30 Days of ELA READING Test PREP VOCABULARY! Mixing
Up READING TEST PREP Boosts Learning AND READING TEST SCORES!
DAY 1 Nonfiction v Fiction - Let’s start with an easy one! With fiction, this is any piece of writing coming purely from the imagination so it could cover science fiction, fantasy books, fairy tales, thrillers, and any other with no ounce of reality or truth. With nonfiction, this is based on fact and could be a detailed guide to butterflies or the wars throughout time.
DAY 2 Fairy tale v Folktale - Leading on from the previous point, fairy tales are often based around magical and mythical creatures such as witches, dragons, and unicorns. On the flip side, a folktale is based around a truth or real-life phenomenon; they are both instructive.
DAY 1 Nonfiction v Fiction - Let’s start with an easy one! With fiction, this is any piece of writing coming purely from the imagination so it could cover science fiction, fantasy books, fairy tales, thrillers, and any other with no ounce of reality or truth. With nonfiction, this is based on fact and could be a detailed guide to butterflies or the wars throughout time.
DAY 2 Fairy tale v Folktale - Leading on from the previous point, fairy tales are often based around magical and mythical creatures such as witches, dragons, and unicorns. On the flip side, a folktale is based around a truth or real-life phenomenon; they are both instructive.
DAY 3 Prologue v Epilogue - Essentially, these are actually opposites with one coming before the bulk of the story and the other after. A prologue is an introduction to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, most often an earlier story that ties into the main one. If you look at the prefixes meaning ‘pro’ and ‘epi,' we see that the former is before the story while the latter appears at the end to tell the audience what happens to the characters or historical figures. An epilogue is different from an afterword. An afterword is a literary device that is found at the end of a piece of literature. It usually covers how the book or story was developed, or the inceptions of the characters, plot, themes, idea or source texts for the book.
DAY 4“Authors” Perspective v Point of View - Surprisingly, these two do have their differences and it can be a tricky topic. With a point of view, the focus is on who is telling the story. In a work of fiction, you will often get first and third person writing (rarely with a second person too). In terms of perspective, it looks into the background of the person telling the story and from what position they are talking.
DAY 5 Antagonist v Protagonist - As you may know, these terms describe characters, concepts, or groups of people in a story. For the good person and main character in the story, this will normally be the protagonist and the antagonist will be the opposition. Typically, the antagonist will oppose the protagonist.DAY 6 Plot v Theme - Plot is the sequence of events, conflicts, problems, and outcomes in a story which affect characters/events through the principle of cause and effect. On the other hand, a theme will be the noticeable recurring message, subject, and key topic/s running through the text.
DAY 7 Resolution v Exposition - In every story, there will be a climax and everything preceding this helps to build anticipation. Ultimately, the exposition is an introduction and the starting point of the building conflicts and problems; the resolution is after the climax where the antagonist and protagonist sometimes meet to solve a problem, resolve a dispute, or conclude the story.
DAY 8 Mood v Tone - When reading a story, you sometimes get a feeling or some emotions and this explains the mood of the text. With tone, this is things the author chooses such as theme, word choice, setting, plot, etc.
DAY 9 Character Traits v Characterization - When you read a fictional story and notice the actions or behaviors of a character, these are the traits they portray. Sometimes, it could even be their attitude and personality. With each character, they will have both good and bad traits and this is what normally makes them so likable or frustrating to the reader.
With characterization, this is the process of revealing the character’s personality through writing. With direct characterization, the author will tell the reader something about the character’s personality and indirect characterization comes through actions and various other tools.
DAY 10 Legend v Myth - Over time, these two words seem to be used interchangeably more and more but this shouldn't be the case. With a ‘legend’, you start with a story that is partly true. Eventually, it gets passed from one person to the next and it has meaning. Normally, there will always be an element of truth somewhere whereas a myth is purely speculation and doesn’t offer much in the way of truth at all. A myth is a story consisting of events that are historical in nature, though usually supernatural, explaining the origins of cultural traditions or a natural phenomenon like storms.
DAY 11 Fable v Parable - In a parable, a religious or moral lesson will be shown in a prose or verse story. In fables, this is very different because they tend to rely on plants, animals, and even inanimate objects to tell the story.
DAY 12 Parody v Satire - When the author uses humor, exaggeration, and perhaps even ridicule or irony to expose someone or something, this is known as satire. Not to be confused with parody, the latter can be a form of satire but it focuses more on mocking the style or personality of another. Most commonly, we see this with artists, musicians, and various other celebrities from impressionists.
READING and Writing VOCABULARY
With the general topics covered, we are now going to look into things that may appear within the writing itself starting with another fairly easy comparison.
DAY 13 Rhythm v Rhyme - When you are rhyming, you follow the first word with other similar-sounding words. Commonly, this is seen within poetry at the end of each line; i.e. bark, shark, and park. With rhythm, this is similar to the beats in a rhyme. When reading a poem, we normally fall into a rhythm subconsciously and this is down to a number of syllables in a single line.
DAY 12 Parody v Satire - When the author uses humor, exaggeration, and perhaps even ridicule or irony to expose someone or something, this is known as satire. Not to be confused with parody, the latter can be a form of satire but it focuses more on mocking the style or personality of another. Most commonly, we see this with artists, musicians, and various other celebrities from impressionists.
READING and Writing VOCABULARY
With the general topics covered, we are now going to look into things that may appear within the writing itself starting with another fairly easy comparison.
DAY 13 Rhythm v Rhyme - When you are rhyming, you follow the first word with other similar-sounding words. Commonly, this is seen within poetry at the end of each line; i.e. bark, shark, and park. With rhythm, this is similar to the beats in a rhyme. When reading a poem, we normally fall into a rhythm subconsciously and this is down to a number of syllables in a single line.
DAY 14 Stereotype v Archetype - A stereotype is having a belief or opinion about a whole group of society rather than judging them individually. Often, this is a prejudice based on a common theme or perhaps even a not-so-common theme. However, a stereotype doesn’t always have to be negative which is a common misconception today. On the other hand, discrimination can lead from stereotyping and this denies the rights of someone just because they belong to a particular group.
With archetype, this is actually an original pattern; from here, the copies or a prototype is then made. In writing, the author may suggest an ‘old-style diner’ since the original pattern has already been developed. Despite this realization or recognition, there is no judgment or stereotyping thereafter which is the important difference.
DAY 15 Irony v Paradox - When a writer uses a paradox, it is the bringing together of two seemingly opposite themes. Although both sides of the statement are true, they don’t quite fit together and prime examples of a paradox would be ‘jumbo shrimp’ or ‘bittersweet’. With irony, this is where the evident meaning is incongruous with the intended meaning.
With archetype, this is actually an original pattern; from here, the copies or a prototype is then made. In writing, the author may suggest an ‘old-style diner’ since the original pattern has already been developed. Despite this realization or recognition, there is no judgment or stereotyping thereafter which is the important difference.
DAY 15 Irony v Paradox - When a writer uses a paradox, it is the bringing together of two seemingly opposite themes. Although both sides of the statement are true, they don’t quite fit together and prime examples of a paradox would be ‘jumbo shrimp’ or ‘bittersweet’. With irony, this is where the evident meaning is incongruous with the intended meaning.
DAY 16 Adage v Maxim - If an adage describes the general rule of conduct, this is seen as a maxim. However, the adage itself is perhaps an old saying or expression; for example, ‘you know the old adage…’.
DAY 17 Aphorism v Anecdote - While an anecdote explains a short story from a real incident or experience (relating to the topic of conversation in a written work) usually an amusing or interesting story about a poignant indecent, an aphorism portrays a concept or thought. Aphorisms are a laconic (few words) saying, expressing a simple truth or principle, it can also be an astute (accurately assess situations) observation.
WEEK 18 Hyperbole v Tall Tales - With tall tales, they are somewhat hard to believe stories about folk heroes or legends that once existed. Over time, the story is told over and over again until certain stems become twisted or exaggerated. Normally, hyperbole is the emphasized point themselves; for example, I could eat a horse I’m so hungry.
DAY 19 Literal, Figurative, v Rhetorical - With a rhetorical question, it doesn’t necessarily require an answer but it can be a technique used to start a conversation. Just as it suggests, literal means the art of saying exactly what you mean, no hidden meaning or "inferential reasoning" needed. Literal language means exactly what it says, while figurative language uses similes, metaphors, hyperbole, and personification to describe something often through comparison with something different. When your teacher ask you, is this really your best work? That is a rhetorical question.
DAY 20 Symbolism v Imagery - In a story, the writer describes factors using the five senses and this is called ‘imagery’. In terms of symbolism, this is finding meaning in another abstract idea such as an animal, season, object, or even a season.
DAY 21 Allegory v Allusion - Often found in poetry, allegory is the act of providing two meanings. While the first is obvious and the main theme, the second is deeper and sometimes not found at all. Relying on the knowledge of the reader, an allusion assumes that the reference is known by the reader (i.e. they allude/hint at something).
DAY 22 Foreshadowing v Flashback - Hopefully, this is easy to decipher since foreshadowing suggests something that will occur later in the story, it is usually an ominous warning of future events to raise tension, suspense, or mystery in the story. A flashback is an interjected scene taking you back in time to make the plot more complex or to clarify a characters actions or thoughts.
DAY 23 Assonance v Alliteration - While alliteration is a sequence of words all beginning with the same letter, assonance looks at the same vowel sound repeated in the same way.
DAY 24 Cause and effect is the principle of causality, establishing one event or action as the direct result of another.
DAY 24 B Compare v Contrast- Compare and contrast are words that are often used to talk about the similarities and differences between two things or objects. These two words are very commonly used. Compare means to see the similarity and contrast means to see the difference.
DAY 25 Metaphors v Similes-The difference between metaphors and similes is that similes hit you over the head with the comparison by using explicit words such as “like” or “as,” -- When Jon Bon Jovi sings “My heart is like an open highway,” that's a simile because he used the word “like” to directly make the comparison.
DAY 26 Main Idea v Theme- The main idea of a passage or reading is the the most important thought or message. (In contrast to the term topic, which refers to the subject under discussion.) The main idea of Mr. Taylor's instructions is that it is important to follow directions. The theme is the Authors implied message, teaching the reader a valuable lesson through a story's theme. Themes in fiction are usually not explicit or literal, it's an inference the author makes. Readers must abstract it from the plot details and character actions. (A theme is not the same as the subject or main idea of a work.)
DAY 27 Fact v Opinion- “A fact is a statement that can be proven true.” “An opinion expresses someone's belief, feeling, view, idea, or judgment about something or someone.” “Facts are statements that can be shown to be true or can be proved, or something that really happened. The purpose of the expository writing is to explain facts or what really happened; truth; actuality; things as they exist. It is a fact that the moon revolves around the earth. A person's belief based on what seems true, or probable; a person's judgment is an opinion.
Many people have the opinion that Mexican cooking is the best in the world.
DAY 28 Synonyms v Antonyms- A synonym is a word that has the same or nearly the same meaning as another word. Different words that may have the same meaning. Synonyms of "bend" are curve and twist. An antonym is a word that has the opposite meaning of another word. A word that has an opposite meaning. An antonym of "hot" is "cold"; an antonym of "fast" is "slow"
DAY 29 Author's Purpose v Author's Perspective, or Viewpoint- The reason or purpose for writing - Persuade, Inform, Entertain, Explain, or Describe. "Fernando worked hard on his first prompt. His author's purpose was to entertain his readers with his funny story." The author's perspective, or viewpoint, is how the author feels about the subject.
DAY 30 Hyperbole v Personification- Lastly, neither of these are literal but personification gives an inanimate object human-like qualities; e.g. the ocean sighed. As we learned earlier with Hyperbole v Tall Tales, a hyperbole exaggerates a point to add emphasis.
WEEK 1 Word: Additional
Meaning: Add; more; extra.
Example: The salesman told Mr. Taylor that this iPhone 9 will cost him an additional amount of 150$.
Word: Agreeable
Meaning: willing or ready to agree or permission
Example: This type of furniture is more agreeable than the fancy one which is quite expensive.
WEEK 2 Word: Argue
Meaning: to present reasons for or against a thing
Example: Celena wasn't going to argue with him because she knew he ate her chocolates.
Word: Arrange
Meaning: to place in proper, desired, or convenient order
Example: You may stay in the room with your daughter while I arrange the lunch.
WEEK 3 Word: Assist
Meaning: to give support, aid or to help
Example: Do you want me to assist you in completing this assignment?
Word: Cause
Meaning: a thing that acts, happens, or exists due to something
Example: We all serve the same cause of protecting those who are weaker than us.
WEEK 4 Word: Compare
Meaning: to examine (two or more objects, ideas, people, etc.) in order to note similarities and differences
Example: I always used to compare my grades with Allen.
Word: Contrast
Meaning: to compare in order to show differences between two objects, people or places
Example: There is an amazing contrast between clouds and the clear blue sky.
WEEK 5 Word: Describe
Meaning: to give details about something to someone.
Example: The teacher asked the students to describe their personalities in their own Words.
Word: Details
Meaning: to describe or give information about something
Example: He provided all the details of the task to me carefully.
WEEK 6 Word: Develop
Meaning: 1. to grow or to become more advanced
2. to cause something to grow, or to build improvements on land
Example: 1. To develop yourself, you need to bring some serious changes in your lifestyle.
2. The government has promised to develop the transportation system more convenient for
the public.
WEEK 7 Word: Diagram
Meaning: a graph, chart, drawing or plan that explains something by showing how the parts relate to each other.
Example: The teacher explained the digestive system with the help of a diagram.
Word: Effect
Meaning: Effect is defined as a result of something or the ability to bring about a result.
Example: Her statement had a surprising effect on Dean.
WEEK 8 Word: Event
Meaning: The definition of an event is something that takes place.
Example: Michael Jackson will perform in the grand event in Paris this year.
Word: Examine
Meaning: Examine is defined as to analyze, inspect, or carefully study.
Example: The doctor will examine the patient in an hour.
WEEK 9 Word: Example
Meaning: 1. An example is defined as something or someone that is used as a model.
2. The definition of Example is a punishment that warns others to follow rules.
Example: 1. The teacher gave students an Example of a solar system to help them understand the term ‘rotation’.
2. That serious road accident became an Example for all other kids in the neighborhood.
Word: Gist
Meaning: a central idea or the main point
Example: Equality must have been the gist of his speech.
WEEK 10 Word: Infer
Meaning: Infer is defined as to conclude from evidence or assumptions.
Example: We should infer that the details in the document were all approved by the company.
Word: Occur
Meaning: To occur is to happen or to be found.
Example: It was expected that the road accident will occur sooner or later.
WEEK 11 Word: Opposite
Meaning: Opposite is someone or something that is the reverse of something else.
Example: These brothers are quite opposite to each other in studies.
Word: Passage
Meaning: Passage is moving through something, being granted permission to move through something.
Example: The passage along the park was quite narrow.
WEEK 12 Word: Persuade
Meaning: The definition of persuade is to convince someone to do or think something.
Example: He thought that he will persuade his father to get him a new car.
Word: Predict
Meaning: The definition of predict is to say what will happen in the future.
Example: Many people were able to predict the winner of the final match in the World Cup.
WEEK 13 Word: Purpose
Meaning: Purpose is defined as to plan or aim to do something; the reason behind doing something
Example: His purpose for flying back too early was just to attend the funeral of his grandmother.
Word: Recognize
Meaning: Recognize is defined as to identify someone or something known before.
Example: He will definitely recognize you in the next meeting as his memory is quite sharp.
WEEK 14 Word: Similar
Meaning: The definition of similar is two things that have characteristics that resemble each other but are not exactly alike.
Example: The two statues in the mart looked quite similar to each other.
Word: Solution
Meaning: The solution is the method of solving a problem or the correct answer to a puzzle, problem or difficult situation.
Example: He was quite quick in finding the solution of the problem in the class.
WEEK 15 Word: Typical
Meaning: The definition of typical is a characteristic or behavior that is normal and expected for a given person or thing or in a given situation.
Example: Alex used to have a typical irritating attitude in the class.
Word: Unite
Meaning: Unite is defined as to join or bring together.
Example: There is always one friend who loves to unite everyone on special occasions.
Repeat the 1st 15 weeks
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