Reference Section

Glossary of Key Terms - You may have encountered terms you were unfamiliar with while working through this course. Listed below are definitions to assist you in your work. If you encountered additional terms that you were not familiar with, you should be able to locate the definition for them in any standard dictionary.

1. memoir - focuses on the significance of the relationship between the writer and another individual and are supported by memories of specific experiences. While a memoir may focus on any individual person, place, animal, or thing, the success of the memoir lies in the writer's ability to provide the reader with an understanding of the importance of the relationship. This is accomplished through the writer's use of details and reflection, to create a connection with the reader that shares the critical value of the relationship between the writer and the other individual person, place, animal or thing.
2. personal essay - focuses on a central idea about the writer or the writer's life and is supported by a variety of incidents from the writer's life. While a personal essay may focus on any central idea about the writer's life (e.g., the satisfaction of working with the elderly, the role of the oldest sibling in the family, the pain of loss), the success of the essay lies in the writer's ability to describe the central idea and build a framework of support for that idea. This is accomplished through the writer's use of broad reflection enhanced by specific, detailed incidents that are tied to the central idea.
3. personal expressive writing - includes several types of writing, each of which focuses on the life experiences of the writer. These types include personal narratives, memoirs, and personal essays. The characteristics of the form and the strategies for developing ideas may be different for each kind of writing.
4. holistic score - a scored based on an assessment of the overall effectiveness of writing as compared to an agreed upon standard.
5. holistic scoring guide - the rubric prepared by the Kentucky Department of Education that is used to holistically score writing. Criteria for each of the four categories novice, apprentice, proficient, and distinguished are listed and the writing is compared to those categories to achieve an overall score.
6. audience - the specific person or people for whom a piece of writing is intended. Awareness of audience affects important decisions the writer makes about the piece (e.g. word choice, details, form, voice, tone). Students are more engaged when the audience is real as opposed to simulated.
7. conference - writer-centered conversation with teacher, peer, or others about a piece of writing with the intent of exploring process strategies and/or revision possibilities. Conferencing is the most effective instructional assessment strategy. It provides specific feedback at the point when the writer can best make use of it.
8. editing - checking for and correcting errors in spelling, punctuation, capitalization, grammar, and usage; proofreading. Editing becomes a concern only after the writer is satisfied that the writing clearly says what he/she wants it to say; editing is the final stage of document preparation.
9. focus - the writer's main point or idea.
10. plagiarism - the use of another writer's exact words, unique idea, or compositional patterns without crediting the original writer.
11. purpose - the reason for a piece of writing. Just as writers are more engaged when they have a real audience, they will invest more when the purpose is real.
12. revision - the process of looking again at a draft to ask, "Does this writing clearly say what I want it to say, and if it does not, what changes do I need to make?"  Revision is centered on audience and purpose, based on the writer's need to communicate with the reader, but it is not editing.
13. scoring guide - an evaluation tool which defines the criteria for assessment at each of the four performance levels and which is used to assess/evaluate the quality of writing a student completes.
14. tone - appropriateness of attitude toward the subject based on audience and purpose. The author's choice of attitude influences such things as word choice, details, sentence structure, and organization.
15. voice - the feature of writing that has unique personality and conveys a sense of sincere investment from the writer. This quality reveals an authentic sound, rhythm, and natural language. Writing with strong voice is honest and written with conviction, not just "cute" language. The reader feels a strong sense of interaction with the writer.
16. setting - The time and place of the action. It includes not only the historical period- past, present, or future, but also the year, season, time of day, and even the weather.
17. plot -  the sequence of events in a literary work. In most novels, short stories, dramas, and narrative poems, the plot involves two basic elements - characters and conflict.
18. conflict - a struggle between opposing forces. One of the most important elements in stories, novels, and drama because it causes the actions that form the plot.
19. climax -  a high point of interest or suspense right before the conflict is resolved.
20. resolution - how the conflict is solved or any of the events after the climax.
21. flashback - a section of a literary work that interrupts the sequence of events to relate an event from an earlier time.
22. foreshadowing - the use of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur.
23. theme - the central message, concern, or insight into life expressed in a literary work. A theme can usually be expressed by a one- or two-sentence statement about human beings or about life.
24. suspense - a feeling of anxious uncertainty about the outcome of events in a literary work. Writers create suspense by raising questions in the minds of their readers.
25. story map - a prewriting strategy that uses boxes to describe the events in the story. Boxes are labeled as follows: characters, setting, plot, conflict, climax and resolution and the writer creates the major elements of the story using these boxes.
26. sequence chain - a prewriting strategy that uses arrows to show the chain of events that will happen in the writing. Using showing the introduction, series of events leading up to the problem, recognition of the problem, conflict, and the resolution and conclusion of the story.
27. webbing - a prewriting strategy that uses a main circle for a "core" and then branches out to other circles that relate back to the core. There can be as many circles as needed to completely cover the writing.
28. brainstorming - a prewriting strategy where the writer makes a list of everything that comes into his/her mind as he/she is thinking about the topic. After the list is generated, ideas are crossed out or circles depending on their relevance to the writing assignment.
29. Venn diagram - a prewriting strategy to organize information about similarities and differences between two characters or ideas. Two circles are drawn that overlap each other in the middle. The differences are written in the outer sections of the circles and the similarities are written inside the overlapping sections in the middle of the circle. This strategy helps the writer organize information and clearly see the similarities and differences.
30. short story - a piece of fictional writing usually less than 5000 words that contains these basic elements: characters, setting, plot, conflict, resolution, climax, dialogue, protagonist, and antagonist.
31. compare/contrast essay - a piece of writing that shows similarities and differences among characters, ideas, or other elements. The comparisons/contrasts are developed by the writer and then are supported with evidence to demonstrate knowledge of the subject being addressed.
32. feature article - a newspaper or magazine article that is written to entertain and inform the reader. It does contain some elements of the short story and is written with a lead to get the reader's attention and then uses conversational tone to present the reader with information to evoke an emotional response from the reader.
33. speech - a piece of writing that is written for a very specific audience for a specific time. The writer of a speech has a certain body of information to present to the audience and does so in a formal manner. Speeches are generally memorized, but a written copy is produced for the writer's use when delivering the speech. It is a formal type of writing.
34. essay - an essay is written to formally present information, defend a position, or accomplish various other specific tasks. Essays are generally written to demonstrate knowledge and expertise in a subject area. Most essays follow the standard introduction, several body paragraphs and conclusion format. The topic sentence is clearly stated in the introduction and the main idea is revisited in the conclusion.