Quizlet PSSA Glossary - Part 2

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  1. Graphic organizer: A diagram or pictorial device that shows relationships.
  2. Homophone: One of two or more words pronounced alike, but different in spelling or meaning (e.g., hair/hare, scale (fish)/scale (musical)).
  3. Hyperbole: An exaggeration or overstatement (e.g., I was so embarrassed I could have died.).
  4. Idiomatic language: An expression peculiar to itself grammatically or that cannot be understood if taken literally (e.g., Let’s get on the ball.).
  5. Irony: The use of a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or usual meaning; incongruity between the actual result of a sequence of events and the expected result.
  6. Literary conflict: The struggle that grows out of the interplay of the two opposing forces in a plot.
  7. Literary devices: Tools used by the author to enliven and provide voice to the writing (e.g., dialogue, alliteration).
  8. Literary elements: The essential techniques used in literature (e.g., characterization, setting, plot, theme).
  9. Literary structures: The author’s method of organizing text (e.g., foreshadowing, flashbacks).
  10. Metaphor: The comparison of two unlike things in which no words of comparison (like or as) are used (e.g., That new kid in class is really a squirrel.).
  11. Meter: The repetition of stressed and unstressed syllables in a line of poetry.
  12. Narrative: A story, actual or fictional, expressed orally or in writing.
  13. Paraphrase: Restate text or passage in other words, often to clarify meaning or show understanding.
  14. Pattern book: A book with a predictable language structure and often written with predictable text; also known as predictable book.
  15. Personification: An object or abstract idea given human qualities or human form (e.g., Flowers danced about the lawn.).
  16. Phonics: The relationship between letters and sounds fundamental in beginning reading.
  17. Point of view: The way in which an author reveals characters, events and ideas in telling a story; the vantage point from which the story is told.
  18. Public document: A document that focuses on civic issues or matters of public policy at the community level and beyond.