Complex definitions:

Tier 3: Content-Specific & Domain Vocabulary

These words are specific to the domains of political science (government), literary analysis (prompts/characterization), and comic book structure.

1. Dictatorship: A type of government where a single leader demands that citizens find resources for them and recite an oath of loyalty (such as "Mister McCoy is the best teacher in the world"). Students must obey the rules upon pain of death or removal to a re-education camp, and citizens' free time is used to serve the leader (e.g., washing their car).

2. Anarchy: A political system where everyone keeps the resources and does what they want with them. In this context (Democratic Confederalism), no one is forced or coerced to do anything, and groups form for mutual aid to support those without resources.

3. Expository: One of three categories of writing prompts intended to explain or describe. Examples of expository writing include encyclopedias, history books, and procedural instructions (like how to change the oil in a car). When writing an expository essay, the goal is to examine an issue in the most unbiased way possible.

4. Argumentative: A type of writing or prompt that attempts to persuade the reader to think or to do something. This type of communication is common in political discussions, advertising, speeches, and letters, where the author must state a clear position (thesis) and support it with reasons and examples to convince the reader.

5. Onomatopoeia: A sound effect in a comic book, which acts as a picture of a noise. These sound effects, like "wam," "Kaboom," "drop," "sock," or "Bop," make comics interesting by showing the sound in a visual way.

6. Propaganda: A form of communication used to promote a specific political cause or view, such as a communist poster showing the banner of Lenin to celebrate workers' rights.

7. Vested: A term used in defining a democratic republic, meaning that supreme power is placed or held. In this form of government, supreme power is vested in the people.

8. Supporting Details: Information used to elaborate upon the key points of a text. When writing a summary, supporting details must be excluded; only the main idea and key points should be included.

Tier 2: High-Utility Academic Vocabulary

These are high-frequency words crucial for understanding academic tasks and demonstrating maturity in language use across subjects.

9. Analyze (Analysis): The process of breaking down and carefully examining a complex text or task, such as reading a writing prompt several times to make sure you understand exactly what it is asking you to do. Analysis is necessary to structure an essay and is a key skill required for discovering main ideas and themes.

10. Inferred / Implied: To derive a conclusion or message (such as a theme) that is not explicit or clearly stated by the author. Themes must typically be inferred by taking evidence that has been gathered and putting it together. The meaning is implied rather than told directly.

11. Consequences: The outcomes or effects of an action or situation. In an expository essay prompt about social media, the requirements specifically instruct the writer to discuss both the positive impacts as well as the negative consequences.

12. Successor: The person who is chosen to take the throne after a monarch's death. In the monarchy role-play, the King or Queen selects their successor.

13. Unbiased: Describing or examining an issue in a neutral, objective, and impartial way. Expository writing requires the author to talk about an issue in the most unbiased way possible.

14. Distinguish: To recognize the difference between two or more things. Students must be able to distinguish between a main idea, a key point, and a supporting detail in order to write an effective summary.

15. Acronym: A word formed by taking the first letter of a series of other words. The word STEAL is used as an acronym to help remember the five elements of indirect characterization: Speech, Thoughts, Effect on others, Actions, and Looks.

16. Thesis:Thesis The thesis is the statement that you are proving in an essay, typically providing an answer to a question and informing the reader of three different ways that answer will be proved. It is a core component of the introduction paragraph in a five-paragraph essay, included alongside the hook and the bridge. Supporting paragraphs are structured to support sections of the thesis, with each paragraph supporting one-third, and the writer typically restates the thesis in the conclusion.

17. Analysis Analysis is the process that must be performed in RACE paragraphs to prove why an answer is true, which is the overall goal of these paragraphs. The term is primarily mentioned in the context of avoiding a key writing mistake: summarizing instead of doing an analysis. Summarizing is considered incorrect because it fails to provide an answer and prove its validity.

18. Answer In the context of the RACE writing method, the Answer is the second step, requiring you to answer the question completely and state the answer you are going to prove in the short paragraph. The answer to the question often becomes the subject of the sentence after performing a subject-verb inversion of the original question.

19. Explain Explain is the final step (E) in the RACE writing method, which means telling your reader why your citation proves your answer and why your writing matters. This step's objective is to tell the reader what to take away from what you have said, describing the relationship found in relation to the text. The skill involved in writing good explanations is the most difficult part of the RACE method and requires practice, often using stems like "therefore" or "as a result."

20. A Run-on Sentence is a major grammatical error where two or more independent clauses (complete sentences) are improperly joined together into a single sentence. This error can occur either as a fused sentence, where no punctuation separates the clauses, or as a comma splice, where the independent clauses are separated only by a comma without a coordinating conjunction. Run-on sentences can be highly distracting to readers and prevent the writer from successfully communicating key information because the lack of correct punctuation prevents the brain from inserting natural pauses between complete thoughts.

Translated Words

Just the words:

Dictatorship Anarchy Propaganda Vested Expository Argumentative Supporting Details Analyze Analysis Inferred Implied Consequences Unbiased Distinguish Onomatopoeia Successor Acronym Thesis Analysis Answer Explain Run-on Sentence 

Prefixes, Roots, and Suffixes

Prefixes, roots (or base words), and suffixes are the building blocks of many English words.

Prefixes

A prefix is a group of letters placed before the root word to change its meaning.

Prefix

Meaning

Examples

un-

not, opposite of

unhappy, undo

re-

again, back

rewrite, return

in-, im-, il-, ir-

not (or in/into)

incorrect, impossible, illegal, irregular

dis-

not, opposite of

disagree, disconnect

pre-

before

preview, pretest

anti-

against

antifreeze, antisocial

sub-

under

submarine, subway

inter-

between

interact, international

mis-

wrongly

mistake, mislead

over-

over, too much

overlook, overcharge

Roots (or Base Words)

A root is the main part of a word that carries the core meaning. Many English roots come from Greek or Latin.

Root

Meaning

Examples

bio

life

biology, antibiotic

aud

hear, sound

audible, auditorium

scrib, script

write

describe, manuscript

dem

people

democracy, epidemic

geo

earth

geography, geology

cred

believe

credible, incredible

therm

heat

thermometer, thermal

port

carry

transport, export

rupt

break

erupt, disrupt

dict

speak, say

dictate, predict

Suffixes

A suffix is a group of letters placed at the end of a word to change its meaning or its part of speech (e.g., changing a verb to a noun or an adjective).

Suffix

Meaning

Examples

-ful

full of

careful, joyful

-less

without

hopeless, fearless

-ly

characteristic of (adverb)

quickly, slowly

-able, -ible

able to be

readable, sensible

-ness

state of, condition

kindness, darkness

-er, -or

one who, what does

worker, actor

-tion, -sion, -ation

act, process, or result of

attention, discussion, creation

-y

characterized by

sunny, happy

-ous, -ious

possessing the qualities of

humorous, victorious

-ment

action or process

enjoyment, movement

Word Parts by Frequency

Highest Frequency: Suffixes

These are among the most common affixes in English as they create adverbs, nouns, and adjectives.

1. -ly (Characteristic of/how something is done)

2. -tion, -sion, -ation (Act, process, or result of—grouped due to related function)

3. -er, -or (One who/thing that does—grouped due to related function)

4. -ness (State of, condition)

5. -able, -ible (Able to be/capable of being—grouped due to related function)

6. -ment (Action or process, state of being)

7. -ful (Full of, having the qualities of)

8. -less (Without, lacking)

9. -ous, -ious (Possessing the qualities of/full of)

10. -y (Characterized by)

High Frequency: Prefixes

These prefixes account for a large percentage of all prefixed words in English. The prefixes that mean "not" are especially common.

1. un- (Not, opposite of)

2. re- (Again, back)

3. in-, im-, il-, ir- (Not/opposite of—grouped due to related function and meaning)

4. dis- (Not, opposite of)

5. over- (Above, too much)

6. mis- (Wrongly, badly)

7. sub- (Under, below)

8. pre- (Before)

9. inter- (Between, among)

10. anti- (Against, opposite)

Mid-to-Lower Frequency: Roots

These Latin and Greek roots are frequent within academic and specialized vocabulary, but less common overall than the top prefixes and suffixes.

The roots are more difficult to rank exactly, but are generally ordered below based on how broadly they appear across different English words.

1. dict (Speak, say)

2. port (Carry)

3. scrib, script (Write—grouped due to related function)

4. aud (Hear, sound)

5. geo (Earth)

6. dem (People)

7. bio (Life)

8. cred (Believe)

9. rupt (Break)

10. therm (Heat)

E2 - Word Parts

On each activity, read number 1 (the base word) and number 2 (base word + word part) and then tell me what the word part means.

1) -ly

1. Base word: Quick (moving or doing things fast)

2. Base Word + Part = Quickly (in a fast manner; without delay).

3. What does the word part "-ly" do? 💡

2) -tion, -sion, -ation

1. Base word: Attend (to be present at an event)

2. Base Word + Part = Attention (the act or process of mentally concentrating on something).

3. What does the word part "-tion" do? 💡

3) -ness

1. Base word: Kind (friendly and generous)

2. Base Word + Part = Kindness (the state or condition of being friendly and generous).

3. What does the word part "-ness" do? 💡

E2 - Word Parts

On each activity, read number 1 (the base word) and number 2 (base word + word part) and then tell me what the word part means.

1) -able, -ible

1. Base word: Read (to look at and comprehend written material)

2. Base Word + Part = Readable (able to be read or easy to read).

3. What does the word part "-able" do? 💡

2) -ment

1. Base word: Enjoy (to take pleasure in something)

2. Base Word + Part = Enjoyment (the action or state of taking pleasure in something).

3. What does the word part "-ment" do? 💡

3) -ful

1. Base word: Help (to give assistance to someone)

2. Base Word + Part = Helpful (having the qualities of help; full of assistance).

3. What does the word part "-ful" do? 💡
   
   
   

E2 - Word Parts

On each activity, read number 1 (the base word) and number 2 (base word + word part) and then tell me what the word part means.

1) -less

1. Base word: Hope (a feeling of expectation and desire)

2. Base Word + Part = Hopeless (feeling or causing despair; without hope).

3. What does the word part "-less" do? 💡

2) -ous, -ious

1. Base word: Fame (the state of being widely known)

2. Base Word + Part = Famous (possessing the qualities of fame; widely known).

3. What does the word part "-ous" do? 💡

3) -y

1. Base word: Cloud (a visible mass of water droplets in the air)

2. Base Word + Part = Cloudy (having the characteristics of a cloud; full of clouds).

3. What does the word part "-y" do? 💡