ACAP Review
Flashcard Definitions
Flashcard Definitions for ACAP
1. Argument - a text that expresses the author's position about a topic and why that topic is
correct.
2. Claim - statements about what the author believes; they can be argued.
3. Evidence - information that supports the author's claim. Examples are facts, data,
statistics, quotes, and expert opinions.
4. Fact - statements that can be proved true or false.
5. Opinion - someone's beliefs or way of thinking about something.
6. Valid Opinions - Valid opinions are supported by facts or experts.
7. Faulty Opinions - statements of opinion that are NOT supported by facts or
experts.
8. Simile - a comparison of two things, using the words like or as.
9. Metaphor - a comparison without using the words like or as.
10. Personification - giving human qualities to an animal or object.
11. Alliteration - when two or more words have the same beginning sound.
12.Onomatopoeia - a word that resembles the sound it describes. Ex. bang, pop, swish
13. Figurative Language - language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is
different from the literal interpretation.
14. Genre - a category used to classify literary works, usually by form, technique, or content
15. Fiction - not real; fake
16. Nonfiction - real; not fake
17. biography - an account of someone's life written by someone else.
18. autobiography - an account of a person's life written by that person.
19. Compare - to tell how two or more things are similar.
20. Contrast - to tell how two or more things are different.
21. Poetic structure - the organization of words and lines in a poem as well as
its rhyme scheme and meter.
22. Lines - groups of words.
23. Stanza – a group of lines; there are spaces between them.
24. Rhyme - the repetition of the same or similar vowel sounds.
25. Rhyme scheme - the pattern formed by the rhyming words at the end of
lines.
26. Rhythm - the pattern of unstressed and stressed syllables in a line of poetry.
27. Meter - a regular pattern in a poem and it gives a line of poetry a predictable
rhythm.
28. Text Structure - how the information within a written text is organized.
29. Chronological – time order; all fiction stories are told with this text
structure.
30. Sequence - steps described in the order that they occur.
31. Description – a text structure that describes one topic in order to give a
mental picture.
32. main idea – the most important idea about the topic.
33. topic - what the paragraph, section, or selection is all about.
34. plot - all the events that make up a story, or the main part of a story.
35. exposition - the background information on the characters and setting
explained at the beginning of the story.
36. setting - where and when a story takes place.
37. climax - the most exciting part of the story; the turning point in the story.
38. resolution - the part of a story's plot line in which the problem of the story
is worked out.
39. protagonist - the leading character or one of the major characters in a
drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text; generally, this
is the “good guy” in the story.
40. antagonist – a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or
something; generally, this is the “bad guy” in the story.
41. connotative meaning - the emotions and associations connected to a word.
Ex. thrifty (positive), stingy (negative)
42. denotative meaning - the literal meaning of a word that is found in a
dictionary.
43. Cause - the reason why something happens
44. Effect – the result of the cause
45. memoir -an account of one's personal life and experiences, focusing on
single events and not the person's entire life.
46. Ode - a poem addressed to a particular subject usually written in lines
and stanzas. Ex. Ode to My Mother
47. Ballad - a poem or song with short stanzas; the author is usually unknown because
it was passed down orally from one generation to another.
48. Lyric – a short poem that is usually a song.
49. Myth - a traditional story, especially one explaining some natural or social
phenomenon, that typically involves supernatural beings or events.
50. Fable - a short story, typically with animals as characters, that teaches a moral or
lesson.
51. 1st Person Point of View - the story is told by a character in the story who is part of
the action.
52. 3rd Person Point of View - the story is told by a narrator who is not part of the
story or action.
53. 3rd Person Objective - the narrator doesn’t know what any character is thinking or
feeling and is not part of the action.
54. 3rd Person Limited - the narrator is not part of the action; the narrator knows only
what ONE character is thinking or feeling.
55. 3rd Person Omniscient - the narrator is not part of the action but knows what
EVERY character is thinking or feeling.
56. I, Me, My, Mine, We, Us, Our = 1st Person Pronouns (Lined Side)
57. He, She, They, Them, His, Her, Their = 3rd Person Pronouns (Lined Side)
58. Persuade, Inform, Entertain = What are the reasons why an author writes? (Lined Side)
59. R = Restate the Question What does R.A.C.E. stand for?(Lined Side)
A= Answer the question
C =Cite Text Evidence
E= Explain your answer
60. Think, seem, believe, feel, ADJECTIVES (exciting, pretty, etc.) = What are some opinion
clue words? (Line Side)
61. In sentence ____, it said… = What are some sentence starters for text evidence? (Lined Side)
For instance
In paragraph ___, the text states
For example
According to the text
62. excerpt -a short passage from a piece of writing.
63. Hyperbole - an extreme exaggeration. Ex. I'm so hungry that I could eat a horse.
64. Idiom - expressions and phrases that do not mean exactly what it says.
Ex. It's raining cats and dogs.
65. Author's Tone - the author's attitude towards the subject matter.
66. Mood - the overall feeling the reader gets by the elements in a story. Ex: happy, sad,
suspenseful, eerie, etc.
67. Anecdote - a short, amusing or interesting story about a real incident or person; it
is often used by writers to introduce a topic.
68. Rhetorical Strategy - ways that an author provokes responses from the reader;
writers try to persuade by using figurative language,
organizing information by text structures, use of anecdotes,
use of data/statistics, etc.