Middle School Reading Literary Terms

Set: Middle School Reading Literary Terms

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All 63 Terms

	Term	Definition
	non-fiction	a type of literature that tells about real-life people, places, events, things, etc.
	drama	a play written to be performed by actors
	myth	a folktale (fictional story) about gods and goddesses (mythology)
	tall tale	an American hero folktale full of extreme exaggerations
	fable	a folktale, usually with talking animals, that always has a moral to it
	main idea	what a piece of writing is mainly about
	summary	gives the main idea and important details of a passage
	theme	a more generally stated topic concerning a passage's main ideas
	genre	a classification of literature, such as fiction, drama, poetry, etc.
	fiction	a type of literature that tells a made-up story
	simile	a comparison of two unlike things using the words "like" or "as"
	analogy	a comparison that shows a relationship between two things
	metaphor	a comparison of two unlike things not using the words "like" or "as"
	paraphrase	restating something using different words (rephrasing)
	context clues	words, phrases, or sentences that give meaning to unknown words
	denotation	the dictionary definition of the word- the literal meaning
	connotation	the extra sense that the word implies-pos. or neg. (cheap/inexpensive)
	repetition	creating a "special effect" by repeating a sound or word
	suspense	a feeling of uncertainty or dread about what will happen next
	sarcasm	an expression that is personal, jeering, and intended to hurt
	oxymoron	a seemingly contradictory combination of words (jumbo shrimp)
	onomatopoeia	a word or phrase that imitates the sound (whoosh)
	plot	the action of the story
	resolution	the final outcome of the story-or the solution of the problem
	character	a person or other creature in a story
	setting	the time and place of the story's events
	climax	the point of greatest interest or suspense in the story
	conflict	the main problem the character faces (with others, self, or nature)
	personification	gives animals or objects human qualities or characteristics
	hyperbole	the deliberate use of exaggeration
	symbolism	the use of one thing to stand for or represent another
	imagery	the use of vivid description to create a picture in the reader's mind
	foreshadow	gives clues that suggest what might happen in the future
	flashback	interrrupting the story with events from the past
	irony	a statement meaning the opposite of what is literally stated
	idiom	a saying that can not be literally translated
	allusion	a reference to a well-known work of literature, art, music, etc.
	audience	the person or persons to whom the writing is addressed
	author	the person who wrote the story or passage
	narrator	the person who is telling the story
	point of view	the relationship of the narrator to the story (viewpoint)
	1st person pov	when a character in the story tells the story (using I, me, my, we, etc.)
	3rd person pov	when someone not in the story tells the story (like an invisible observer)
	dialogue	when the characters in a story speak (usually set off by quotation marks)
	style/voice	the way the author uses phrases and sentences to make his story distinctive
	tone	the author's attitude about his topic- can be positive, negative, or neutral
	mood	the feeling or atmosphere in the story set by the author
	inference	a guess based on a known fact, a conclusion
	cause/effect	a text structure exploring the reason something happened (cause) and the result (effect)
	compare/contrast	a text structure showing similariites (comparisons) and differences (contrasts)
	problem/solution	a text structure examining how conflicts or obstacles (problems) are overcome (resolved)
	chronology	a text structure presenting events in the order in which they occur (sequencing)
	inductive	a text structure that starts with specific ideas and works toward a general idea
	deductive	a text structure that starts with a general idea and works toward specific ideas
	spatial order	a text structure that shows where things are
	categorization	a text structure that puts things in categories
	fact	a statement that can be proved- or disproved
	opinion	a statement that can not be proven- someone's own belief
	bias	a strong prejudice for one side over another- favoring only one side
	objective	a work based on fact, having no bias or partiality
	propaganda	persuasion techniques
	synonyms	words that have similar meanings
	antonyms	words that have opposite meanings