English II Study Guide for the Final Exam
Disclaimer: Please keep in mind that this is only a guide. It is by no means a complete list of everything that may or may not be
asked on the final. Look at your study guides, hand outs, projects, and notes to help you review.
Your exam is worth 20% of your final grade!

Essay Portion- You will be asked to incorporate all three sources (Romeo and Juliet,
Antigone, and Whale Rider) in a formal essay. The essay will be completed during the final
period. Summarizing the stories will not earn you a good grade; instead, be sure that you
completely answer the prompt while using specific examples. You may enter the class with
1-page of notes about all three stories.
HINT: USE YOUR FISHBOWL EXPLANATION AND NOTES TO HELP YOU STUDY.
Make your notes more concise than what you took for the fishbowl, since you will only be
able to bring in a sheet of loose-leaf paper of notes.

Skills- You will have 40 questions that revolve around the main skills we covered this
year.
Literary Terms to know the definition & Identify Examples:
Allegory
Allusion
Fable
Foreshadowing
Irony
Satire
Suspense
Symbolism
Theme
Tone
Plot Structure and Characteristics:
1) Be able to diagram the plot structure of a short story. This involves sequencing of events.
2) Be able to identify the protagonist, antagonist, conflicts (internal vs. external), main idea,
symbols, and theme.
3) You will also be asked to identify examples of literary devices such as allegory, metaphor,
simile, alliteration, personification, theme, and satire.
4) By using context clues, you will be asked to identify the meaning of unknown words.
5) Summarizing: A good summary is not too detailed, but not too vague. It covers the main idea
of the text in a way where people will know what was in the text without having to read it.
Understanding Elements of Literature and Plot Structure
Each statement below relates to one element of the plot. Place the letter of each statement next
to the appropriate element on the plot diagram. Use the story of “Little Red Riding Hood” as
your example.
_____ 1. Red discovers the disguise and evil intentions of the sinister wolf, and the
brave woodsman comes into the cottage just in time to save Red from the
hungry jaws of the wolf.
_____ 2. Little Red Riding Hood meets a stranger in the woods who asks her where
she is going with her basket of goodies. The stranger makes plans to beat
Red to Grandma’s house to ambush Red on her arrival.
_____ 3. The woodsman and Red free Grandma from the imprisonment of the
wolf and share their exploits of their harrowing escape from death.
_____ 4. The reader is informed that Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother has
been sick and that Red has made plans to go through the dangerous woods
to visit her grandmother
_____ 5. The three survivors sit down to partake in the goodies that Red brought
and savor their victory over the ambitious wolf.
C
B
A
D
E
Choose the letter that best answers the question or completes the statement.
1.
From what point of view is “Little Red Riding Hood” told?
A. 1st person
C. 3rd Person
B. 2nd Person
D. last person
2.
What literary technique does the author use when she leaves the reader with a
of anxiety of what will happen to Red when she realizes the wolf is in
disguise?
A. Suspense
C. Allusion
B. Paradox
D. Irony
feeling
3.
What literary technique is being used in this quote about the story?
“Reds ran through the forest like a child late for school.”
A. Personification
C. Alliteration
B. Metaphor
D. Simile
4.
If the author referred to Red acting as “her grandma’s Hercules” what literary
technique would be being used?
A. Anthropomorphism
C. Alliteration
B. Allusion
D. Aphorism
5.
What is the main plot of the story?
A. It is bad to do harm to others when an axe wielding woodsman is around.
B. People who take pleasure in the death of others will pay in the end.
C. A young girl goes to visit her ailing grandparent and encounters a devious wolf bent on
tasting the girl’s basket of goodies and the flesh of girl herself.
D. Evil and deceit will only bring hardship and sorrow.
6.
Who or what is the protagonist in the story?
A. Little Red Riding Hood
C. Grandma
B. the woodsman
D. the wolf
7.
Who or what is the antagonist in the story?
C. Little Red Riding Hood
C. Grandma
D. the woodsman
D. the wolf
8.
When the writer has the wolf meet Red in the woods before the meeting at
Grandma’s house, he hints there will be problems for Red later. What literary
technique is being used?
A. Foreshadowing
C. Symbol
B. Paradox
D. Allusion
Understanding Summaries
Read the following article and the statements that follow. Then choose the
statement that represents the best summary of the article
The Romance of Arthur
Most cultures have some sort of hero who represents the best values of what people believe in. The
unusual thing about King Arthur is that the legends of his heroism have persisted for several centuries and spread far
and beyond England, the place where they began.
The earliest stories of King Arthur represent him as a warrior who fought and subdued the invading
Norsemen in the years around A.D. 700. This much of the Arthurian tale is probably based on fact. Whether called
Arthur or not, there is a body of evidence supporting the existence of such a warrior. It is the later embellishments
of the tale whose authenticity is questionable. According to these, Arthur was born in a castle in Tintagel, on the
stormy western coast of England, and because he was the illegitimate son of King Uther Pendragon, he was spirited
away by the magician Merlin and his true identity kept from him. He became king after freeing the sword Excalibur
from the stone into which it was thrust. He married the beautiful Guinevere and assembled in his court all the
noblest knights of the land, including Lancelot, with whom Guinevere would later be unfaithful to him. He was
finally defeated in battle by his illegitimate son Mordred, and his body was spirited away to the isle of Avalon.
This romantic tale greatly appealed to the English and the French in the Middle Ages, when the code of
chivalry – ideal qualities of knighthood – constituted an important part of many stories. Tales of heroism of
Gallahad, Percival, Gawain, and many other of Arthur’s knights were circulated as well.
In England today, there are many sites claiming a piece of Arthurian legend. There is a ruined castle at
Tintagel. Near Glastonbury are the remains of an ancient abbey where Arthur’s and Guinevere’s bodies were
supposedly exhumed in the 12th century. Neither of these proves that the legend is true, but they do keep its
mystique alive.
1.
Which statement represents the best summary of the preceding article?
A. There are many tales of King Arthur and his valiant Knights of the Round Table.
B. The story of King Arthur dates back many centuries, and his exploits and legend have
become more detailed over time.
C. Arthur was betrayed by Lancelot and Guinevere and the exact circumstances of his death
are shrouded in mystery and add to his legend.
D. Arthur was killed in battle by his illegitimate son, Mordred, who plotted with
LeFay in an attempt to destroy Arthur and capture the English crown.
External and Internal Conflict
Morgan
Each of the following sentence groups describes a conflict. After each numbered item, chose A for internal conflict
and B for external conflict.
1. Bill plays cards with his friends every Friday night. This week the best looking girl in school,
Lola, asked Bill if he would like to take in a movie on Friday. Bill knows that his friends will be very
disappointed if he bails on them, but Lola is hot.
2. Marshall took a job at the local supermarket, and he saw his friend Juan, who also works at the store,
smoking behind the store. The night manager, Hop Sing, found the burning cigarette and blamed
Marshall. Marshall said that he saw Juan smoking out back. Juan was later fired for smoking on the job
and would like to meet Marshall for “a little talk” after work.
Context Clues
Use the context clues from the sentence to choose the word that is closest to the meaning
of the word in italics.
1. Because the defendant was his son, the prosecutor argued that the judge’s decision would be
biased.
A. prejudiced
B. impartial
C. fair
D. objective
2. The principal was very lenient on Jeff because his inappropriate behavior was his first
transgression of the school year.
A. award
B. achievement
C. favor
D. indiscretion
3. One could barely see the ominous message written on the jail cell wall.
A. dense
B. threatening
C. jovial
D. obvious