Thursday, September 21, 2017

ACADEMIC LANGUAGE


These definitions are for use with the HMH Collections Textbook Homework Assignments

Analyze: to examine methodically and in detail the structure of (something, especially information), typically for purposes of explanation and interpretation.

Compare and Contrast:  To identify the similarities and differences between two or more subjects.  (R66)

Contradiction - a combination of statements, ideas, or features of a situation that are opposed to one another

Example: “Mom said, don’t you contradict me, young lady!”

Development:  The progression or change of something over time.  For example, character development refers to how a character changes over time (character arc).   Symbols and themes can also develop over the course of a text.

(Draw) Conclusion: a judgment or decision reached by reasoning.  (Dictionary)

Evidence:  a specific piece of information that is offered to support a claim.  It can take the form of a fact, a quotation, an example, a statistic, or a personal experience among other things (R68)

Inconsistency:   Not staying the same throughout.

Example: “The baseball pitcher was inconsistent this season, going through hot streaks and then wild spots of failure.”

Inference:  a logical guess that is made based on facts and one’s own knowledge and experience (R71)

Paraphrase:  to restate in your own words (as opposed to using a quote)

Synthesize:  to take individual pieces of information and combine them in order to gain a better understanding of the subject (R77)

Theme:  A message about life or human nature that the author shares with the reader.  In many cases readers must infer what the author’s message is.  One way of figuring out the theme is to apply the lessons learned by the main characters to people in real life. (R77)

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