STARR Vocabulary

commonly understood cultural or emotional association that any given word or phrase carries, in addition to its explicit or literal meaning

• Connotation

• Convey

• Concrete Details

• Effect

To communicate to someone directly or indirectly through symbols, words, or actions

• Convey

• Emphasize

• Irony

• Infer

the impact an author’s choice has (on a part of the work, on the work as a whole, or on the reader)

• Emphasize

• Effect

• Concrete Details

• Infer

Specific descriptions of a particular object, character, or setting. 

Think of your five senses: sight, smell, sound, taste, and touch.

• Concrete Details

• Infer

• Emphasize

• Irony

To put special attention or significance on something. To show that something is important.

• Concrete Details

• Irony

• Emphasize

• Connotation

To draw a conclusion based on evidence and reasoning

To use what the text says/includes AND your background knowledge to draw a conclusion about something unknown

• Infer

• Connotation

• Effect

• Emphasize

A contrast between what is being said and what is actually going to happen or current reality. Sometimes done to show humor, anger, or frustration.

• Irony

• Infer

• Emphasize

• Effect

Repetition is defined as:

• The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words

• Words that sound the same

• The repetition of consonant sounds inside of words

• The use of the same word or phrase over and over in a text in order to create rhythm or impart emphasis.

Summary is defined as:

• nothing

• tells an opinion

• makes an educated guess

• is a shorter way to explain a text with important information or key points

Tone is defined as:

• The feeling the passage evokes from the reader

• The author, narrator, or speaker's attitude toward a subject

• The time and place of the story

• The summary of events in the story