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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. The narrator shares the thoughts and feelings of one (or a few) character(s).






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






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






4. 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






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






6. U U '






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






8. Rhyme that occurs within a line of verse.






9. A narrative technique in which the main story is composed primarily for the purpose of organizing a set of shorter stories - each of which is a story within a story. Examples include Geoffrey Chaucer's Canterbury Tales - Ovid's Metamorphoses - and Em






10. Verse that contains an irregular metrical pattern and line length; also known as vers libre.






11. The time and place in which the action of a story takes place.






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






13. A reference to a familiar person - place - thing - or event






14. A figure of speech in which a comparison is implied but not stated - such as 'This winter is a bear.'






15. A story about a person's life written by another person.






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






17. A literary technique in which the author gives hints or clues about what is to come at some point later in the story.






18. A phrase that consists of two contradictory terms






19. 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






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






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






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






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






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






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






26. Persuasive writing.






27. 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






28. A humorous verse form of five anapestic (Composed of feet that are short - short - long or unaccented - unaccented - accented) lines with rhyme scheme of aabba.






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






30. 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.






31. U '






32. A person or thing working against the hero of a literary work (the protagonist).






33. A brief story that illustrates or makes a point.






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 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.






36. The use of words to create pictures in the reader's mind.






37. A stanza made up of two rhyming lines.






38. 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.






39. A variety of a language used by people from a particular geographic area.






40. The study of the orgin of words






41. 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






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






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






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






45. The study of the structure of sentences.






46. Language widely considered crude - disgusting - and oftentimes offensive.






47. 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






48. 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.






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






50. Meter that is composed of feet that are short - short - long or unaccented - unaccented - accented - usually used in light or whimsical poetry - such as limerick.