Author – a person who writes professionally.
• Can create a fictional narrator to tell a story
Narrator – someone who tells a story.
• Don’t confuse with the word ‘author’
Perspective – a way of regarding situations or topics.
- Your POV, how you see something
* May be asked to interpret the writer’s or narrator’s perspective
Explicit – precisely and clearly expressed or readily observable.
- Explicit points are made directly; won’t have to read between the lines
- If asked about what a writer has EXPLICITLY stated, read the passage to find it.
- Explicit is the opposite of implicit; do not confuse the words.
Implicit – suggested though not directly expressed.
- Used to describe something that is not directly (or explicitly) stated
- Will be trying to figure out the writers’ implicit messages
Allude – make an indirect reference to.
- Requires you to figure out what an author means if not directly stated
- Might use “flood to end all floods” as a way to allude the flood in the Book of Genesis.
Imply – express or state indirectly.
- To imply is to hint at something without directly stating it.
- Will be asked to figure out what a passage implies, make inferences based on the clues the writer has provided you.
Infer – conclude by reasoning.
- Do not confuse infer and imply
- If asked to infer something, you are interpreting what the writer has implied or hinted at “between the lines”
- The idea, conclusion, or meaning that you infer is called an inference.
Foreshadow – indicate by signs.
- To foreshadow is to hint at something before it happens.
* May be asked to identify an example of foreshadowing or the event being foreshadowed
Hypothesis – a tentative insight that is not yet verified or tested.
- Is a theory or idea that you test through an experiment
- Might have to read about an experiment and identify the main hypothesis and how evidence is either supported or refuted by that hypothesis
Capture – succeed in representing or expressing something intangible.
- May ask you to choose the best answer option that captures an author’s point
- Used like other words on the SAT, like characterize and describe
Characterize – describe or portray the qualities or peculiarities of.
• Doesn’t just apply to how an author describes or builds a fictional character. A writer can characterize anything.
Item – a distinct part that can be specified separately in a group.
• Item is a question; meaning that if you’re told ‘you may want to review the sample items’ they mean the sample questions
Summarize – briefly present the main points of something.
- To summarize means to retell something without interpreting it.
- In a SAT, you may be asked to identify the best summary of a reading passage. Choose the statement which captures or summarizes the main points “in a nutshell”
Analyze – break down into components or essential features.
• Analysis requires figuring out how the different parts of the passage relate to it’s overall message and the effects on the reader
