Grade 7 ELA – Semester 1
Terms to Know for the Final Exam
GRAMMAR
1. proper noun​ - a specific person, place, or thing that requires capitalization.
Examples: ​Busch Stadium, Snickers, Mary
2. common noun​ – a general person, place, thing, or idea.
Examples​: ballpark, candy, girl
3. pronouns​ – replaces a noun​:
Examples​:​ I, me, my, mine, we, us, ours, you, your, yours, she, he, it, its, they, them, their, theirs
4. conjunctions ​– words that connect other words, phrases, or clauses
Examples:​ ​for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS)
5. transitions/transitional phrases​ – words/phrases that move a reader from point to point
Examples​: ​first, on the other hand, next, finally, to begin with, after, last, to conclude
6. complete sentence/independent clause – a
​ group of words that does have a subject and a verb and
CAN stand alone – also known as a complete sentence
7. adjectives​ – modifies/describes a noun
8. adverb​ - modifies/describes an adjective ,a verb, or an adverb
9. a subject and a predicate​ – A complete sentence must contain these two main items; a subject
contains at least one noun, and a predicate contains at least one verb.
10. compound sentence​ -This type of sentence is made up of two full/complete sentences joined
together with proper punctuation. A compound sentence can be joined together with: 1) a comma plus
conjunction 2) a semi-colon 3) semicolon plus adverbial conjunction plus comma
LITERARY DEVICES/FIGURATIVE LANGUAGE/POETRY
11. poetry ​– writing composed of lines and stanza
12. stanza ​ - a poetic paragraph
13. line ​– a poetic sentence
14. rhythm ​– the beat of a poem
15. rhyme​ - when words at the end of poetic lines match in sound- there is usually some type of alternating
pattern
16. figurative language​ - hyperbole, imagery, metaphor, simile, alliteration, onomatopoeia, personification
17. literary devices​ – another term for figurative language or figures of speech
18. simile​ - a comparison between
​
two unlike items using the words l​ ike or ​as
19. metaphor​ - a comparison between
​
two unlike items not using the words l​ ike or ​as
20. personification​ - giving human qualities to non-human things
21. hyperbole​ – exaggeration for effect; unrealistic exaggeration to make a point
22. onomatopoeia ​– words that seem to sound similar to the sounds they describe
23. Imagery (sensory details) -​ This type of figurative language uses writing to make the reader see,
taste, touch, hear, and smell the written picture being described.
24. alliteration -​ the repetition of vowel sounds at the beginning of words grouped closely in a sentence
WRITING
25. writing process​ -the steps a writer uses to develop a piece of writing
​
26. expository/informational writing ​– style of writing that informs or teaches; written with an objective
view point. (example: a textbook, report, or article)
27. narrative writing ​– style of writing that tells a story; usually written from the first-person point-of-view
(can use personal pronouns such as ​I, me, you, we)
28. persuasive/argumentative writing ​– style of writing that works to convince the reader to agree with
the author’s opinion
29. basic order of expository/informational writing​: TS-SD-SD-SD-CS
30. paragraph ​– an organized group of sentences written about the same topic- the first sentence is
indented
31. topic sentence​ - the first sentence in a paragraph- its job is to state the main idea of the paragraph
32. supporting detail ​– true, reliable information that supports the main point. Examples: facts, statistics,
paraphrased proof from a text, quotes from a text, detailed descriptions, detailed examples
33. closing sentence ​– the last sentence in a paragraph – it smoothly brings the paragraph to an end
34. an essay ​– a piece of writing that includes multiple paragraph in the specific order of: introduction, body
paragraphs, conclusion. A basic academic essay has five paragraphs: introduction, body paragraph,
body paragraph, body paragraph, conclusion
35. introduction paragraph ​– the first paragraph of an essay – it includes a “hook” that gets the reader’s
attention and a thesis statement
36. thesis statement​ - The controlling idea of an entire essay (usually the last sentence of the introduction
paragraph)
37. body paragraphs ​– the paragraphs between the introduction and the conclusion. The body
paragraphs give supporting details to support the thesis statement.
38. conclusion paragraph ​– restates the main points of the essay, using different wording-ends with a
clincher sentence
39. clincher sentence ​– the last sentence of an essay – it is a strong, meaningful sentence that leaves the
reader with a lasting thought
LITERATURE
40. prose ​– writing that includes sentences and paragraphs
41. fiction ​– a story that is not true
42. nonfiction ​– a true story or set of information
43. plot diagram ​– a graphic organizer that shows the plot elements in order
44. literary elements​ - plot, exposition, setting, characters, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action,
resolution.
45. plot​ - the sequence of events in a story
46. plot order​ the order of a story: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution
47. exposition ​– occurs at the beginning of a story and includes the setting, characters, conflict, and any
needed background information
48. setting​ - the place and time a story happens
49. characters ​– the people, animals, objects that play a role in the story
50. protagonist ​– the central character of the story
51. antagonist ​– the person or thing working against the protagonist
52. conflict​ - the struggle in a story; a problem
53. inciting incident​ - ​the event or decision that begins a story's problem
54. rising action ​– everything between exposition and the climax
55. climax ​– the turn point of the story; it can coincide with the highest point of action
56. falling action ​– the events that occur between the climax and the resolution; it shows how the decision
arrived at during the climax is worked out
57. resolution ​– the solving of the conflict
58. theme​ - the life lesson(s) learned from a story
59. tone ​– the author’s attitude that is found in the wording of a piece of writing
60. mood ​- the emotional reaction a reader feels when reading a piece of writing
61. flashback​ - a memory -when a character tells the reader something that happened in the past
62. foreshadowing ​– a hint as to what will happen in the story
63. symbolism​ - An object that stands for itself and represents another idea.
GENERAL ELA TERMINOLOGY
64. author's purpose​ - the reason an author writes: to either persuade, inform, entertain, or teach
65. context clues​ - information the reader finds in a text that helps him or her define an unknown word or
phrase
66. infer​ - to draw meaning from a combination of clues in the text and to then form a good guess
67. draw a conclusion ​– to make a decision based on the information given in a text
68. audience​ - the person or people to whom you are writing
69. paraphrase​ - to restate a portion of a piece of writing in your own words
70. summarize ​– to briefly restate the main point of a whole piece of writing
71. graphic organizer​ - a visual device used for organizing information before writing a draft
72. connotation​ - the underlying or hidden meaning of a word; often causes an emotional reaction
73. denotation​ - the dictionary, or literal, definition of a word