La Rioja PAU English (UR) flashcards

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

True/false justification

In La Rioja PAU reading tasks, a true/false item is only fully credited when you quote the exact words from the text that prove your choice, so always copy a short verbatim fragment.

Reference question

A reading item asking what a pronoun or phrase such as 'this' or 'their' refers to; answer with the exact noun phrase from the text, keeping the same number and gender.

Vocabulary in context

A reading item where you must supply a synonym that fits the meaning of the word in that specific sentence, not its most common dictionary sense; test by substituting it back.

Keyword scanning

A reading strategy where you take a content word from the question stem, find it in the text, and read the surrounding sentences, because answers usually sit near the keyword.

Distractor by word matching

An incorrect option that repeats vocabulary from the text but changes the relation, such as reversing cause and effect or swapping the subject; identical wording is not proof of the answer.

Text-order rule

In most reading comprehension tests the questions follow the order of the passage, so the answer to question three normally appears after the answer to question two.

Paragraph gist

The main idea of a paragraph, usually stated in its first or last sentence; identifying it lets you locate the section that a comprehension question refers to.

Inference item

A question whose answer is not stated literally but follows from the text; choose the option that the evidence supports and reject options that go beyond it.

Word limit compliance

In composition tasks the required length (often 120-150 words) is part of the marking; a text far below or above it loses marks regardless of quality.

Thesis statement

One or two sentences in the introduction that state your position clearly on the prompt question; every body paragraph should support it and the conclusion restate it.

Topic sentence

The first sentence of a body paragraph, naming the single idea that paragraph develops; it gives the examiner an immediate signal of your organisation.

Contrast connectors

Linking words such as however, although, on the other hand, and whereas, used to introduce an opposing idea or a counter-argument within an argumentative composition.

Addition connectors

Linking words such as in addition, furthermore, moreover, and also, used to add a second supporting reason or example without repeating the same connector.

Formal register

The style expected in a PAU composition: no contractions, no slang or SMS forms, and full forms such as do not and it is instead of don't and it's.

Counter-argument and rebuttal

Acknowledging the opposite view in one sentence and then explaining why your position is stronger; this pattern raises the content and coherence marks in opinion essays.

Narrative tense frame

For a story: past simple for main events, past continuous for background action, and past perfect for events that happened before the main timeline.

Second conditional

Structure for hypothetical present or future situations: if + past simple, then would + bare infinitive, as in 'If I had more time, I would travel'.

Third conditional

Structure for unreal past situations: if + past perfect, then would have + past participle, as in 'If she had studied, she would have passed'.

Reported speech backshift

When reporting, present becomes past, past becomes past perfect, and will becomes would; time and place words also shift, as in now to then and tomorrow to the next day.

Passive transformation

To make a sentence passive, promote the object to subject and use be in the original tense plus the past participle, keeping the agent with by only if it matters.

Word formation suffixes

Endings that change a root's part of speech: -ness, -tion, -ment, -ity for nouns; -ful, -ous, -able, -ive for adjectives; -ly for adverbs; -ise or -ize for verbs.

Negative prefixes

Prefixes un-, in-, im-, il-, ir-, dis-, and non- create opposites; the choice depends on the root, as in unhappy, incorrect, impossible, illegal, and disagree.

Defining relative clauses

Clauses using who, which, that, where, or whose that identify the noun; the object pronoun is not repeated, so write 'the book which I bought', not 'which I bought it'.

Gerund after prepositions

Any verb following a preposition takes the -ing form, including fixed expressions such as look forward to seeing, be interested in learning, and instead of going.

So and such result clauses

Use so + adjective or adverb + that, and such + adjective + noun + that, to express a consequence, as in 'so tired that' and 'such a good film that'.

First listening for gist

On the first playback of an oral comprehension recording, focus on the overall topic and the question stems rather than individual words, saving detail hunting for the second listening.

Correction signals

Words such as but, actually, in fact, and sorry in a recording often introduce a correction; the corrected value, not the first one mentioned, is the answer.

Number and time traps

Oral tasks often state a figure and then amend it, so note both and write the final version, for example 'at three, sorry, half past three'.

Spelling dictation cue

When a speaker spells a name or place letter by letter, copy that spelling exactly; phonetic guessing usually produces a wrong answer on note-completion items.

Note-completion word limit

Instructions often allow only one or two words per gap; adding articles or extra words can make an otherwise correct answer invalid.

Answer-type prediction

Before listening, decide whether each gap needs a place, a person, a reason, or a number; this narrows what you listen for and speeds up selection.

Speaker stance item

A question about the speaker's attitude or purpose, answered from tone and evaluative adjectives rather than from a single stated fact in the recording.