 English 8 Exam Review 
Plot Line
PLOT – The plot is the chain of related events that happen in a story. A plot is built
around a conflict or struggle between opposing forces.
Match the definitions below to the correct plot line term.
______Rising Action
A. the highest point of interest and/or the turning point of the
story
_____ Plot
B. the chain of related events (beginning, middle, and end)
that happen in a story
______Resolution
______Exposition
______Climax
______Conflict
______Falling Action
C. the beginning of the story where the characters and the
setting are introduced and background information is given
D. the events that follow the climax as the conflict begins to
resolve itself
E. this concludes the story by revealing the final effects of the
conflict
F. the events that build the story and reveal the conflict
G. the struggle between opposing forces
Plot Line
Review the Plot Line for The Dinner Party.
Conflict
1. Man vs. Man:
2. Man vs. Society:
3. Man vs. Nature:
problem with another
character
problem with the laws
or beliefs of a group
problem with force of
nature
4. Man vs. Fate:
5. Man vs. Technology:
6. Man vs. Supernatural:
problem with gods, ghosts,
monsters, spirits or aliens
problem with a
force of fate, or
luck.
problem with a
mechanical antagonist
7. Man vs. Self:
problem with deciding what to do
or think
Conflict
For each type of conflict listed below, identify one
example from a class novel or short story.
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Society
Man vs. Fate
Man vs. Self
Characterization- STEAL
Methods of Characterization
Speech
What does the character say? How does the character
speak?
Thoughts
What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts
and feelings?
Effect on others
What is revealed through the character’s effect on other
people? How do other characters feel or behave in reaction
to the character?
Actions
What does the character do? How does the character
behave?
Looks
What does the character look like? How does the character
dress?
Characterization- STEAL
In the novel Matched, Grandfather is quietly rebellious. Write the STEAL trait
for each example below.
1.
At Grandfather’s Final Banquet, there is “a wry twist to Grandfather’s mouth… as though he knows
something they don’t.” He knows that his son will destroy his tissue sample, thus rebelling against the
Society’s plans for the future.
2.
Cassia visits Grandfather on the day before his Final Banquet, which is the day he will die. She asks him
what he’s thinking about. He replies, “Many things. A poem. An idea. Your grandmother.” Grandfather is
tossing ideas around in his head. He wants to encourage Cassia to be an independent thinker, which
means rebelling against the Society.
3.
Cassia tells Grandfather about the mistake on her Match microcard, and asks him what her grandmother
would say about it. Grandfather responds, “She would ask you if you wondered.” His statement goes
against the Society’s matching system, and it fuels Cassia’s desire to wonder… to rebel herself.
4.
Grandfather convinces Cassia’s father to destroy his tissue sample after he dies. The Society intends to
keep the tissue samples with hopes of bringing people back to life in the future, and Grandfather wants to
die on his own terms.
5.
Grandfather gives Cassia a forbidden poem before he dies. The poem should have been destroyed years
before, but he and Cassia’s grandmother hid it in her compact. “Grandfather looks at me with love in his
eyes, and holds the paper out to me. A challenge, an offering, a gift.”
Characterization- Static vs. Dynamic
The key word when dealing with the difference
between static and dynamic characters is
internal change.
Static Characters are the same internally at the
beginning and end of the story. (Static = STAY THE
SAME)
Dynamic Characters change or grow internally because of the
events of the story.
Characterization- Static vs. Dynamic
Identify one STATIC character from a novel or
short story we have read this year. Explain what
makes this character static.
Identify one DYNAMIC character from a novel or
short story we have read this year. Explain what
makes this character dynamic.
Setting
The time and location in which a story takes place is
called the setting.
a) place - Where is the action of the story occurring?
b) time - When is the story taking place?
c) weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc?
d) mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created? Is it
bright and cheerful or dark and frightening?
Setting
The elements of setting are underlined. Identify each: time, place, weather,
& mood in the following passage from Owl Moon by Jane Yolen.
It was late one winter night, long past my bedtime, when Pa and I went
owling. There was no wind. The trees stood still as giant statues. And the
moon was so bright the sky seemed to shine. Somewhere behind us a train
whistle blew, long and low, like a sad, sad song.
Our feet crunched over the crisp snow and little gray footprints followed us.
Pa made a long shadow, but mine was short and round.
We reached the line of pine trees, black and pointy against the sky.
I could feel the cold, as if someone's icy hand was palm down on my back.
Mood
Mood is the effect of the writer's words on the
reader. Mood is how the writer’s words make
us feel.
Explain the mood in a particular scene of your
class novel.
• Honors: The Pearl
• Academic: All the Broken Pieces.
Irony
Irony is a contrast between what is expected
and what actually happens.
What was ironic in The Dinner Party?
Figurative Language
A simile is when two things are compared using the words LIKE or AS.
A metaphor compares two things, but it does so directly WITHOUT using as
or like. A metaphor states that something is something else.
Personification is a figure of speech that uses human (or personal)
characteristics to describe non-human objects or ideas.
Alliteration is the repetition of beginning consonant sounds in a line or
sentence.
Hyperbole is an extreme EXAGGERATION for dramatic effect.
Onomatopoeia is the use of words that SOUND like the objects or actions
they describe.
Parts of Speech
Noun (Naming Word)
Definition: names a person, place, thing, or idea, including days and months; it can act or be acted upon
Example: The kids like to play soccer in July.
Pronoun (Replaces a Noun)
Definition: replaces a noun
Example: A boy scores a goal, and he is very excited!
Verb (Action/State of Being Word)
Definition: shows physical or mental movement, being or state of being; combines with another verb to form a
phrase, and links the subject to words that describe it
Example: The kids kick the soccer ball, run up and down the field, and feel tired at the end of the game.
Adjective (Describing Word)
Definition: describes a noun or pronoun by telling what kind, how many, or which one
Example: The energetic kids play two sports in sunny July.
Adverb (Describes a Verb)
Definition: describes a verb, an adjective, or another adverb; tells how, when, where, or to what extent; often
ends in “-ly”
Example: The player easily scored another goal and happily ran back to the starting line.
Parts of Speech
In the following story, identify each of the 13 underlined word as a Noun, Pronoun,
Verb, Adjective, or Adverb!
Three blind mice scurried quietly through the room, searching for their cheese.
One intelligent mouse found his cheese by sniffing the air. Another wise
mouse located his cheese by swishing his tail left and right. The last mouse
was too slow. He rarely kept up with the others. As the first two mice dashed
into their small hole, mouse #3 discovered that his hunk of cheddar had been
eaten by the cat. He narrowly escaped the ferocious feline, diving through the
hole just in time to share a few nibbles of cheese with his friends! 
Please Review:
•
•
•
•
The Dinner Party: Re-read story and review handouts.
Thank You Ma’am: Review Check for Understanding
Honors: The Pearl Packet
Academic: All the Broken Pieces Handouts: Setting, Conflict,
STEAL, Figurative Language, Symbolism, Theme, Check for
Understanding
• FYI Handouts – Plot, Setting, Characterization, Static vs.
Dynamic, Conflict, Figurative Language, Symbolism,
• MUG Quizzes  (Especially MUG #2!)