Creative Writing Final Exam Study Guide

1. Creative Writing Final Exam Study Guide

2. 1. Acrostic • a poem or a series of lines in which certain letters, for example, the first, form a name or motto.

3. 2. Alliteration • repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words

4. 3. Allusion • a reference in a literary work to a well-known character, phrase, or situation from history

5. 4. Anecdote • a short written or oral account of an event from a person’s life.

6. 5. antagonist • the character in contrast or opposition to the main character

7. 6. autobiography • a person’s account of his or her life.

8. 7. biography • a nonfiction account of a person’s life written by another person

9. 8. brainstorming • a technique to generate ideas in which the person writes down ideas as quickly as possible without judging the ideas

10. 9. character • an individual in a literary work.

11. 10. characterization • Method of revealing a character’s personality

12. 11. direct characterization • The writer makes explicit statements about the character; the character is revealed through his or her own actions, words, thoughts, reactions, and beliefs

13. 12. indirect characterization • The writer reveals a character through the reactions, thoughts, words, and beliefs ofother characters

14. 13. chronological order • the ordering of events according to time

15. 14. climax • The point of the greatest emotional intensity, interest, or suspense in the plot of the literary work; the highest point in a story

16. 15. conflict • The struggle between opposing forces in a story or drama.

17. 16. internal conflict • A struggle that takes place within the mind of a character who is torn between opposing feelings or goals; man vs. self

18. 17. external conflict • exists when a character struggles against some outside force, such as another person, nature, society, or fate; three types: • man vs. man • man vs. nature • man vs. society

19. 18. denouement • the resolution (outcome) of a story.

20. 19. diamante • A diamond shaped poem focused on opposites.

21. 20. diary • A personal record of experiences, events, and observations.

22. 21. dynamic • A descriptive word for a character who changes

23. 22. expository • The explanation of a subject; a mode of writing whose purpose is to inform or to explain

24. 23. falling action • the action or events that follow the climax

25. 24. flat • a character who reveals only one personality trait; predictions cannot be made about this type of character

26. 25. formula poetry • a formula or fixed pattern dictates the form, structure, and/or content of a poem

27. 26. free writing • writing nonstop for a set time, usually only five or ten minutes; the idea is to get your thoughts on paper; it can begin anywhere and go anywhere; the purpose is to help you get started or free your mind

28. 27. free verse • poetry that has no fixed pattern of meter, rhyme, line length, or stanza arrangement

29. 28. haiku • a type of poetry characterized by the following : three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables; originated in Japan; traditional topic is nature

30. 29. essay • a writing attempt on a topic; a short work of nonfiction on a single topic

31. 30. exposition • introduces the story’s characters, setting, and situation. • background information

32. 31. hook • that which gets the reader’s attention at the beginning of any piece of writing

33. 32. imagery • descriptive writing that appeals to one or more of the 5 senses; writing that paints a picture

34. 33. limerick • a short poem fitting the following formula: • lines 1, 2, and 5 rhyme (longer). • lines 3, and 4 rhyme (shorter). • The limerick is usually humorous.

35. 34. journal • a daily record of events kept by a participant in those events or a witness to them; not meant to be a private document

36. 35. fable • a short story with animal characters that teaches a lesson

37. 36. simile • a comparison between two seemingly unlike things using like or as

38. 37.metaphor • a comparison between two seemingly unlike things not using like or as; a DIRECT comparison

39. 38. mood • the feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates

40. 39. narrative • a piece of writing or speech that tells a story; driven by a conflict or problem, a narrative unfolds event by event and leads to a resolution

41. 40. onomatopoeia • Use of a word or phrase that imitates or suggests the sound of what it describes

42. 41. organizational patterns of writing (5) Method for organizing a piece of writing • Chronological (time) • Spatial (space) • Problem-solution • Sequential (sequence of events; order) • Cause-effect

43. 42. paragraph • a unit of writing that consists of related sentences

44. 43. sequential order • A method of organization which relies on the sequence (order) of events

45. 44. point of view • the perspective from which the story is told

46. 45. first person The narrator is a character in the story and is referred to as “I.” The reader sees everything through the eyes of the narrator.

47. 46. Third-person limited • The narrator reveals the thoughts, feelings, and observations o f only one character, referring to that character as “he”, or “she.”

48. 47. Third-person omniscient • All-knowing point of view; the narrator is not a character in the story but rather is someone who stands outside the story and comments on the action. A third-person omniscient narrator knows everything about the characters and the events and may reveal details that the characters could not themselves reveal.

49. 48. Plot diagram • _/\_ (c) • / (b) / \ (d) • / \ • _______ _________ • (a) (e) • (a) exposition (d) falling action • (b) rising action (e) resolution/ (c) climax denouement

50. 49. protagonist • The main character in the story; hero