SK SSA ELA 7 flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Climax

The turning point of highest tension in a narrative, where the main conflict reaches its peak and the outcome begins to be decided.

Indirect characterization

Revealing a character's traits through speech, thoughts, actions, appearance, and others' reactions rather than through direct statements by the narrator.

Third-person limited

A point of view in which the narrator uses he, she, or they and reveals the inner thoughts of only one character.

Foreshadowing

A hint or clue planted early in a text that suggests events that will happen later, building suspense or preparing the reader.

Mood

The emotional atmosphere a text creates for the reader, shaped by word choice, imagery, setting, and pacing.

Central idea

The main point of an entire informational text, supported by key details rather than by a single example or minor fact.

Objective summary

A brief restatement of a text's central idea and most important details, written without personal opinion, judgment, or new information.

Text structure

The way an author organizes information, such as chronological, cause-effect, compare-contrast, problem-solution, or description, often signaled by transition words.

Author's purpose

The reason an author writes a text, usually to inform, explain, persuade, or entertain, which shapes the evidence and language chosen.

Primary source

A firsthand document or record created during the event being studied, such as a diary, letter, speech, photograph, or original data.

Inference

A logical conclusion drawn by combining details from a text with the reader's background knowledge, supported by evidence in the text.

Dramatic irony

A situation in which the audience knows something important that a character does not, creating tension or humor.

Theme

A central message or insight about life or human nature conveyed by a literary work, expressed as a complete statement rather than a single word.

Symbol

A concrete object, person, or event in a text that stands for an abstract idea, supported by repeated details rather than a single mention.

Claim

A debatable position or assertion that an author or speaker supports with reasons and evidence in an argument.

Context clues

Surrounding words, phrases, or sentences that help a reader determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word through definition, example, restatement, contrast, or inference.

Prefix

A word part attached to the beginning of a base word that changes its meaning, such as un-, re-, pre-, or mis-.

Connotation

The emotional or cultural association a word carries beyond its dictionary meaning, such as the negative tone of 'cheap' compared with 'inexpensive.'

Denotation

The literal, dictionary meaning of a word, independent of the emotional associations it may carry.

Greek and Latin roots

Word parts from Greek or Latin that carry core meaning, such as bio (life), graph (write), aud (hear), and spec (look), used to decode unfamiliar words.

Thesis statement

A single, debatable sentence that states an essay's central claim and previews how the essay will be organized.

Revising

The writing-process stage that improves ideas, organization, and word choice, as distinct from editing, which corrects grammar and mechanics.

Transitions

Words or phrases that signal relationships between ideas, such as however for contrast, therefore for cause-effect, and moreover for addition.

Topic sentence

The sentence that states the main idea of a paragraph and is supported by evidence and explanation in the sentences that follow.

Comma splice

An error in which two independent clauses are joined only by a comma; it can be fixed with a period, semicolon, or coordinating conjunction.

Subject-verb agreement

The rule that a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb, with special attention to indefinite pronouns and compound subjects.

Dangling modifier

A descriptive phrase that is not clearly connected to the word it describes, creating confusion or unintended meaning in a sentence.

Complex sentence

A sentence containing one independent clause and at least one dependent clause, such as 'When the bell rang, the students left.'

Active listening

A listening approach in which the listener focuses on the speaker, takes notes, paraphrases key points, and asks clarifying questions instead of interrupting.

Media literacy

The ability to analyze visual and multimodal texts by identifying their source, purpose, audience, and techniques such as music, camera angle, and editing.

Research question

A focused, answerable question that guides inquiry and is specific enough to direct source selection and note-taking.

Paraphrasing

Restating an author's idea in your own words and sentence structure, with a citation, so that the original meaning is preserved without copying.