Unit One Vocabulary

Textual evidence- quotations, summaries, or paraphrases from text passages to

support a position

Inference- a logical conclusion based on observation, prior experience, or textual

evidence

Central Idea/Theme- the message of a literary work; a statement of truth about life
or human nature

Analyze- to study details of a work to identify essential features or meaning

Evaluate- to make a judgment based on criteria and standards to determine the

value of something

Identify- to recognize, or establish, something specific

Diction- a writers or speakers choice of words

Tone- a writers or speakers attitude toward a subject

Mood- the overall emotional quality of a work, which is created by the authors
language and tone and the subject matter

Objective- supported by facts and not influenced by personal opinion

Critique- an article or essay criticizing a literary, or other, work; detailed evaluation;

review.

Propel- to drive, or cause to move, forward or onward

Provoke- to give rise to, induce, or bring about

Development- growth; progress

Perspective- the way a specific character views a situation or other characters

Point of View- the perspective from which a story is told. In first person point of
view, the teller is a character in the story telling what he or she sees or knows. In
third person point of view, the narrator is someone outside the story.

Distinguish- to mark off as different

Sensory Detail- words or information that appeal to the five senses (also called
imagery)

Allusion- a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of

art; used to enhance the meaning of a text

Analogy- a comparison of the similarity of two things; for example, comparing a part
to a whole or the whole to a part

Argument- facts or reasoning offered to support a position as being true

Counterclaim/Counterargument- reasoning or facts given in opposition to an

argument

Style/Craft- tools and techniques of language and storytelling that an individual

author uses in his writing; varies from author to author and depends upon ones
syntax, word choice, and tone.