Semester One Exam
- You will be reading a short story and answering 45 multiple choice
questions about the story. The questions will check your understanding of the
story as well as your ability to apply your knowledge of literary terms to the
story. See a list of
vocabulary from the
story.
- Before the multiple choice, there is one section of 20 matching, literary
terms and their definitions.
- The semester exam counts for 20% of your semester grade.
- To study for this exam, review your lit terms handout that we filled out
together in class. Teams of students who come in for a study session prior
to their exam period and quiz each other on the terms can earn ten extra
credit points. To earn the extra credit, students must earn higher than a D or
an F on the exam. The extra credit will be applied to your exam.
- You may bring this sheet with any notes you have made with you to the
exam. Otherwise, all you may bring is a pen and a book to read if you finish
early.
- To help you prepare for the exam, be sure you know all of the
lit terms.
Remember, this is review, not new information. We have been studying these
terms all semester and many of them were introduced to you in elementary and
middle school.
The following words are in the story. Read
over them or print out the list to have by your side as you read.
- psyche (n) the consciousness, the "brain"
- engulfs (v) overwhelm, swallow up
- surreptitious (adj) in secret
- acrimonious (adj) hostile, unfriendly
- rancid (adj) rotten, decayed
- defiant (adj) rebellious
- intemperate (adj) hot-headed
- verdant (adj) green
- rampant (adj) out of control
- sentinel (n) a guard, a look out
- divulges (v) to reveal, to make known
- virtually (adj) nearly, almost
- recalcitrant (adj) unmanageable, unruly
- ephemeral (adj) temporary, fading
The following words you may be unfamiliar with are in the test:
- remorseful (adj) to feel sorry or regret
- romantic (adj) to think of things as heroic or adventurous or larger than
life
- cynical (adj) to have a negative or pessimistic attitude
More information on lit terms
Literary Terms to
Know:
The 20 multiple choice matching come from the list of
terms that follows. There are also some questions on the story that expect you
to know the terms on this list. Many of these
lit terms are defined online.
Also, if you saved your lit terms sheet from the beginning of the year, you have
already defined them yourself.
- plot
- 4 parts of plot: exposition, conflict, climax, resolution
- two main types of conflict: internal conflict, external conflict
- 6 types of external conflict: person vs. person, society, nature,
technology/machine, animal, and supernatural
- 1 type of internal conflict: person vs. self
- foreshadowing
- suspense
- flashback
- protagonist
- antagonist
- foil character
- dynamic character
- static character
- round character
- flat character
- two ways an author can develop character: direct and indirect presentation
- indirect presentation comes about in five ways: character's words,
thoughts, appearance, actions and what other characters think of him or her
- point of view (four types): 1st person, 2nd person, 3rd person
limited, 3rd person omniscient, and objective
- setting: the setting involves the time, both of day and of history,
weather, and "furniture"
- atmosphere
- tone
- theme
- figurative language
- metaphor
- simile
- symbol
- motif
- diction
- connotation
- denotation
- irony: there are three kinds of irony: verbal, situational, dramatic
- imagery: visual, auditory, olfactory, gustatory, tactile, kinesthetic
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