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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 method an author uses to let readers know more about the characters and their personal traits.






2. U U '






3. A word which can be used instead of a noun. Ex instead of saying John is a student - the ____ he can be used in place of the noun John and the sentence becomes He is a student.






4. A turn from the general audience to address a specific group of persons (or a personified abstraction) who is present of absent. For example - in a recent performance of Shakespeare's Hamlet - Hamlet turned to the audience and spoke directly to one w






5. A person or being in a narrative






6. Informal language used by a particular group of people among themselves.






7. The study of the sounds of language and their physical properties.






8. A novel comprised of idealized events far removed from everyday life. This genre includes the subgenres of gothic ____ and medieval ____. Examples include Mary Shelly's Frankenstein - William Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida - and King Horn (anonym






9. 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 .






10. Occurs when there are two or more possible meanings to a word or phrase.






11. Old - fashioned words that are no longer used in common speech - such as thee - thy - and thou.






12. 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






13. An extended fictional prose narrative.






14. The narrator shares the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.






15. ' U U






16. A comparison of objects or ideas that appear to be different but are alike in some important way.






17. Specialized language used in a particular field or content area






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






19. The flaw that leads to the downfall of a tragic hero; this term comes from the Greek word hybris - which means 'excessive pride.'






20. 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






21. Rhyme that occurs within a line of verse.






22. A stanza made up of two rhyming lines.






23. A variation of a language used by people who live in a particular geographical area.






24. The narrator records the actions from his or her point of view - unaware of any of the other characters' thoughts or feelings. Also known as the objective view.






25. The multiple use of a word - phrase - or idea for emphasis or rhythmic effect.






26. 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






27. A short poem - often written by an anonymous author - comprised of short verses intended to be sung or recited.






28. The outcome or resolution of plot in a story.






29. A metrical ______ is defined as one stressed syllable and a number of unstressed syllables (from zero to as many as four). Stressed syllables are indicated by the ? symbol. Unstressed syllables are indicated by the ? symbol. There are four possible t






30. A contradictory statement that makes sense






31. A lesson a work of literature is teaching.






32. A variation of a language used by people who live in a particular geographical area.






33. 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.






34. The structure of a work of literature; the sequence of events.






35. Opposing elements or characters in a plot.






36. The feeling a text evokes in the reader - such as sadness - tranquility - or elation.






37. Language that is intended to be evasive or to conceal. Ex. 'downsized' actually means fired or loss of job.






38. Simple - compound (conjunctions) - complex (subordination) - compound - complex (conjunctions and subordination).






39. 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.'






40. 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.






41. U '






42. The telling of a story.






43. The study of the orgin of words






44. The perspective from which a story is told.






45. 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






46. A narrative about human actions that is perceived by both the teller and the listeners to have taken place within human history and that possesses certain qualities that give the tale the appearance of truth or reality. Washington Irvin's The Legend






47. Literature that makes fun of social conventions or conditions - usually to evoke change.






48. A text or performance that imitates and mocks an author or work.






49. 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.






50. The repetition of a line or phrase of a poem at regular intervals - particularly at the end of each stanza.