1. English 1 First Nine Weeks - Heroes & Myths Unit Vocabulary Definitions
To be a successful student, you must be able to take your own notes that will help you to study and learn.
You will be quizzed over these vocabulary words every week, and they will also appear on your tests and projects.
You may choose to write down the exact definition from the PowerPoint, or to write a shorter or longer definition that uses your own words.
You should include an example for each term that will help you to memorize it. This can be a name, sentence, phrase, mnemonic, or even a picture.

2. Character: a person in a work of fiction
Week 1
Hero: a person who is admired for their deeds, accomplishments, and/or good qualities
Character: a person in a work of fiction
Protagonist: the main character; the character whom the audience wants to succeed (GOOD GUY)
Antagonist: A character or force that tries to prevent the protagonist from succeeding (BAD GUY)
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)
Narrative: a story

3. Week 2
Epic: a narrative poem which tells of the life and accomplishments of a hero
Epic Hero: the protagonist of an epic poem
Point of view: who is telling the story/who the narrator is
Omniscient point of view: when narrator knows and can see everything in a story, including characters’ thoughts and feelings (GOD)
Limited point of view: when the narrator does not know everything that is occurring in the story. The reader can only know what the character who is telling the story knows. (HUMAN)
First-person point of view: The narrator is a character in the story who uses “I”
Third-person point of view: The narrator is NOT a character in the story, but an outside voice that uses “he” or “she”

4. Week 3
Noun: A person, place, thing, or idea
Verb: an action; the word that tells what a noun is doing
Article: the, a, an – words that tell whether a noun is specific or nonspecific.
Fiction: literature that is created from the author’s imagination; the events in fiction did not actually happen, although they may be inspired by real life.
Nonfiction: literature that is written truthfully about something that actually happened. The author does not imagine anything, but records what took place.
Context: what surrounds something. May refer to the language surrounding a word or to historical events surrounding an event
Omit: to remove something or leave something out. Noun form is “omission”

5. Week 4
Evidence: Facts or information which prove that something is true
Summarize: to give a shorter statement of the main idea in your own words
Paraphrase: to restate someone else’s ideas in your own words
Research: to search for information and ideas
Plagiarism: stealing someone else’s words or ideas and pretending they are your own
Citation: giving credit to the person whose words/ideas you are using in your writing, instead of pretending they are your own
MLA format: A set of rules for writing and citations that is used in English-speaking countries around the world (Modern Language Association)

6. Plot: the sequence of events in a narrative
Week 5
Plot: the sequence of events in a narrative
Exposition: the beginning of the story, where the setting, characters, & conflict are revealed
Rising action: the events leading up to the climax
Climax: the highest point of the action; the turning point in the story
Falling action: events that occur after the climax, during which conflicts are being resolved
Resolution: the ending of the story, where all problems have been resolved
Denouement: (deh-noo-MA) the resolution

7. Week 6
Text: a written work, such as a story, article, poem, book, or play
Textual evidence: a specific example or quotation from the text that supports your argument
Concrete detail: (CD) a fact, example, or claim
Parenthetical documentation: (P-DOC) a citation inside parentheses () that comes at the end of a sentence with textual evidence. In MLA format, it includes the author’s last name and the page number where the information appeared.
Ex: Lily says, “Poor Miss May” (Kidd 51).
Commentary: (CM) A sentence explaining why the CD or textual evidence is important.
Ex: This shows that Lily cares about the Boatwright sisters.
Theme: The underlying idea, message, or moral of a story

8. Week 7
Adjective: a word that describes a noun
Adverb: a word that describes a verb
2. Abridge: To shorten something by leaving out some parts. Ex: abridged dictionaries leave out uncommon words; abridged novels leave out unimportant scenes; unabridged books have not left out anything
3. Revise: To edit and change something in order to improve it
5. Primary source: records of events by people who participated in or witnessed the event (diary, personal interview, personal essay, reality TV, documentaries)
6. Secondary source: records of events made by people who were not there (textbooks, History channel, reenactments)
7. Idiom: a saying is understood by speakers of a language, but cannot be understood from the literal meanings of its words. Ex: jump the gun; chip on your shoulder; out of the blue

9. Week 8
Imply: when an author/speaker gives hints about their true meaning, instead of stating it directly (Do you want some gum?)
Infer: when a reader/listener figures out an author/speaker’s hidden true meaning by recognizing hints and clues (I need to brush my teeth more often…)
Major character: one of the most important characters in a story, without whom the story would not be the same (protagonist, antagonist, ally, mentor) (Neo, Trinity, Morpheus, Tank, Agent Smith, Cypher)
Minor character: a character who is not very important in a story - they interact with one or more main characters, but their personal characteristics don’t really matter to the plot (Neo’s two friends who invite him to the nightclub; Neo’s boss at the software company; Agent Brown, Agent Jones)
Relevant: meaningful or important to what is currently being discussed
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 grules and/or vocabulary that differ from standard English. Ex: Southern English, African-American English/”Ebonics,” Appalachian English, slang