ELA 30-1 Diploma flashcards
ELA 30-1 Diploma · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Tone
- The writer's or speaker's attitude toward the subject and audience, conveyed through word choice, sentence structure, and details. Tone differs from mood, which is the feeling a reader experiences.
- Mood
- The emotional atmosphere a text creates in the reader, built through setting, imagery, diction, and pacing rather than through the writer's stated attitude.
- Theme
- A central, recurring idea about life or human nature that a literary work explores; it is expressed as a full statement, not a single word such as 'love' or 'war'.
- Controlling idea
- The main claim or central point a text develops and supports throughout; in an essay it is the arguable statement around which the whole response is organized.
- Denotation and connotation
- Denotation is a word's literal dictionary meaning; connotation is the emotional or cultural associations it carries, which often drive a text's tone.
- Irony
- A gap between what is stated or expected and what is actually true or actually happens; verbal irony is saying the opposite of what is meant.
- Hyperbole
- Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis, humour, or emotional effect rather than literal accuracy, as in 'I have told you a million times'.
- Personification
- A figure of speech granting human qualities or actions to non-human things, animals, or abstract ideas, often to create vivid imagery or emotional resonance.
- Point of view
- The perspective from which a narrative is told: first person (I), second person (you), or third person, which may be limited to one character or omniscient.
- Inference
- A conclusion drawn from evidence in the text combined with prior knowledge; valid inferences must be supported by details the text actually provides.
- Rhetorical question
- A question posed for effect rather than to obtain an answer, used to engage readers, emphasize a point, or lead them toward an assumed agreement.
- Allusion
- A brief, indirect reference to a well-known person, event, myth, or text, which relies on the reader's background knowledge to add meaning.
- Symbol
- An object, action, or image that represents an abstract idea beyond its literal meaning; its meaning is established by how the text uses it.
- Satire
- A mode of writing that uses humour, irony, or exaggeration to criticize human follies, institutions, or social conventions, usually with the intent to provoke change.
- Juxtaposition
- Placing two images, characters, or ideas side by side so that their contrast highlights meaning, such as a scene of wealth set next to a scene of poverty.
- Persuasive appeals
- Logos appeals to logic and evidence, pathos to emotion and values, and ethos to the speaker's credibility; advertisements and arguments often combine all three.
- Personal response
- The Part A assignment in which you respond to a text by exploring your own ideas, experiences, and impressions; first-person voice and personal examples are appropriate.
- Critical/analytical response
- The Part A assignment requiring a formal essay that analyses how a literary text creates meaning; the emphasis falls on textual evidence and interpretation, not personal anecdote.
- Thesis statement
- A single sentence stating the arguable claim an essay will prove. It must be debatable and specific, not a statement of fact or a summary.
- Topic sentence
- The first or early sentence of a body paragraph that states the paragraph's single main point and connects it to the essay's thesis.
- Embedded quotation
- A quotation woven into the grammar of your own sentence rather than dropped in alone, introduced with context and followed by analysis.
- Literary present tense
- The convention of discussing events in a literary work in the present tense, as in 'Hamlet hesitates', even though the text was written centuries ago.
- Plot summary
- Retelling what happens in a text. On its own it earns little credit in Supporting Evidence; it must be paired with analysis of why the detail matters.
- Matters of Correctness
- A scoring category on the ELA 30-1 written response rubric covering grammar, spelling, punctuation, and sentence construction.
- Matters of Choice
- A scoring category covering the writer's stylistic decisions, including diction, sentence variety, tone, and voice appropriate to audience and purpose.
- Supporting Evidence
- A scoring category measuring how well chosen, integrated, and explained the textual details are; quotations must be relevant and analysed, not merely decorative.
- Organization
- A scoring category assessing structure: a clear introduction and thesis, logically sequenced body paragraphs, effective transitions, and a conclusion that does more than repeat the introduction.
- Thought and Understanding
- A scoring category assessing the depth and accuracy of the interpretation, including whether the response moves beyond obvious or literal observations about the text.
- Commentary
- The explanatory sentences following evidence in which the writer explains how the quoted detail supports the paragraph's point; it is the analysis, not the quotation.
- Audience and purpose
- The intended reader and the goal of a piece of writing; both determine diction, level of formality, length, and how much explanation is needed.
- Transition
- A word, phrase, or sentence that links ideas and shows the relationship between them, such as contrast, cause, addition, or sequence.
- Concluding sentence
- The final sentence of a body paragraph that ties the paragraph's evidence back to the thesis or bridges to the next point.