FTCE General Knowledge Test cheat sheet

The FTCE essay is a timed 50-minute writing task that asks the writer to take a position on a prompt and support it with reasoning and examples.

Essays are scored holistically on a 6-point scale that weighs focus, organization, development of support, and conventions of standard written English.

A thesis statement in the introduction states the essay's central claim and previews the main supporting reasons.

Each body paragraph is built around one topic sentence followed by evidence, examples, and explanation that tie back to the thesis.

Transitional words and phrases such as however, therefore, in addition, and for example signal logical relationships between ideas.

Addressing a counterargument and rebutting it demonstrates critical reasoning and can raise the holistic score.

Sentence fragments, run-on sentences, and subject-verb agreement errors are among the conventions evaluated in the essay score.

A 50-minute essay typically allocates about 5-8 minutes to planning, 30-35 minutes to drafting, and 5-8 minutes to proofreading.

Subject-verb agreement: a singular subject takes a singular verb, and prepositional phrases between them do not change the verb's number.

Pronoun-antecedent agreement requires the pronoun to match its antecedent in number and gender.

A comma splice joins two independent clauses with only a comma; fix it with a semicolon, a coordinating conjunction, or a period.

A run-on sentence contains two or more independent clauses without correct punctuation or conjunctions.

A semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction; a colon follows a complete clause and introduces a list or explanation.

Apostrophes show possession: singular nouns add 's, plural nouns ending in s add only an apostrophe; it's means it is, while its is possessive.

A modifier should sit next to the word it modifies; a dangling modifier has no logical noun to modify.

Items in a series must be parallel in grammatical form, such as all nouns, all gerunds, or all infinitives.

Use who for subjects and whom for objects; substituting he/him or she/her tests the correct choice.

The main idea is the central point of a passage and is often stated in the first or last sentence of a paragraph.

Supporting details answer who, what, when, where, why, or how and explain or prove the main idea.

An inference is a conclusion based on textual evidence plus prior knowledge; it is not stated directly.

Tone is the author's attitude toward the subject, while mood is the feeling created in the reader.

Context clues include definition, example, contrast, and cause-effect signals that reveal an unfamiliar word's meaning.

A fact can be verified; an opinion expresses a belief, judgment, or feeling and cannot be proven.

Author's purpose is commonly to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain, and it shapes word choice and structure.

Signal words such as first, then, however, and therefore indicate sequence, contrast, or cause-effect relationships.

Percent change = ((new value − old value) ÷ old value) × 100.

Slope = (y₂ − y₁) ÷ (x₂ − x₁); slope-intercept form is y = mx + b.

Pythagorean theorem: a² + b² = c² for right triangles, where c is the hypotenuse.

Area of a circle = πr²; circumference = 2πr.

Mean = sum of values ÷ number of values; median = middle value when ordered; mode = most frequent value.

Probability = number of favorable outcomes ÷ total number of equally likely outcomes.

Order of operations: parentheses, exponents, multiplication and division left to right, addition and subtraction left to right.

Simple interest: I = Prt, where P is principal, r is annual rate as a decimal, and t is time in years.

The interior angles of any triangle sum to 180°, and the volume of a rectangular prism is length × width × height.