First Nine Weeks’ Vocabulary

1. First Nine Weeks’ Vocabulary 8th grade English Language Arts

2. Poetry • Simile: • Comparing 2 unlike things using “like” or “as” • Metaphor • Comparing 2 unlike things not using “like” or “as” • Personification • Giving an inanimate object humanlike qualities • Onomatopoeia • Spelling out sounds • Hyperbole • Extreme exaggeration • Idioms • Language peculiar to a people, district, community, or class • Symbolism • Using a word or object to represent something else

3. Literature • Theme • Central idea or something that unifies/controls a piece of literature • Setting • Location in which the story occurs • Rising action • Action leading up to the climax • Conflict • Opposition between protagonist and antagonist • Climax • Main event in the story • Resolution • Solution to the climax or problem • Antagonist • Bad guy • Protagonist • Good guy • Point-of-view • The way a story gets told and who tell it • Genre • Type or category of literature

4. Writing • Expository Writing • Explain • Argumentative Writing • To persuade a point • Annotation • Note taking by way of comment or explanation • Thesis Statement • Main idea of a writing assignment • Voice • Individual writing style (tone/mood) of the author • Conventions • Grammar usage throughout a writing assignment • Fluency • The flow of the writing • Sensory Words • Words that appeal to the reader’s 5 senses; they are words that help the audience hear, smell, taste, feel, and/or smell what is being written about. • Audience Awareness • Be sure you know who is reading your paper.  Speaking directly to him/her using his/her name at least two or three times throughout the essay.  Also, consider your audience when you choose your words.  For example, you wouldn’t write “What’s up chic?” if you were writing a letter to Dr. Jackson, but you may use those words if you were writing a note to your best friend.