English 9B Glossary - Vocabulary Words
Theme in literature is the main idea or underlying message an author explores in a work.
Review these characteristics of theme:
It reflects the lesson or message of a text.
It extends beyond the elements of a story, such as plot, setting, and characters.
It is a universal statement that can be applied outside of the specific text.
There is often more than one theme in a text.
A theme is often not explicitly stated.
For more information about theme or how to find it in a text, head back to to the Unit 1 page or see notes from ENG 9A.
Reading literature allows us to consider the experiences of the characters and examine our own viewpoints on the characters' experiences and choices. This connects the stories to how we want to think and operate in the world. Considering the theme of a story is how we reflect on the ways an author's message might play a part in our own lives.
Recall that one way that readers can better understand an author's message is to learn more about the author's background and perspective on specific topics.
exposition: introduces key elements, such as the setting, characters, and point of view
rising action: identifies the conflict and includes several events related to overcoming the conflict
climax: turning point where the conflict is most intense
falling action: includes the character(s) working to resolve the main conflict
resolution: shows how the conflict is resolved
For a basic picture that shows a chart of plot structure, click here!
The setting and characters should be introduced in the exposition of your narrative.
You will want to include details and descriptions to orient the reader to the who, what, and where of your story.
The introduction of the characters and setting of "The Perfect Match" occurs in lines 1–35 of the story. The author introduces Sai, Tilly, and Jenny as well as the conflict between how Sai and Jenny view technology.
Point of view is the perspective from which the story is told. Think about whether you want your narrative to be told by a first-person narrator, who is a character in the story, or by a third-person narrator, who is not a character in the story.
first-person: uses I, me, or my
Example: "I went to the store to buy groceries."
third-person: uses he, she and they
Example: "He decided to investigate."
Dialogue refers to the spoken words and conversations between characters in a story. You can use dialogue to develop the theme by highlighting aspects of a character's personality or thoughts that are relevant to the theme.
Reflection refers to the narrator's or characters' thoughts about a situation, a conflict, or another character. You can use reflection to develop a theme by sharing details about a character's thoughts related to the theme.
Description that uses sensory details helps to create vivid images in the reader's mind. You will want to use descriptive details to reveal key aspects of the setting, characters' appearances and actions, and details related to theme.
Pacing is the speed at which a story is told. In your narrative, you can use a quick description to speed up the pace or detailed dialogue or reflection to slow the pace. You'll want to make deliberate decisions about where and how pace the story to convey your theme, or message.
Using transition words to connect your ideas and show their relationships is a crucial part of writing. Readers depend on transitional cues and associations to understand how the information they are reading is connected and progressing.
For example, transition words like before, during, and then provide clear cues to the reader about when and how something occurs.
Before Juan could tell the officer what had happened, he had to gather his thoughts about how he was hacked.
During their conversation, the officer asked Juan for all his usernames and passwords to give to the computer technicians who would be gathering information for the investigation.
Then Juan had an uneasy feeling that the investigation might be about gathering his information and not about pursuing hackers.
Tip: Choose strong transition words and phrases that signal precise and accurate relationships for your reader.
See Unit 1 Notes for more info on Transition Words!
Authors write informational text to achieve an overall purpose—usually to inform the reader about a topic or to persuade the reader to accept an idea. Authors also have an intentional purpose for why they choose to include certain details and leave out others in a text.
As you read a text, you can think about the author's purpose for including specific details and information as well as the author's overall purpose for writing the text.
The central idea of a text is the main point that the author wants the reader to understand.
There are some key features of a central idea:
It is a main point or message the author is conveying.
It is developed by details over the course of a text.
It is often not explicitly stated.
There may be more than one central idea in a text.
One way to determine a word's meaning is to use context clues. Context clues are the words surrounding or near a challenging word or phrase. Sometimes the context clue is in the same sentence. Sometimes it is in the sentence before or after the word.
When you encounter challenging or technical words and phrases in a text, try the following context clue strategies to help you determine the meaning of the word:
Look for a definition.
Look for a synonym.
Look for an antonym.
Look for an example.
If looking for context clues does not help you to determine the meaning of the word, you can also use reference materials, such as a glossary or a dictionary.
To analyze the central idea and author's purpose in an informational text, you should first determine the meaning of any unfamiliar language using context clues and reference materials. Then, closely examine the details in the text and ask yourself these questions:
What central idea is the author conveying?
What details develop this idea?
What is the author's purpose for including a specific detail?
What is the author's overall purpose?
Notice that a summary:
briefly retells the central idea
includes only key information
does not include minor details
is in your own words but is opinion-free
Remember: A summary is objective when it does not include detailed descriptions, personal thoughts, or quotes from the text.
Synthesizing information is when you combine information from several sources to better understand a topic or make an overall point about the topic.
Step 1: Compare and contrast what is emphasized in each source:
What information is the same or emphasized similarly?
What information is different?
Step 2: Analyze how considering these sources creates a new understanding:
How does the information in each source help you better understand information in the other source(s)?
How does the information in the sources work together to create a new understanding of the subject?
Internet search engines allow you to use keywords to search for relevant information across the internet.
A library search engine allows you to use keywords to search for relevant information across all the materials available in that library, including books, journals, newspapers, and magazines.
Research databases are organized collections of information. You can use databases in a similar way that you use search engines. However, databases often include more specific or smaller collections of information than a search engine.
Whether you use a search engine or a database to begin your search, you will likely come across websites with information that is relevant to your topic.
Government websites are typically considered to be authoritative, reliable sources of information. Most government websites end in .gov.
Academic websites are websites that feature academic and scholarly information and content. You may find papers and articles written by professors, scientists, and graduate students as well as a variety of other sources that are academic in nature.
As you search, you will likely come across websites or databases that include news articles or journals.
News articles are researched and written by journalists and reporters who answer to specific guidelines about reporting the news accurately and responsibly. These can be good sources of current information.
Professional journals are scholarly journals that contain articles and reports written by and directed toward people in specific fields—such as doctors, lawyers, teachers, or engineers. These are published by a professional organization but are available for anyone to read and use for research.
Whether you begin searching using a search engine or database, one strategy for finding information is by generating keywords. Keywords and phrases come from the topic and big ideas associated with your research task.
As an example, we'll search for information about Katherine Johnson.
Keywords: "Katherine Johnson"
Simply searching for "Katherine Johnson" will generate pages and pages of sources, so it would be better to choose more specific words and phrases.
Keywords: "Katherine Johnson astrophysicist"
"Katherine Johnson mathematician"
Adding terms like "astrophysicist" and "mathematician" to your keywords will narrow the search to the sources that primarily focus on those aspects of her life.
Keywords: "Katherine Johnson childhood"
If you were to add “childhood” to your keywords, those sources would focus on the early years of her life and possibly how those years led to her success as an adult.
To convey their central—or main—idea, authors present their series of ideas in a purposeful way. They do not order details and points randomly. Instead, they introduce and develop ideas in ways that the reader can understand.
As a reader, it's important to understand how an author unfolds, or reveals, the ideas in a text. As you read a text for the first time, pay close attention to the order in which the author makes points. This will help you to notice how the points, or ideas, are connected and develop the central idea. Every detail in a text is there for a reason. It's your job as the reader to determine why.
When analyzing connections between ideas in an informational text, you can
ask questions about the purpose of specific words, phrases, and details.
look for words or concepts in the text that are repeated and impactful.
identify the main idea in each paragraph.
determine how the ideas in each paragraph connect to each other and the central idea or ideas of the text.
Sometimes you may be able to figure out the meaning of a word from other context in the text. You may also be able to understand the author's overall idea without knowing the exact meaning of a word.
Other times, you may need to determine the precise meanings of unfamiliar technical terms to understand the author's idea. When needed, use these steps to help you determine precise meanings and understand the author's idea:
Use a dictionary or glossary to determine precise meanings or definitions.
Substitute the word or phrase in the text with the definition you find.
Read the sentence or paragraph again—with the substituted definition—to help you understand the author's idea.
Due to the technical nature of a text, you may need to explain some of the more complex concepts in your written analysis. It's important to explain these concepts in a clear way that will help your readers understand them.
For Example: In "NASA Takes a Cue From Silicon Valley to Hatch Artificial Intelligence Technologies," the author discusses the application of advanced computer algorithms to problems in space science. If your readers do not have a strong background in computer science, they may not know what an algorithm is. However, they probably have used a computer and know how computers can solve problems. Since an algorithm is essentially a solution to a problem, describing it as a solution that uses a computer may help with understanding.
When you write a paper, always make sure you break down and explain ideas and how they connect to one another.
Relevant and Sufficient Facts
Facts that are relevant apply to the ideas being developed; sufficient facts give enough evidence to support the idea fully.
Extended Definitions
If a technical word is not likely to be familiar to the reader, the author will often define the word in the text.
Concrete Details
Concrete details are specific and descriptive. They are used to describe things that can be observed.
Quotations
Direct quotations from people involved in the events that are discussed provide evidence in the from of expert testimony or opinion.
Examples
Examples are excellent forms of evidence because they help the reader understand an idea by showing how it works in real life.
Begin by reviewing what makes an effective research question. A research question is the question you are trying to answer by collecting, organizing, and analyzing information. It is sometimes called a formal inquiry question. It will lead you to find the sources that you will use to support a thorough, well-developed response.
An effective research question is
answerable
clear
complex
concise
focused
Example Research Questions:
Do high school theater programs improve student achievement?
How do theater programs contribute to student academic achievement in high school?
The first example is not an effective research question. It is not a complex question, and it can be answered with a simple "yes" or "no."
But the second question is much better. It is more complex. Ellie can find sources that show ways in which theater programs can contribute to academic achievement for students who participate. And the answer will require sufficient explanation.
What makes a source relevant? Relevant sources provide information that pertains (are related) to your research question.
For example, if your research question involves the impact of social media on emerging artists, you will want to look for sources that provide information about social media. Sources about other types of technology may be good, credible sources, but they will not be relevant to your research question.
For each source, consider these questions:
Does the source include ideas that are related to my specific topic?
Does the source include ideas that help to answer my specific research question?
As you gather sources, you likely came across a lot of information that was not relevant to your research question. This is why using narrow, or specific, keywords can be more useful in finding relevant sources.
However, even after you've selected several sources, it's helpful to look at them again, more closely, to decide which sources have information that is most related to your specific topic and will help you answer your research question.
Summarizing the ideas in your sources is one way to help you answer your research question. Whether you're researching for your own information, or you're preparing to write a formal paper, summarizing each source can help you to quickly consider all the information you’ve found and put it together to answer your question.
When summarizing your research sources
identify main ideas or key details in your own words.
be sure to the include information that relates to your research question.
use a formal style and objective tone. (see Unit 1)
Keep in mind that when you write a summary of a source or text, you should use your own words to describe the main ideas. It’s important that you do not copy the source's words exactly as they are—this is considered plagiarism.
Remember, you may want to use sources from your research when you write your expository essay in the Unit Activity.
If you decide to include information from your sources in your formal essay, you will need to include academic citations for all quoted or paraphrased information to avoid plagiarism. You can reference a style guide to help you do this.
Don't forget that you can go back and look at notes from the other Units!