English Final Exam Review Guide
1. Literary Elements
● Theme – The central idea or message in a text. Example: The theme of To Kill a
Mockingbird is racial injustice.
● Tone – The author’s attitude toward the subject. Example: serious, sarcastic, hopeful.
● Mood – The feeling the reader gets from the text. Example: eerie, joyful, tense.
● Symbolism – When an object, person, or event represents a larger idea. Example: a
dove represents peace.
● Foreshadowing – Clues about what will happen later.
● Irony
○ Situational: when the opposite of what is expected happens.
○ Verbal: when a speaker says one thing but means another.
○ Dramatic: when the audience knows something the characters do not.
● Conflict
○ Internal: within a character (man vs. self)
○ External: character vs. character, society, nature, or fate
2. Grammar & Mechanics
● Parts of Speech
○ Noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, conjunction, preposition, interjection
● Sentence Types
○ Simple: one independent clause
○ Compound: two independent clauses joined by a conjunction
○ Complex: one independent clause + one or more dependent clauses
● Subject-Verb Agreement
○ Singular subject → singular verb; plural subject → plural verb
○ Example: “The dog barks.” vs. “The dogs bark.”
● Common Errors
○ Misplaced modifiers: “She nearly drove her kids to school every day.” → unclear
○ Run-on sentences: use periods or semicolons to fix
○ Comma splices: “I went home, I was tired.” → fix: “I went home, and I was tired.”
3. Reading Comprehension
, ● Annotating Texts
○ Highlight keywords, unfamiliar vocabulary, and main ideas
○ Note literary devices and character motivations
● Main Idea vs. Supporting Details
○ Main idea = central point of the paragraph or text
○ Supporting details = facts, examples, or explanations that reinforce it
● Inference – Reading between the lines; using clues to understand unstated ideas
● Author’s Purpose – Why the author wrote the text: to inform, persuade, entertain, or
explain
4. Writing Skills
● Thesis Statements
○ One clear sentence that presents the main argument or idea
○ Example: “Social media impacts teenagers’ self-esteem by influencing their
perception of beauty, encouraging comparison, and fostering peer pressure.”
● Essay Structure
○ Introduction – Hook, context, thesis
○ Body Paragraphs – Topic sentence, evidence, analysis, transition
○ Conclusion – Restate thesis, summarize key points, closing thought
● Evidence & Citations
○ Use quotes or paraphrasing from the text
○ Introduce quotes: “According to…” or “The author states…”
○ Properly cite sources (MLA or APA, depending on your class)
● Transitions – words that connect ideas: furthermore, however, in addition, consequently
5. Vocabulary & Word Usage
● Commonly Confused Words
○ Affect vs. Effect
○ Their vs. There vs. They’re
○ Accept vs. Except
● Context Clues
○ Use surrounding words or sentences to figure out the meaning of an unknown
word
● Figurative Language
○ Simile – comparison using “like” or “as”
○ Metaphor – direct comparison
○ Personification – giving human traits to non-human things
1. Literary Elements
● Theme – The central idea or message in a text. Example: The theme of To Kill a
Mockingbird is racial injustice.
● Tone – The author’s attitude toward the subject. Example: serious, sarcastic, hopeful.
● Mood – The feeling the reader gets from the text. Example: eerie, joyful, tense.
● Symbolism – When an object, person, or event represents a larger idea. Example: a
dove represents peace.
● Foreshadowing – Clues about what will happen later.
● Irony
○ Situational: when the opposite of what is expected happens.
○ Verbal: when a speaker says one thing but means another.
○ Dramatic: when the audience knows something the characters do not.
● Conflict
○ Internal: within a character (man vs. self)
○ External: character vs. character, society, nature, or fate
2. Grammar & Mechanics
● Parts of Speech
○ Noun, pronoun, verb, adjective, adverb, conjunction, preposition, interjection
● Sentence Types
○ Simple: one independent clause
○ Compound: two independent clauses joined by a conjunction
○ Complex: one independent clause + one or more dependent clauses
● Subject-Verb Agreement
○ Singular subject → singular verb; plural subject → plural verb
○ Example: “The dog barks.” vs. “The dogs bark.”
● Common Errors
○ Misplaced modifiers: “She nearly drove her kids to school every day.” → unclear
○ Run-on sentences: use periods or semicolons to fix
○ Comma splices: “I went home, I was tired.” → fix: “I went home, and I was tired.”
3. Reading Comprehension
, ● Annotating Texts
○ Highlight keywords, unfamiliar vocabulary, and main ideas
○ Note literary devices and character motivations
● Main Idea vs. Supporting Details
○ Main idea = central point of the paragraph or text
○ Supporting details = facts, examples, or explanations that reinforce it
● Inference – Reading between the lines; using clues to understand unstated ideas
● Author’s Purpose – Why the author wrote the text: to inform, persuade, entertain, or
explain
4. Writing Skills
● Thesis Statements
○ One clear sentence that presents the main argument or idea
○ Example: “Social media impacts teenagers’ self-esteem by influencing their
perception of beauty, encouraging comparison, and fostering peer pressure.”
● Essay Structure
○ Introduction – Hook, context, thesis
○ Body Paragraphs – Topic sentence, evidence, analysis, transition
○ Conclusion – Restate thesis, summarize key points, closing thought
● Evidence & Citations
○ Use quotes or paraphrasing from the text
○ Introduce quotes: “According to…” or “The author states…”
○ Properly cite sources (MLA or APA, depending on your class)
● Transitions – words that connect ideas: furthermore, however, in addition, consequently
5. Vocabulary & Word Usage
● Commonly Confused Words
○ Affect vs. Effect
○ Their vs. There vs. They’re
○ Accept vs. Except
● Context Clues
○ Use surrounding words or sentences to figure out the meaning of an unknown
word
● Figurative Language
○ Simile – comparison using “like” or “as”
○ Metaphor – direct comparison
○ Personification – giving human traits to non-human things
