Academic Vocabulary – 8th grade
Name: ___________________________________________ Period: _________
11. elaborate – to express at greater length or in greater detail
12. evaluate – judge the worth or quality of something; measure; assess
13. evidence – knowledge or information on which to base belief that something is
true or can be proven
14. explanatory - intended to explain, inform, or make clear
15. expository – (writing) that explains or informs the reader; informational;
objective, (no emotions)
16. generalize – to make something less specific; overall conclusion
17. imagery/sensory – visual images or pictures created in one’s mind based on a
person’s five senses
18. inference – drawing a conclusion based on prior connections and clues from the
text (making a logical judgement)
19. literal – a meaning that is word for word; factual; actual; without interpretation
20. figurative – not literal; word or phrase that does not have its normal, everyday
meaning or definition. (Example: It’s raining cats and dogs.)
I have a frog in my throat