CBEST flashcards
CBEST · 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 point or claim that a passage develops; every supporting detail should relate to it.
- Supporting detail
- A fact, example, reason, or statistic that explains or proves the main idea of a text.
- Inference
- A conclusion drawn from evidence in the text plus logical reasoning rather than from an explicitly stated fact.
- Context clue
- Information in surrounding words, sentences, or the passage that helps a reader determine the meaning of an unfamiliar word.
- Fact versus opinion
- A fact can be verified with evidence; an opinion expresses a belief, judgment, or feeling that may be debated.
- Author's purpose
- The reason an author writes a text, such as to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain, revealed by content and language.
- Tone
- The author's attitude toward the subject or audience, conveyed through word choice, sentence structure, and details.
- Mood
- The emotional atmosphere or feeling that a text creates in the reader, often through imagery and word choice.
- Cause and effect
- A relationship in which one event or condition produces another; signal words include because, therefore, and as a result.
- Compare and contrast
- A reading pattern that examines similarities, called comparison, and differences, called contrast, between two or more subjects, ideas, or texts.
- Bias
- An unfair preference or slant that affects how information is presented; it may appear through loaded language, omission, or one-sided evidence.
- Percent formula
- Part equals percent times whole; whole equals part divided by percent; percent equals part divided by whole times 100.
- Percent change
- Percent change equals the difference between new and old values divided by the old value, multiplied by 100; positive means increase.
- Proportion cross product
- In a proportion a/b = c/d, cross multiplication gives ad = bc, which can solve for an unknown term.
- Slope formula
- Slope equals the change in y divided by the change in x between two points: m = (y2 - y1)/(x2 - x1).
- Area of triangle
- The area of a triangle equals one-half the base times the height: A = ½bh, where height is perpendicular to the base.
- Circumference
- The circumference of a circle equals 2πr, or πd, where r is radius and d is diameter.
- Mean
- The arithmetic mean is the sum of all values divided by the number of values.
- Median
- The median is the middle value when data are ordered from least to greatest; if there are two middle values, average them.
- Probability
- Probability equals the number of favorable outcomes divided by the total number of equally likely outcomes.
- Unit conversion
- Multiply by a conversion factor written as a fraction equal to one so unwanted units cancel and desired units remain.
- Order of operations
- Evaluate expressions in this order: parentheses, exponents, multiplication and division left to right, then addition and subtraction left to right.
- Thesis statement
- A sentence that states the main claim of an essay and often previews its organization; a persuasive thesis should be arguable.
- Topic sentence
- A sentence that states the main idea of a paragraph and controls the details that follow.
- Transition word
- A word or phrase such as however, therefore, or for example that signals the relationship between ideas.
- Subject-verb agreement
- A singular subject takes a singular verb, and a plural subject takes a plural verb; prepositional phrases between them do not change the subject.
- Pronoun-antecedent agreement
- A pronoun must match its antecedent in number and gender, so a singular noun takes a singular pronoun.
- Comma splice
- An error that joins two independent clauses with only a comma; correct it with a conjunction, semicolon, or separate sentences.
- Semicolon use
- A semicolon can join two closely related independent clauses or separate items in a list that already contain commas.
- Dangling modifier
- A modifier that lacks a clear word to describe, often because the intended subject is missing from the main clause.
- Active voice
- A sentence construction in which the subject performs the action, often making writing clearer and more direct.
- Concluding sentence
- A sentence that closes a paragraph by restating the main idea or drawing a final implication without introducing a new topic.