PERT Reading key terms

The most important point a passage makes about its topic, often stated in a topic sentence and supported by the other details.

The main focus or message of an entire text, broader than the main idea of a single paragraph and developed across the whole piece.

A message or insight about life that a literary work communicates, usually implied through characters, events, and details rather than stated outright.

A fact, example, statistic, or reason that explains, develops, or proves the main idea of a passage and keeps the writing focused.

A brief restatement of a text's main points in your own words that leaves out minor details and personal opinions.

A summary that reports only what the text actually says, without adding the reader's judgments, opinions, or outside information.

A conclusion a reader reaches by combining details from the text with background knowledge and logic, even though the text does not state it directly.

Stated clearly and directly in the text, so a reader can point to the exact words that contain the information.

Suggested or hinted at rather than stated directly, so the reader must infer the meaning from clues in the text.

Specific words, phrases, facts, or details taken from a passage and used to support an answer, claim, or interpretation.

Form a judgment by pulling together several details from a text and reasoning about what they suggest as a whole.

Restate the meaning of a short passage in your own words while keeping its ideas and level of detail essentially the same.

The sequence of events in a narrative, usually built around a conflict and moving through a climax toward a resolution.

A struggle between opposing forces in a story, such as a character against another person, nature, society, or himself.

The author's attitude toward the subject or audience, revealed through word choice, details, and the way sentences are built.

The feeling or atmosphere a text creates in the reader, often shaped by setting, imagery, and word choice.

The emotional or cultural associations a word carries beyond its dictionary meaning, such as the warm, cozy feel of the word home.

The literal, dictionary meaning of a word, without the emotional associations or shades of feeling it may also carry.

A writer's choice of words, which shapes the tone, clarity, level of formality, and appeal to a particular audience.

Language that goes beyond literal meaning by using comparisons, exaggerations, or imaginative descriptions to create a special effect.

A direct comparison that states one thing is another, without using like or as, to suggest a shared quality.

A comparison between two unlike things that uses the words like or as to point out a similarity, often a surprising one.

A figure of speech that gives human qualities, feelings, or actions to an animal, an object, or an abstract idea.

Descriptive language that appeals to the senses and helps readers see, hear, smell, taste, or feel what is described.

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

The perspective from which a text is narrated, such as first person, third person limited, or third person omniscient.

The way a passage arranges and connects its ideas, such as chronological order, cause and effect, or comparison.

The reason an author writes a text, such as to inform, explain, persuade, entertain, or express an opinion.

A set of claims supported by reasons and evidence, presented to persuade a reader to accept a particular position.

A debatable statement that a writer asserts as true and then supports with reasons, evidence, and explanation in an argument.

An opposing position that a writer acknowledges and then answers in order to show that the original argument is stronger.

Facts, statistics, examples, quotations, or expert statements used to support a claim and make it convincing to readers.

The logical connections a writer makes between evidence and a claim, showing why the evidence supports the point.

A slant or prejudice in favor of or against something that can distort how information is selected and presented.

The degree to which a source or author can be trusted to be accurate, fair, and well informed.

Judge the quality, accuracy, or usefulness of a text or source by applying clear standards and evidence from the text.

Combine information and ideas from two or more sources to form a new understanding or a well-supported conclusion.

Examine two or more subjects side by side to identify both their similarities and their differences, often to explain a larger point.

An original, firsthand document or account from the time of an event, such as a letter, speech, diary, or photograph.

A source that interprets, analyzes, or summarizes information from primary sources, such as a textbook, review article, or documentary.