Vocabulary Study Guide
Genre
Noun. A category of literature, music, or art characterized by a particular style, form, or content.
Some Genres:
Fable
Noun. A brief story that teaches a lesson or moral, usually through animal characters that take on
human qualities.
Fairy Tale
Noun. A story that involves fantasy elements such as witches, goblins, and elves. These stories
often involve princes and princesses and today are generally told to entertain children.
Folk Tale
Noun. An anonymous traditional story passed on orally from one generation to another.
Myth
Noun. A traditional story that explains the actions of gods or heroes or the origins of the elements
of nature.
Stanza
Noun. A group of lines in a poem arranged together in equal groups in a recurring pattern of meter
and rhyme.
Figurative Language
Noun. Language that compares, exaggerates, and means something other than what it first appears
to mean. It is used to create a special effect or feeling. Examples: simile, metaphor, alliteration,
personification, onomatopoeia, hyperbole, imagery.
Setting
Noun. The place or type of surroundings where something is positioned or where an event takes
place.
Exposition
Noun. Events that give a reader background information and details needed to understand a
story.
Plot
Noun. The sequence of related events that make-up a story or novel.
Conflict
Noun. A struggle between opposing forces.
External Conflict
Noun. A conflict in which the character struggles with an outside force, such as another character
or something in nature.
Internal Conflict
Noun. A conflict in which the character struggles with his or her own needs, desires, or
emotions.
Resolution
Noun. The outcome of the conflict of a story, when loose ends are wrapped up.
Theme
Noun. The message or central idea that is being discussed or described in a piece of writing, a
movie, etc.
Characterization
Noun. The methods a writer uses to develop characters through description, actions, and
dialogue. Example: Effie Trinket in “The Hunger Games”.
Personal Narrative
Noun. A first-person story describing something that happened to the writer. It is usually a true story
and, in addition to relating the details of the event, includes the author's feelings about the experience
and what they learned.
First-Person Point of View
Noun. Written from a character’s point of view and uses words like “I”, “me”, and “mine”.
Third-Person Point of View
Noun. Written from a narrator’s point of view and uses words like “he”, “she”, and “they”.
Denotation
Noun. The exact, literal meaning. Example: The denotation of a “tree” is that it is a plant with
bark, branches, and leaves.
Connotation
Noun. The suggested or implied meaning or emotion associated with a word. Example: The
connotation of a “tree” is that it represents life, growth, family.
Symbol
Noun. An object, a person, or a place that stands for something else. Example: The
American flag and the Bald Eagle represent the United States of America.
Coherence
Noun. The state of being logical, well-organized, and easy to understand. Example: The
organized essay had coherence so it was easy to understand.
Objective
Adjective. Based on facts rather than feelings or opinions; not influenced by feelings.
Subjective
Adjective. Based on feelings and opinions, not facts.
Effect
Noun. The way one thing acts upon or influences another.
Effective
Adjective. Something that is successful in producing a desired or intended result.