10th Grade English 2 Vocabulary definitions First Quarter

Week 1  Standard English: The correct form of English which is spoken and written by educated Americans and does not differ across regions; often called “proper English,” “formal English,” or “good grammar” Dialect: The version of a language used by a particular group of people, which has some rules and/or vocabulary that differ from standard English. Ex: Southern English, African-American English/”Ebonics,” Appalachian English, slang Formal style: language that sounds professional, highly-educated, and impersonal. Used in many serious situations, such as during speeches, interviews, and presentations, and in school essays and professional documents. Uses more complex and sophisticated vocabulary, and longer sentences. Avoids contractions, abbreviations, dialect, and slang words. Often requires you to think before speaking or writing. Informal style: language that sounds casual, relatable, and personal. Used in more relaxed situations, such as with family, friends, and other trusted people. Uses simpler and shorter words and sentences. May include contractions, abbreviations, dialect, and slang words. Often impulsive. Tragedy: A play in which the main character(s) suffers extreme sorrow or is brought to ruin. Usually has a serious tone and an ending that is unhappy, but meaningful. Often ends with death. Archetype: a literary element which is found in stories from many different cultures and time periods, such as a character type, plot pattern, or setting Tragic hero: A character who is destined to experience a downfall due to a tragic flaw. Usually, this is the protagonist. Often of high birth or noble status at the beginning of the play. Tragic flaw: A weakness the character possesses that leads to their downfall

Week 2 Conflict: A struggle between two opposing characters or forces External conflict: a conflict between a character and a second person, a group, or an outside force (character vs. character, character vs. society, character vs. nature) Internal conflict: a struggle that occurs in a character’s mind; may involve decision-making or emotions (character vs. self) Characterization: the process by which an author develops a character by giving them traits, revealing their past, and making them seem realistic for the audience Direct characterization: when the author describes a character (TELLS) Indirect characterization: when the reader learns about a character through their words, actions, thoughts, or interaction with others (SHOWS) Dynamic: describes a character who changes and develops over the course of a story Static: describes a character who stays the same throughout the story

Week 3 Main idea: the most important or central idea of a text. Found by reading the entire text and making a sentence that ties all of the ideas in the text together. Supporting detail: a fact or example which is related to the main idea, but not as important as the main idea Summarize: to give a shorter statement of a text’s main idea in your own words Paraphrase: to restate a text in your own words, without leaving out any supporting details Quote: to copy someone else’s words exactly as they appear in the text Plagiarism: stealing someone else’s words/ideas and pretending they are your own Citation: giving credit to the person whose words/ideas you are using in your writing Parenthetical documentation (P-DOC): a citation inside parentheses that goes at the end of a summary, paraphrase, or quote. In MLA format, includes author’s last name and the page number where the words/ideas appeared.

Week 4 Tone: the attitude of a writer/speaker toward the subject/audience. (formal, informal, cheerful, sad, clinical, serious, humorous, etc.) Denotation: the literal definition of a word Connotation: the emotional meaning suggested by a word. Used to create tone. (baby, infant, spawn) Irony: a contrast between expectation and reality Dramatic irony: when readers are aware of truths that characters do not know Verbal irony: sarcasm Situational irony: what happens is the opposite of what was expected; a twist Hubris: (n) extreme or foolish pride or overconfidence

Week 5 Theme: the underlying message, moral, or meaning of the story. It can be generalized to be an observation about life or the human condition. Objective: a perspective based in fact and uninfluenced by personal feelings or opinions Subjective: a perspective based on personal preferences, feelings, and opinions Dialogue: conversation between 2+ characters Monologue: a long speech by one character, addressed to other characters onstage. Aside: When a character speaks directly to the audience. Usually, this is a brief comment. Other characters do not hear the aside. Historical context: the historical, cultural, and political events and attitudes that were occurring when a text was written and/or set Lament: (v) to express intense grief or sorrow; to mourn

Week 6 noun: person, place, thing, or idea subject: the noun which comes at the beginning of a clause and performs the action of the verb verb: action word; what the subject is doing object: a noun that is having something done to it; comes after the verb or preposition conjunction: a word that connects other parts of the sentence together (and, or, because, instead) preposition: a word that shows a relationship between two nouns (on, about, near, under, with) phrase: any group of 2 or more words clause: a phrase that includes a subject and a verb

Week 7 culpable: (adj) deserving of blame; responsible for something bad expedient: (adj) convenient and practical, although possibly improper or immoral depravity: (n) moral corruption; wickedness catharsis: (n) the process of releasing strong emotions through a particular experience; a purging or cleansing of emotional tension sated: (adj) satisfied, especially your thirst or hunger; having been provided with more than enough auspicious: (adj) suggesting a positive or successful future; foreshadowing something good to come deference: (n) humble respect and submission insolence: (n) bold rudeness and disrespect toward someone in a position of authority

Week 8 prewriting: the first stage of the writing process, in which you generate and gather ideas, and plan how to organize them in your essay, often using an outline draft: the current version of a text you are writing and revising. Essays should go through one or more drafts before reaching the “final draft” stage. introduction: first paragraph of an essay, which gives the reader context for your essay and explains your topic thesis statement: sentence which tells main idea of your essay and organizes your body paragraphs. Comes at end of introduction. body paragraph: middle paragraphs of your essay, which state, prove, and explain each part of your thesis topic sentence: first sentence of a body paragraph, which states the paragraph’s main idea and connects it back to your thesis statement concrete detail: (CD) a specific example or fact. In English class, it’s usually textual evidence. commentary: (CM) a sentence which explains, interprets, and/or analyzes the importance of the concrete detail

Week 9 conclusion: (n) the last paragraph of an essay, which restates your main idea and brings your argument to a close revise: (v) to edit and change your writing to make it better transition: (n)words/phrases that connect one idea to another  in a smooth, coherent way. They essentially let your reader know that you about to change directions, while helping them understand how all the parts of your essay are related. consistent: (adj) done in the same way each time; unchanging over time bibliography: (n) a list of the texts you cited in an essay; usually found on the last page. waver: (v) to shake back and forth; to keep changing your mind between two courses of action calamity: (n) an event causing great and often sudden distress and damage; a disaster zeal: (n) intense enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or task