Executive Assessment key terms

An unstated idea the argument depends on, such that if it were false the conclusion would lose support. Finding the gap between evidence and conclusion is the core skill.

The main claim an argument tries to establish. It is what the rest of the passage is offered as support for, and it is usually the answer to 'what is the author trying to prove?'

A stated piece of evidence or reason offered in support of an argument's conclusion. Premises are taken as given rather than argued for within the passage.

A conclusion drawn from stated evidence, going beyond what is literally said. Valid inferences must follow necessarily; plausible but unproven guesses are not inferences.

A question type asking which option makes the argument's conclusion more likely to be true. The correct answer typically supplies a supporting fact or closes an assumption gap.

A question type asking which option makes the argument's conclusion less likely to be true. Correct answers often attack a hidden assumption or offer an alternative explanation for the evidence.

A flaw in which the argument's evidence concerns one group, time, or concept while the conclusion concerns a subtly different one. Noticing the shift often reveals the correct answer.

The central claim of a passage, distinct from supporting details. Answering requires distinguishing the author's overall position from evidence and from subsidiary claims.

The stance a passage's writer takes toward the subject, ranging from enthusiastic endorsement to sharp criticism or neutral reporting. Tone words and qualifiers signal it.

A question type asking which answer choice has the same logical structure as the passage's argument, even if the subject matter differs entirely.

The position of a descriptive phrase relative to the word it describes. Misplaced modifiers create ambiguity or unintended meaning and are a common sentence-correction error.

The rule that a verb must match its subject in number. Long interrupting phrases between subject and verb often hide disagreement in complex sentences.

The requirement that a pronoun clearly and logically point to one specific noun. Ambiguous or missing antecedents make a sentence incorrect or confusing.

The convention that items in a list or comparison share the same grammatical form. Mismatched forms, such as mixing a noun with a clause, produce faulty parallelism.

A construction that sets two things against each other and must compare like with like. Omitting the second item or comparing a thing to a category is a frequent error.

Repetition of the same meaning in different words within a sentence, such as saying a reason is 'because of the fact that.' Concise wording is preferred.

A comparison of two quantities expressed as a fraction or with a colon. Ratios can be scaled by multiplying both parts by the same nonzero number.

An equation stating that two ratios are equal. Setting up a proportion lets you solve for an unknown quantity when the relationship between quantities scales evenly.

A ratio comparing quantities with different units, such as miles per hour or cost per unit. Rate problems often require converting units before combining values.

The difference between a new and old value divided by the old value, expressed as a percent. Sequential percent changes do not simply add together.

An average in which each value contributes in proportion to its weight rather than equally. It lies between the component averages and closer to the larger group.

Rules about factors, multiples, divisibility, and parity of whole numbers. These facts allow quick elimination without full computation.

A whole number greater than one whose only positive divisors are one and itself. Two is the only even prime, a fact often used in number-property questions.

The smallest positive number divisible by each of two or more given integers. Useful for combining fractions or finding when repeating events coincide.

An equation whose variables appear only to the first power and whose graph is a straight line. Systems of two linear equations can be solved by substitution or elimination.

An equation containing a squared variable term, typically written in the form ax squared plus bx plus c equals zero. Solutions come from factoring or the quadratic formula.

A statement comparing expressions with greater-than or less-than signs. Multiplying or dividing by a negative number reverses the direction of the inequality sign.

The distance of a number from zero on the number line, always nonnegative. Equations involving it usually have two cases to consider.

Laws governing powers, such as adding exponents when multiplying like bases and multiplying them when raising a power to a power. They simplify algebraic manipulation.

The likelihood of an event, computed as favorable outcomes divided by total equally likely outcomes. For independent events, multiply the individual probabilities.

A selection of items in which order does not matter, as when choosing a committee. It contrasts with a permutation, where arrangement matters.

Groups that share members, often analyzed with a two-way table or Venn diagram. The total equals the sum of the groups minus the overlap.

An Integrated Reasoning task in which you sort and interpret a data table to decide whether given statements are supported, refuted, or undetermined by the data.

An Integrated Reasoning task presenting a chart or graph with dropdown statements to complete. Correct answers must be consistent with the visual data.

An Integrated Reasoning task requiring two correct values or choices that must jointly satisfy the stated conditions. The two answers are evaluated together.

An Integrated Reasoning task drawing on two or more tabs of information, such as text, tables, and emails, to answer questions requiring synthesis across sources.

In data-sufficiency problems, whether the given information determines a single answer. Determining that the data are insufficient is itself a valid conclusion.