7th Grade Final Exam: Addressing the StandardsAcademic Vocabulary

25 of the following academic vocabulary words will appear on the exam

1. characterization: the manner through which authors create and develop
characters develop characters
2. metaphor: a comparison of two unlike things NOT using like or as
3. simile: a comparison of two unlike things using like or as
4. symbolism: using a concrete object or a word to represent an abstract
idea. An action, person, place, word, or object can all have a symbolic
meaning. When an author wants to suggest a certain mood or emotion, he
can also use symbolism to hint at it, rather than just blatantly saying it
5. theme: the central concept/idea explored throughout a work
6. conflict: a struggle between the protagonist and another character,
against nature, or some outside force
*Types Man vs. Man; Man vs. Self; Man vs. Nature; Man vs. Society
7. juxtaposition: the placement of two disparate objects, scenes, concepts,
etc. side-by-side or close together for heightened comparison
8. cite: acknowledgement of the source of information or text
9. narrator: the voice who narrates something, especially a character who
recounts the events of a novel or narrative poem
10. clarify: make (a statement or situation) less confused and more clearly
comprehensible
11. setting: historical moment in time and geographic location in which a
story takes place, and helps initiate the main backdrop and mood for a story
12. [vivid] imagery: includes the "mental pictures" that readers experience
with a passage of literature. It signifies all the sensory perceptions referred
to in a poem, whether by literal description, allusion, simile, or metaphor
13. irony: the use of words that mean the opposite of what you really think;
a situation that is strange or funny because things happen in a way that
seems to be the opposite of what you expected
14. stanza: a group of lines forming the basic recurring metrical unit in a
poem; a verse

15. point of view: the position of the narrator in relation to the story, as
indicated by the narrator's outlook from which the events are depicted and
by the attitude toward the characters
16. omniscient narrator: the all-knowing or god-like point of view where
any characters thoughts or actions may be described and commented upon
17. alliteration: the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the
beginning of adjacent or closely connected words.
18. tone: attitudes toward the subject and toward the audience implied in a
literary work
19. foreshadowing: guessing ahead is a literary device by which an author
hints what is to come.
20. plot: defined as the events that make up a story, particularly: as they
relate to one another in a pattern or in a sequence
21. personification: giving human qualities to inanimate objects, animals
or notions and movement
22. climax: the high point in the story, film, artistic representation
23. protagonist: leading character, hero, or heroine of a drama or
other literary work.
24. antagonist: a person who is opposed to, struggles against, or competes
with another; opponent; adversary
25. hyperbole: exaggerations to create emphasis or effect.
26. synonym: a word or phrase that means exactly or nearly the same as
another word or phrase
27. antonym: a word or phrase that means the opposite of another word or
phrase
28. analysis: the practice of looking closely at small parts to see how they
affect the whole. Literary analysis focuses on how plot/structure, character,
setting, and many other techniques are used by the author to create
meaning.
29. annotation: a note of explanation or comment added to a text or
diagram
30. genre: a category of artistic composition, as in music or literature
31. excerpt: a short extract from a text

32. idiom: a mode of expression or turn of phrase (Every cloud has a silver
lining.
33. cliffhanger: a story or event with a strong element of suspense
34. concrete detail: a specific detail from the text that supports a point
referring to the topic (a quotation from the text)
35. commentary: a series of comments, annotations or notes
36. literal language interpretive or descriptive language which is direct,
exact or precise in manner or sense
37. figurative language: interpretive or descriptive language which is
symbolic, metaphorical or indirect in manner or sense
38. plagiarism: an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language
and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation
of that author's work as one's own, as by not crediting the original author
39. oxymoron: two opposite ideas are joined to create an effect
40. flashback: a transition in a story to an earlier time that interrupts the
normal chronological order of events
41. imply: The conclusion that can be drawn from something, although it is
not explicitly stated
42. quotation: a group of words taken from a text or speech and repeated
by someone other than the original author or speaker
43. paraphrase: a rewording of something written or spoken by someone
else
44. annotate: a note of explanation or comment added to a text or diagram