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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. Specialized language used in a particular field or content area






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






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






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






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






6. 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.






7. Rhyming of the ends of lines of verse.






8. A pair of lines of poetic verse written in iambic pentameter.






9. The study of the structure of sentences.






10. Deals with current or future development of technological advances. Examples are Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse - Five - George Orwell's 1984 - Aldous Huxley's Brave New World - and Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451.






11. The study of the structure of words.






12. 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.






13. 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.






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






15. 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.






16. Persuasive writing.






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






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






19. A wise saying - usually short and written.






20. The specialized language of a particular group or culture. Ex. in the field of education...rubric - tuning protocol - and deskilling.






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






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






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






24. Opposing elements or characters in a plot.






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






26. 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






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






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






29. 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






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






31. The writer says one thing and means another






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






33. A contradictory statement that makes sense






34. Unrhymed verse - often occurring in iambic pentameter.






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






36. 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.






37. ' U U






38. 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






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






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






41. The story is told by someone outside the story.






42. 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 -






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






44. 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






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






46. The act or an example of substituting a mild - indirect - or vague term for one considered harsh - blunt - or offensive.






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






48. A verb form that usually ends in - ing or - ed.






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






50. 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.