CAHSEE
Academic Vocabulary
Helen Hunt Jackson College
Prep High School
Academic Vocabulary #1
 CONTROLLING
IMPRESSION
 EX: Thesis; main idea
 The central impression or
idea a writer aims to
communicate
Academic Vocabulary #2
 Essay
 EX: intro paragraph, 2-3
body paragraphs,
concluding paragraph
 A short piece of non-fiction
writing with a thesis
statement
Academic Vocabulary #3
 REVISE
 EX: Rough Draft,
Final Draft
 To make changes and
improve writing based on
content, organization,
style, and purpose
Academic Vocabulary #4
 Evidence
 EX: examples, elaboration
 Support for an idea
Academic Vocabulary #5
 Setting
 EX: A rooftop in
Dublin during the
Civil War (“The
Sniper”)
 Where and when
a story takes
place
Academic Vocabulary #6
 Chronological Order  The order, from 1st
to last, in which
events take place.
 EX: First, I …

Then,…
Next…
Finally…
Academic Vocabulary #7
 Cause & Effect
 EX: Mrs. Hyde gets no
Diet Coke in the morning,
therefore she is grumpy.
Students get a 6-page test
and fail. Parents yell at
kids for failing test.
Students get Mrs. Hyde a
Diet Coke. Everyone gets
an ‘A’.
 Organization to show
the reasons for and
results of something
Academic Vocabulary #8
 EXTERNAL
CONFLICT
 EX: Man v. man (Capulet
v. Montague) or
Man v. nature (Mrs. Hyde v.
The Skunk)
 A struggle or
opposition
caused by an
outside force
Academic Vocabulary #9
 Internal Conflict
 EX: Fear of heights,
being in love with
your best friend’s
girlfriend
 A struggle within
oneself
Academic Vocabulary #10
 Plot
 EX: Romeo & Juliet, who
are supposed to be sworn
enemies, fall in love, get
married and die.
 The series of
related events
that make up a
story.
Academic Vocabulary #11
 Exposition
 EX: In “Contents” Clare
goes to the movies and the
paper flies out the window.
 The beginning part of the
story that introduces the
characters, gives the
setting, and introduces the
conflict(s).
Academic Vocabulary #12
 Rising Action
 Tom is stuck out on the
ledge and tries various
ways to get to safety.
 This part of the
story begins to
develop the
conflict(s).
Academic Vocabulary #13
 CLIMAX
 EX: When Jack
saves Rose and
sacrifices himself in
Titanic
 The most exciting or
high point of the
story
Academic Vocabulary #14
 The end of a story,
 Falling
when the conflict is
Action/Resolution
resolved and loose
ends are tied up
 EX: They all live
happily ever after!
Academic Vocabulary #15
 PROTAGONIST
 EX: Timmy
Turner, from The
Fairly Odd
Parents
 The main
character in a
story.
Academic Vocabulary #16
 Antagonist
Example: Scar, from
The Lion King
Any bad guy or villain
in a book or movie
 A character who
opposes the
protagonist’s
efforts
Academic Vocabulary #17
 Foreshadowing
In The Hunger Games, Peeta
picked poison berries,
thinking they were edible,
and Kat put a couple in her
pocket just in case she
might need to use them on
another contestant later.
 Hints or clues to the
outcome of the
action in a story.
Academic Vocabulary #18
 Flashback
 EX: In The Outsiders,
when Ponyboy is dreaming
and remembering how
things used to be when his
parents were around
 A scene that looks
back at events from
an earlier time
Academic Vocabulary #19
 Flash-forward
 EX: As a father is
holding his newborn
baby, he imagines
walking her down the
aisle at her wedding.
 A scene that
jumps ahead to
events in the
future.
Academic Vocabulary #20
 Theme
 EX: Good wins over evil
(theme of most superhero
cartoons)
 An author’s overall
message about life or
human nature that is
revealed in a work of
literature.
Academic Vocabulary #23
 Suspense
 EX: Wondering when
the killer will strike
while watching a scary
movie.
 The excitement or
tension that builds in a
story; makes the
reader want to know
what will happen next.
Academic Vocabulary #21
 Characterization
 By using actions
and dialogue
 The way a writer
reveals how
characters think,
feel, and act
Academic Vocabulary #22
 Direct
Characterization
 EX: Maggie was
shy.
 The writer describes
the characterization
directly
Academic Vocabulary #23
 Indirect
Characterization
 EX: Maggie would
not look up and
spoke in a whisper.
 Readers must figure
out the
characterization
Academic Vocabulary #24
 Dynamic Character
 EX: Tom from
“Contents of the
Dead Man’s Pocket”
 A character who
changes in a
dramatic way during
a story
Academic Vocabulary #25
 Static Character
 EX: Clare, from
“Contents of the
Dead Man’s Pocket”
 A character who
remains the same
during a story.
Academic Vocabulary #26
 Stock Character
 EX: the nutty
professor
 A one-sided
character who
represents specific,
familiar types
Academic Vocabulary #27
 Flat Character
 EX: Shaggy from
Scooby Doo
 A character with
only one or two
personality traits
Academic Vocabulary #28
 Round Character
 EX: Harry Potter,
Anakin Skywalker
 One who is
complex, with many
personality traits.
Academic Vocabulary #29
 Dramatic
Monologue
 Juliet: 'Tybalt is dead,
and Romeo--banishèd!'
That 'banishèd,' that one
word 'banishèd,' Hath slain
ten thousand Tybalts.
 A long speech made
by one character to
one or more other
characters
Academic Vocabulary #30
 Dialogue
 “How do you pronounce this
name?” (Mama)
 “You don’t have to call me by it if
you don’t want to”
(Dee/Wangero)
 Conversation
between characters
Academic Vocabulary #31
 Soliloquy
 "Well, Juliet, I will lie
with thee tonight"
(Romeo, in 5,1)
 A speech given by a
character alone
Academic Vocabulary #32
 Paraphrase
 The air was cool
and the ground was
frozen.
=
 It was cold outside.
 Restating information in
your own words
approximately the same
length as the original
Academic Vocabulary #33
 Direct Quote
 “Most employers require
a candidate to have a
bachelor’s degree in
accounting or a related
field” (Bureau of Labor
Statistics).
 To use the exact
words from a
source, giving credit
to that source.
Academic Vocabulary #34
 Summarize
 The team gave a
valiant effort, but
came up short. =
 They lost.
 Restating only the
main ideas of a
source in your own
words.
Academic Vocabulary #35
 Elaboration
 In SUTW, the ‘red’
stop/explains
support the ‘yellow’
star ideas
 The addition or
extension of ideas
to support ideas
already presented
Academic Vocabulary #36
 Parenthetical
Citations
 Used to document
any external
sources used within
a research report
 “Most employers require a
candidate to have a
bachelor’s degree in
accounting or a related
field” (Bureau of Labor
Statistics 1).
 (Smith 49).
Academic Vocabulary #37
 Works Cited
Jones, Nick. How to Become a
Photographer. Boston: Little,
Brown, & Company, 1993
 A separate page of the
research essay that
lists sources used
within the report.
Academic Vocabulary #38
 Synthesis or
synthesize
 Both Brown and
Jones state that…..
 The merging of
information
gathered from more
than one source.
Academic Vocabulary #39
 Primary Source
 EX: diaries, letters,
autobiographies
 An information source
with direct participation
with the subject (first
hand knowledge)
Academic Vocabulary #40
 Secondary
Source
 EX: Textbooks,
encyclopedias,
most newspaper/
magazine articles.
 An information source
by someone who did
not participate in or
observe the events.
Academic Vocabulary #41
 POINT OF VIEW
 EX: “I
was about to
fall asleep when I
heard a terrible
scream.” (1st
person)
 The vantage point,
or perspective, from
which a writer tells a
story.
Academic Vocabulary #42
 FIRST PERSON
POINT OF VIEW
(or first person
narrator)
 EX: “The next thing I knew,
I was waking up in the
hospital.”
 When the narrator is a
character in the story,
using the “I” voice
Academic Vocabulary #43
 Omniscient point of
view
 EX: Startled, he looked
down, cocking his head to
one side and watching with
great interest while the
man rattled the blades of
grass as he tried to hide
himself behind the tree.
 All-knowing narrator;
can see into the hearts
and minds of more
than one character
Academic Vocabulary #44
 Third person limited
point of view
 As she walked, she
realized it was just
too quiet.
 Narrator knows only
the thoughts and
feelings of one
character
Academic Vocabulary #45
 Narrator
 EX: John from “By
the Waters of
Babylon”
 The person telling
the story
Academic Vocabulary #46
 Tone
 EX: “It is forbidden
to go to any of the
Dead Places.
 The author’s attitude
toward his or her
subject, shown through
diction and voice
Academic Vocabulary #47
 Credibility
 Not credible=John
from “By the Waters of
Babylon”
 Credible=Occupational
Outlook Handbook
 The believability or
reliability of the
information given
Academic Vocabulary #48
 Voice
 “Yo baby, what up?”
 “Good day. How are
you fairing this fine
afternoon?”
 An author’s special
style set up through
diction and tone
Academic Vocabulary #49
 Persona
 Narrator (1st or 3rd
person)
 The voice or
character an author
chooses to narrate
a story
Academic Vocabulary #50
 Motivation
 EX: In “Cold Equations,”
the stowaway is motivated
by a desire to see her
brother.
 The reasons why a
character acts or
thinks in a certain
way.
Academic Vocabulary #51
 Figurative
Language
 “He’s such a
dream!”
 “The toast jumped
out of the toaster.”
 Words used in
imaginative ways to
expand their
meaning and impact
Academic Vocabulary #52
 Simile
 A comparison of
two unlike things
using ‘like’ or ‘as’ or
‘resembles’
 Alex is like a ray of
sunshine!
 A=
Academic Vocabulary #53
 Metaphor
 A comparison of
two unlike things,
not using ‘like’ or
‘as’
Sebastian is a
beautiful rose
 S=
Academic Vocabulary #54
 Personification
 “My stapler must
have gotten up and
walked away!”
 Giving human
qualities to inhuman
things such as
animals or objects
Academic Vocabulary #55
 Parallel Structure
 EX: At the beach,
the girls love
tanning, swimming,
and talking.
 Joining several
related ideas in a
sentence in a
similar way.
Academic Vocabulary #56
 Imagery
 EX: (After ApplePicking) - the rumbling ..
of load on load of apples
coming in.
 Descriptive language that
creates vivid “word
pictures” to appeal to the
senses.
Academic Vocabulary #57
 Diction
 “A smile crept up on
Jonathon’s face as
he realized this
house was his
home.”
 A writer’s careful
selection of words
to create a desired
effect
Academic Vocabulary #58
 Connotation
 I may live in a
house, but it feels
like home!
 A word’s emotional
connections
Academic Vocabulary #59
 Literal Meaning
(aka Denotation)
 EX: Chair=piece of
furniture to sit on.
 The precise, dictionary
definition of a word or
phrase
Academic Vocabulary #61
 Interior Monologue
 EX: “I wish I were cool
enough to hang out with
Brian Huerta and his
friends,” the new kid
thought sadly.
 A character’s inner
thoughts and feelings.
Academic Vocabulary #62
 EXPOSITORY
 EX: a science
textbook, a
cookbook, an essay
about 3 causes of
the Civil War.
 Writing that
provides information
or explains
something about a
topic
 Just the facts!
Academic Vocabulary #63
 SENTENCE STRUCTURE
(aka SYNTAX)
 Ice melts.
 The ice melts quickly.
 The ice on the river melts
quickly under the warm
March sun.
 Lying exposed without its
blanket of snow, the ice on
the river melts quickly
under the warm March sun.
 The way words are put
together to create a writing
style.
Academic Vocabulary #60
 Consumer
Documents
 Car warranty
 Directions on how
to assemble a
bookshelf
 Texts that provide
information about
products and
services.
Academic Vocabulary #61
 Workplace
Documents
 EX: contracts,
business letters,
emails, memos
 Documents used in
the workplace to
communicate
information.
Academic Vocabulary #62
 Public Documents
 EX: Newspapers,
bus schedules,
government
regulations
 Documents that
inform the public
Academic Vocabulary #64
 Technical
Documents
 Windows for
Dummies
 Instruction booklets
 Documents used to
explain procedures
for using
technology.
Academic Vocabulary #65
 Functional
Documents
 EX: Consumer,
public, workplace,
and technical
documents.
 Any documents
prepared for a
specific function.
Academic Vocabulary #66
 Boldface
I like to put important
words in boldface
type.
 Dark, heavy type.
Academic Vocabulary #67
 Format
 EX: bullet points,
numbering,
headings, margins
 The design of a
document
Academic Vocabulary #68
 Graphics
 Visual elements that
add to the text
 EX: art, photos,
drawings, diagrams
100%
80%
60%
40%
20%
0%
Series 3
Series 2
Series 1
Academic Vocabulary #69
 Header
 Before You Read
– Terms to Know:
 A label or heading
that begins a
section of a
document.
Academic Vocabulary #70
 Point-by-point
Sequence
 A sequence that
lists items in no
particular order.
 EX: our list of
academic
vocabulary terms
 Tone
 Symbol
 Irony
Academic Vocabulary #71
 Step-by-step
sequence
 A sequence that
tells you what to do
first, second, third,
and so on.
 EX: a recipe
1. Get out ingredients
2. Mix butter and
sugar
Academic Vocabulary #72
 Situational Irony
 EX: You expect to get
presents at Christmas,
and you end up with
coal in your stocking
 When you expect one
thing to happen, but
something totally
different occurs
Academic Vocabulary #73
 Verbal Irony
 EX: “You’re my
Favorite class!”
 When you say one
thing, but mean
something totally
different
Academic Vocabulary #74
 Dramatic Irony
 EX: Romeo & Juliet
 When the reader or
audience knows
something that a
character does not
know
Academic Vocabulary #75
 Ambiguity
 “The Lady or the
Tiger?”
 An uncertain
interpretation; lack
of precise meaning;
unclear
Academic Vocabulary #76
 Objective Writing
 Encyclopedia
articles
 When a writer
includes only the
facts
Academic Vocabulary #77
 Subjective Writing
 R.M.S. Titanic: “She
was a deadly
reality, this ghastly
thing.”
 When the writer
adds his/her
opinions,
judgments, feelings
Academic Vocabulary #78
 Tragedy
 EX: Romeo & Juliet,
Julius Caesar
 A play with tragic
events that usually
end in death
Academic Vocabulary #79
 Acts/Scenes
 Ex: Act I, scene i
 Plays are divided into
sections, or acts; acts are
divided into shorter
sections, or scenes
Academic Vocabulary #80
 Drama
 Julius Caesar
 Literature in play
form, meant to be
acted for an
audience
Academic Vocabulary #81
 Foil
 Brutus and Cassius
 A character that
serves to contrast
the traits of the
main character
Academic Vocabulary #82
 Comedy
 Midsummer Night’s
Dream
 A play with
humorous events
that ends happily
Academic Vocabulary #83
 Aside
 Trebonius: “..so near
will I be that your best
friends will wish I had
been further.”
 A short speech, delivered
to the audience or to
another character, that
others onstage are not
supposed to hear.
Academic Vocabulary #84
 Tragic Hero
 EX: Caesar?
Brutus?
 An admirable figure
who has a personal
failing that leads to
his or her downfall.
Academic Vocabulary #85
 Tragic Flaw
 Caesar’s ego?
 A failing that leads a
character to make
choices that result
in tragedy.
Academic Vocabulary #14
 ANTONYMS
 EX: Hot/Cold
Big/Small
Dark/Light
 Words that have the
opposite or nearly
opposite meanings.
Academic Vocabulary #16
 PERSUASIVE
 EX: MLK’s “I Have a
Dream” speech
 An essay or speech that
seeks to
persuade/convince others
to do or believe something
Academic Vocabulary #19
 ARGUMENT
 EX: any television ad or
radio commercial.
– “You’re in good hands with
Allstate!”
 A series of statements
designed to persuade
readers to accept a
claim or opinion
Academic Vocabulary #20
 Drafting
 EX: 1st draft, 2nd draft,
Final Draft
 Writing in its
initial/beginning stages
Academic Vocabulary #21
 ORGANIZATION
 The arrangement of
ideas and
information
 EX: outline, SUTW format
I. Literary Terms
A. Foreshadowing
1. Hints or clues
B. Flashback
Academic Vocabulary #28
 Anecdote
 EX: The anecdote of
Hyde being sprayed by
a skunk to illustrate
conflict
 A very brief, often
witty story that
makes a point
Academic Vocabulary #31
 Idiom
 EX: It’s raining cats
and dogs!
 A special expression
that not meant to be
taken literally
Academic Vocabulary #95
 MOOD
 “Her species must
be eradicated..”
 A story’s
atmosphere or the
feeling it evokes in
the reader
Academic Vocabulary #98
 Allegory
 EX: Animal Farm
 A story where
characters and
settings stand for
moral qualities or
ideas.
Academic Vocabulary #96
 Symbolism
 Lion=royalty or
fearlessness
 Owl=wisdom or bad
luck
 When one thing
represents
something else