Chapter 4 Phrases & Language

Why do playwrights break the rules of standard punctuation when writing dialogue?

to tell the actors how to deliver their lines

literal language

Literal and figurative language is a distinction within some fields of language analysis, in particular stylistics, rhetoric, and semantics

Which of the following paints a verbal picture to compare two dissimilar things?

Metaphor

The sentence, 'In the shadows creep scary ghosts,' is an example of what kind of inverted word order situation?

The subject (ghosts) comes after the verb (creep). Thus, the sentence is inverted

The statement 'kayaks crave crazy conditions' uses which of the following devices?

The repeated k sound in the sentence is an example of alliteration and saying that kayaks crave something suggests they have human abilities, which is personification.

Which of the following types of words are used across all content areas?

Academic words are taught across the curriculum.

Development of which of the following types of vocabulary will yield the best results in school?

Academic words are the most useful because they can be used in all subjects and often describe the action that takes place during a learning experience.

Which sentence has inverted word order?

'At the end of the story is a terrible surprise,' is the only sentence where the subject is not before the verb. The subject is surprise and the verb is is. This is an inverted sentence and so has inverted word order.

Which sentence has normal word order?

'I ran back to my house as fast as possible,' is the only sentence that has the subject before the verb. The subject is I and the verb is ran. All the others have subjects in other places or not there at all.

Which is the best phrasing to let the reader know that important information is coming up?

'This brings us to another one of our main points' is the best phrasing because the reader is set up for understanding that he or she is about to read something that is important. Adding a period (.) lets the reader know our thought is complete, and our statement was definite

Which of the following sentences is intended to encourage a response from the reader?

Adding a question mark (?) lets the reader know you are preparing for a response from them. Therefore, 'Did you know you can't dream and snore at the same time?' is the answer that would encourage a reader's response.

How many tiers are there in the Tiered Vocabulary Instruction model?

3

Domain-specific words

A domain-specific language is a computer language specialized to a particular application domain

figure of speech

A figure of speech or rhetorical figure is figurative language in the form of a single word or phrase

metaphor

A metaphor is a figure of speech that refers, for rhetorical effect, to one thing by mentioning another thing

prefixes

A prefix is an affix which is placed before the stem of a word

Which is not a situation that calls for inverted word order?

A regular statement will most likely have normal word order with the subject before the verb. Commands, questions and inverted sentences usually have inverted word order.

simile

A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things

verb

A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , an occurrence , or a state of being

Which of these terms refers to the actual definition of a word?

A word's denotation is the definition of the word.

The topic of your essay is somewhat controversial, but you want readers who disagree with your opinion to continue reading. Which of the following sentences would most likely encourage their continued attention?

Alerting the reader that we have something important to say encourages them to keep reading. The words we use to surround important information can set the tone, therefore, emphasizing that 'the most recent data may offer a new perspective', keeps the readers engaged. It is also sensitive and respectful to the reader's opposing opinion.

You're reading a book, and you come across a passage where a lot of words begin with the same consonant. What kind of figurative language did you just see?

Alliteration

allusion

Allusion is a figure of speech, in which one refers covertly or indirectly to an object or circumstance from an external context

'The two teams faced off. One team had gone undefeated for three seasons. The other, a young team, was playing their first game. This competition was a David and Goliath match-up.' This passage is an example of which literary term?

Allusions are references to well-known stories, people or events, and when a writer makes an allusion he brings in all the background that comes with that story. In the above passage, the author references the well-known story of David and Goliath to the upcoming game featuring two different teams.

affixes

An affix is a morpheme that is attached to a word stem to form a new word

Which of the following statements is true?

An author's syntax is determined by the purpose for his or her writing.

onomatopoeia

An onomatopoeia is a word that phonetically imitates, resembles or suggests the source of the sound that it describes

analogy

Analogy is a cognitive process of transferring information or meaning from a particular subject to another , or a linguistic expression corresponding to such a process

Juliet says, 'A rose by any other name would smell as sweet.' She's comparing Romeo's last name, Montague, to a rose because no matter what you call him, Romeo is still going to be a sweet guy. Juliet is using which term to explain her idea?

Analogy,Analogies are a tool to make a deep thought understandable by relating it, in a comparison, to something the reader already knows. The writer above is using an analogy by comparing the rose to Romeo.

Personification

Anthropomorphism is the attribution of human traits, emotions, and intentions to non-human entities and is considered to be an innate tendency of human psychology

In which of the following scenarios is giving a brief response NOT ideal?

Because word choice and language set the tone for our essay, it is important to give a detailed and well-thought out response when writing about a topic that is controversial. It is appropriate to be brief if the reader will agree and you are giving a positive response, or the writing is about a widely accepted scientific fact.

'Youthful' and 'childlike' have similar definitions, but they have different emotional impacts. The emotional impact of a word is the word's:

Connotation is the extra feeling, or emotion, that a word carries.

Which of the following describes words that are not usually taught in school, but are necessary for communication?

Conversational words take place in everyday communication, but are usually not taught in school except in the primary levels.

denotation

Denotation is a translation of a sign to its meaning, precisely to its literal meaning, more or less like dictionaries try to define it

dialogue

Dialogue is a written or spoken conversational exchange between two or more people, and a literary and theatrical form that depicts such an exchange

Which of the following types of vocabulary words are specific to a particular hobby?

Domain-specific words are words that are not generally used by everyone, but are specific to a certain hobby or subject.

Place these punctuation marks in order, from shortest pause to longest: comma, dash, period, ellipsis

From shortest to longest it is comma, dash, period, and then the ellipsis.

Which of the following is an overstatement or exaggeration?

Hyperbole

'I was so excited I could feel my feet lifting off of the ground' is an example of which of the following?

Hyperbole is an exaggeration that expresses something that's unlikely to actually be true.

hyperbole

Hyperbole is the use of exaggeration as a rhetorical device or figure of speech

Which is not an example of inverted word order?

If the subject comes before the verb in any sentence, then it is using normal word order. Inverted word order occurs if the subject comes after the verb, in between verbs, or is missing.

When writing a cover letter the syntax should be:

If you are writing a cover letter for a job, it is important that your writing is professional and clear in style and attitude. Thus, your syntax - or arrangement of words - must strictly follow grammatical conventions and be straightforward in structure.

If you are writing a poem, your syntax can be:

If you are writing a poem, your syntax can be more open-ended. A free use of punctuation, rich figurative language and unexpected sentence structure might be features of your poem's syntax.

subject

In library and information science documents are classified and searched by subject - as well as by other attributes such as author, genre and document type

suffixes

In linguistics, a suffix is an affix which is placed after the stem of a word

Normal word order

In linguistics, word order typology is the study of the order of the syntactic constituents of a language, and how different languages can employ different orders

tone

In literature, the tone of a literary work expresses the writer's attitude toward or feelings about the subject matter and audience

Which of the following gives animals or inanimate objects human qualities or characteristics?

Personification

If I describe my old dishwasher as refusing to clean my dishes, I'm using which of the following?

Personification gives non-human objects and creatures human abilities. When your dishwasher refuses, it isn't actually rejecting you, but is literally not functioning. When you say it refuses, you are giving it an ability it doesn't have in real life.

Tiered Vocabulary Instruction

Reading comprehension is the ability to read text, process it, and understand its meaning

Which of the following uses the words 'like' or 'as' to draw a comparison between two things that are not particularly similar?

Simile

Which of the following does NOT add tone and voice to your writing?

Spelling

Which of the following is NOT a syntactical consideration?

Syntactical considerations include sentence structure, punctuation usage and creative elements like similes and metaphors. Word choice is NOT a consideration.

In dramatic dialogue, what does the ellipsis indicate?

The characters are trailing off or losing their train of thought.

Which punctuation mark would tell the actor to use a brief pause, as if a new idea had just entered his character's thoughts?

The dash is the tool playwrights use to throw in a short pause followed by a new idea that seems to have just entered the character's thoughts.

Which of the following BEST describes syntax?

The decision as to how to arrange the words in one's writing

'He's as gentle as a lamb' can most precisely be described as which type of figure of speech:

The use of the word 'as' helps us to know that this phrase is a simile, rather than a metaphor, which also compares two things.

Which tier of the Tiered Vocabulary Instruction model should teachers focus on the least?

Though all tiers are important, teachers should spend less instructional time on Tier One due to its basic nature. Odds are the words in this tier have already been mastered, so focusing on the second and third tiers would prove to be beneficial.

Which tier of Tiered Vocabulary Instruction model is compared to a foundation?

Tier One is referred to as the Foundation of vocabulary because it includes basic words that we all master early on in life through conversation. From here, we build our language development.

Which tier is compared to a specialist?

Tier Three is compared to a Specialist because its words are very specific to a particular subject area, and they are the core to a lesson.

Which tier is compared to a chameleon?

Tier Two is considered to be a chameleon because its words can be used across the curricula in a variety of ways.

Which of the following terms refers to the attitude of a speaker?

Tone

Academic words

are the words you need to know in order to be successful in any academic setting.

Domain-specific words

are words that are learned on an as-needed basis in order to understand information in a specific area.

Conversational words

are words used in daily conversations with family and friends. It is important to know how to use these words in order to communicate with other people.

1,2,3 tier

first tier includes basic, common words that we use through conversation. The second tier is specific to informational text and literature across the curricula, and it's used in a variety of modes. The third tier includes domain-specific vocabulary, particular to one content area or subject matter.

Tiered Vocabulary Instruction

is a method used to pinpoint key terms an educator should focus on during instruction.

Which of the following words are domain-specific?

microbes, umbra, symbiosis

What are three types of end punctuation that playwrights can use, even if they make sentences into fragments?

period, exclamation point, and question mark