ASSEB HSLC Bodo (First Language) key terms

A written composition in continuous sentences, either narrative or expository, as opposed to verse; the ASSEB prose section tests comprehension and appreciation of such passages.

The form of language written in ordinary unrhymed sentences, without the line breaks and metre of poetry; prose includes stories, essays, biographies and sketches.

A short invented narrative with characters, setting and a turning point, whose purpose is to entertain and often to teach a moral lesson.

A person portrayed in a story or play, revealed through action, speech and the comments of the narrator; candidates are often asked to describe a character's qualities.

The central idea or underlying message of a literary work, distinct from its plot; questions often ask what lesson or value a passage conveys.

The time and place in which events of a narrative occur; setting shapes mood and often explains the behaviour of characters.

A short prose composition on a single subject, usually presenting the writer's opinion or reflection; the essay is a common form in the prose section.

A written account of a person's life, written by that person; it differs from biography in that the subject is also the author.

Composition in verse, organised in lines and stanzas and shaped by rhythm, rhyme and imagery; the poetry section tests appreciation of these features.

The measured rhythm of a poem, produced by arrangement of stressed and unstressed or long and short syllables in each line.

The repetition of similar sounds at the ends of verse lines, giving a poem its musical pattern; rhyme schemes are often marked with letters such as abab.

A group of lines in a poem set off by spacing, functioning like a paragraph in prose; stanzas often carry a repeated refrain or shift of thought.

A recurring line or group of lines repeated at intervals in a poem or song, usually at the end of stanzas, to reinforce mood or meaning.

A comparison stating that one thing is another, without using words such as 'like' or 'as'; a common device tested in poetry appreciation.

A comparison of two unlike things using 'like' or 'as', for example likening a child to a flower; it clarifies an image rather than asserting identity.

Giving human qualities to non-human things, such as a river that sings or a wind that whispers; a frequent device in Bodo poetry.

The attitude or feeling a poem communicates, such as joy, grief, longing or defiance, inferred from diction, imagery and rhythm rather than stated directly.

A short supplementary text, often a story, fable or extract, studied alongside the main reader; it builds reading fluency and moral understanding.

A brief account of an incident or a short moral tale, frequently used in the rapid reader to develop speed of reading and grasp of sequence.

A word used to name a person, place, thing or idea; in Bodo grammar nouns are classified by meaning and by whether they take classifiers.

A word that expresses an action, event or state, forming the predicate of a sentence; Bodo verbs carry tense and aspect markers.

A word that qualifies a noun, describing size, colour, number or quality, and normally placed before the noun it modifies.

The grammatical relation between words in a sentence, shown by word order, particles and case markers; agreement and position matter in Bodo syntax.

A Bodo case particle marking the object or goal of an action, roughly equivalent to English 'to' or the object marker; its correct use is tested in grammar items.

The set of rules governing spelling, punctuation and sentence construction in written Bodo; accuracy in these rules is assessed in the grammar section.

A formal piece of writing such as a letter, notice, report or application, organised according to a conventional layout and appropriate register.

The arrangement of ideas in a composition so that each part follows logically from the previous one, with a clear opening, development and conclusion.

The opening paragraph of a composition, which introduces the topic and engages the reader before the main discussion begins.

Rewriting a passage in one's own words while keeping its meaning intact, usually shorter than the original and without quotation.

Rendering a text from one language into another, preserving meaning, tone and register rather than translating word for word.

A phrase or idiom whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words; recognising such expressions is essential in translation and comprehension.

The main point or gist of a passage, which a reader must identify before answering questions on an unseen text.

The process of reading an unfamiliar passage and answering questions on its content, inference and vocabulary; it tests independent reading skill.

A conclusion drawn from evidence in the text rather than stated directly; inference questions ask what the writer implies or assumes.

The quality of a piece of writing in which ideas are developed with reasons, examples and detail rather than merely asserted.