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Context Clues – What Are They?

Context clues are bits of information from the
text that, when combined with prior
knowledge, allow you to decide the meaning
of unknown words in the story or article you
are reading.

As a reader you must act similar to a
detective and put together clues from
sentences surrounding an unknown word in
order to make an intelligent “guess” as to
what the definition of a word is.
Inference
Making an inference is basically reading
between the lines
 Draw personal meaning from text
(words) or pictures.
 When you think about that hidden
information on your own and
understand what the author has written,
you’re making an inference!

Make an Inference!

What does this image tell me?
Dramatic Irony
A
contradiction
between what a
character thinks and
what the
reader/audience
knows to be true
Verbal Irony
Words
used to suggest
the opposite of what is
meant
Functions a lot like
sarcasm
Situational Irony
An
event occurs that
directly contradicts
the expectations of
the characters, the
reader, or the
audience
Direct Characterization
Direct characterization is when the
author TELLS the audience what the
personality of the character is.
Example: “The patient boy and quiet girl
were both at the game.”
The author is telling us that the boy is
patient and the girl is kind.
Indirect Characterization
Indirect characterization is when the
author SHOWS things that reveal the
personality of the character.
Mood
*The writer may carefully select details such as descriptive
words, dialogue, imagery, and setting to create a mood.
*May also use symbolism to create mood
*Symbol: something that stands for something else
Tone
*Tone: attitude the author takes toward
the subject
*The language and details the writer
chooses to describe the characters,
setting, and events help to create the
tone.
*Tone often reflects the author’s purpose.
Tone can be…
Informal/Formal
 Serious/Humorous
 Literal/Sarcastic
 Objective/Biased
 Playful, Naïve, Condescending or many
other possibilities

To Sum Up…
Tone is how the author feels
 Mood is how YOU feel while reading
 Both are INFERRED from the text

3 Main Purposes
To inform
 To persuade
 To entertain

To Inform






Share knowledge or information
Author will provide you with facts, NOT
opinions
This type of writing is straightforward and
unbiased
The author’s tone is neutral (neither good
nor bad)
Non-fiction
Think:
 Biographies, text books, the news, charts,
research papers,
To Persuade
Get the reader to believe something or
try something
 This type of writing often mixes fact AND
opinion
 Author will take a stance that something
is good or bad, right or wrong
 Think:

 Commercials, editorials, campaign
speeches, advertisements
To Entertain
To talk about a theme, event or story
 Think:

 Fiction, movie, novel, short story, poetry
Denotation
The denotation of a word is
its dictionary meaning.
Connotation
The connotation of a word is the set of
ideas associated with it in addition to
its explicit meaning
Denotation versus Connotation
Some examples –
Cheap is “low in cost” (denotation) but
“stingy” or “poorly made” are the
connotations of cheap
Imagery
Imagery is words or phrases
that appeal to one or more
of the five senses. Writers
use imagery to describe
how their subjects look,
sound, feel, taste, and
smell.
PLOTLINE
Climax
Resolution
Exposition
Conflict Introduced
Exposition
The Exposition is the
introduction. It is the part
of the work that
introduces the
characters, setting, and
basic situation.
Rising Action
Rising Action is the part of the
plot that begins to occur as
soon as the conflict is
introduced. The rising action
adds complications to the
conflict and increases reader
interest.
Climax
The Climax is the point of
greatest emotional intensity,
interest, or suspense in the
plot of a narrative. The
climax typically comes at the
turning point in a story or
drama.
Falling Action
Falling Action is the action that
typically follows the climax and
reveals its results.
Resolution
The Resolution is the part of
the plot that concludes the
falling action by revealing or
suggesting the outcome of
the conflict.
Conflict
Conflict is the struggle
between opposing forces in
a story or play. There are
two types of conflict that
exist in literature.
External Conflict
External conflict exists when a character
struggles against some outside force, such
as another character, nature, society, or fate.
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Society
Internal Conflict
Internal conflict exists within the mind of a
character who is torn between different
courses of action.
Man vs. Himself
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is the author’s use of clues
to hint at what might happen later in the
story. Writers use foreshadowing to
build their readers’ expectations and to
create suspense. This is used to help
readers prepare for what is to come.
Point of View
Point of View is the perspective, or vantage
point, from which a story is told. It is the
relationship of the narrator to the story.
First Person is told by a character who uses
the first-person pronoun “I”.
Third-person limited is the point of view
where the narrator uses third-person
pronouns such as “he” and “she” to refer to
the characters. The narrator knows the
thoughts, feelings and motivations of ONE
character
Third person omniscient is the point of view
where the narrator knows the thoughts,
feelings and motivations of MULTIPLE
characters
Theme
The theme of a literary work is its central
message, concern, or purpose.
A theme is always GENERAL. It applies to
anyone, anywhere, at any point in time
Metaphor
A Metaphor is a type of speech that compares
or equates two or more things that have
something in common. A metaphor does
NOT use like or as.
Example: Life is a bowl
of cherries.
Simile
A Simile is another figure of speech that
compares seemingly unlike things.
Simile’s DO use the words like or as.
Example: Her voice was like nails on a
chalkboard.
Personification
Personification is a figure
of speech in which an
animal, object, force of
nature, or idea is given
human qualities or
characteristics.
Example: Tears began to
fall from the dark
clouds.
Alliteration
Alliteration is the repetition of sounds,
most often consonant sounds, at the
beginning of words. Alliteration gives
emphasis to words.
Example: Peter Piper picked a peck of
pickled peppers
POETRY FORM



FORM - the
appearance of the
words on the page
LINE - a group of
words together on
one line of the poem
STANZA - a group of
lines arranged
together
METER


A pattern of stressed and unstressed
syllables.
Meter occurs when the stressed and
unstressed syllables of the words in a
poem are arranged in a repeating pattern.
 When poets write in meter, they count out
the number of stressed (strong) syllables
and unstressed (weak) syllables for each
line. They they repeat the pattern
throughout the poem.
METER cont.



FOOT - unit of
meter.
A foot can have two
or three syllables.
Usually consists of
one stressed and
one or more
unstressed
syllables.

TYPES OF FEET
The types of feet are
determined by the
arrangement of
stressed and
unstressed
syllables.
METER cont.
TYPES OF FEET (cont.)
Iambic - unstressed, stressed
Trochaic - stressed, unstressed
FREE VERSE POETRY


Unlike metered
poetry, free verse
poetry does NOT
have any repeating
patterns of stressed
and unstressed
syllables.
Does NOT have
rhyme.

Free verse poetry is
very conversational sounds like
someone talking
with you.

A more modern type
of poetry.
BLANK VERSE POETRY
from Julius Ceasar

Written in lines of
iambic pentameter,
but does NOT use
end rhyme.
Cowards die many times
before their deaths;
The valiant never taste of
death but once.
Of all the wonders that I yet
have heard,
It seems to me most strange
that men should fear;
Seeing that death, a
necessary end,
Will come when it will come.
RHYME

Words sound alike
because they share
the same ending
vowel and
consonant sounds.
LAMP
STAMP



(A word always
rhymes with itself.)
Share the short “a”
vowel sound
Share the combined
“mp” consonant
sound
END RHYME

A word at the end of one line rhymes
with a word at the end of another line
Hector the Collector
Collected bits of string.
Collected dolls with broken heads
And rusty bells that would not ring.
INTERNAL RHYME

A word inside a line rhymes with another
word on the same line.
Once upon a midnight dreary, while I
pondered weak and weary.
From “The Raven”
by Edgar Allan Poe
NEAR RHYME

a.k.a imperfect
rhyme, close rhyme
ROSE
LOSE

The words share
EITHER the same
vowel or consonant
sound BUT NOT
BOTH
Different vowel
sounds (long “o” and
“oo” sound)
 Share the same
consonant sound

RHYME SCHEME

A rhyme scheme is a pattern of rhyme
(usually end rhyme, but not always).

Use the letters of the alphabet to represent
sounds to be able to visually “see” the
pattern.
CONSONANCE

Similar to alliteration EXCEPT . . .

The repeated consonant sounds can be
anywhere in the words
“silken, sad, uncertain, rustling . .
“
ASSONANCE

Repeated VOWEL sounds in a line or
lines of poetry.
(Often creates near rhyme.)
Lake
Fate
Base
Fade
(All share the long “a” sound.)
REFRAIN

A sound, word,
phrase or line
repeated regularly in
a poem.
“Quoth the raven,
‘Nevermore.’”