebuttals
 Introducing and responding to quotations
 Literary analysis
 Essay titles
 Transitions
 Annotation
VI: Essay
You will write an argumentative essay based on a non-fiction text, which you will have an
opportunity to read and annotate prior to the midterm.
Literary and Legal Terms
Here are the literary terms for which you will be responsible:
LITERARY TERMS
act
allusion
antagonist
aside
box set
climax
colloquialism
conflict: internal (man vs. self), external
(man vs. man/nature/society)
dialogue
exposition
falling action
foreshadowing
imagery
metaphor
monologue
mood
motif
novella
protagonist
realism (in drama)
resolution
rising action
scene
setting
soliloquy
stage directions
symbolism
theme
tone
LEGAL TERMS
alibi
beyond a reasonable doubt
bias
burden of proof
circumstantial evidence
civil trial
criminal trial
deadlock
defendant
direct evidence
impartial
insanity defense
manslaughter
mental incompetence
motive
murder
plaintiff
prosecution
reasonable doubt
testimony
verdict
voir dire
witness
If you are unsure of the definitions for any of these terms, consult your notes.
UNIT #1
adulterate
augment
bereft
deploy
fortitude
gape
gibe
guise
intimation
opulent
stolid
tentative verbatim
Vocabulary Words:
UNIT #4
UNIT #2
affiliated
cogent
converge
esteem
expunge
finite
invulnerable
malevolent
omniscient
panacea
scrupulous
supercilious
uncanny
venial
UNIT #5
adroit
amicable
belligerent
benevolent
extol
feasible
grimace
impervious
retrogress
scrutinize
tepid
UNIT #3
assent
clemency
discrepancy
embark
plod
remiss
repose
temerity
truculent
unfeigned
virulent
UNIT #6
alienate
coerce
craven
demise
fallow
harass
muse
negligible
precedent
punitive
sojourn
accede
brandish
comprise
ironic
officious
ominous
rampant
solace
suppress
venal
HOW TO STUDY
STEP 1: Organize
1. Go through your binder, making sure that all handouts are in the correct section (reading,
grammar, vocabulary, writing, etc.).
2. Put handouts and notes in date order, from earliest to latest, grouping them by topic.
3. Compare your notes and handouts with a classmate’s to make sure that you are not
missing any needed materials for studying.
STEP 2: Prioritize
First, prioritize your studying. Don’t spend too much time studying topics you already know.
Using this handout as your guide, make a list of topics you feel you need to spend a lot of time
studying, some time studying, and a little time studying. You could even make a study planning
sheet, like this:
CONCEPTS I KNOW
VERY WELL
List topics here
CONCEPTS I KNOW
FAIRLY WELL
List topics here
CONCEPTS I NEED TO
REVIEW CAREFULLY
List topics here
STEP 3: Use Several Study Strategies
You should employ as many different strategies as possible to maximize your success on this
exam:

Make an outline or graphic organizer for each topic;

Create flash cards by topic (for example, character flash cards or theme flash cards);

Review and annotate study guides, reading quizzes, and class notes;

When available, reread sections of text (many books/stories are available online);

Form a study group with friends. Have each group member prepare a different topic (for
example, one person can prepare vocabulary, another person can prepare notes for one of
the novels, etc.) and present the most important information about that topic to the group;

Record notes for yourself, download them onto your I-pod, and play them each day;

Visit the vocabulary book publisher’s website at
https://www.sadlier-oxford.com/vocabulary/levels_a2h.cfm?sp=student
o Play games
o Complete puzzles
o Download vocabulary words onto your I-pod or just listen
to them from your computer.
The more SENSES you can involve in the studying process (sight, sound, etc.), the more likely
you are to recall what you study. DON’T JUST READ YOUR NOTES—you will have more
success if you look at AND read the notes aloud (for example, to another person).
Also, try not to review things in the same ORDER over and over—you’ll have difficulty
remembering information at the end of a list or page of notes. Try reviewing lists and notes
backwards, forwards, from the middle to the end, etc.
STEP 4: Make a Studying Schedule

Make a specific, day-to-day schedule for exam studying

Budget in time for breaks—take a 10 to 15-minute break every hour

Study when you are awake and alert—last-minute studying (such as late-night cramming)
is not very effective and just leaves you tired on exam day

Study a subject in sections starting several days before the exam, and then review all the
material the night before the exam. For example, study grammar one night, vocabulary
the second night, literature the third night, and then review all topics on the fourth night