Common State Testing Vocabulary

To consider what's been read in order to state an opinion

The plot or ordered events in a novel, poem, drama, etc...

The position or angle from which a story is told

To show or prove something to be true and valid

To make a judgement

To make clear or understandable to others

To show the truth or existence of smoething by using evidence

To describe, explain, display, or illustrate through examples

Something that provides information

Smaller pieces that support ideas; smaller elements of structure

The organization of something; the organization of parts and how they are related

To say that something is the case without providing evidence

Give reasons or cite evidence in support or against something under consideration

To deduce, conclude, or figure out from evidence

Something that proves or disproves; facts that make it plain and clear

Tell or show with written or spoken words; point out facts or details

A topic that people have different opinioins about

Expand on an idea; add details to give strength to an idea or position

To express something clearly in writing or speech

To back up, using evidence to justify your answer, opinion, or claim

A word or phrase that connects two ideas together smoothly

Examine in order to note likenesses between two things or what they have in common

The main body of the reading

The specific reason that a person has for writing something

A writer's attitude toward their subject

To quote specifically; recall

Sequence of events, experiences, etc. that can be fiction or nonfiction

The particular order in which events or things follow each other

To decide or conclude through reasoning or observation

An important, unifying idea often answering the questions, "What did I learn?"

Examine in order to identify and understand differences between two or more things

To say something will happen or will be a consequence of something

To break down into its parts and examine to determine meaning

Noting individual features or characteristics

Bring to an end; to arrive at a judgment or opinion by reasoning

To state or express the most important elements in shortened form, usually chronologically

To discover by going over the evidence step-by-step

Author's most important idea or the inspiration/reason for creating the written work

Not literal; based on figures of speech; expand meaning

Parts of writing or of a speech that precede or follow a specific word or passage

Make changes in a piece of writing to improve its clarity

To measure; to determine the amount of

To make clear; to make more understandable