CJBAT cheat sheet

Main idea: the topic sentence most often opens or closes a paragraph; test a candidate by asking what the whole paragraph is mostly about, not what one sentence says.

Detail items: the correct answer must be directly supported by the passage. A statement that is true in the real world but absent from the passage is wrong.

Inference: a valid inference is logically forced by the text; plausibility alone is not enough.

Scope words (all, always, never, only, must) in an answer choice usually signal overreach unless the passage uses the same word.

Paraphrase test: the right answer restates passage meaning in different words and adds no new claim.

Contrast signals (however, although, but, yet, despite) mark a shift in emphasis; the clause after the signal usually carries the author's point.

Common passage structures: cause-to-effect, problem-to-solution, general-to-specific, claim-to-evidence. Identifying the structure locates the answer.

Tone is carried by adjectives and verbs; classify as neutral/informative, critical, cautious, or approving before choosing an attitude answer.

Subject-verb agreement: ignore prepositional phrases between subject and verb; in 'the list of items is long,' the subject is list.

Singular indefinite pronouns (each, either, neither, everyone, nobody) take singular verbs and singular pronouns.

Modifier rule: an introductory phrase modifies the noun immediately following the comma; if it does not, the sentence is dangling.

Parallelism: items in a series and both halves of and, or, not only...but also must share grammatical form.

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

Semicolons join independent clauses; colons follow a complete clause and introduce a list or explanation.

Conciseness rule: choose the shortest option that preserves meaning; delete redundancies such as 'advance planning' or 'each and every.'

Transition choice follows relationship, not sound: contrast (however), addition (moreover), result (therefore), example (for instance).

Chunking: grouping items into units of three to five expands effective short-term capacity.

Serial position effect: first items (primacy) and last items (recency) are recalled best; middle items are weakest.

Spacing effect: the same total study time distributed across intervals outperforms a single massed session.

Method of loci: attach each item to a distinct location on a familiar route and retrieve by mentally walking the route.

Interference: similar material studied close together causes retrieval errors; separate similar codes or lists in time.

Elaborative rehearsal (linking new items to meaning or existing knowledge) produces longer retention than rote repetition.

Acronyms and acrostics encode first letters; they work best for unordered lists, but the mnemonic itself fixes the order.

Retrieval practice (self-testing without looking) strengthens recall more than re-reading the same material.

Definition: recognizing that a condition exists or may develop into a problem before it becomes obvious.

Red flags: conflicting accounts of the same event, missing required information, timeline gaps, and behavior inconsistent with the setting.

Threshold rule: act when a condition violates a stated standard or policy, not merely when it feels unusual.

Three-question check: is it abnormal, is it worsening, and does a rule or policy address it.

Separate observation from inference: record what was seen or heard, then record the interpretation as a separate statement.

Escalation criteria typically attach to risk: safety, injury, weapons, minors, and repeating patterns.

Clusters of warning signs carry more weight than any single sign taken alone.

Do not delay notification to complete an investigation; most policies require prompt reporting once a reasonable suspicion exists.

Validity concerns form only: a conclusion is valid if it must be true whenever the premises are true, regardless of whether the premises are actually true.

Modus ponens (valid): If P then Q; P; therefore Q.

Modus tollens (valid): If P then Q; not Q; therefore not P.

Affirming the consequent (invalid): If P then Q; Q; therefore P.

Denying the antecedent (invalid): If P then Q; not P; therefore not Q.

Equivalence rule: If P then Q is identical to If not Q then not P (contrapositive). The converse, If Q then P, is not equivalent.

'All A are B' does not imply 'All B are A'; it does imply 'No A is non-B.'

'Some A are B' implies 'Some B are A'; it does not support 'Some A are not B.'

Induction moves from specific observations to a general rule; the conclusion is probable, never certain.

Sequence attack order: first differences, then second differences, then ratios, then alternating sub-sequences.

Arithmetic sequence: constant difference. Geometric sequence: constant multiplier. Fibonacci-type: each term equals the sum of the two before it.

Letter series: convert with A=1 through Z=26 to expose numeric differences, then convert back.

Generalization strength rises with larger, more varied samples and falls with each unexplained exception.

A single counterexample disproves a universal inductive claim.

Analogy rule: name the exact relation in the first pair, then apply that same relation in the same direction.

Watch for distractors built from the right numbers in the wrong operation; recompute rather than pattern-match.

Chronological ordering: sort by time, but nested subtasks must finish before the step that contains them is marked complete.

Dependency rule: a step producing the input another step requires must precede it, regardless of stated preference.

Priority ordering: safety or emergency first, then statutory deadlines, then routine work.

Transitivity: if A precedes B and B precedes C, then A precedes C; chain constraints to place items with no direct comparison.

Tie-breaks use a stated secondary key such as alphabetical order, lower ID number, or shorter duration.

Anchor method: fix items that have absolute positions or times first, then place relative items around them.

Constraint counting: list every 'X before Y' rule, then test each answer choice against all rules rather than one.

Standard map: north is up, east is right, south is down, west is left.

A right turn is 90 degrees clockwise; a left turn is 90 degrees counterclockwise.

Two right turns produce a 180-degree reversal; four right turns restore the original heading.

Heading arithmetic: track direction as degrees clockwise from north, add for right turns, subtract for left turns, adjust into 0-360.

Opposite pairs: north-south, east-west, northeast-southwest, northwest-southeast.

Turn-before-move: change heading first, then travel the stated distance in the new direction.

Distance on a map equals measured length multiplied by the scale factor.

Mental rotation preserves shape, size, and angles; only orientation changes.

A mirror reverses handedness across the axis of reflection; a rotation does not produce a mirror image.

Paper folding: layer count doubles at each fold, and every punched hole reappears once per layer when unfolded, mirrored across each fold line.

Cube net rule: faces separated by exactly one square in a straight line become opposite faces and never share an edge.

A cube has 6 faces, 12 edges, and 8 vertices; folding or unfolding never changes these counts.

Unfolding reverses the fold sequence in reverse order.

Combined transformations are order-dependent: rotate then mirror differs from mirror then rotate.

Cross-sections: a cut parallel to a cube face yields a square; a diagonal cut can yield a rectangle or a triangle.