BGCSE English 1234 flashcards
BGCSE English 1234 · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Main idea
- The central claim that a whole passage supports. It is broader than any single detail and can usually be stated in one sentence covering the entire text.
- Inference
- A conclusion drawn from stated evidence plus one logical step. A valid inference can be proved by pointing to specific words in the passage.
- Tone versus mood
- Tone is the writer's attitude toward the subject, revealed by diction. Mood is the feeling the reader experiences. They often differ within the same text.
- Pronoun reference check
- A test for ambiguity: replace the pronoun with each possible noun and reread the sentence. Only one substitution should make complete sense.
- Subject-verb agreement
- The verb matches the head noun of the subject, ignoring intervening prepositional phrases. Singular subjects take singular verbs in the present tense.
- Comma splice
- Two independent clauses joined only by a comma. Repair with a full stop, a semicolon, or a coordinating conjunction such as 'but'.
- Dangling modifier
- An opening phrase that fails to describe the subject of the main clause, producing an unintended or illogical meaning in the sentence.
- Restrictive clause
- A clause essential to identifying the noun it modifies. It takes no commas. Removing it changes the meaning of the sentence.
- Reported speech shift
- When speech is reported rather than quoted, tense moves back one step and time or place words change, as in 'now' becoming 'then'.
- Context clue types
- Signals around an unknown word: definition clues (that is), contrast clues (unlike), example clues (such as), and cause-effect clues (therefore).
- Connotation
- The emotional association a word carries beyond its literal meaning. 'Thrifty' and 'stingy' share a denotation but differ sharply in connotation.
- Homophone pairs
- Words sounding alike but spelled differently and meaning different things: their/there, affect/effect, principal/principle, stationary/stationery, complement/compliment.
- Simile and metaphor
- A simile compares using 'like' or 'as'. A metaphor states that one thing is another, without a comparative word, asserting identity.
- Prefix meanings
- Word beginnings that modify meaning: re- (again), pre- (before), sub- (under), trans- (across), anti- (against), dis- (not or apart).
- i before e rule
- Write i before e except after c when the sound is long e, as in receive. Exceptions include seize, weird, either, and neither.
- Consonant doubling rule
- Double the final consonant before a vowel suffix when the word is one syllable, has one vowel, and ends in one consonant: run becomes running.
- Silent e rule
- Drop a final silent e before a vowel suffix (hope becomes hoping) but keep it before a consonant suffix (hope becomes hopeful).
- Fewer versus less
- Use 'fewer' with countable nouns (fewer chairs) and 'less' with uncountable nouns (less water). The distinction is standard in formal writing.
- Summary essentials
- A summary states the main idea and key supporting points in the writer's own words, omitting examples, repetition, dialogue, and minor detail.
- Information transfer
- Moving data from a source text into a table, form, or chart so that each entry answers its heading exactly and matches the source precisely.
- Relevance deletion test
- If a sentence can be removed without weakening the main argument, it does not belong in the summary and should be cut.
- Qualifier preservation
- Words such as 'some', 'often', and 'may' limit a claim. Omitting them in a summary changes the writer's meaning and loses marks.
- Formal letter order
- Sender address, date, recipient address, salutation, body paragraphs, complimentary close, and signature, arranged in that conventional sequence.
- Register
- The level of formality suited to audience and purpose. Formal writing avoids contractions and slang; informal writing permits both freely.
- Faithful versus sincere
- 'Yours faithfully' pairs with 'Dear Sir or Madam' when the name is unknown. 'Yours sincerely' pairs with a named recipient in the salutation.
- Persuasive devices
- Techniques that move an audience: rule of three, rhetorical question, direct address, anecdote, statistics, and appeal to authority or emotion.
- Narrative arc
- The structural sequence of exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution. Each stage performs a distinct function in the story.
- Show, don't tell
- Convey emotion through action, dialogue, and sensory detail rather than naming the feeling directly, so readers infer it themselves.
- Dialogue punctuation
- Each new speaker starts a new line. Speech marks enclose spoken words, and a comma precedes the closing mark when a reporting clause follows.
- Narrative viewpoint consistency
- A story keeps one point of view, such as first person or third-person limited. Unsignalled shifts between them confuse the reader.
- Theme versus subject
- Subject is what a text is about; theme is the idea about life it explores, such as the cost of ambition or the value of loyalty.
- Dramatic irony
- A situation where the audience knows something a character does not, so the character's words or actions carry meaning the character misses.