ELA 30-1 Diploma key terms

The central idea or insight about life that a text explores and develops throughout, usually expressible as a full statement rather than a single word.

The attitude a writer or speaker takes toward the subject and the audience, conveyed through word choice, sentence structure, and selected details.

The feeling or atmosphere a text creates in the reader, built through setting, imagery, diction, and rhythm rather than stated outright.

A writer's choice of words, including their level of formality and precision, which shapes tone, reveals character, and controls meaning.

The emotional or cultural associations a word carries beyond its literal meaning, such as the warmth suggested by the word 'home'.

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses-sight, sound, smell, taste, touch-to create vivid pictures and stir feeling in the reader.

A comparison in which one thing is described as if it were another, without using 'like' or 'as', revealing an unexpected likeness.

A comparison between two unlike things using 'like' or 'as' in order to highlight a quality they share.

Giving human qualities, feelings, or actions to something non-human, such as an object, an animal, or an abstract idea.

An object, person, or event that stands for something beyond itself, gaining its meaning from how it is used and repeated in the text.

A brief, usually unexplained reference to a well-known person, work, event, or myth that assumes shared knowledge and adds layers of meaning.

A contrast between what is expected and what actually happens, or between what is said and what is really meant.

A statement that seems self-contradictory but on reflection reveals a truth, often used to capture a complicated experience or insight.

Placing two people, scenes, or ideas side by side so that their contrast sharpens the meaning of both.

Hints or clues planted early in a text that prepare the reader for events or revelations that come later.

A recurring image, phrase, object, or idea that appears throughout a text and reinforces its themes or atmosphere.

The perspective from which a story is told-first person, third-person limited, or omniscient-which shapes what the reader is allowed to know.

A storyteller whose account the reader has reason to question because of bias, limited knowledge, immaturity, or deliberate dishonesty.

The methods a writer uses to build a character, including description, actions, dialogue, thoughts, and the reactions of other characters.

A struggle between opposing forces-person against person, self, society, or nature-that drives a plot forward and tests characters.

Writing that uses humour, irony, or exaggeration to expose and criticize human flaws or social institutions, usually with the aim of change.

Deliberate exaggeration that is not meant to be taken literally, used for emphasis, humour, or emotional effect.

A question asked for effect rather than for an answer, used to emphasize a point or nudge the reader toward a conclusion.

The arrangement of words and phrases into sentences; unusual or varied syntax can create emphasis, rhythm, or a distinctive voice.

The distinctive personality and style of a writer or speaker that emerges from diction, syntax, and attitude toward the subject.

A conclusion a reader draws by combining evidence in the text with background knowledge, moving beyond what is directly stated.

The most important point a passage makes, stated or implied in a sentence that the rest of the text goes on to support.

A tendency to favour a particular viewpoint, which can slant a text through the facts selected, the words chosen, and the emphasis given.

A single sentence that states the central claim of an essay and signals how the argument will be developed.

The sentence that opens a body paragraph and names the one point that paragraph will prove and support.

Specific quotations, paraphrases, or details drawn from a text and used to support an interpretive or analytical claim.

The writer's explanation of how the chosen evidence supports the claim, linking quotation to argument instead of merely summarizing.

A word, phrase, or sentence that links ideas and shows the reader how one point connects to the next.

The quality of a piece in which ideas are logically ordered and clearly connected so that a reader can follow the reasoning.

The quality of a piece in which every paragraph and detail serves the central claim, with nothing irrelevant left in.

Writing that develops the writer's own reaction to a text, supported by reasons, examples, and details drawn from the reading.

An essay that examines a text closely and defends an interpretation through organized argument and carefully selected textual support.

Repeating the same grammatical form for items in a list or series to create rhythm, clarity, and emphasis.

The scoring category covering a writer's decisions about diction, detail, syntax, and voice, and how well those choices serve purpose and audience.

The scoring category covering control of grammar, usage, spelling, and punctuation, and the degree to which errors interfere with clarity.