Checkpoint Exams: General Overview

Literary Techniques
• Imagery – Vivid descriptions of the 5 senses

o ‘The sunset was the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen; the clouds were

outlined with pink and gold glitter.’ ( sight )

o The children were screaming and shouting in the fields. ( hearing )

o The girl ran her hands on a soft satin fabric. ( touch or tactile sense )
o The fresh and juicy orange is very cold and sweet. ( taste or gustatory sense )
o The aroma of the freshly brewed coffee filled the air. ( smell or olfactory sense )

• Simile- indirect comparison between two things using “like” / “as”

o ‘You fought like a lion on the field.’

o ‘He ran as fast as a bullet.’

• Metaphor - Direct comparison between two things – without using “like” or “as”

o ‘The snow is a white blanket.’

• Personification- Giving a human quality to something non-human; living to non-living

o ‘The lightning danced across the dark night sky.’

o ‘The wind howled loudly.’

• Paradox – a logically self-contradictory statement – does not seem to make sense

o The only constant is change

o Less is more

o Need to spend money to save money

o The more you know, the more you realize how much you do not know

o I can resist anything except temptation

• Juxtaposition – two or more ideas, places, characters, objects, or elements are placed

side by side to highlight their contrasting qualities, similarities, or thematic

connections – forcing the audience to compare/contrast them.

o A modern skyscraper next to an ancient temple

o A wealthy neighborhood adjacent to a slum.

o A kind-hearted character placed next to a cruel one to highlight their differences.

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• Oxymoron – is a type of Juxtaposition, and it’s really more of a direct, paradoxical

comparison.

o An original copy freezer burn deafening silence open secret

o The only choice old news awfully good the living dead

o Friendly fight clearly confused completely unfinished

• Pun – Playing on words with double meanings – especially homophones

o ‘I’m so tactful – even my coffin will be tacked full

o The hungry clock went back four seconds

o Denial is a river in Egypt

o Make like a tree and leave

o This vacuum sucks

o Atheism is a non-prophet organization

o The population of Ireland is always Dublin

• Idiom – Its words does not make sense literally – the phrase has a figurative meaning

o It’s raining cats and dogs ( heavy rain )

o The test was a piece of cake ( very easy )

o He kicked the bucket ( died)

o We gave him the cold shoulder ( avoided him )

o Kill two birds with one stone ( 2 things done at once )

o To let the cat out of the bag ( expose a secret )

• Foreshadowing – When a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come later in the

story.

o Tom is hurrying to get everything for the weekend camp with his friends. He hastily

throws things into his backpack that he thinks are necessary. He looks at the

pistol; he hesitates for a few seconds, then leaves it behind. Later on that trip, a

huge bear attacks the camp . . .

• Flashback – are interruptions that writers do to insert past events in order to provide

background or context to the current events

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• Flashforward or prolepsis is a literary device in which the plot goes ahead from the

current time in a story.

• Alliteration - Repeated consonant letters or sounds occurring at the beginning of

words – repeated in succession or close proximity to each other

o Dunkin Donuts, Krispy Kreme, Best Buy

o ‘She sells seashells on the seashore.’

• Assonance – is the repetition of the VOWEL sounds across words within the lines of

the poem, creating internal rhymes.

o Hop–scotch, between trees, crying time, great flakes

o Pebles resting in the wet sand

• Consonance – the repetition of consonant letters or sounds within nearby words – at

the beginning, middle or end.

o Fuddy duddy, best bet, tea and toast

o Front and center, jump through a hoop, it’s a matter of time

• Hyperbole / Exaggeration : A statement that represents something as much better,

bigger, or worse, etc. than it really is

o ‘I have a million assignments to complete today.’

o ‘My backpack weighs a ton.’

o ‘You could have heard a pin drop a mile away.’

o ‘My dad will kill me if he finds out.’

• Understatement – An expression with far less strength than needed – opposite of

Hyperbole –

o Kidnapping your neighbor is considered rude.

o During a monsoon thunderstorm: ‘We’re having a little drizzle.’

o After wrecking his car: ‘No biggy; just a minor fender bender.’

• Onomatopoeia: The use of words that mimic sounds

o ‘The corn went pop in the microwave.’

o ‘Let’s go for a splash.’

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 o ‘I heard the bang of the gunshot from far away.’

• Situational Irony: A result opposite to what might have been expected

o ‘Yesterday, the police station got robbed!’

o A fire station burned down.

o General Sedgwick’s last words before being shot by a sniper, “They couldn’t hit an

elephant at this distance.”

▪ Dramatic Irony – The audience knows something the character/s do not.

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• Verbal Irony / Sarcasm: Words that are in contrast of their usual meaning

o A man replies to a telecommunicator, who calls him while he is having his dinner,

“Thanks for calling! I hate having my dinner when it is hot!”

o ‘As I fell tumbling down the stairs head-first, I heard her say, “Look at that display

of acrobatic coordination!”

o Waitress to customer who gave a 25 cents tip after eating a $90 meal: “Thank you

for the generous tip.”

Vocabulary

• Having a good grip over vocabulary is important, hence, it is advisable to know

synonyms of basic words. You might be asked to give synonyms for a word or words

from the text.

• Strong adjectives are used to emphasize or arouse a particular mood.

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 Reading
Overview
• To score well in Section A (Reading) of the Paper 1 and Paper 2, it is important to be able

to read the passage critically and recognize its purpose, tone, language, structure, and

effect, etc..

• When you are answering comprehension questions, remember:

o Some questions require answers in your own words.

o Some questions need you to support your answer with evidence/quotes from

the text.

o Some questions want you to use both.

o Use full sentences where necessary.

• Don’t spend more than 30 minutes on this section!

• The three common purposes of a text are:

o To Inform – Provide information about a topic(Usually in Paper 1)

o To Persuade – To convince the reader to agree with the author’s views on a

subject (Usually in Paper 1)

o To Entertain – To amuse and fascinate the readers(Usually in Paper 2)

• Understanding an outline, which is made up of a primary idea followed by a numbered

list of supporting details, makes it easier to understand the purpose of the text. An

outline can be found out by looking for list words and addition words like:

o Several kinds of

o Various causes

o One

o First of all

o Also

• A writer’s tone displays his or her view towards a subject, which is often expressed

through his or her choice of words.

• Identifying the genre of the text can make it easier to understand the tone.
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• Here are a few genres:

o Adventure

o Comedy

o Fantasy

o Horror

o Mystery

o Science Fiction

• Informal Style

o Addresses the reader directly ( 2nd person – you, your )

o Simple sentences

• Formal Style

o Third person ( he, she, it, names, etc. )

o Complex sentences

o Here are a few possible tones:

o Admiring

o Amused

o Angry

o Bitter

o Confused

o Concerned

o Cruel

o Excited

o Frustrated

o Pessimistic

o Urgent

o Worried

• Understanding the explicit meanings

o Explicit meanings are direct & clear obvious meanings.

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 o Techniques such as Skimming (briefly reading) and Scanning (closely reading for

specific details ) can help identify the main ideas of the text, & is useful for the

summary.

• Understanding the implicit meanings

• Implicit meanings are underlying or indirect or “hidden” meanings.

• Writers use various stylistic features of language

Punctuation and Structures

• Brackets – Used to give additional information that stands out.

• Capital Letters (The whole word) – Are used to lay emphasis.

• Colon – Is used to make the reader pause or start a list. It is also used for relating to or

expanding on information before it.

• Commas – They are used in lists; they are used to mark clause divisions.

• Dash – It is to insert additional information.

• Ellipsis – is used to make the reader continue reading; the intentional omission of

words; a pause in speech; an unfinished thought; a sentence that trails into silence.

• Exclamation Mark – Used to excite the senses and show something is surprising or

forceful.

• Semicolon – It can join two clauses to substitute a conjunction and to separate

information in a sentence.

• Speech marks – Used to show dialogue.

• Long sentences - To create a feel of relaxation or reaching a climax.

• Short sentences - To quicken the pace.

• Connectives - to sequence events and to show the order of occurrence.

• Passive verb form - It describes the process, highlighting it than the character

• Active verb form - To describe the subject in detail.

• Sub-headings- To draw attention to or highlight specific information in a text and make

it easier to follow. ( news & web page articles, reviews, etc. )

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• Sentence types- Simple, Compound and Complex

o Simple - Create tension and quicken pace.

o Compound - It joined by a conjunction such as ‘and’ or ‘but’, providing more

information or give an extra viewpoint.

o Complex - Provides extra detail and information.

Poetry

o Stanza is a sequence of poetic lines grouped together.

o Rhyme is the repetition of similar sounds.

o Rhythm in the poetry is made by the arrangement of stressed and unstressed

syllables in a line.

o Meter is the simple rhythmic structure of lines in a verse.

o Couplet is a two line stanza.

o Tercet is a three line stanza.

o Quatrain is a four line stanza.

o Cinquain is a five line stanza. o Sestet is a six line stanza.

o Octave is an eight line stanza.

Types of poems:

▪ Narrative- Tells a story and has a plot.

▪ Lyric- Portrays powerful emotions.

▪ Descriptive- Describes the atmosphere and society the poet is living in.

Types of poem structures:

▪ Free verse- Does not have definite structure and rhyme scheme.

▪ Sonnet- Consists of 14 lines and has a specific rhyme scheme.

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 ▪ Elegy- Poem lamenting the dead.

▪ Ballad- Story narrated in form of a lyrical poem.

▪ Villanelle- It has fixed form, has 2 rhymes and 19 lines.

▪ Ode- Praises a specific person, thing or event.

Writing genres featured:

1) Story writing

2) Summary writing

3) Magazine article

4) Diary entry

5) Memoir

6) Newspaper report

7) Web Page

8) Formal letter

9) Informal letter

10) Auto/Biography

11) Narrative

12) Historical fiction / Science fiction / Comical fiction / Realistic fiction

Features of some Important Writing Formats

• Diary:

o Written in informal style.

o Uses opinions and facts.

o Uses first person pronouns.

• Magazine Article:

• Has a headline and subheadings.

• Newspaper Report: 5 W’s

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 o Written in third person.

o Has a headline.

o Simple language & short paragraphs

• Descriptive/Narrative:

o Uses imagery. ( 5 senses )

o Usually in third person

▪ Book, movie review: ‘IBOR’

Extra Tips
• While solving the comprehension:
o First, read the questions & highlight the key word/s

o Then, briefly read through the passage and underline information which seems

important and relates to the questions.

o Answer the questions

• If you do not understand the meaning of a word, stay calm. You can get contextual

meanings by:

• Punctuation - Meaning of unfamiliar words are given after the word separated by

commas, dashes or parenthesis.

• Contrast or Antonym - The unfamiliar word is shown to be different from or unlike,

another word and is often opposite. They use words like ‘although’, ‘however’, ‘otherwise’,

‘on the other hand’, etc..

• Example - The unfamiliar word is cleared up by using signal words, like, ‘such as’ and ‘for

instance’.

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