Key Academic Vocabulary CScope Key Academic Vocabulary

Sentence Structure

paying attention to what you hear 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 language language layered with meaning by word images and figures of speech, as opposed to literal language

personification figurative language in which a nonhuman subject is given human characteristics Example: The leaves danced in the wind.

simile a comparison of two things that are essentially different, usually using the words like or as Example: He is as happy as a clam.

metaphor a 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.

Hyperbole is an exaggeration or overstatement for effect. Example: I had so much homework, I needed a pickup truck to carry all my books home.

symbol A 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 ____________

idiom an 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.

adages a 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

Onomatopoeia is the use of words that imitate sounds. Example: sizzle, hiss, bang, boom

Alliteration is the repetition of initial consonant sounds in words. Example: She sells sea shells by the seashore.

Assonance is the repetition of similar vowel sounds And in the air the fireflies, Our only light in paradise Example:

Similar to alliteration except: Consonance Similar to alliteration except: in consonance the repetition of the consonant sound can be anywhere in the word Example: “silken, sad, uncertain, rustling”

poetry Poetry 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

stanza A 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.

A couplet is a poem made of two lines whose last words 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. Example: The cat ate a mouse, then brought it to the house.

rhyme words that sound alike because they share the same ending vowel and consonant sounds Examples: Mop up that slop!!

the pattern of rhyming lines rhyme scheme the pattern of rhyming lines Example: ABAB, ABBA, etc…

meter the basic rhythmic structure in verse, made up of stressed and unstressed syllables

capital letters, line length…; also called shape of the poem graphical elements capital letters, line length…; also called shape of the poem

A soothing song, usually sung to children before they go to sleep llullaby A soothing song, usually sung to children before they go to sleep