Grade 8 English flashcards

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

Theme

The underlying message about life or human nature that a literary work conveys, expressed as a complete statement rather than a single topic word.

Climax

The turning point of a story where tension peaks and the outcome of the main conflict begins to be decided, usually near the end but before resolution.

Indirect characterization

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

Dramatic irony

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

Foreshadowing

A hint or clue an author plants early in a text that suggests events to come later, building suspense or preparing the reader.

Third-person omniscient

A point of view in which the narrator stands outside the story and knows the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of all characters.

Central idea

The main point an informational text develops across the whole passage, supported by key details rather than stated only in one sentence.

Objective summary

A brief restatement of a text's central idea and key details that contains no personal opinions, judgments, or information absent from the text.

Text structure

The organizational pattern of a passage, such as cause and effect, comparison and contrast, problem and solution, chronological order, or description.

Claim

The position an author argues for in a persuasive text, which must be supported by reasons and evidence rather than assertion alone.

Relevant evidence

Supporting information that directly relates to and strengthens a specific claim, as opposed to interesting but unrelated detail.

Context clues

Words and phrases surrounding an unfamiliar word that hint at its meaning, including definitions, examples, contrasts, and general sense of the sentence.

Connotation

The emotional or cultural association a word carries beyond its dictionary meaning, such as the negative shading of skinny compared with slim.

Denotation

The literal, dictionary meaning of a word, independent of the feelings or associations the word may evoke in readers.

Analogy

A comparison built on a relationship between two pairs of words, such as part to whole or cause to effect, used to test word meaning.

Greek and Latin roots

Meaningful word parts from ancient languages, such as spect meaning look, port meaning carry, and dict meaning say, that help decode unfamiliar words.

Thesis statement

A sentence that states the central, arguable position of an essay and previews the reasoning that the body paragraphs will develop.

Counterclaim

An opposing position that a writer acknowledges and responds to in an argument, showing awareness of other views before refuting them.

Narrative pacing

The speed at which a story moves, controlled by scene length, description, dialogue, and summary to emphasize important moments.

Transition words

Connectors such as however, therefore, and for example that signal the logical relationship between ideas in and across paragraphs.

Topic sentence

A sentence, usually first in a paragraph, that states the paragraph's focus and is supported by the sentences that follow it.

Research question

A narrow, answerable, open-ended question that guides inquiry and can be addressed with evidence gathered from credible sources.

Primary source

An original document, record, interview, or data set created during the period or by the person being studied, offering firsthand evidence.

Paraphrase

A restatement of a source's idea in your own words and sentence structure, which still requires a citation to avoid plagiarism.

Source credibility

The trustworthiness of information judged by author expertise, publisher reputation, publication date, and whether claims are supported by citations.

Works cited

An alphabetical list at the end of a paper giving full publication details for every source quoted, paraphrased, or summarized.

Paraphrasing in discussion

Restating a classmate's point accurately in your own words before responding, showing that the idea was heard and understood.

Presentation delivery

The spoken and physical aspects of a presentation, including volume, pacing, eye contact, and enunciation, that affect audience understanding.

Respectful disagreement

Stating a differing view by naming the point of disagreement and giving evidence-based reasons without attacking the speaker personally.

Gerund

A verb form ending in -ing that functions as a noun in a sentence, as in Swimming is excellent exercise.

Active voice

A sentence construction in which the subject performs the action of the verb, making the actor clear and the sentence direct.

Dangling modifier

An introductory modifying phrase that does not logically connect to the subject of the main clause, creating confusion or unintentional humor.