English One ELL Final Exam Study Guide

1. When an author writes a reading selection, he or she has a purpose. This purpose can be to
inform, explain, entertain, or to persuade. Please review the meanings of these below.
a. Inform – give facts, tell
b. Explain – make something clear by describing it in detail
c. Entertain – provide someone with amusement or enjoyment
d. Persuade – cause someone to do something or feel a certain way by reasoning or
arguing.
2. In this course you’ve learned what the subject of a sentence is, and what the verb is. The subject
is who or what completed the action. Take a look at the sentence below. The subject is
highlighted.

Lou Gehrig was a famous baseball player.

3. In this course you’ve learned how to find the main idea. To find the main idea, answer the
following question: What is the most important thing being said about the topic? Also, please
review the following definitions.
a. Bucketed – got the basketball in the basket in order to earn points
b. Trade – an occupation or job
c. Hurricane – huge storm
d. Disease – medical condition that is not normal, and causes harm to the body.
e. Evacuee – a person who leaves an area due to unsafe conditions
f. Levee – a ridge built to prevent overflow of a river.

Example: Do you remember the Module 5 story, To Kill a Mockingbird? You read an excerpt.
The main idea of this story is that harming people who are innocent of doing wrong, is a terrible thing.

4. Remember, a sentence fragment does not give a complete thought. Please see the example
below.

On my way to the store.

5. Remember, a simile compares something using like or as. Please see the example below.

The snow was like a soft, white blanket.

6. In this course you’ve learned about first person point of view. Remember, key words to look for
are “I” and “We.” For example, “John and I left school early, to go to the college.”
7. Do you remember what an adjective is? An adjective describes a noun. For example: “Blue” is
an adjective in the sentence below.

Her blue coat was left at her desk.

8. A verb shows action. Remember, you also learned about state of being verbs, which are: am,
is, are, was, be, being, and been.
9. Personification is when human characteristics, are given to something that is not human. For
example: “The trees waved to me in the wind.”
 10. Imagery, is when the author appeals to the senses, such as taste, smell, touch, or feel. See the
example below.
The warm temperatures made her feel like she wanted to get in the swimming pool.

11. Let’s review punctuation. Remember, a question mark (?) should be placed at the end of a
question. A period (.) should be placed at the end of a statement. An exclamation point (!)
should be placed at the end of a sentence that shows excitement or a sense of urgency or fear.
12. Always capitalize the following: names, states, the word “I,” and titles.
13. Remember, a complete sentence gives a complete thought. See the example below:

The hungry cat walked to his bowl.

14. Theme – the main topic of the story

15. Please see the order of plot given below.

Exposition – beginning of the story where the setting and characters are introduced.

Rising Action – actions leading to the climax.

Climax – high point of the story

Falling Action – action after the climax

Resolution – how the story ends

Image source: https://mslorenzglencoe2013.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/plot-structure.jpg

16. Reminder, when someone speaks in a selection, the actual words that they are saying should be
put in quotation marks. See the example below.
“Mike, could you pick up some milk at the store?” his mother asked.
17. The setting of a story is where it takes place . For example: at the house or at school. In the
excerpt you read from Romeo and Juliet, the setting was at a balcony of Juliet’s house.
18. Please review the following terms.
a. Shrieked – yelling in high pitched sounds, usually in fear or terror
b. Murmured – saying something in a low, soft tone, that cannot easily be understood.
c. Whispered – speaking very softly so that not everyone can hear.
d. Assembled – a group of people gather in one place for a common purpose
19. A hyphen is used to join words or separate syllables. It looks like this: -
Example: mother–in- law, right-of-way
20. The conflict of a story is an issue between characters that creates interest or tension.
Example: The conflict of Romeo and Juliet: Two young people want to be married, but they
are separated due to the disagreements within their families.