NYS ELA flashcards

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

Theme

The central message about life or human nature that a literary work conveys. It must be expressed as a complete statement, not a single topic word like "love."

Central idea

The main point of an informational text, stated in a sentence and supported by the details the author emphasizes most across the whole passage.

Objective summary

A brief, neutral restatement of a text's central idea and most important supporting details, with no personal opinion, minor examples, or added information.

Direct characterization

The narrator explicitly states a character's traits. The reader is told directly, as in "She was impatient and proud."

Indirect characterization

A character's traits are revealed through speech, thoughts, effect on others, actions, and appearance, letting the reader infer the trait.

First-person point of view

The narrator is a character in the story and uses I or we, so the reader knows only what that narrator observes, thinks, and chooses to tell.

Third-person limited

The narrator stands outside the story but reports the inner thoughts and feelings of only one character, usually the protagonist.

Third-person omniscient

An all-knowing narrator outside the story who can report the private thoughts and feelings of multiple characters at any point.

Inference

A logical conclusion drawn by combining explicit evidence from the text with the reader's background knowledge; it must be traceable to the passage.

Connotation

The emotional or cultural association a word carries beyond its dictionary meaning. "Cheap" and "affordable" share a denotation but differ in connotation.

Text structure

The organizational pattern of a passage, such as cause-effect, compare-contrast, problem-solution, chronological, or description, which signals where key details appear.

Simile

A figure of speech comparing two unlike things using like or as, as in "her voice was smooth as glass."

Metaphor

A figure of speech stating that one thing is another, without using like or as, to highlight a shared quality.

Personification

A figure of speech giving human qualities or actions to nonhuman things, such as "the wind whispered through the trees."

Hyperbole

Deliberate, extreme exaggeration used for emphasis or effect, not meant to be taken literally, as in "I've told you a million times."

Tone

The author's or narrator's attitude toward the subject, revealed through word choice, imagery, and details. It differs from mood, which is the reader's feeling.

Claim

A precise, defensible statement that takes a position on an issue and can be supported with reasons and evidence throughout an argumentative essay.

Counterclaim

The opposing position to a writer's claim. A strong argument acknowledges it fairly and then rebuts or concedes it with evidence.

Relevant evidence

Specific facts, quotations, statistics, or examples that directly support the stated reason and come from credible sources, not vague generalities.

Topic sentence

A sentence stating the main idea of a paragraph, usually placed first, that controls what the rest of the paragraph explains or proves.

Transition

A word or phrase that shows the relationship between ideas, such as however, therefore, in contrast, or for example, guiding readers through the logic.

Formal style

Writing that avoids slang, contractions, and first-person chatty phrasing, uses precise vocabulary, and maintains an objective tone suited to academic audiences.

Sentence fragment

A group of words punctuated as a sentence but missing a subject, a predicate, or a complete thought, as in "Because the bus was late."

Comma splice

An error joining two independent clauses with only a comma. Fix it with a period, semicolon, coordinating conjunction, or subordination.

Run-on sentence

Two or more independent clauses joined without any punctuation or conjunction, producing an unclear, overloaded sentence.

Coordinating conjunctions

The seven words for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS). A comma plus one of these can join two independent clauses correctly.

Subject-verb agreement

The verb must match the subject in number. Ignore interrupting prepositional phrases, and remember that each, everyone, and neither take singular verbs.

Pronoun-antecedent agreement

A pronoun must match its antecedent in number and gender, and the antecedent must be clear when more than one noun could be referenced.

Colon use

A colon follows a complete independent clause to introduce a list, an explanation, or a quotation. It should not follow a verb or preposition.

Semicolon use

A semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction, or separates items in a list that already contain commas.

Dangling modifier

An introductory phrase that does not logically modify the subject of the main clause, as in "Running late, the door was locked."

Verb tense consistency

Maintaining a logical tense sequence within a passage, shifting tense only when the actual time frame changes, not arbitrarily between sentences.