Andalusia PAU English flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Main idea question

Asks for the claim the whole text supports. The correct option summarises all paragraphs; options covering only one paragraph are true-but-partial distractors.

Paraphrase in specific-information items

The right answer usually restates the source with synonyms or a changed word class rather than repeating it verbatim, so exact word-matching is an unreliable strategy.

True-but-elsewhere distractor

An option that states something the text really says, but in a different paragraph from the one the question targets, so it does not answer the item.

Inference item decision rule

Accept an inference only if it follows in one logical step from stated evidence. If it needs two or more unstated assumptions, the option is wrong.

Author's purpose question

Asks why the text was written, e.g. to warn, persuade, describe a trend or compare options. Answer with the rhetorical function, not the topic.

Hedging signals attitude

Modals and hedges such as may, tends to, apparently and allegedly show the writer is cautious rather than committed, which shapes tone questions.

Reference resolution rule

To decide what a pronoun refers to, match number and gender and choose the nearest preceding compatible noun phrase, not the topic of the paragraph.

Collocation choice in context

Lexical items are selected by fixed partnership and register: make a decision, do research, carry out a survey, take measures, pay attention.

Past perfect vs past simple

Use past perfect for the earlier of two past events and past simple for the later one; reversing the order changes the meaning of the narrative.

Present perfect restriction

Present perfect links past to present and cannot combine with finished past time markers such as yesterday, last year or in 1998.

Future form selection

Will for instant decisions and predictions, be going to for prior intentions or visible evidence, present continuous for arrangements, present simple for timetables.

Third conditional form

If + past perfect in the condition and would have + past participle in the result, describing an unreal past situation and its imagined outcome.

Passive voice use

Chosen when the agent is unknown, obvious or unimportant; the active object becomes subject and the auxiliary verb carries the original tense.

Reported speech backshift

Tenses move one step back and time and place markers shift (now to then, today to that day) unless the reporting verb is in the present.

Word formation suffixes

Nouns: -tion, -ment, -ness, -ity, -ance. Adjectives: -ous, -ive, -able, -ful, -less. Negative prefixes: un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, dis-.

Negative adverbial inversion

After a fronted negative adverbial the subject and auxiliary invert: Never have I seen such a thing; Rarely does she complain.

Topic sentence function

The first sentence of a body paragraph states its single controlling idea; every supporting sentence in that paragraph must develop or evidence it.

Range versus accuracy marks

Range rewards varied structures and vocabulary; accuracy rewards correctness. Repeating one clause pattern caps range even when the grammar is flawless.

Opinion essay skeleton

Introduction with a clear position, two developed arguments, an acknowledged and rebutted counter-argument, and a conclusion restating the position without new content.

Formal register markers

No contractions or exclamation marks, avoid general 'you', prefer impersonal frames such as It is widely argued that, and choose single-word verbs over slangy phrasal verbs.

Informal email register

Contractions, direct address, short sentences and everyday phrasal verbs are appropriate and improve task achievement when the prompt names a friend as reader.

Word limit strategy

Plan briefly, write to the required length, then cut repetition rather than pad; falling well short of the limit costs content marks.

Contrast connector grammar

Although and whereas introduce clauses; despite and in spite of take a noun phrase or -ing form; however is a sentence adverb followed by a comma.

Purpose connectors

So that introduces a clause with a subject and verb; in order to and so as to take an infinitive, and so as not to gives the negative purpose.

Lexical cohesion chain

Repetition of key nouns and their synonyms across a text creates cohesion without connectors, signalling that the same topic is still being developed.

Comma splice error

Joining two independent clauses with only a comma is an accuracy error; use a full stop, a semicolon or a coordinating conjunction instead.

Andalusia co-official language

Andalusia's statute recognises Andalusian Spanish usage as its own linguistic heritage; the regional curriculum promotes plurilingual and intercultural competence alongside Spanish.

Culture answers come from text

A culturally accurate statement that the passage does not support is still a wrong option; answer culture items from stated evidence only.

Neutral intercultural description

Describe foreign customs by function and context, avoiding normal/strange judgements and stereotypes, which is what intercultural items reward.

British versus American conventions

Spelling (colour/color) and date order (3 May 2024 versus May 3, 2024) differ; keep one variety consistent throughout a single piece of writing.

Listening distractor then correction

Speakers often mention a wrong figure or name and then revise it; the corrected, later mention is normally the answer to record.

Circumlocution in speaking

When a word is missing, describe or paraphrase it instead of going silent; fluency is assessed, and hesitation costs more than an imperfect word.