Test your basic knowledge |

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






2. The analysis of how sounds function in a language or dialect.






3. The study of the structure of words.






4. Unrhymed verse - often occurring in iambic pentameter.






5. 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






6. The study of the meaning in language.






7. 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.






8. A lesson a work of literature is teaching.






9. A word which shows relationships among other words in the sentence. The relationships include direction - place - time - cause - manner and amount Ex. In the sentence He came by bus - 'by' is a _____ which shows manner.






10. A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect - as in I could sleep for a year or this book weighs a ton.






11. A genre that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot - theme - and/or setting. Examples include J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings - C.S. Lewis' The Chronicles of Narnia - and William Morris' The Well at the World's E






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






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






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






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






16. A word which shows action or state of being. Ex. In the sentence The dog bit the man - bit is the ____.






17. The writer says one thing and means another






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






19. 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.






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






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






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






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






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






25. Rhyming of the ends of lines of verse.






26. The reader sees a character's errors - but the character does not






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






28. The perspective from which a story is told.






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






30. U '






31. The study of the orgin of words






32. A philosophy that values human freedom and personal responsibility. A few well known _______ writers are Jean - Paul Satre - Soren Kierkegaard ('the father of _______') - Albert Camus - Freidrich Nietzche - Franz Kafka - and Simone de Beauvoir.






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






34. The study of the structure of sentences.






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






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






37. A stanza made up of two rhyming lines.






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






39. U U '






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






41. The time and place in which a story occurs.






42. A wise saying - usually short and written.






43. 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.






44. 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.






45. 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






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






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






48. 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.






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






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