GACE English (713) cheat sheet

Main idea: the claim the whole passage supports; supporting details only illustrate or prove it, so a detail-based option is a trap answer.

Inference rule: a valid inference is necessarily true given the text; if an option requires outside knowledge or a leap, it is unsupported.

Text structure signals: cause-effect (because, therefore, as a result), comparison (similarly, whereas), sequence (first, subsequently), problem-solution (however, one remedy).

Author's purpose maps to mode: narrate, inform/explicate, persuade, describe, or entertain; tone words (wry, indignant, nostalgic) identify attitude, not purpose.

Vocabulary in context: substitute each answer choice into the sentence and test connotation and register against surrounding clauses; the dictionary's first sense is often wrong.

Paired-passage items: classify the relationship as agreement, extension, or contradiction before evaluating answer choices; the correct option names both authors' positions.

Evidence-based claim: an argument's strength depends on whether stated evidence logically entails the conclusion; anecdote and emotional appeal are weak support.

Fact vs. opinion vs. reasoned judgment: a reasoned judgment is debatable but defended with criteria, so it is neither pure fact nor unsupported opinion.

Plot arc: exposition, inciting incident, rising action, climax (point of highest tension), falling action, resolution; the climax is a turning decision, not necessarily the loudest scene.

Conflict types: person vs. person, self, nature, society, or fate; internal conflict is rendered through soliloquy, interior monologue, or free indirect discourse.

Characterization: direct (stated by narrator) vs. indirect (speech, action, appearance, others' reactions); a flat character serves plot, a round character changes or reveals complexity.

Point of view: first person (limited, biased), third limited (one consciousness), omniscient (multiple minds, editorial commentary), objective/dramatic (behavior only, no interior access).

Figurative language: simile (like/as), metaphor (direct identification), personification, hyperbole, understatement, synecdoche (part for whole), metonymy (associated thing for concept).

Sound and form: alliteration (initial consonants), assonance (vowel rhyme), consonance (final consonants), blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter), free verse (no fixed meter or rhyme).

Theme vs. subject: subject is the topic (e.g., ambition); theme is a full statement about that topic implied by the whole work, never a single word.

Irony types: verbal (speaker means opposite), situational (outcome reverses expectation), dramatic (audience knows what a character does not).

Comma splice fix: join two independent clauses with a period, semicolon, or comma plus coordinating conjunction (FANBOYS); a conjunctive adverb such as however needs a semicolon before it.

Pronoun agreement: pronoun must match antecedent in number and person; indefinite antecedents (each, everyone, neither) are singular; collective nouns are singular when acting as a unit.

Subject-verb agreement traps: prepositional phrases and appositives between subject and verb do not change number; 'and' compounds are plural unless a single idea; 'or/nor' agrees with the nearer subject.

Modifier placement: an introductory participial phrase must describe the grammatical subject of the main clause; otherwise the sentence contains a dangling or misplaced modifier.

Parallelism: items in a series, paired comparisons (not only...but also; either...or), and lists after a colon must share grammatical form.

Verb tense consistency: maintain a base tense; use past perfect only for the earlier of two past events, and present tense for universally true statements and literary analysis.

Punctuation hierarchy: colon introduces after an independent clause; semicolon separates related independent clauses; dashes set off emphatic interruptions; apostrophe marks possession, not plural.

Essay structure: defensible thesis in the introduction, one claim per body paragraph, integrated textual evidence with commentary explaining how it supports the claim, conclusion that states significance rather than restating.

Discussion move types: building on another's point, paraphrasing to confirm understanding, questioning an assumption, and offering evidence are collaborative; interrupting and dismissing are not.

Active listening indicators: restating the speaker's main point, asking clarifying questions, and referencing a prior speaker's idea by name or content.

Socratic seminar norms: cite the text, address peers rather than only the teacher, disagree with ideas not people, and allow wait time after posing a question.

Presentation organization: attention-getter, clear thesis or purpose, signposted body (first, next, finally), audience-appropriate register, and a closing that summarizes and calls to action.

Delivery variables: pace, volume, articulation, eye contact, purposeful gesture, and filler-word control; rate and volume are adjusted to room size and audience.

Evaluating a speaker's argument: distinguish claim, evidence, and reasoning; flag logical fallacies such as ad hominem, false dilemma, slippery slope, and hasty generalization.

Media literacy: identify source, sponsor, date, and purpose; distinguish primary from secondary sources and detect loaded language, selective statistics, and missing context.

Group roles: facilitator, recorder, timekeeper, and reporter distribute accountability; consensus requires all members able to restate the decision and their dissent.