English

ENGLISH

Genre and Structure

When distinguishing among different literary genres, think about:

The form of the work of literature
The purpose of the written piece
How the author wants the reader to think or feel
How the different structures of a particular form of writing support the author's purpose

Important Terms:

Autobiography - nonfiction that an author writes about his or her own life.
Ballad - a song that tells a story, usually with a tragic ending.
Biography - nonfiction written about a person's life.
Comedy - a play written to entertain and amuse.
Couplet - two rhyming lines that appear one after the other.
Epic - a long poem that tells a heroic story.
Essay - a composition about a certain topic.
Novel - a book-length work of narrative fiction.
Novella - a long short story.
Poem - writing in verse that may be rhymed or may have a certain number of syllables per line.
Short story - a short work of fiction.
Sonnet - a poem of fourteen lines, usually in iambic pentameter.
Stanza - a section of a poem containing a number of verses.
Tragedy - a play which ends in sorrow for the hero or heroine.

Elements of a Narrative

A narrative is any type of story. A narrative can be written as short fiction, a poem, or an essay.

Most narratives possess these common elements:

Setting – where and when the story happens.
Point of view – who tells the story.
Plot – the events or the action of the story.
Characters – the people in the story.
Conflict – struggles or obstacles faced by the people in the story.

Characteristics are features that help identify, distinguish, or describe people, places, and things.

Foreshadowing gives the reader hints about events to come.

Flashbacks interrupt the present by describing events from the past.

Style and Literary Techniques

Style is the way an author presents his work.

An author can reveal the style of a work of literature through:

The speaker or narrator
The way the work is organized
Word choice, rhythm, and imagery
Using sentences of different patterns and lengths
Using figurative language and other literary devices

Important Terms:

Literary device - a literary or linguistic technique that produces a specific effect, especially a figure of speech, narrative style, or plot mechanism.
Figurative language – a word or phrase that departs from everyday literal language for the sake of comparison, emphasis, clarity, or freshness. (Examples of figurative language are imagery, similes, metaphors, personification, hyperbole, etc.)
Organization – the way that sentences and paragraphs are put together in a piece of writing.
Voice - the attitude and feelings of the author.
Tone - the overall atmosphere of the writing. (Voice contributes to tone.)
Diction – word choice.
Imagery – any figurative language used to create an image in the reader’s mind.
Irony – the use of words to express something other than (particularly the opposite of) the literal meaning.
Personification – the application of human characteristics to things, animals, or ideas.
Simile – the comparison of two things using the words like or as.
Metaphor – the comparison of two things without using the words like or as.
Hyperbole - an extravagant statement or figure of speech not intended to be taken literally.

Elements of Dramatic Literature

Important Terms:

Dialogue – the speech of characters in literature, generally between two or more characters.
Dramatic monologue - the speech of one person alone in a dramatic work.
Scene design – a description of the physical scene in a play, including the setting and props.
Aside – a statement made by a character in a play that is directed to the audience instead of another character.
Soliloquy – a speech by a character who is onstage alone.
Character foil – a character that provides contrast to another character.

Purpose and Audience

Every author has purpose when he writes. Common purposes for writing may include (but are not limited to) the expression of thoughts and ideas; the description of a person, event, or place; an explanation of something; and the analysis and evaluation of another text. Authors write to inform, write to persuade, and write for self-expression.

The audience reads the author’s writing. The type of audience has an influence over what an author writes. Since authors want their writing to address a specific purpose, they need to choose language and a style that will have the greatest impact on their intended audience.

Grammar

Important Terms:

Nouns - the name of a person, place, or thing.
Pronouns - words that stand for nouns(examples: I, you, he, she, it, we, they).
Verb - the action word in the sentence.
Subject - the person or thing in a sentence that performs the action. The subject is the "doer" in the sentence.
Object - the recipient of the subject's action.
Adjectives - words that modify (describe) nouns.
Adverbs - words that modify verbs. Adverbs describe where, when, how, or how often an action is performed.
Modifier - a word or phrase that makes the sense of another word more specific. (example: garage is a modifier of door in the noun garage door.)
Predicate - the part of a sentence in which something is said about the subject.
Preposition - a word used before a noun or pronoun to relate it to the other words. Some common prepositions include: about, after, as, before, between, but, during, for, from, in, near, of, than.
Conjunctions - words used to link clauses in a sentence.
Transitions - words or phrases used to connect one sentence or idea to another.

Every sentence must end with a punctuation mark. A period (.) ends a sentence that states or tells something. The period also ends a command or request. A question mark (?) is used to end a sentence that asks something. An exclamation point (!) ends a sentence that shows surprise or strong feeling.

Quotation marks are used before and after the exact words someone has spoken. Quotation marks are also used before and after the titles of short works such as stories, poems, magazine articles, etc. The titles of longer works (books, magazines, movies) are underlined.

Apostrophes are used to show ownership or a close relationship. They are also used in contractions which consist of two words written together with one or more letters left out. The apostrophe takes the place of the missing letters. (example: could not=couldn't)

Commas (,) show a separation of ideas or of elements within the structure of a sentence and often indicate a pause.

Semicolons (;) connect independent clauses and indicate a closer relationship between the clauses than a period does.

Visit the linked page to learn when to use commas or semicolons in compound sentences.

Sample Tests

2009
Public Release HSA 2009
Answer Key 2009

2008
Public Release HSA 2008
Answer Key 2008

2007
Public Release HSA 20 07
Answer Key 2007

2006
Public Release HSA 2006
Answer Key 2006

2005
Public Release HSA 2005
Answer Key 2005

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