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Praxis Middle School Language Arts

Subjects : praxis, english
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A group of words containing a subject and a predicate and forming part of a compound or complex sentence.






2. A short story or folktale that contains a moral - which may be expressed explicitly at the end as a maxim. Examples include The Country Mouse and the Town Mouse - The Tortoise and the Hare - and The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing.






3. A type of Japanese poem that is written in 17 syllables with three lines of five - seven - and five syllables - respectively. Expresses a single thought.






4. A fourteen - line poem - usually written in iambic pentameter - with a varied rhyme scheme. Two main types are Petrarchan (or Italian) and the Shakespearean (or English). A Petrarchan opens with an octave that states a proposition and ends with a ses






5. Expressions that are usually accepted in informal situations or regions - such as 'wicked awesome.'






6. ' U






7. An expression that has been used so often that it loses its expressive power






8. A phrase that consists of two contradictory terms






9. An author's choice of words based on their clearness - conciseness - effectiveness - and authenticity.






10. A long narrative poem detailing a hero's deeds. Examples include The Aenied by Vergil - The Illiad and The Odyssey by Homer - Beowulf - Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes - War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy - Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe - and Hiawath






11. The main character or hero of a written work.






12. The role of context in the interpretation of meaning.






13. The most specific or direct meaning of a word - in contrast to its figurative or associated meanings.






14. A word which describes or gives more information about a noun or pronoun. Ex. The lazy dog sat on the rug - the word lazy is an ____ which gives more information about the noun dog.






15. A novel set in the western U.S. featuring the experiences of cowboys and frontiersmen. Examples include Zane Grey's Riders of the Purple Sage and Trail Driver - Larry McMurty's Lonesome Dove - Conrad Richter's The Sea of Grass - Fran Striker's The Lo






16. The overall feeling created by an author's use of words.






17. The story is told from the point of view of one character.






18. A poem that is a mournful lament for the dead. Examples include William Shakespeare's 'Eligy' from Cymbeline - Robert Louis Stevenson's 'Requiem -' and Alfred Lord Tennysone's 'In Memoriam.'






19. A comparison of two unlike things - usually including the word like or as.






20. A story in which people (or things or actions) represent an idea or a generalization about life. Usually have a strong lesson or moral.






21. The perspective from which the story is told - four choices: first person; 3rd person (dramatic - objective); 3rd person omniscient; 3rd person limited omniscient.






22. The regular or random occurrence of sound in poetry.






23. A brief fictional prose narrative. Examples include Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery -' Washington Irving's 'Rip van Winkle' D.H. Lawrence's 'The Horse Dealer's Daughter -' Arthur Conan Doyle's 'Hound of the Baskervilles -' and Dorothy Parker's 'Big Bl






24. A word that gives more information about a noun or pronoun. Ex. Sue runs very fast - very describes the ____ fast and gives information about how fast Sue runs.






25. A stanza made up of two rhyming lines.






26. A word that connects other words or groups of words. Ex. In the sentence Bob and Dan are friends - the _____ 'and' connects two nouns and in the sentence.






27. A division of poetry named for the number of lines it contains...Couplet: Two - lines - Triplet: Three - lines - Quatrain: Four - lines - Quintet: Five - lines - Sestet: Six- lines - Septet: Seven - lines - Octave: Eight - lines.






28. A person who opposes or competes with the main character (protagonist); often the villain in the story.






29. ' U U






30. During the mid -19th century in New England - several writers and intellectuals worked together to write - translate works - and publish. Their philosophy focused on protesting the Puritan ethic and materialism. They valued individualism - freedom -






31. A repetition of the same sound in words close to one another






32. A socially accepted word or phrase used to replace unacceptable language - such as expressions for bodily functions or body parts. Also used as substitutes for straightforward words to tactfully conceal or falsify meaning. Ex. My grandmother passed a






33. A category of literature defined by its style - form - and content.






34. A break in the rhythm of language - particularly a natural pause in a in a line of verse - maked in prosody by a double vertical line ( || ). Ex. Arma virumque cano - || Troiae qui primus ab oris .






35. A rhythmical pattern in verse that is made up of stressed and unstressed syllables.






36. Distinctive features of a person's speech and speech patterns.






37. The use of sound words to suggest meaning - as in buzz - click - or vroom.






38. Opposing elements or characters in a plot.






39. The repetition of initial consonant sounds in words - such a 'Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers.'






40. A type of pun - or play on words - that results when two words become mixed up in the speaker's mind






41. A word which names a person - place or thing. Ex. boy - river - friend - Mexico - triangle - day - school - truth - university - idea - John F. Kennedy - movie






42. A metric line of poetry. Its name is based on the kind and number of feet composing it ('foot').






43. The purpose of a particular action differs greatly from the result






44. The use of a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or expected meaning. There are three types....Dramatic - Verbal - Situation.






45. Fiction that is intended to frighten - unsettle - or scare the reader. Often overlaps with fantasy and science fiction. Examples include Stephen King's The Shining - Mary Shelley's Frankenstein - and Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes.






46. A method by which trained readers evaluate a piece of writing for its overall quality. There is no focus on one aspect of the writing.






47. A narrative that is made up of fantastic characters and creatures - such as witches - goblins - and fairies - and usually begins with the phrase 'Once upon a time...' Examples include Rapunzel - Cinderella - Sleeping Beauty - and Little Red Riding Ho






48. Literature - often drama - ending in a catastrophic event for the protagonist(s) after he or she faces several problems or conflicts.






49. A literary device in which animals - ideas - and things are represented as having human traits.






50. A suspenseful story that deals with a puzzling crime. Examples include Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Murder in Rue Morgue' and Charles Dickens' The Mystery of Edwin Drood.