Key Words and Meanings - Year 11 English

• Term 1 & 2: Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde– R.L. Stevenson OR A Christmas Carol – Charles Dickens. Anthology Poetry.

  Victorian period	The period in English history (spanning from 1837 to 1901), commonly called the Victorian period and named after Queen Victoria who reigned for most of this century (64 years). Literary texts written at this time are jointly called Victorian Literature.
  working class	The social group consisting of people who are employed for wages, especially in manual or industrial work. This group in society were notoriously exploited by the wealthy middle class in Victorian England.
  social justice	Social justice is the equal access to wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. Charles Dickens' key objective of writing fiction was to promote social justice by confronting and condemning the glaring inequalities in the victorian society.
  poverty	This refers to the complete lack of the means necessary to meet basic personal needs such as food, clothing and shelter. Unlike the wealthy few, majority of the Victorian society lived in poverty and this is one of the themes of 'A Christmas Carol'.
  Christmas	A key theme of 'A Christmas Carol', this festive season in which Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus was made popular across England by Dickens' ideas in this novel.
  Industrial revolution	The Industrial Revolution began in the 18th century in Great Britain. It was only It the first stepping-stone to the modern economic growth that is still growing to this day. While the nation was changing, so was the way that literature was written.
  Transformation	A key theme of the story: The huge change (from selfish and cold-hearted to generous and kind-hearted) experienced by Scrooge, the central character, after a series of terrifying, ghostly, night visitations at Christmas.
  isolation	One of the key themes of 'A Christmas Carol'. This is the state of being alone or feeling lonely and without friends or help. It also means being in a place or situation that is separate or disconnected from others as Scrooge is at the start of the story.
  Charity	The voluntary giving of help, typically in the form of money, to those in need. This is also a key theme in Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol'.
  novella	A novella is a text of written, fictional, narrative prose normally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel, somewhere between 7,500 and 40,000 words long. Unlike 'To Kill a Mockingbird' which is a novel, 'Of Mice and Men' is a novella.
  Protagonist	The leading character or one of the major characters in a play, film, novel.
  Sociopath	A person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behaviour.
  Narcissist	A person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves.
  Contrast	A difference between people or things that are being compared
  Epistolary novel	An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings, blogs, and e-mai
  To dehumanise	To treat / think of someone as if they are no longer a person

• Term 1 & 2: Writer’s craft: range of English language reading and writing skills.

  Synthesis (to synthesise)	The combination of components or elements to form a connected whole.
  Contrast	A difference between people or things that are being compared
  Similarity	A point of comparison, a likeness across two or more things.
  Simile	Comparing one thing with another thing which it is not using like or as.
  Metaphor	A word or phrase applied to something that it is not. Saying something is something else.
  Alliteration	When more than one word in sequence starts with the same letter.
  Adjective	A describing word.
  Verb	A doing word.
  Personification	Applying human characteristics to non human objects.
  List	More than one idea connected by commas or semi colons.
  Punctuation	Using a variety of punctuation to enhance a piece of writing. For example using: . , ; : - ? ! " ()
  Sentence	Use a combination of sentence types. Simple, complex and compound
  Repetition	Saying the same word or idea more than once to create impact.
  Rhetorical Question	Asking a question without requiring the reader to respond.
  Connectives	Using linking words to connect ideas.
  List	More than one idea connected by commas or semi colons.
  Opinions	A viewpoint, statement or belief.
  Facts	Something that is proved true. Information used as evidence.
  Counter Argument	An argument which is opposing to the main argument you are making.
  Statistics	Percentages, data and other numerical facts which can be used to prove an argument.

• Term 3 & 4: Literature and language revision for mock exams.

  Synthesis (to synthesise)	The combination of components or elements to form a connected whole.
  Similarity	A point of comparison, a likeness across two or more things.
  Contrast	A difference between people or things that are being compared
  Civilisation	A group of people living together, with an agreed set of rules and morals.
  Literary allusion	Ideas, characters, imagery etc. referencing another famous book, poem, play etc.
  Overview	A brief summary of an idea, text or issue.
  Authorial intent	The aim that a writer is trying to achieve e.g. to persuade their audience to take a certain action, to point out a particular issue.

• Term 5: Final revision.

  Revision	In studying, the act of revision requires you to look again at the things you already know or the lessons you've already taken - to read again, to re-examine your course materials, to review. You could do this simply because you wanted to (as in for the
  Thematic	Relating to subjects or a particular subject, linked by a similar theme or topic.
  Selective	Relating to or involving the selection of the most suitable or best qualified; choosing carefully.
  Consolidation	The action or process of making something stronger or more solid; the action or process of combining a number of things into a single more effective or coherent whole.
  Transferrable skills	Transferable skills are a core set of skills and abilities, which can be applied to a wide range of different tasks, situations, jobs and industries.

• GCSE Exams! The Final Countdown!