Praxis Middle School ELA 5047

Reading is the largest content category on the test. It covers literature (prose, poetry, and drama), informational texts and rhetoric, the vocabulary knowledge that supports comprehension, literary analysis, and media. Middle school ELA teachers must know how these texts work and how to guide students through analyzing them.

Understanding Prose

Prose is written language in its ordinary form, without metrical structure. It includes novels, short stories, essays, and other forms of narrative and expository writing. Narrative prose tells a story through a sequence of events, and its fundamental elements are plot, character, setting, point of view, theme, and style.

Plot is the sequence of events that make up a story. It typically follows a five-part structure, which Freytag's pyramid visualizes.

CharacterType	Defi nition
Protagonist	Thecentralcharacteraroundwhomthestoryrevolves
Antagonist	Opposestheprotagonistandcreatesconflict
Round	Displaysmultiplepersonalitytraitsanddevelopsthroughoutthenarrative
Flat	Servesaspecificfunctionwithoutsignificantdepthorchange
Dynamic	Transformsasaresultofstoryevents
Static	Remainsunchangedregardlessofcircumstances

Characterization occurs through direct and indirect methods. Direct characterization means the narrator explicitly describes a character's traits. Indirect characterization requires readers to infer traits from dialogue, actions, thoughts, the reactions of other characters, and physical descriptions.

The acronym STEAL summarizes the five methods of indirect characterization.

S					T					E					A					L
Speech					Thoughts					Effectsonothers					Actions					Looks

Setting encompasses time, place, and social environment. Setting influences mood, affects character behavior, and can function as a symbol or even an antagonist. Historical settings require period-appropriate details, geographic settings shape plot possibilities and character options, and social settings involve cultural norms, class structures, and community expectations.

Pointofview

PointofView	HowItWorks
Firstperson	Uses“I”andlimitsreaderstoonecharacter'sknowledgeandperceptions
Third -person limited	Uses“he”or“she”andfocusesononecharacter givingaccesstothatcharacter'sthoughtsbutnot ,
	tothethoughtsofothers
Third -person omniscient	Givesaccesstomultiplecharacters'thoughtsandtoknowledgebeyondanysinglecharacter
Secondperson	Addressesthereaderas“you”;appearsrarelyinfiction

Reliable narrators present events accurately and honestly. Unreliable narrators may deceive readers intentionally or through limited understanding. Judging reliability requires attention to inconsistencies, motivations, and textual evidence.

Theme is the central idea or underlying meaning of a literary work. Themes differ from subjects: a subject might be “war,” while a theme might be “war destroys innocence.” Themes emerge through patterns in plot, character development, symbolism, and imagery, and universal themes address fundamental human experiences across cultures and time periods.

Style is an author's distinctive approach to language. Diction is word choice and may be formal, informal, colloquial, or technical; syntax concerns sentence structure and length; tone reflects the author's attitude toward the subject and audience. Analyzing style means asking how language choices create effects and convey meaning.

Understanding Poetry

Poetry uses concentrated, heightened language to convey experience and emotion. It differs from prose through deliberate attention to form, sound, rhythm, and figurative language.

Poeticforms

Form	Defi ningFeatures
Sonnet	Fourteenlineswithaspecificrhymeschemeandmeter
Shakespeareansonnet	Threequatrainsandaconcludingcouplet:ABABCDCDEFEFGG
Petrarchansonnet	Anoctave(ABBAABBA)followedbyasestetwithavariablerhymescheme
Freeverse Haiku Ballad	Noregularmeterorrhyme withcontinuedattentiontolinebreaks rhythm andimagery , , , OriginatedinJapan;threelinesoffive seven andfivesyllables , , Tellsastoryinrhythmicverses oftenmeantforsinging ,	1

Poeticforms(Continued)

Form	Defi ningFeatures
Ode	Addressesasubjectwithelevatedlanguageandaserioustone
Elegy	Mournsalossordeath

Rhythm is the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables, and meter is a regular rhythmic pattern. Pentameter means five metrical feet per line; iambic pentameter, common in English poetry, uses five iambs per line.

Metricalfeet(˘=Unstressed,´=Stressed)

Foot	Pattern	Example
Iamb(iambic)	˘´	be-LIEVE
Trochee(trochaic)	´˘	GAR -den
Anapest(anapestic)	˘˘´	in-ter-VENE
Dactyl(dactylic)	´˘˘	BEAU -ti -ful
Spondee(spondaic)	´´	HEART-BREAK

Term	Defi nition
Endrhyme	Rhymeattheendsoflines
Internalrhyme	Rhymewithinaline
Perfectrhyme	Finalvowelandconsonantsoundsmatchexactly
Slantrhyme	Soundsareclosebutnotanexactmatch
Eyerhyme	Wordslooksimilarbutsounddifferent
Alliteration	Repetitionofinitialconsonantsounds
Assonance	Repetitionofvowelsoundswithinwords
Consonance	Repetitionofconsonantsoundswithinorattheendofwords
Onomatopoeia	Wordsthatimitatesounds
Euphony/cacophony	Pleasantsoundcombinations/harsh discordantsounds ,

Imagery appeals to the senses through descriptive language.

Visual Createspictures(sight)	Auditory Evokessounds	Tactile Suggeststextureandtouch
Olfactory Involvessmell	Gustatory Relatestotaste	1 Kinesthetic Conveysmovementandphysical sensation

Device	Defi nition
Simile	Comparesunlikethingsusing“like”or“as”
Metaphor	Directlyequatesunlikethingswithoutacomparativeword
Extendedmetaphor	Developsacomparisonthroughoutapassageoranentirework
Personification	Gives human qualities to non-human things
Hyperbole	Exaggeratesforemphasisoreffect
Understatement	Deliberatelyminimizesforeffect
Verbalirony	Sayingonethingwhilemeaninganother
Dramaticirony	Theaudienceknowsmorethanthecharacters
Situationalirony	Anoutcomecontradictsexpectations

Irony in general is a discrepancy between appearance and reality. Symbolism uses concrete objects to represent abstract ideas: universal symbols carry widely recognized meanings, while contextual symbols take their meaning from a specific work. Allegory extends symbolism throughout an entire narrative with consistent corresponding meanings.

Understanding Drama

Drama is literature designed for performance. Dramatic texts include dialogue, stage directions, and structural divisions, so reading drama requires attention to performance elements alongside literary analysis. Dramatic structure typically follows the same five-part pattern as narrative fiction, and modern drama may modify or subvert it.

A protagonist falls from prosperity to adversity, often through a

Aims to entertain through humor and typically ends happily.

character flaw combined with circumstance. Classical tragedy

Romantic comedy centers on love and misunderstandings,

features noble characters and elevated language; modern

satirical comedy criticizes social institutions or human folly,

tragedy may feature ordinary people. Tragic heroes typically

and farce relies on exaggerated situations, physical humor,

possess hamartia, a fatal flaw or error in judgment, and

and improbable plots.

catharsis is the emotional release the audience experiences.

Dialogue carries most dramatic action; characters reveal themselves through speech patterns, vocabulary, and interaction styles. Subtext is the implied meaning beneath surface dialogue, and dramatic irony arises when the audience understands implications the characters miss. Stage directions indicate setting, movement, expression, and technical elements, so reading drama requires imaginative staging of those directions.

Speech	Defi nition
Monologue Soliloquy Aside	Anextendedspeechbyasinglecharacter deliveredtoothercharacters , Revealsacharacter'sinnerthoughtswhilethecharacterisaloneonstage Aremarkaddressedtotheaudiencethatothercharactersonstagesupposedlycannothear

Dramatic conventions vary by period and style. Greek drama used a chorus, masks, and a limited number of actors. Elizabethan drama employed soliloquies, asides, and boy actors for female roles. Modern realism emphasizes psychological authenticity and naturalistic dialogue, and experimental drama may break conventional expectations.

Informational Texts