VCE General Achievement Test cheat sheet

A sustained and reasoned point of view requires a clear central contention stated early and maintained consistently across the piece.

Paragraph structure: topic sentence, explanation or evidence, and a link back to the contention; each paragraph should advance one main idea.

Cohesion is created by reference words (this, such, these), repetition of key terms, and connectives signalling addition, contrast, cause, and concession.

Persuasive techniques include appeals to logic, credibility, and emotion; identifying the technique used is less important than explaining its intended effect on the reader.

Audience and purpose determine register: formal, impersonal language suits an analytical essay; direct address and inclusive language suit persuasive opinion writing.

Evidence must be integrated, not merely listed; a quotation or example needs explanation showing how it supports the point being made.

Sentence variety (length and structure) controls emphasis; short sentences can sharpen a key claim, while complex sentences can convey qualification.

Editing checklist: subject-verb agreement, consistent tense, pronoun reference, punctuation of clauses, and elimination of redundancy.

Percentage change = (new value − original value) ÷ original value × 100; a 20% increase followed by a 20% decrease returns to 96% of the original, not 100%.

Simple interest I = P × r × t; compound amount A = P(1 + r)^n, where r is the rate per period and n is the number of periods.

Unit conversion: multiply by the conversion factor when moving to a smaller unit, divide when moving to a larger unit (e.g., 1 km = 1000 m).

Scale drawings: actual length = drawn length × scale factor; area scales by the square of the linear scale factor.

Probability of a complement: P(not A) = 1 − P(A); for independent events, P(A and B) = P(A) × P(B).

Mean = sum of values ÷ number of values; median is the middle value of ordered data; mode is the most frequent value.

Gradient = rise ÷ run; for a straight line y = mx + c, m is the gradient and c is the y-intercept.

Ratio problems: express quantities in the same unit before dividing by the total number of parts to find one part.

Valid deduction: if all A are B and all B are C, then all A are C; the conclusion must follow necessarily from the premises.

A conditional 'if P then Q' is not equivalent to 'if Q then P'; the converse is not automatically valid.

Correlation does not establish causation; an observed association may be explained by a confounding variable.

Strengthening an argument: add evidence that makes the conclusion more likely; weakening an argument: introduce an alternative explanation or counterexample.

Necessary condition: without it the outcome cannot occur; sufficient condition: its presence guarantees the outcome.

Data interpretation: check axes, units, sample size, and whether percentages are of the whole or of a subgroup.

Analogical reasoning is stronger when the compared cases share relevant similarities and weaker when differences are material to the conclusion.

Assumption questions ask for an unstated premise required for the argument to work; the negation test can help identify it.