Study Guide for Literature & Composition I
Fall 2010 Semester Exam
Vocabulary
- Study the words from Wordly Wise Lesson 9. Be able to pronounce them, spell
them, give a basic definition for them, and use them well in a sentence.
- The vocabulary section on this exam will be just like the Wordly Wise quizzes we
have been taking – right down to the bonus points for knowing one of the idioms
we have studied!
Grammar
- Be able to identify the part of speech (noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, verb,
preposition, conjunction, and interjection) of a word.
- Be able to identify the following parts of a sentence: subject, verb, complete verb
phrase, direct object, indirect object, prepositional phrase.
- Be able to tell if a verb is an action verb or a linking verb.
- Be able to tell if a prepositional phrase is adjectival or adverbial.
- Be able to define gerunds and participles and tell how they are different.
- Be able to identify and diagram the following in a sentence: subject, compound
subjects, verb, compound verbs, predicate nominative, predicate adjective, direct
object, prepositional phrases, gerunds, participles, adjectives, adverbs, indirect
objects.
- Make sure you can diagram a gerund or participle that has a direct object coming
off of it, or a prepositional phrase coming off of it.
Literature and Writing
- Know the main characters, settings, conflicts, and basic plots of each of the books
we have read this year:
o The Golden Goblet
o Mythology (the main gods of Olympus and the story of the beginning of the
Trojan War)
o The Odyssey
- You will be given five passages on the exam that you will identify. From the
passage, you should be able to figure out who is speaking (even if it is the
narrator), what point in the story this is, and why this quote is important to the
story.
- Be familiar with the twelve main Greek gods (except Hestia) and what they are the
gods of (see Mythology, pp. 25-35).
- Know the “major roles” that any of these gods play in the Odyssey.
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Be able to define these terms and tell when a passage contains any of the
following: an epic simile, a flashback, an invocation of the Muse, in media res,
hyperbole.
Be able to take a passage from the Odyssey and point out any of the major themes:
nostos, xenia, manhood, speech as a symbol of power, the power of cunning, or
temptation.
Be able to identify the tone of a passage. This means understanding what attitude
is behind the passage – is it sarcastic? Humorous? Bitter? Sad? Be able to point out
what specific parts of the passage tell you about its tone.
Be able to figure out a character’s motivation from a passage. Be able to point out
the specific parts of the passage that tell you what the character’s motivation is.
Know what a metaphor is – be able to give a good definition of it.
Be able to tie metaphors to what is going on in the story (think back to our
“Changes” assignment for The Golden Goblet).
Be familiar with the definition of an epic.
Be familiar with the Egyptian words which are used frequently in The Golden
Goblet.