Key Academic Vocabulary
Sentence Structure
listening
paying attention to what you hear
sensory language/imagery
The descriptive language an author uses to create word pictures for the reader.
Sensory words are descriptions of the five senses – sight, sound, touch, smell and taste.
figurative languagelanguage layered with
meaning by word images and figures of speech, as
opposed to literal language
personificationfigurative language in
which a nonhuman subject is given human
characteristics
Example: The leaves danced in the wind.
similea comparison of two
things that are essentially different,
usually using the words like or as
Example: He is as happy as a clam.
metaphora subtle comparison in
which the author describes a person or thing using
words that are not meant to be taken literally
Example: The streets were a furnace under the hot sun.
HyperboleHyperbole is an exaggeration or
overstatement for effect.
Example: I had so much homework, I needed a pickup truck to carry all my books home.
symbolA concrete thing such as a person, place, or object—that stands for something more than just itself.
For example:A heart symbolizes ____________
A dove symbolizes ____________
idioman expression that has a different meaning from
the literal meaning of its individual words; cannot
be translated literally
Example: The TAKS test was a piece of cake.
adagesa short but memorable
saying that holds some important fact that is considered
true by many people
Example: Don’t judge a book by its cover.
Devices of Sound
OnomatopoeiaOnomatopoeia is the use
of words that imitate sounds.
Example: sizzle, hiss, bang, boom
AlliterationAlliteration is the repetition of initial
consonant sounds in words.
Example: She sells sea shells by the seashore.
AssonanceAssonance is the
repetition of similar vowel sounds
Example:And in the air the fireflies,Our only light in paradise
ConsonanceSimilar to alliteration except:in consonance the repetition of the consonant sound can
be anywhere in the word
Example:“silken, sad, uncertain, rustling”
poetryPoetry is written in sets of
lines. Often poems have rhythm and rhyme. The
writer may want to express feelings about something,
describe something, or simply entertain readers.
*Types of poetry include: narrative, humorous, lyrical and free verse
stanzaA stanza is a unit within a
larger poem.
A stanza consists of a grouping of lines, set off by a space, that usually
has a set pattern of meter and rhyme.
Stanzas can be given a specific name depending on their
structure and rhyme pattern.
A couplet is a poem made of two lines
whose last words rhyme.
couplet
Example: The cat ate a mouse, then brought it to the house.
rhymewords that sound alike because they share the same ending vowel and
consonant sounds
Examples: Mop up that slop!!
the pattern of rhyming lines
Example: ABAB, ABBA, etc…
rhyme scheme
the basic rhythmic structure in verse,
made up of stressed and unstressed
syllables
meter
capital letters, line length…; also called shape of the poem
graphical elements
A soothing song, usually sung to
children before they go to sleep
llullaby
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