NB TCLÉ Reading & Writing cheat sheet

The main idea is the claim the whole passage supports; a supporting detail appears in one or two sentences only.

Test a candidate main idea by asking whether every paragraph contributes to it; if one paragraph is irrelevant, the candidate is too narrow.

Author's purpose verbs: inform (facts, neutral tone), persuade (evaluative adjectives, call to action), entertain (narrative, imagery), explain (process, cause-effect).

Text structure signals purpose: problem-solution and cause-effect structures usually indicate an explanatory or persuasive aim.

A title or opening sentence often states the topic, not the thesis; the thesis is the claim about the topic.

Scope rule: a main idea covering less than the passage is too narrow; one covering more is too broad.

Tone words (critical, nostalgic, ironic, neutral) describe attitude; purpose words describe the action the text performs.

In two-text passages, the main idea may be a relationship (agreement, qualification, contradiction) rather than a single claim.

Explicit-detail answers are restatements of stated information; any answer requiring a logical step belongs to inference.

Locate the keyword from the question stem in the passage, then read the sentence before and after it for context.

Watch for paraphrase: correct answers usually reword the passage rather than copy it verbatim.

Absolute quantifiers (all, never, only, always) in an answer option usually conflict with a passage that uses some, often, or may.

Numbers, dates, and proper nouns are high-value anchors; verify them against the text rather than memory.

Order-of-events questions require matching sequence markers (first, then, after, finally) to the passage's chronology.

When a question names a paragraph, restrict the search to that paragraph; information elsewhere may be true but not the answer.

A detail true in the real world but absent from the passage is not a correct answer.

A valid inference follows necessarily from stated evidence; a plausible guess without textual support is not an inference.

Contrast markers (but, however, yet, although) often carry the implied attitude of the author.

Punctuation can imply meaning: quotation marks around a word may signal irony or distancing; dashes may introduce an unstated explanation.

Word choice leaks implication: 'admitted', 'claimed', and 'conceded' assign different degrees of credibility.

Predicting an outcome requires a stated cause plus a general principle the passage assumes.

An inference answer that merely repeats a stated fact is too literal; one that adds outside information is too speculative.

Understatement and rhetorical questions imply the opposite of their literal surface in argumentative texts.

For 'the author would most likely agree' items, the correct option must be consistent with the passage's overall stance, not just one sentence.

Context clues types: definition (often set off by commas or 'that is'), synonym, antonym, example, and general sense.

Substitute the candidate word into the original sentence and check that grammar and meaning both hold.

A familiar word may carry a less common sense in context (e.g., 'charge' as responsibility, 'spring' as origin).

Connotation matters: denotation is the dictionary meaning; connotation is the positive, negative, or neutral shading.

False friends and cognates: a word resembling an English word may differ in meaning in the target language.

Register constrains word choice: formal prose avoids slang and colloquial contractions; informal text tolerates them.

Collocation rules: certain words pair conventionally (make a decision, take a risk); wrong partners signal an incorrect option.

Degree and intensity distinguish near-synonyms (annoyed < irritated < furious); match the intensity implied by context.

A sentence needs a subject and a finite verb; a subordinate clause alone (because it rained) is a fragment.

Comma splice: two independent clauses joined by a comma only; fix with a period, semicolon, or coordinating conjunction.

Subject-verb agreement is decided by the head noun, not by intervening prepositional phrases.

Pronoun case: subject pronouns (I, he, she, they) for subjects; object pronouns (me, him, her, them) after prepositions and verbs.

Dangling modifiers: an introductory participle must describe the subject of the main clause.

Restrictive clauses (essential information) take no commas; non-restrictive clauses take commas.

Parallel structure: items in a list or comparison must share grammatical form (all nouns, all infinitives, all clauses).

Tense consistency: a past-tense narrative keeps past tense unless a time contrast (had done, will do) is explicitly marked.

Given-new principle: place known information at the start of a sentence and new information at the end.

Transition functions: addition (moreover), contrast (however), cause (therefore), example (for instance), sequence (subsequently).

A paragraph carries one controlling idea; a sentence that does not support it should be moved or deleted.

Sentence-combining test: the best revision preserves all original meaning with the fewest words and clearest structure.

Avoid ambiguous pronoun reference: every 'it', 'this', or 'they' must point to one identifiable antecedent.

Nominalization (using nouns instead of verbs) lengthens prose; converting back to verbs restores clarity.

Placement rule: modifiers sit next to the word they modify; misplaced 'only' or 'almost' changes meaning.

Cohesion check: read only the first sentence of each paragraph; they should form a coherent outline of the text.

Formal register markers: full forms (do not), impersonal constructions, precise vocabulary, no slang or exclamation marks.

Informal register markers: contractions, phrasal verbs, direct address, sentence fragments used for effect.

Audience determines explanation depth: expert readers tolerate jargon; general readers require definitions.

Persuasive tone uses evaluative adjectives and modality (must, should, clearly); neutral reporting uses hedging (may, appears to).

Politeness strategies in requests: indirect forms (Could you possibly…) raise formality; imperatives lower it.

Avoid register mixing: a single colloquial word inside formal prose creates an inconsistent tone.

Euphemism softens a harsh referent; dysphemism sharpens it; both signal the writer's stance toward the audience.

Second-person address suits instructions and advice; third-person suits reports and academic argument.

Semicolon joins two independent clauses or separates complex list items; a colon introduces an explanation, list, or quotation.

Apostrophe marks possession (the student's book) and contraction (it's = it is); 'its' is the possessive determiner.

Comma rules: after introductory elements, around non-restrictive clauses, between list items, before a coordinating conjunction joining clauses.

Hyphen joins a compound modifier before a noun (a well-known author) but not after it (the author is well known).

Quotation marks enclose direct speech; punctuation belonging to the quotation goes inside in English usage.

Spelling traps: their/there/they're, affect/effect, principal/principle, complement/compliment, stationary/stationery.

Doubling rules: final consonant doubles before a vowel suffix when the last syllable is stressed (begin → beginning).

Diacritics in loanwords (café, naïve, résumé) are retained in formal writing; omission is a spelling error in careful prose.