English 30-2 Diploma cheat sheet

Part A (Written Response) and Part B (Reading Comprehension) each count for 50% of the English 30-2 diploma exam mark.

Part A is a two-hour sitting, which works out to roughly 45–50 minutes of drafting per response plus time for planning and proofreading.

A thesis must be arguable, specific, and provable within the length of the response; a statement of fact or a broad topic cannot function as a thesis.

Each body paragraph opens with a topic sentence naming one point and its link to the thesis; a paragraph carrying two unrelated points weakens organization.

Evidence is integrated in three moves: a lead-in that sets context, a short quotation or paraphrase, and an explanation of how that evidence supports the claim.

Retelling plot earns no credit; summary is limited to a single identifying clause before analysis begins.

In a personal response, first-person experience is acceptable, but each anecdote must be analyzed for what it reveals about the idea rather than merely narrated.

Cohesion comes from repeating key nouns, using pronouns with clear referents, and choosing transitions that match the logic (contrast, cause, example, concession).

The sentence-level errors most heavily penalized are fragments, comma splices, run-ons, and subject–verb disagreement.

Stems beginning "According to the passage" are answered with explicitly stated information only; stems using "infer," "suggest," or "imply" require one logical step beyond the printed words.

Main-idea questions are answered by the option covering the whole passage; options that restate a single supporting detail are distractors.

For vocabulary-in-context items, substitute each option into the original sentence and test it against the surrounding syntax and connotation.

Tone is identified from word choice and connotation (loaded adjectives, irony, understatement), not from the subject matter of the passage.

Options containing absolutes (all, never, always, only, none) are usually wrong unless the passage itself uses that absolute.

When two options look correct, one is typically too broad or too narrow; the right answer matches the exact scope of the passage's claim.

Purpose questions ask why the author wrote the text (to inform, persuade, entertain, describe); point-of-view questions ask who is speaking and from what perspective.

For paired passages, map the points of agreement and disagreement between the two texts before answering any comparison item.

Eliminate any option containing a detail that is true in general knowledge but absent from the passage.