TCE Everyday Adult Standard Reading & Writing flashcards
TCE Everyday Adult Standard Reading & Writing · Build recall with a focused review session.
33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Main idea
- The central point a passage makes about its topic. It must cover all paragraphs, not just one detail, and is often stated in the first or last sentence.
- Supporting detail
- A fact, example, statistic, or reason that explains or proves the main idea. Removing it leaves the main idea intact but less convincing.
- Inference
- A conclusion the reader draws that the text strongly implies but does not state directly. It must be supported by textual evidence plus ordinary knowledge.
- Author's purpose
- The reason a writer produces a text, usually to inform, persuade, entertain, or instruct. Purpose shapes word choice, tone, and structure.
- Tone
- The writer's attitude toward the subject, conveyed through word choice. It may be objective, critical, humorous, admiring, or skeptical.
- Fact versus opinion
- A fact can be verified with evidence; an opinion expresses a judgment, belief, or preference and often uses evaluative words such as best or should.
- Context clue
- Surrounding words that reveal an unfamiliar word's meaning, through definition, example, contrast, or cause-and-effect signals in the sentence.
- Skimming
- Reading quickly for the general idea and structure by checking titles, headings, and first sentences of paragraphs rather than every word.
- Scanning
- Searching a text rapidly for one specific piece of information, such as a date, name, price, or number, ignoring unrelated content.
- Topic sentence
- The sentence stating a paragraph's controlling idea. Other sentences in the paragraph support, explain, or illustrate it.
- Chronological order
- A text structure that arranges events by time, using signals such as first, then, after, and finally to show sequence.
- Cause and effect
- A text structure linking reasons to results, signaled by words such as because, therefore, as a result, and leads to.
- Compare and contrast
- A text structure showing similarities and differences between two or more things, signaled by words such as similarly, unlike, and whereas.
- Primary source
- An original, firsthand document or record such as a diary, interview, law, photograph, or original research report created at the time of the event.
- Secondary source
- A work that interprets or summarizes primary sources, such as a textbook, encyclopedia entry, review article, or news analysis.
- Loaded language
- Words carrying strong emotional or evaluative weight, used to sway readers. It often signals bias rather than neutral reporting.
- Sentence fragment
- A group of words punctuated as a sentence but missing a subject, a finite verb, or a complete thought, so it cannot stand alone.
- Run-on sentence
- Two or more independent clauses joined without correct punctuation or a conjunction. Fix it with a period, semicolon, or coordinating conjunction.
- Comma splice
- A run-on error in which only a comma joins two independent clauses. Replace it with a period, semicolon, or comma plus conjunction.
- Subject-verb agreement
- The rule that a verb matches its subject in number and person, ignoring intervening phrases. Singular subjects take singular verbs.
- Parallel structure
- Using the same grammatical form for items in a list or joined by and, or, or but, such as all gerunds or all infinitives.
- Dangling modifier
- An introductory descriptive phrase that does not logically attach to the sentence's subject, creating an unintended or absurd meaning.
- Active voice
- A sentence pattern in which the subject performs the action, as in the manager approved the plan. It is direct and usually preferred.
- Passive voice
- A sentence pattern in which the subject receives the action, as in the plan was approved. Useful when the doer is unknown or unimportant.
- Transition word
- A word or phrase showing how ideas relate, such as however for contrast, therefore for result, and also for addition.
- Topic sentence placement
- The position of a paragraph's controlling idea, most often the first sentence in workplace and exam writing, sometimes the last.
- Concision
- Expressing an idea in the fewest words without losing meaning, by cutting redundancy, empty phrases, and needless repetition.
- Formal register
- Language suited to official or professional audiences, avoiding slang, contractions, and casual expressions while keeping sentences clear and complete.
- Revision versus editing
- Revision reshapes content, organization, and clarity; editing corrects grammar, punctuation, spelling, and formatting after the content is settled.
- Apostrophe use
- The mark showing possession (the manager's report) or contraction (it's). Plural nouns generally take no apostrophe, and its is possessive.
- Colon use
- Punctuation following a complete clause to introduce a list, explanation, or quotation. It never separates a verb from its object.
- Semicolon use
- Punctuation joining two closely related independent clauses, or separating items in a list that already contain commas.
- Audience awareness
- Adjusting vocabulary, detail, tone, and format to the reader's knowledge and needs, such as defining jargon for general readers.