Download 3rd Nine Weeks Benchmark Review

3rd 9 weeks Benchmark Review [8th]
You need to review the following information to be prepared for the benchmark.
1.
Literary devices—
a. Hyperbole: extreme exaggeration
b. Metaphor: comparison, saying one thing is another, without using like or as
c. Simile: uses like or as to compare 2 things/people
d. Alliteration: repeats consonant sounds
e. Personification: makes objects/things have human-like characteristics
f. Allusion: a reference to something from literature, history, religion that the audience should recognize
2.
Participles—
a. End in –ing or –ed (sometimes –en or –t)
b. Look like verbs, act like adjectives
c. Usually can be taken out of the sentence
3.
Gerunds –
a. End in –ing
b. Act as nouns; cannot be taken out of a sentence
4.
Verb Moods –
a. Indicative – makes a statement
i. Mrs. Rogers teaches at Thomas County Middle School.
b. Imperative – makes a command
i. Raise your hand if you have a question about the homework.
c. Interrogative – asks a question
i. Do we have any homework for Mrs. Rogers?
d. Conditional – cause and effect
i. If we have homework, I will do it before I go to bed.
e. Subjunctive – shows a wish or hypothetical situation
i. If I were a bird, I would never have to worry about having homework.
5.
Theme—the subject of a short story, novel or play, or the lesson to be learned from a piece of literature. What is the
overall/underlying message the author is communicating?
6.
Central Idea – the main idea of a work; not to be confused with theme
7.
Point of view—
a. 1st person: uses pronouns of I, me, my, mine
b. 2nd person: uses pronouns of you, yours; tends to motivational, inspirational or self-help writing
c. 3rd person: uses pronouns of he, she, they, him, her, their
d. Omniscient: reader knows everything all characters are thinking or feeling
e. Limited: reader knows only one character’s thoughts and feelings
8.
Infinitives vs. Preposition phrases—
a. Infinitives: to + a verb; can act as N, ADJ, or ADV
b. Prepositions: to + noun; can act as ADJ or ADV
9.
Tone—the way a writer puts sentences together creates a tone in his or her writing which in turn conveys his or her attitude
toward the readers and the subject matter. Examples of tone: sarcastic, angry, disappointed, humorous, positive, formal,
casual, etc.
10. Mood – the feeling or atmosphere of a story. Examples: peaceful, sarcastic, humorous, apathetic, etc.
11. Active/Passive Voice Verbs—
a. Active: subject does the action of verb. Ask is the subject doing something.
b. Passive: subject is not doing verb; usually includes the preposition by. Ask is something being done to the subject.
12. Punctuation/Comma Rules:
a. Use a pair of commas in the middle of a sentence to set off words or phrases that are not essential elements of
the sentence.
i. Example: Escargot, which I’m curious to taste, is a French delicacy of cooked snails.
b. Use a comma after an introductory element like a participle phrase, adverb clause, gerund as an OP,
infinitive as adverb, long prepositional phrases [5+ words]
i. Example: When my dad heard which movie had won Best Picture, he sighed with disappointment.
c. Use commas to separate items in a series of three or more things.
i. Example: Brenda bought buffalo wings, mozzarella sticks, pizza, and chips for the Super Bowl party.
d. Use a comma before a conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so) to join two independent clauses. (An
independent clause is a group of words that could stand on its own as a sentence.)
i. Example: Adele had surgery on her vocal cords, yet she still smokes cigarettes.
e. A semicolon is only used in a compound sentence [two independent clauses]
i. Mary went to the mall; she was looking for a prom dress.
13. Sentence Combining – using punctuation/comma rules to combine sentences [examples each week on Thursday of Daily
Language Review]
a. Example:
Boardwalks have been built. They have been built out into the bay. Visitors can stroll over the water.
Combined: Boardwalks have been built out into the bay so that visitors can stroll over the water.
14. Vocabulary in Context –
Examples:
a. The adverse effects of this drug, including dizziness, nausea, and headaches, have caused it to be withdrawn from
the market. Adverse means
a. artificial.
b. energetic.
c. harmful
b. Nocturnal creatures, such as bats and owls, have highly developed senses that enable them to function in the dark.
Nocturnal means
a. feathery.
b. living.
c. active at night.
15. Constructed Responses—
a. Responses will be scored according to content (answer + evidence) plus writing style (how well you express your ideas).