ACCUPLACER key terms

The central point a passage makes about its topic. It may be stated in a single sentence or left implied, and every supporting detail in the text should connect back to it.

A fact, example, statistic, or reason inside a passage that explains, illustrates, or proves the main idea. Details answer questions such as who, what, when, where, or why.

A conclusion a reader draws by combining evidence in the text with background knowledge. The author does not state it directly, but the passage must contain enough clues to support it.

Words, phrases, or sentence structure near an unfamiliar word that hint at its meaning. Common types include definition clues, examples, contrasts, and cause-and-effect relationships in the surrounding text.

The writer's attitude toward the subject or audience, shown through word choice, sentence length, and punctuation. A tone might be humorous, critical, respectful, urgent, or neutral.

The reason a writer creates a text, most often to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain. Recognizing purpose helps a reader judge which details matter and how to interpret the language used.

A fact is a statement that can be checked and verified, while an opinion is a judgment, belief, or feeling. Reading questions often ask you to separate the two inside a passage.

How a passage organizes its ideas, for example cause and effect, comparison and contrast, chronological order, or problem and solution. Structure shows how one idea leads to the next.

A short restatement of a text's main points in your own words. A good summary keeps the central ideas and drops minor examples, repeated information, and incidental details.

The feelings, associations, or attitude a word suggests beyond its literal meaning. For example, inexpensive and cheap describe similar prices but carry very different connotations.

A sentence, usually in an essay's opening paragraph, that states the main claim and suggests how the essay will support it. Everything later in the essay should relate to this claim.

The sentence that states the main idea of a single paragraph. It usually appears first and controls what the remaining sentences in that paragraph discuss.

A word or phrase such as however, therefore, or in addition that signals the relationship between ideas. Transitions guide readers through the logic of a paragraph or a whole essay.

A group of words written and punctuated as a sentence but missing a subject, a verb, or a complete thought, as in "Running down the street." It cannot stand alone.

Two or more independent clauses joined without correct punctuation or a connecting word. A run-on can be repaired with a period, a semicolon, or a conjunction.

A specific kind of run-on in which two complete sentences are joined by only a comma. Fix it with a period, a semicolon, or a conjunction such as and or because.

The rule that a verb must match its subject in number. A singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb, even when words sit between them.

The rule that a pronoun must match the noun it refers to, called its antecedent, in number and gender. A plural antecedent needs a plural pronoun such as they or them.

Giving items in a list or comparison the same grammatical form, such as all verbs, all nouns, or all -ing phrases. Parallelism makes writing clearer and easier to follow.

A descriptive phrase that seems to attach to the wrong word because the word it should describe is missing or badly placed, as in "Walking home, the rain started."

A sentence pattern in which the subject performs the action, as in "The committee approved the plan." Active voice is usually more direct and easier to follow than passive voice.

A letter or symbol that stands for an unknown number or for a value that can change, such as x in the expression 3x + 5.

The number that multiplies a variable in an algebraic term. In 7y the coefficient is 7, and in -x the coefficient is understood to be -1.

An equation in which every variable is raised only to the first power, so its graph is a straight line, such as 4x - 2 = 10.

A measure of how steep a line is, calculated as the change in y divided by the change in x between two points on that line.

A rule that pairs each input value with exactly one output value. On a graph, a relation is a function if no vertical line crosses it more than once.

A small raised number that tells how many times the base is used as a factor. In the expression 2 with exponent 5, the 5 means multiply five 2s together.

Rewriting an expression or a number as a product of simpler pieces, such as turning x squared plus 5x plus 6 into (x + 2)(x + 3).

An equation stating that two ratios are equal, such as 3/4 = 9/12. Proportions are used to solve problems about scaling, unit rates, and similar figures.

The agreed sequence for calculating an expression: parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplication and division from left to right, then addition and subtraction from left to right.

A ratio that compares a number with 100. Thirty-five percent means 35 out of every 100, and it can be written as the fraction 35/100 or the decimal 0.35.

The rule that in any right triangle the square of the hypotenuse equals the sum of the squares of the two shorter sides, usually written as a squared plus b squared equals c squared.

A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words, such as "break the ice," which means to start a conversation in an awkward situation.

A verb combined with a preposition or adverb that produces a new meaning, such as "give up" meaning to quit, or "look after" meaning to care for someone.

A pair or group of words that speakers of a language naturally use together, such as "make a decision" rather than "do a decision." Learning collocations makes speech and writing sound natural.

A verb form ending in -ing that works as a noun in a sentence, as in "Swimming keeps me healthy" or "She enjoys reading before bed."

A noun that names things you can count one by one and that has a plural form, such as book and books. Countable nouns can follow many or a number.

A short word placed before a noun: a or an for a nonspecific item, and the for something the reader or listener already knows about or can identify.

The ability to understand spoken English by catching main ideas, specific details, and the speaker's intent, even when the speech is fast, accented, or partly unclear.