How do you interpret figurative vocabulary, such as idioms and figures of speech, and decode the academic words that recur across the reading test?
Figurative and academic vocabulary in context: interpreting idioms, figures of speech, and figurative word meanings that are not literal, and decoding the academic and domain-specific vocabulary that recurs in nonfiction passages and test questions, using context and word parts, on the Virginia EOC Reading test.
How to handle figurative and academic vocabulary on the Virginia EOC Reading test: interpreting idioms and figures of speech that are not literal, and decoding the academic and domain-specific words that recur in passages and questions, using context and word parts. Tested with multiple choice and meaning items.
Reviewed by: AI editorial process; not yet individually human-reviewed
Have a quick question? Jump to the Q&A page
Jump to a section
What this skill is asking
Two kinds of vocabulary cause trouble on the Virginia EOC Reading test beyond ordinary words: figurative vocabulary (idioms and figures of speech whose meaning is not literal) and academic vocabulary (the formal words that recur in nonfiction passages and, crucially, in the test questions themselves). The skill is to interpret a figurative expression by its established or contextual meaning rather than word by word, and to know the academic vocabulary well enough that a question's wording is never the obstacle. The EOC tests this with multiple-choice meaning items on idioms and figures of speech, and the academic vocabulary appears constantly in command words. This page covers interpreting figurative vocabulary and decoding academic and domain-specific words.
Figurative vocabulary: not literal
The first rule of figurative language is to stop reading literally.
When an EOC item asks what an idiom or figurative phrase means, the literal option is the trap. "Butterflies in her stomach" before an exam means nervousness; the option about eating insects is there to catch the literal reader. If you do not already know an idiom, the context usually points to its sense, "her hands shook and her voice wavered" frames "butterflies" as nerves. This connects to the figurative-language skill in literary reading: read for the meaning the figure carries, not the surface.
Academic vocabulary: the language of the test
This is a quietly high-leverage area: improving your grasp of the question vocabulary improves every answer, because you stop misreading what is asked. "Analyze" asks you to break something down and explain how it works; "evaluate" asks you to judge; "infer" asks you to reason to an unstated conclusion; "perspective" means a point of view. Treat the command words as vocabulary to master, alongside the words in the passages.
Decoding unfamiliar formal words
Try this
Q1. Why can you not interpret an idiom word by word? [Recall]
- Cue. An idiom's meaning is not the sum of its words; it is a fixed figurative expression ("let the cat out of the bag" means reveal a secret). Read the established or contextual figurative sense, not the literal words.
Q2. A test question asks you to "evaluate the strength of the author's argument". What is it asking you to do? [Short explanation]
- Cue. "Evaluate" asks you to judge, so the question wants you to weigh how convincing the argument is, considering whether the evidence is relevant and sufficient and whether the reasoning is sound, and then form a judgement, not just summarize the argument.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of VDOE exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
EOC Reading (vocabulary, style)1 marksA passage says a worried student 'had butterflies in her stomach' before the exam. What does this idiom mean? (1) She had eaten insects. (2) She felt nervous. (3) She was hungry. (4) She was calm.Show worked answer →
Answer: (2). "Butterflies in her stomach" is an idiom: its meaning is not literal. The fluttering image stands for the nervous feeling before a stressful event, so it means she felt nervous.
Why not the others: (1) takes the idiom literally; (3) and (4) miss the meaning. With figurative vocabulary, ignore the literal words and read the established or contextual figurative sense.
EOC Reading (vocabulary, style)1 marksA test question asks you to identify the author's 'perspective'. In this academic usage, perspective most nearly means: (1) a drawing technique. (2) the author's point of view or attitude. (3) a type of graph. (4) the length of the passage.Show worked answer →
Answer: (2). In reading and writing contexts, "perspective" is an academic word meaning a point of view or attitude. Test questions use a recurring academic vocabulary (analyze, infer, perspective, central idea, evaluate) you need to know.
Why not the others: (1) is an art meaning not used here; (3) and (4) are unrelated. Learning the academic vocabulary of the questions themselves is as important as the vocabulary of the passages.
Related dot points
- Using context clues to determine meaning: working out an unfamiliar or multiple-meaning word from its surrounding text using definition or restatement clues, contrast or antonym clues, example clues, and general inference, and choosing the meaning that fits the sentence, on the Virginia EOC Reading test.
How to use context clues on the Virginia EOC Reading test: definition, contrast, example, and inference clues, and choosing the meaning that fits the sentence for unfamiliar or multiple-meaning words. Tested with multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, and word-meaning items.
- Roots, prefixes, and suffixes: breaking an unfamiliar word into meaningful parts, using common Greek and Latin roots, prefixes that change meaning, and suffixes that change part of speech, to reason toward a word's meaning, then confirming the meaning against the context, on the Virginia EOC Reading test.
How to use word parts on the Virginia EOC Reading test: breaking words into root, prefix, and suffix, using common Greek and Latin roots and affixes to reason toward meaning and part of speech, then confirming against the context. Tested with multiple choice and word-meaning items.
- Denotation, connotation, and nuance: distinguishing a word's denotation (its literal dictionary meaning) from its connotation (the positive, negative, or neutral feeling it carries), recognizing the nuance that separates near-synonyms, and explaining why an author's word choice shapes tone and meaning, on the Virginia EOC Reading test.
How to analyze connotation on the Virginia EOC Reading test: telling denotation (literal meaning) from connotation (the feeling a word carries), recognizing the nuance between near-synonyms, and explaining how word choice shapes tone. Tested with multiple choice and word-effect items.
- Figurative language and literary devices: identifying metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, imagery, symbolism, and irony, and explaining the effect each device creates (not just naming it), across literary passages and poems on the Virginia EOC Reading test.
How to analyze figurative language on the Virginia EOC Reading test: identifying metaphor, simile, personification, hyperbole, imagery, symbolism, and irony, and explaining the effect of each rather than just naming it. Tested with multiple choice, hot text, and effect items across prose and poetry.
- Determining the main idea of a nonfiction text: stating the central idea as a complete sentence rather than a topic, distinguishing the main idea from supporting details, recognizing explicit thesis statements and implied main ideas, and summarizing a passage without copying lines, on the Virginia EOC Reading test.
How to find the central idea of a nonfiction passage on the Virginia EOC Reading test: stating it as a full sentence not a topic, telling main idea from supporting detail, recognizing explicit and implied main ideas, and summarizing accurately. Tested with multiple choice, hot text, and summary items.
Sources & how we know this
- 2017 English Standards of Learning — VDOE (2017)
- SOL Practice Items (All Subjects) — VDOE (2025)