Lock ELA Study Guide
1. Reading Comprehension/Literary Analysis
Genres: Categories of composition. Each genre has a particular style, form, and content
Fiction (stories)
Nonfiction
Drama
Poetry
adventure stories, historical fiction,
mysteries, myths, science fiction, realistic
fiction, allegories, parodies, satire, graphic
novels
exposition, argument, functional text
in the form of personal essays,
speeches, opinion pieces, essays about
art or literature, biographies, memoirs,
journalism, and historical, scientific,
technical, or economic accounts
(including digital sources) written for
broad audience
One-act or multi-act plays
narrative poems, lyric poems, free verse poems,
sonnets, odes, ballads, and epics
Characterization:
Direct- Direct statement.
“Britney is mean.”
Informational text- writing that
informs or explains, in the form of
business letters, memos, how-to
passages, news stories, historical,
scientific, and technical accounts
(including digital sources) written
for a broad audience. Narratives of
events that actually happened.
Tragedy (sad)
Rhyme- repetition of sounds in two or
more words
Argumentation a.k.a. Persuasive
Writing – Uses reasoning to
influence ideas or actions, in the
form of editorials, opinion pieces,
speeches, letters to the editor, job
application letters, movie and book
reviews, and advertisements
Literary Nonfiction- Narrative
writing n the form of an anecdote,
a diary, a journal, a memoir, a
biography, an autobiography, or
another retelling of true events.
Comedy (funny)
End rhyme (end of lines) Most Common
Political Drama (Political
component or event)
Internal rhyme (within a line) “Once upon a
midnight dreary, while I pondered weak
and weary”
Indirect-Clues are given
through character’s thoughts
or actions or what other
characters think of him/her.
“Coal thinks Britney is mean.
Britney cut Sarah off in
traffic.”
Dialogue (conversation)
Monologue (speech)
Interior Monologue- character’s
thoughts)
Fiction (stories)
Nonfiction
Drama
Poetry
adventure stories, historical fiction,
mysteries, myths, science fiction, realistic
fiction, allegories, parodies, satire, graphic
novels
exposition, argument, functional text
in the form of personal essays,
speeches, opinion pieces, essays about
art or literature, biographies, memoirs,
journalism, and historical, scientific,
technical, or economic accounts
(including digital sources) written for
broad audience
One-act or multi-act plays
narrative poems, lyric poems, free verse poems,
sonnets, odes, ballads, and epics
Character traits- character’s
personality
Modern Drama (Themes of
alienation or
disconnectedness/ “real-life”)
Setting (when and where)
Theatre of the Absurd- human
existence and communication
has no meaning/Sometimes
missing plot, setting, or
character
Dramatic irony- When the
audience knows something the
characters do not. Ex. We know
what happened to Anne Frank
before she does.
Dramatic conventions
Structure- organization
Chronological (most commontime order)
Epistolary (letters)
Dialogue (conversation)
Frame Narrative (story within
a story)
In Medias Res (storyline
begins in the middle)
Monologue (speech)
Slant rhyme (near rhymes) Dickinson
“bone and moon”
“ill and shell”
“soul and all”
Consonance (similar consonants)
“chitter, chatter”
“pick, sack”
“spoiled, spilled”
Assonance (similar vowels)
“all, awful”
“feed, meal”
“lake, plain”
Alliteration (repetition of initial sound,
usually consonant)
“The gray geese were grazing”
Rhyme scheme (pattern of end rhymes,
labeled by letter)
Roses are red a
Violets are blue b
You love me
c
I love you
b
Form- structure of poem
Stanza- group of lines
Fixed Form- traditional and rhymes
Fiction (stories)
Nonfiction
Drama
Poetry
adventure stories, historical fiction,
mysteries, myths, science fiction, realistic
fiction, allegories, parodies, satire, graphic
novels
exposition, argument, functional text
in the form of personal essays,
speeches, opinion pieces, essays about
art or literature, biographies, memoirs,
journalism, and historical, scientific,
technical, or economic accounts
(including digital sources) written for
broad audience
One-act or multi-act plays
narrative poems, lyric poems, free verse poems,
sonnets, odes, ballads, and epics
Conflict-source of tension or interest
in story, creates uncertainty
External Conflict (character vs. outside
force Ex. Person vs. person, vs. nature,
vs. machine, vs. society)
Internal Conflict (inner struggle one
person vs. self)
Point of View - perspective
1st person “in the story”
2nd person- narrator addresses
reader “You will see” RARE.
3rd person limited- tells the
story without participating
3rd person omniscient- tells
the story and knows thoughts
of others
Tone- Author’s attitude toward topic
Diction- word choice
Syntax- Order of words in sentence
Mood- Atmosphere
Theme- Universal statement about life
that is shown in text
Main idea vs. Theme
Free Form- no guidelines
Blank verse- unrhymed iambic pentameter
(five stressed, then unstressed syllables per
line)
Narrative poems- tell a story
Ballad- narrative that can be sung
Lyric- expresses thoughts or feelings
Sonnet- 14 line poem with fixed rhyme
scheme
Petrarchan a.k.a Italian sonnet –
abbaabba cdecde
Shakespearean Sonnet= abab cdcd
efef gg
Main idea- Summarizing what that piece of writing is about
Theme- Universal statement about life that can be supported by that writing.
Example: The main idea of Huck Finn is that Huck is happier when camping or on the river.
The theme of Huck Finn is that man is happier in nature.
(specific character, setting)
(universal, “big picture”)
Common themes in American Literature
American individualism
American dream
Cultural diversity
Tolerance
Implicit- Implied or hinted at indirectly
Explicit – fully expressed, or directly stated
Infer- To come to a reasonable conclusion based on evidence
Rhetoric: art of speaking or writing
Fact vs. Opinion (look for subjective, or value words, in opinion, ex. Best, most, good, bad, ugly, etc.)
Irony- opposites
Verbal irony a.k.a. sarcasm- Saying the opposite of what you mean or feel
Situational irony-outcome is different from what was expected.
Satire- the use of wit, or humor, to criticize something more serious
Understatement- deliberately making a situation seem less than it really is
**Literary Periods Chart Handout
Figurative Language- See handout
Simile- comparison “like” or “as”
Metaphor- direct comparison
Personification- giving human traits
Denotation- dictionary definition…. Snake = reptile with scales
Connotation- implied definition……Snake = treachery, betrayal
Hyperbole-exaggeration
Idiom-expression that is not literally what it means
Context- surrounding words
Cognates- words with common origin (usually more than one language) Ex. Night, nacht, nuit,
Propaganda- persuasion to promote a political, commercial, or civil cause
Types of Arguments
Argument by authority- relies on statements from authority figures, experts or professionals to convince reader (celebrity endorser)
Argument by emotion- appeals to your feelings (sick babies, pets)
Argument by logic- appeals to reason or evidence (scientific trial)
Types of Persuasive Techniques
Appeal to fit in with the crowd (Bandwagon)
One sided information
Simplified picture of complex issue (stereotypes)
Rhetorical questions (questions that cannot be answered)
Credible source- one that can be trusted to be accurate and unbiased
Integrate Information- Combines or brings together
2. Conventions and Language
Controlling idea a.k.a. Thesis
Subordinate – Under, or supporting
Thesis- topic/controlling idea of entire paper
Topic Sentence- main idea of paragraph
Parallelism or Parallel Structure- Using the same pattern of words.
Example:
Not Parallel
Mary likes hiking, swimming, and to ride a bicycle.
Repetition- repeat
Analogy- Comparisons. “Wet is to ocean as dry is to ___________.”
Parallel
Mary likes hiking, swimming, and riding a bicycle.
Informal vs. Formal- Word choice is indicator. “I, me, you, us, we” or clichés indicate informal
Organization techniques
Chronological
Cause and effect
Compare and contrast
Asking and answering questions
Writing / Reference Materials
Common – dictionary (definition), thesaurus (other words), atlas (maps), almanac (statistics), encyclopedia (articles), library catalog
Less Common- microfiche(newspapers on film), speeches, journals, technical documents (manuals)
Cite – Telling where you got your information
Primary (original document) vs. Secondary source (writing about original document)
Paraphrasing vs. Plagiarism (your words/copy and paste with no citation)
Anecdotal scripting (taking notes)
Annotated Bibliography (summary of works cited)
Writing Process: Prewriting, Drafting, Revising and Editing, Proofreading, Publishing
Purpose of passage: to inform (facts, both sides), persuade (look for judgment/value words “best”), entertain (!)
Common Grammar Issues
Subject/verb and Pronoun/antecedent agreement
Shifts in pronoun person and number
Vague pronouns
Fragments and run-ons
Commonly confused words (**handout**)
Inappropriate shifts in verb tense, voice, and mood
Phrases and clauses within sentences
Dangling modifiers
Complex or congested usage by consulting reference
Parts of Speech/Sentence * see handouts
Capitalization
Spelling
Punctuation (Hypens, Colons, Ellipses, Apostrophes, Commas, Semicolons, Quotation Marks, End punctuation)