LCA English and Communication flashcards
LCA English and Communication · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Main idea
- The central claim a passage is built to support. It must cover the whole text, while supporting details cover only part of it.
- Author's tone
- The attitude conveyed through word choice, such as critical, neutral, or admiring. Tone is inferred from evaluative adjectives and verbs, not from the topic alone.
- Valid inference
- A conclusion that must be true given the passage, requiring no outside assumption. If an option needs one unstated extra premise, it is out of scope.
- Contrast signal
- A word such as however, yet, or although that marks a shift. The clause after the contrast often carries the author's actual position.
- Subject-verb agreement
- The verb matches the head noun of the subject, not the nearest noun. Intervening phrases such as 'of items' do not change the verb's number.
- Comma splice
- Two independent clauses joined by only a comma. Repair with a period, semicolon, or coordinating conjunction such as but or so.
- Restrictive clause
- A clause essential to identifying the noun, written with 'that' and no commas. Removing it changes the sentence's meaning.
- Dangling modifier
- An introductory phrase whose implied subject is not the main clause's subject, producing illogic. Fix by naming the correct subject.
- Parallel structure
- Items in a series, comparisons, and correlative pairs share grammatical form. Mismatched forms, such as mixing nouns and clauses, break the sentence.
- Thesis statement
- A single arguable sentence stating the essay's central claim and previewing its structure. It appears early, usually at the introduction's end.
- Topic sentence
- The sentence that states a paragraph's single controlling idea. Every other sentence in the paragraph should support or develop it.
- Evidence sandwich
- A claim, then supporting evidence, then analysis explaining how the evidence proves the claim. Quotation without analysis is summary, not argument.
- Active voice
- The subject performs the action: 'The team wrote the report.' It is the default for clarity and directness in professional prose.
- Nominalization
- Turning a verb or adjective into a noun, as in 'make a decision' for 'decide'. It inflates sentence length and weakens the verb.
- Active listening
- A cycle of receiving, interpreting, evaluating, and responding. Paraphrasing the speaker's point before replying confirms understanding and surfaces mishearing.
- Signposting language
- Phrases such as 'first', 'in contrast', and 'to summarize' that announce a lecture's structure. Notes should record them because they predict key claims.
- Open versus closed questions
- Closed questions seek yes/no confirmation of a fact. Open questions invite elaboration, explanation, and reasoning from the speaker.
- Turn-taking
- The patterned exchange of speaking roles, regulated by pauses, gaze, and intonation. Norms for interruption differ between formal and high-solidarity settings.
- Connotation
- The evaluative charge a word carries beyond its dictionary meaning. 'Thrifty' is positive, 'frugal' neutral, and 'stingy' negative despite similar core senses.
- Collocation
- The conventional pairing of words, such as 'conduct research' or 'make a decision'. Wrong pairings read as non-native even when grammar is correct.
- Register
- The level of formality suited to an audience and setting, ranging from formal to informal. Mismatched register is a correctness problem in professional writing.
- Affect versus effect
- 'Affect' is usually a verb meaning to influence; 'effect' is usually a noun meaning result. Confusing them is a common usage error.
- Hedging
- Qualifying language such as suggest, indicate, or tend to that signals appropriate caution. Unhedged absolutes overstate what the evidence supports.
- Warrant
- The unstated assumption that links evidence to a claim. Challenging the warrant is often a stronger argumentative move than disputing the evidence.
- Valid versus sound
- An argument is valid when its conclusion follows from its premises. It is sound when it is valid and its premises are actually true.
- Straw man fallacy
- Misrepresenting an opponent's position in a weakened form, then refuting that distorted version instead of the real argument.
- False dilemma
- Presenting only two options when others exist. The argument forces a choice that the situation does not actually require.
- Necessary condition
- A condition that must hold for something to occur, marked by 'only if'. It does not by itself guarantee the outcome, unlike a sufficient condition.
- Correlation and causation
- A statistical association does not establish cause. Reverse causation, common cause, and coincidence are alternatives that must be ruled out first.
- APA citation
- An author-date style used mainly in social sciences. In-text citations give author and year, and the reference list is alphabetical by author surname.
- Executive summary
- A report's opening section stating purpose, key findings, and recommendations. It is written for decision-makers who may read nothing else.
- Action item
- A recorded task from a meeting with a named owner and due date. Minutes track decisions and action items, not a verbatim transcript.