English 10 Honors
Mid-Term Study Guide
Mrs. Mjoness
Please note: The following is meant to serve as a tool to direct your focus while studying for
your Honors English Mid-Term Exam. We will spend between 1 and 2 class blocks reviewing,
but most of the studying will need to be done at home, on your own time. Please make
arrangements to carve study time into your schedule over the next few weeks. You are
responsible for anything learned during the first semester of this course.
Format:
Multiple Choice
True/False Statements
Short Answer
Essay
Categories:
Vocabulary
Literature
Literary Terms and Devices
Reading Comprehension
Writing Composition
Vocabulary:
You are responsible for knowing the definitions and understanding how to use the
following words in the proper context. These words were pulled directly from texts read in
class (“A Cup of Tea”, “The Dutchess and the Jeweller”, “The Rocking Horse Winner”, Lord of
the Flies and Animal Farm)
Career
Obscure
Remonstrate
Lissome
Forge
Obsequiously
Astute
Efflorescence
Enmity
Decorous
Chorister
Bastion
Hiatus
Capitalist System
Communist System
Totalitarian Government
Proletariat
Obstinate
Apathy
Tyranny
Literature:
Topics Covered: Modernism, George Orwell, William Golding, Literary Terms and Devices,
“A Cup of Tea”, “The Dutchess and the Jeweller”, “The Rocking Horse Winner”, Lord of the
Flies, and Animal Farm
Modernism:
Dates
What was going on in England at the time?
How did the devastation from war impact and inspire authors?
Major themes and focus in writing?
How did poetry change?
How did language begin to change? What brought this about?
Lord of the Flies:
Know major characters (including the Lord of the Flies) and events
Know major symbols:
Conch
Beast
Fire
Hunt
Pig
Scar
Water
Face Paint
Glasses
Parachuter
Rocks
Explain how Simon fulfills the role of the Christ figure
Know the philosophers and their beliefs about mankind and be able to relate it to the book
John Locke
Jean Jacques Rousseau
Charles Darwin
Sigmund Freud
Idea of civilized versus savage
Major themes
Know your notes on Golding and the background of the novel
Animal Farm:
Orwell’s life
Russian Revolution – Communism in Russia
Know information from power point on Orwell and the Russian Revolution (no dates)
Themes
Utopia
Allegory
Fable
Satire
Be able to identify which symbols in the book represent the following:
Proletariat
Kremlin
Bolsheviks
Great Purge
Bourgeoisie
Nazi-Soviet Pact
L’Internationale
Stalin
Trotsky
Lenin
Hitler
Czar Nicolas II
Satire
Pravda
Churchill
Propaganda
Tehran Conference
KGB (Secret Police)
Reading Comprehension:
You will have a short section similar to the AP style multiple choice questions you
encountered on the Animal Farm test. You will be given a short section to read and then
asked to answer reading comprehension questions based on the text. Below is one of the
sections from your Animal Farm test that you may use to practice.
Read the passage from Chapter 9 of Animal Farm which begins “Meanwhile life was hard”
and ends “in the Crown Derby soup tureen” carefully before you choose your answers.
1. In the first paragraph, the first sentence’s relation to the rest of the paragraph is
a. a specific followed by generalizations
b. a fact followed by supporting concepts
c. a generalization followed by specific details
d. a speculation followed by generalizations
e. a hypothesis followed by data
2. In the fifth sentence of the first paragraph, “not” is most likely italicized in order to
a. mimic Squealer’s vocal inflection
b. provide a unique break in the sentence’s syntax
c. emphasize that the animals did feel they were short on food
d. mock those who said there was a food shortage
e. foreshadow that there will be a food shortage in the future
3. The clause in parentheses serves to
a. hint at Squealer’s loss of touch with reality
b. highlight the animals’ limited vocabulary
c. reveal the pigs’ different view of life on the farm
d. mock the word manipulation used by propagandists
e. satirize the animals’ complaining about minor things
4. The paragraph beginning, “The farm had had” contains both statements and details
that, taken as a whole, present the reader with an image that is both
a. humorous and titillating
b. ironic and pathetic
c. prosaic and elaborate
d. inspiring and incredible
e. irritating and entertaining
Writing Composition:
Know definitions of persuasive writing strategies. Be able to identify and apply.
Logos
Pathos
Ethos
Kairos
Big Names
Research
Thesis Statement
Be able to compose a multi-paragraph persuasive essay
Your essay will be assigned prior to the exam date. You will have limited time in class as
well as time at home to draft, edit, revise and publish your final copy. The final copy of
your essay is due at the beginning of the exam. Please note: I will not accept late essays.
You will have to write it during your exam time, or take a zero on that section of the exam.
The essay portion count for 25% of your total mid-term exam grade