Grades 9–10: List 4

Vocabulary is key to performing well on Common Core-aligned tests for English Language Arts as well as for building literacy in social studies, science, and technical subjects. This collection features common tier-2 words that are taught and tested in Grades 9 and 10. These words are used in a variety of contexts, exhibit different shades of meaning based on those contexts, and appear commonly in classroom instruction and on standardized assessments.

Here are links to our lists for the collection: List 1, List 2, List 3, List 4, List 5, List 6, List 7, List 8
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. edit
    prepare for publication or presentation by revising
    Please edit this so we can add it to next week’s posting.Saints and Misfits
  2. editorial
    an article giving opinions or perspectives
    A few days later the Times- Herald ran an editorial titled “We Must Hear Marian Anderson.”The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights
  3. elaborate
    add details, as to an account or idea
    Hess elaborated his ideas in an important paper, which was almost universally ignored.A Short History of Nearly Everything
  4. establish
    show the validity of something, as by example or explanation
    She passes it to a man in the front of the crowd, in order to establish that it is solid.The Night Circus
  5. excerpt
    a passage selected from a larger work
    The English papers carried excerpts of the senator’s speech and briefly mentioned my father.The Chosen
  6. explanatory
    serving or intended to make clear
    He could only guess what it might fully mean, even with the explanatory footnote.Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel
  7. article
    nonfictional prose forming a part of a publication
    His dad held up a folded newspaper and pointed to an article.Millionaires for the Month
  8. writing
    anything expressed in letters of the alphabet
    But his writings are one of our most valuable records of what went on in the colony.Blood on the River
  9. flashback
    a transition in a story to an earlier event or scene
    So eventually, in three quick flashbacks, Morgenstern returns to what I think is the story.The Princess Bride
  10. focus
    special emphasis attached to something
    "And what was the focus of your essay?"You Bring the Distant Near
  11. global
    involving the entire earth
    We also created a global communications network that lets us all talk to each other, all around the world, all the time.Ready Player One: A Novel
  12. note
    a brief written record
    It’s hard for me to really understand most of the poems inside, but Gram has made little notes in the margins.How to Disappear Completely
  13. grammar
    the branch of linguistics that deals with sentence structure
    Good spelling and good grammar and good word skills are essential for every student.Frindle
  14. usage
    the customary manner in which language is spoken or written
    There was also Ross Milton’s book—the book on English usage.Across Five Aprils
  15. heading
    a line of text indicating what the passage below it is about
    After that there was a review paper about cursive writing, and then there was a sample sheet showing how the heading should look on every assignment.Frindle
  16. illustrate
    make clear or understandable by giving an example
    Projecting slides on the courtroom’s wood-paneled wall, he discussed each charge, illustrating step-by-step how the defendants had committed theft and espionage.Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War
  17. inclusion
    the act of making a part of something
    But over the years, the word remained mostly spoken and rarely printed, so it lacked the criteria for inclusion in the dictionary.New York Times (Nov 3, 2021)
  18. infer
    reason by deduction; establish by deduction
    To imply is to suggest, or to throw out a suggestion; to infer is to conclude, or to take in a suggestion.Woe Is I
  19. inference
    a conclusion you can draw based on known evidence
    These books also offer all readers a way to practice important reading skills such as building vocabulary, understanding a sequence of events, discerning the plot of a story and making inferences.Washington Post (Feb 27, 2020)
  20. integrate
    make into a whole or make part of a whole
    The Met will need time to look beyond the gorgeous surfaces of these paintings, and to integrate them into a larger and more critical narrative of Indian and pan-Asian history and society.New York Times (Jul 14, 2016)
  21. interpretation
    an explanation that results from making sense of something
    We even began to exchange theories and to discuss our interpretations of specific passages in the Almanac.Ready Player One: A Novel
  22. introduction
    the first section of a communication
    Begin with an introduction that establishes the purpose for all the information that’s to follow.The Thing About Jellyfish
  23. justify
    show to be reasonable or provide adequate ground for
    She talks about all those pretty scientific words, all those Big Terms, and justifies all those footnotes in her book.The Science of Breakable Things
  24. key
    serving as an essential component
    He’d flip through the pages for five minutes—then lead a discussion on the paper’s key points.Bomb
  25. event
    something that happens at a given place and time
    “Find books about historical events and places you’ve always wanted to visit,” suggested Sierra.Mr. Lemoncello's Library Olympics
Created on July 20, 2022 (updated August 30, 2022)

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