Kerala SSLC English cheat sheet

Skimming yields the main idea (gist); scanning locates a specific detail such as a date, name, or number.

A passage's main idea is usually stated in the first or last sentence of the opening paragraph, or must be inferred from the whole text.

Factual questions are answered only from the passage; inference questions require a conclusion the text supports but does not state directly.

Vocabulary-in-context: replace the target word with each option and check whether the sentence's meaning stays intact.

Pronoun reference: a pronoun agrees in number and gender with its nearest logical antecedent, not necessarily the nearest noun.

Tone words to distinguish: critical, sympathetic, humorous, nostalgic, ironic, neutral, persuasive - tone is the writer's attitude, not the reader's.

For 'true/false' or 'yes/no' items, one false detail (wrong number, wrong person, wrong sequence) makes the whole statement false.

Sequence questions: order events by time markers (first, then, later, finally, after, before) rather than by order of mention.

A title or heading must cover the whole passage; a title that fits only one paragraph is a distractor.

Identify the genre first: poem, short story, one-act play, essay, or excerpt from a novel - genre shapes what evidence counts.

Poetic devices: simile uses like/as; metaphor states one thing is another; personification gives human qualities to non-human things; alliteration repeats initial consonants.

Rhyme scheme is labelled by letters per line (abab = alternate rhyme, aabb = couplets); a Shakespearean sonnet rhymes abab cdcd efef gg.

Dramatic irony: the audience knows something a character does not; situational irony: the outcome reverses expectation.

Theme is the underlying idea (e.g. loss of innocence, power of nature); it is stated as a full idea, not as a single topic word.

Characterisation is revealed through speech, action, appearance, others' reactions, and the narrator's comment - quote one of these as evidence.

A symbol is a concrete object carrying abstract meaning (e.g. a lamp for hope); support the reading with textual detail.

For 'justify the title' answers, link the title to the central incident, the main character, and the theme, quoting briefly.

Context questions on prescribed poems and prose require the exact poet/author and the situation in which the quoted lines occur.

Formal letter layout: sender's address, date, receiver's address, salutation (Dear Sir/Madam), subject line, body, subscription (Yours faithfully / Yours sincerely), name.

Use 'Yours faithfully' with 'Dear Sir/Madam' and 'Yours sincerely' with a named recipient; never mix the pairs.

Notice format: name of institution, the word NOTICE, date, heading, body of 50-80 words in third person or impersonal voice, and the writer's name and designation.

Report writing: headline, byline, place and date, then a factual account in past tense and third person, no personal opinion.

Informal letter: casual salutation, contractions and personal tone allowed, closing with 'Yours lovingly/affectionately' plus first name.

Paragraph coherence comes from a topic sentence, supporting details, and linkers (however, therefore, moreover, on the other hand).

Story or narrative writing needs a clear setting, a conflict, a turning point, and a resolution; keep tense consistent throughout.

Precis/summary: retain the main idea and key points, cut examples and repetition, and stay near one-third of the original length.

Email: subject line, brief salutation, short paragraphs, sign-off; attachments are mentioned in the body, not assumed.

Simple past for a finished action at a stated past time; present perfect (has/have + past participle) for a past action with present relevance and no stated time.

Reported speech shifts tense back one step (present to past, will to would) and changes pronouns and time words (now to then, today to that day).

Passive voice = form of be + past participle; the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive.

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

Relative clauses: 'who' for people, 'which' for things, 'whose' for possession; defining clauses take no commas.

Articles: 'a/an' with singular countable nouns on first mention, 'the' for something already specified or unique.

Subject-verb agreement: a singular subject takes a singular verb regardless of intervening phrases; 'each, every, everyone, neither' take singular verbs.

Synonyms share meaning; antonyms are opposites; a homophone sounds alike but differs in spelling and meaning (their/there, principal/principle).

Prefixes and suffixes change meaning or word class: un-, dis-, in- negate; -ness, -ment form nouns; -ful, -less, -able form adjectives.