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PSSA literary terms
PSSA Reading Glossary
Question | Answer |
---|---|
a prefix or a suffix | affix |
the repetition of initial consonant sounds in neighboring words | alliteration |
an implied or indirect reference in literature to a familiar person, place, or event | allusion |
a word that is the opposite of another word | antonym |
a noun that immediately follows another noun and is set off by commas | appositive |
the author's intent to inform or teach about something, to entertain, or to persuade or convince their readers to do or not to do something | author's purpose |
the topic and a specific feeling or idea associated with it | thesis |
the story of a person's life written by himself or herself | autobiography |
a judgment based on a personal point of view | bias |
the story of a person's life written by someone other than the subject of the writing | biography |
the method an author uses to reveal characters and their personalities | characterization |
the turning point in a narrative; the moment when the conflict is at its most intense | climax |
placing characters, situations, or ideas together to show common features | compare |
a word composed of two or more smaller words | compound word |
the ending of a story or the summarization of ideas | conclusion |
a struggle or clash between opposing characters, forces, or emotions | conflict or problem |
information from the reading that identifies a word or a group of words | context clues |
to show differences | contrast |
a conversation between people | dialogue |
to examine and to judge carefully | evaluate |
to make an overstatement or to stretch the truth | exaggerate |
a narrative intended to convey a moral; animals or inanimate objects with human characteristics are often characters | fable |
an attack on a person instead of an issue (propaganda) | name calling |
appeal that tries to persuade the reader to do, think, or buy something because it's popular or because "everyone" is doing it (propaganda) | bandwagon |
an attempt to distract the reader with details not relevant to the argument (propaganda) | red herring |
a technique that tries to persuade the reader by using words that appeal to the reader's emotions instead of to logic and reason (propaganda) | emotional appeal |
a technique that attempts to persuade the reader by using a famous person to endorse a product or idea (propaganda) | testimonial |
a technique that attempts to persuade the reader by repeating a message over and over again (propaganda) | repetition |
a technique that makes an oversimplified statement about a group based on limited information (propaganda) | sweeping generalization |
states a conclusion as part of the proof of an argument (propaganda) | circular argument |
a technique that attempts to persuade the reader by showing how many people think something is true (propaganda) | appeal to numbers, facts, or statistics |