FSA Grade 7 cheat sheet

Central idea: state what the whole passage is mostly about in one sentence, then check that every paragraph supports it; a detail that appears only once is usually supporting evidence, not the central idea.

Theme vs. central idea: a theme is a universal message about life stated in a full sentence (e.g., "Perseverance pays off"); a central idea is specific to one text and names its topic.

Citing evidence: quote or paraphrase the exact sentence, name the paragraph, and connect it to the claim with because or therefore - an unsupported opinion is not evidence.

Text structure signals: compare/contrast (both, unlike, whereas), cause/effect (because, as a result, led to), problem/solution (however, one way to fix), chronological (first, then, finally).

Figurative language: simile uses like or as; metaphor states one thing is another; personification gives human traits to nonhuman things; hyperbole is deliberate exaggeration.

Connotation: words with the same denotation can carry different tone - "thrifty" is positive, "stingy" is negative; identify tone from the author's word choices, not the topic alone.

Argument writing: a claim must be debatable, each body paragraph pairs one reason with evidence, and a counterclaim is answered with a rebuttal rather than ignored.

Grammar rules: subject-verb agreement ignores prepositional phrases ("The box of nails is heavy"); commas separate introductory phrases and items in a series but never join two complete sentences alone.

Context clues: definition (often set off by dashes or "that is"), example (such as, including), contrast (but, unlike), and inference from surrounding sentences.

Proportional relationships: y = kx, where k is the constant of proportionality found by k = y/x; the graph is a straight line through the origin (0, 0).

Unit rate from a table: divide any y-value by its paired x-value; if every quotient equals the same k, the table is proportional.

Percent problems use part = percent × whole; percent change = (new − original) ÷ original × 100, with an increase giving a positive result and a decrease negative.

Rational number operations: adding two negatives gives a negative; subtracting a number equals adding its opposite (a − b = a + (−b)); negative × negative = positive.

Order of operations: parentheses, exponents, multiplication/division left to right, addition/subtraction left to right - so 2 + 3 × 4 = 14, not 20.

Expressions and equations: combine like terms (3x + 5x = 8x); solve two-step equations by undoing addition/subtraction first, then multiplication/division (2x + 3 = 11 → x = 4).

Inequalities: multiplying or dividing both sides by a negative number reverses the inequality sign (−2x > 6 → x < −3); graph with an open circle for < or > and a closed circle for ≤ or ≥.

Geometry: area of a circle = πr², circumference = 2πr; triangle angle sum = 180°; volume of a prism = area of base × height.

Probability and statistics: probability of an event = favorable outcomes ÷ total outcomes; a sample is representative only if it is random and large enough to reduce bias.