BSEH SS English Special cheat sheet

Skimming yields gist and text structure; scanning locates specific data such as dates, names, and figures-choose the method by the question type, not by habit.

Main idea is usually carried by the topic sentence, most often first or last in a paragraph; supporting details only illustrate it and never replace it.

Inference answers must be forced by textual evidence; if an option is merely plausible in real life but unstated in the passage, it is wrong.

Vocabulary-in-context items are solved by substituting each option back into the sentence and checking that the sentence's logic and tone survive.

Pronoun and reference questions (it, this, they) are resolved by looking at the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes sense.

Tone and attitude questions hinge on adjectives, adverbs, and modals; neutral reporting verbs signal objectivity, evaluative adjectives signal bias.

Eliminate distractors that are too broad, too narrow, or true-but-not-asked; the correct option answers exactly the question stem.

For 'except' and 'not stated' items, three options must be verifiable in the passage before you select the fourth.

Formal letters follow a fixed order: sender's address, date, receiver's designation and address, salutation, subject, body, subscription, signature.

A precis or summary keeps only the central idea and reduces the passage to roughly one-third of its length, in the writer's own words.

Paragraph unity means one controlling idea per paragraph; coherence means each sentence links to the next through pronouns, repetition of key terms, or connectors.

Notice and announcement formats state the heading, date, issuing authority, and contact details, and use impersonal, telegraphic phrasing.

Reported speech in written reports shifts tenses back one step and adjusts time and place words (now to then, here to there, tomorrow to the next day).

Cohesive devices carry specific logic: 'however' contrasts, 'therefore' concludes, 'moreover' adds, 'consequently' shows result-misuse is the commonest coherence error.

Editing checks fall into four passes: subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, article and preposition choice, then spelling and punctuation.

Email and article writing require a clear opening purpose statement and a closing line that returns to the prompt's demand; salutation register must stay consistent.

Present perfect (has/have + past participle) links a past action to the present; simple past is used with a definite finished time such as 'yesterday' or 'in 2019'.

Passive voice is formed with be + past participle and is chosen when the doer is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context.

Conditionals: first (if + present, will + base) for real futures; second (if + past, would + base) for unreal present; third (if + had + participle, would have + participle) for unreal past.

Reported questions drop the question word order and the auxiliary 'do': 'Where do you live?' becomes 'He asked where I lived.'

Relative clauses use 'who' for people, 'which' for things, 'that' for defining clauses only; non-defining clauses take commas and never 'that'.

Subject-verb agreement traps: 'each, every, either, neither' take singular verbs; 'a number of' is plural while 'the number of' is singular.

Synonyms differ in collocation and register: 'commence' is formal, 'start' neutral; 'make a decision' but 'do homework'-collocation decides the answer.

Articles: 'a/an' introduces a singular countable noun; 'the' marks shared or previously mentioned reference; zero article covers plurals and uncountables in general statements.

Prose analysis separates plot (what happens) from theme (what the events mean); exam answers must name both and connect them explicitly.

Character is revealed through direct description, speech, action, and others' reactions-cite at least two channels when characterising.

Narrative point of view shapes reliability: a first-person narrator is limited and possibly biased; omniscient narration comments from outside the story.

Setting functions as more than backdrop: it can mirror mood, encode social class, or create pressure on characters that drives conflict.

Irony arises when the stated meaning opposes the intended one; verbal irony is in words, situational irony in events, dramatic irony in the reader knowing more than a character.

Symbols in prose are concrete objects carrying abstract meaning and are supported by repetition within the text, not by guesswork.

Conflict types-person versus person, self, society, nature-identify the engine of the plot and usually point directly at the theme.

Quotation in answers should be short, exact, and immediately followed by the effect it creates, not left to speak for itself.

Metre is counted in feet per line: iambic pentameter = five iambs (five unstressed-stressed pairs) per line, the standard blank verse measure.

Rhyme scheme is labelled with letters per line end (abab quatrain, aabb couplet); a Shakespearean sonnet is three quatrains plus a closing couplet.

Stanza forms: couplet (2 lines), tercet (3), quatrain (4), sestet (6), octave (8); the Petrarchan sonnet divides into octave and sestet.

Sound devices: alliteration repeats initial consonants, assonance repeats vowel sounds, consonance repeats closing consonants, onomatopoeia imitates sound.

Enjambment runs a sentence past the line end without punctuation; a caesura is a pause inside a line-both control pace and emphasis.

Figures of speech: simile uses like/as, metaphor states identity, personification gives human traits to non-human things, hyperbole exaggerates, oxymoron joins opposites.

Poetic tone is inferred from diction and punctuation; exclamation marks, imperatives, and harsh consonants raise intensity, dashes and ellipses suspend it.

Theme statements about poetry must combine subject and attitude: not 'the poem is about nature' but what the poet asserts about nature.

Drama is written to be performed: stage directions, setting notes, and props are part of the text and may be quoted as evidence.

Soliloquy is spoken alone on stage revealing inner thought; monologue is a long speech with others present; aside is a brief remark unheard by other characters.

Tragic structure follows exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and catastrophe; the tragic flaw (hamartia) triggers the reversal.

Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows what a character does not, and it generates suspense rather than surprise.

Dialogue carries characterisation through register, interruption, and verse versus prose: verse often marks elevated or formal speakers.

Comic relief and subplots parallel or invert the main plot and usually reinforce its theme rather than merely entertain.

Conflict in drama is externalised on stage through confrontation scenes; the exam answer should name the opposing forces and the stakes.

Answers on dramatic effect should link a technique to audience response-tension, sympathy, foreboding-not just label the device.

Extended-text questions reward chapter-level accuracy: name characters, settings, and turning points precisely rather than summarising vaguely.

Theme questions on a longer work should trace the theme across at least two episodes to show development rather than a single instance.

Character arcs are described as change across the narrative: initial state, catalyst, and final state, each supported by an event.

Title significance is argued by connecting the title to a literal object or event and to the abstract idea it finally carries.

Author's message is distinguished from narrator's voice when the two diverge, especially in ironic or satirical works.

Comparison items between characters or episodes require a stated basis of comparison (motive, response to crisis, moral stance) before examples.

Value-based questions ask for a judgement plus justification; state the value, cite the incident, and explain the consequence.

Functions map to exponents: requesting ('Could you...?'), offering ('Shall I...?'), suggesting ('Why don't we...?'), apologising ('I'm afraid I...').

Politeness is graded by form: modals (could, would) and past forms (I was wondering) raise formality; imperatives lower it.

Adjacency pairs structure talk: greeting-greeting, question-answer, invitation-acceptance or refusal; a missing second part is marked and noticeable.

Turn-taking signals include discourse markers ('well', 'right', 'by the way') that open, hold, or hand over the floor.

Refusals and disagreements normally follow the pattern of softener plus reason plus alternative, which preserves the hearer's face.

Formal versus informal register is decided by vocabulary, contraction use, and directness, and must stay consistent within one exchange.

Telephonic and public-announcement language uses fixed formulae ('May I speak to...?', 'This is to inform...') that should be reproduced exactly.

Skimming yields gist and text structure; scanning locates specific data such as dates, names, and figures-choose the method by the question type, not by habit.

Main idea is usually carried by the topic sentence, most often first or last in a paragraph; supporting details only illustrate it and never replace it.

Inference answers must be forced by textual evidence; if an option is merely plausible in real life but unstated in the passage, it is wrong.

Vocabulary-in-context items are solved by substituting each option back into the sentence and checking that the sentence's logic and tone survive.

Pronoun and reference questions (it, this, they) are resolved by looking at the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes sense.

Tone and attitude questions hinge on adjectives, adverbs, and modals; neutral reporting verbs signal objectivity, evaluative adjectives signal bias.

Eliminate distractors that are too broad, too narrow, or true-but-not-asked; the correct option answers exactly the question stem.

For 'except' and 'not stated' items, three options must be verifiable in the passage before you select the fourth.

Formal letters follow a fixed order: sender's address, date, receiver's designation and address, salutation, subject, body, subscription, signature.

A precis or summary keeps only the central idea and reduces the passage to roughly one-third of its length, in the writer's own words.

Paragraph unity means one controlling idea per paragraph; coherence means each sentence links to the next through pronouns, repetition of key terms, or connectors.

Notice and announcement formats state the heading, date, issuing authority, and contact details, and use impersonal, telegraphic phrasing.

Reported speech in written reports shifts tenses back one step and adjusts time and place words (now to then, here to there, tomorrow to the next day).

Cohesive devices carry specific logic: 'however' contrasts, 'therefore' concludes, 'moreover' adds, 'consequently' shows result-misuse is the commonest coherence error.

Editing checks fall into four passes: subject-verb agreement, tense consistency, article and preposition choice, then spelling and punctuation.

Email and article writing require a clear opening purpose statement and a closing line that returns to the prompt's demand; salutation register must stay consistent.

Present perfect (has/have + past participle) links a past action to the present; simple past is used with a definite finished time such as 'yesterday' or 'in 2019'.

Passive voice is formed with be + past participle and is chosen when the doer is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from context.

Conditionals: first (if + present, will + base) for real futures; second (if + past, would + base) for unreal present; third (if + had + participle, would have + participle) for unreal past.

Reported questions drop the question word order and the auxiliary 'do': 'Where do you live?' becomes 'He asked where I lived.'

Relative clauses use 'who' for people, 'which' for things, 'that' for defining clauses only; non-defining clauses take commas and never 'that'.

Subject-verb agreement traps: 'each, every, either, neither' take singular verbs; 'a number of' is plural while 'the number of' is singular.

Synonyms differ in collocation and register: 'commence' is formal, 'start' neutral; 'make a decision' but 'do homework'-collocation decides the answer.

Articles: 'a/an' introduces a singular countable noun; 'the' marks shared or previously mentioned reference; zero article covers plurals and uncountables in general statements.

Prose analysis separates plot (what happens) from theme (what the events mean); exam answers must name both and connect them explicitly.

Character is revealed through direct description, speech, action, and others' reactions-cite at least two channels when characterising.

Narrative point of view shapes reliability: a first-person narrator is limited and possibly biased; omniscient narration comments from outside the story.

Setting functions as more than backdrop: it can mirror mood, encode social class, or create pressure on characters that drives conflict.

Irony arises when the stated meaning opposes the intended one; verbal irony is in words, situational irony in events, dramatic irony in the reader knowing more than a character.

Symbols in prose are concrete objects carrying abstract meaning and are supported by repetition within the text, not by guesswork.

Conflict types-person versus person, self, society, nature-identify the engine of the plot and usually point directly at the theme.

Quotation in answers should be short, exact, and immediately followed by the effect it creates, not left to speak for itself.

Metre is counted in feet per line: iambic pentameter = five iambs (five unstressed-stressed pairs) per line, the standard blank verse measure.

Rhyme scheme is labelled with letters per line end (abab quatrain, aabb couplet); a Shakespearean sonnet is three quatrains plus a closing couplet.

Stanza forms: couplet (2 lines), tercet (3), quatrain (4), sestet (6), octave (8); the Petrarchan sonnet divides into octave and sestet.

Sound devices: alliteration repeats initial consonants, assonance repeats vowel sounds, consonance repeats closing consonants, onomatopoeia imitates sound.

Enjambment runs a sentence past the line end without punctuation; a caesura is a pause inside a line-both control pace and emphasis.

Figures of speech: simile uses like/as, metaphor states identity, personification gives human traits to non-human things, hyperbole exaggerates, oxymoron joins opposites.

Poetic tone is inferred from diction and punctuation; exclamation marks, imperatives, and harsh consonants raise intensity, dashes and ellipses suspend it.

Theme statements about poetry must combine subject and attitude: not 'the poem is about nature' but what the poet asserts about nature.

Drama is written to be performed: stage directions, setting notes, and props are part of the text and may be quoted as evidence.

Soliloquy is spoken alone on stage revealing inner thought; monologue is a long speech with others present; aside is a brief remark unheard by other characters.

Tragic structure follows exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and catastrophe; the tragic flaw (hamartia) triggers the reversal.

Dramatic irony occurs when the audience knows what a character does not, and it generates suspense rather than surprise.

Dialogue carries characterisation through register, interruption, and verse versus prose: verse often marks elevated or formal speakers.

Comic relief and subplots parallel or invert the main plot and usually reinforce its theme rather than merely entertain.

Conflict in drama is externalised on stage through confrontation scenes; the exam answer should name the opposing forces and the stakes.

Answers on dramatic effect should link a technique to audience response-tension, sympathy, foreboding-not just label the device.

Extended-text questions reward chapter-level accuracy: name characters, settings, and turning points precisely rather than summarising vaguely.

Theme questions on a longer work should trace the theme across at least two episodes to show development rather than a single instance.

Character arcs are described as change across the narrative: initial state, catalyst, and final state, each supported by an event.

Title significance is argued by connecting the title to a literal object or event and to the abstract idea it finally carries.

Author's message is distinguished from narrator's voice when the two diverge, especially in ironic or satirical works.

Comparison items between characters or episodes require a stated basis of comparison (motive, response to crisis, moral stance) before examples.

Value-based questions ask for a judgement plus justification; state the value, cite the incident, and explain the consequence.

Functions map to exponents: requesting ('Could you...?'), offering ('Shall I...?'), suggesting ('Why don't we...?'), apologising ('I'm afraid I...').

Politeness is graded by form: modals (could, would) and past forms (I was wondering) raise formality; imperatives lower it.

Adjacency pairs structure talk: greeting-greeting, question-answer, invitation-acceptance or refusal; a missing second part is marked and noticeable.

Turn-taking signals include discourse markers ('well', 'right', 'by the way') that open, hold, or hand over the floor.

Refusals and disagreements normally follow the pattern of softener plus reason plus alternative, which preserves the hearer's face.

Formal versus informal register is decided by vocabulary, contraction use, and directness, and must stay consistent within one exchange.

Telephonic and public-announcement language uses fixed formulae ('May I speak to...?', 'This is to inform...') that should be reproduced exactly.