The position or claim the author establishes. Arguments should be supported with valid evidence and reasoning and balanced by the inclusion of counterarguments that illustrate opposing viewpoints.

The author’s intent either to inform or teach someone about something, to entertain people or to persuade or convince his/her audience to do or not do something.

Words and phrases in a sentence, paragraph, and/or whole text, which help reason out the meaning of an unfamiliar word.

Distinguish, tell apart, and recognize differences between two or more items.

To make a judgment or decision based on reasoning rather than direct or implicit statement

Clearly expressed or fully stated in the actual text.

The “personal” point of view relates events as they are perceived by a single character. The narrating character may offer opinions about the action and characters that differ from those of the author.

The center of interest or attention.

A conclusion drawn from specific information that is used to make a broad statement about a topic or person.

A category used to classify literary works, usually by form, technique or content (e.g., prose, poetry).

Any visual cues on a page of text that offer additional information to guide the reader’s comprehension.

Though unexpressed in the actual text, meaning that may be understood by the reader; implied

A judgment based on reasoning rather than on a direct or explicit statement. A conclusion based on facts or circumstances; understanding gained by “reading between the lines.”

To give reasons through an explanation to convey and represent the meaning or understanding of a text.

Points of information in a text that strongly support the meaning or tell the story. Statements that define, describe, or otherwise provide information about the topic, theme, or main idea.

A trend or pattern of shared beliefs or practices that mark an approach to literature (e.g., Realism, Naturalism, Romanticism)

The position of the narrator in relation to the story, as indicated by the narrator’s outlook from which the events are depicted (e.g., first person, third person limited, third person omniscient, etc). The perspective from which a speaker or author recounts a narrative or presents information. The author’s manner in revealing characters, events, and ideas; the vantage point from which a story is told.

The author’s choices regarding language, sentence structure, voice, and tone in order to communicate with the reader.

To capture all of the most important parts of the original text (paragraph, story, poem), but express them in a much shorter space, and as much as possible in the reader’s own words.

A perspective in literature that presents the events of the story from outside of any single character’s perception, much like the omniscient point of view, but the reader must understand the action as it takes place and without any special insight into characters’ minds or motivations