RBSE Secondary English flashcards
RBSE Secondary English · Build recall with a focused review session.
33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Skimming
- Reading a passage quickly for its general idea, ignoring details. It is used to answer main-idea and title questions before detailed questions are attempted.
- Scanning
- Moving the eyes rapidly over a text to locate a specific word, name, number or date. It answers detail questions without reading every sentence.
- Inference
- A conclusion drawn logically from stated facts rather than stated directly. In comprehension, the correct inference must be supported by the passage, not by outside knowledge.
- Topic sentence
- The sentence that states a paragraph's main point, usually placed first. In comprehension it locates the paragraph's subject; in writing it controls the paragraph's content.
- Formal letter layout
- Sender's address, date, receiver's designation and address, subject, salutation, body, subscription and signature. 'Yours faithfully' pairs with 'Dear Sir/Madam'.
- Notice format
- A boxed announcement headed NOTICE, written in third person, giving what, when, where and whom to contact, with the issuing authority's name and date.
- Report writing
- A factual account in past tense and third person, opening with what, where and when, then describing events and closing with the outcome.
- Paragraph unity
- The quality of a paragraph in which every sentence supports one topic sentence. An unrelated sentence breaks unity and is removed during revision.
- Passive voice
- A construction where the object of an action becomes the subject: be plus past participle, with the agent optional after 'by'. Only transitive verbs can be made passive.
- Reported speech
- Indirect narration in which tenses shift back, pronouns change, and time and place words alter. Questions use if/whether and statement word order without a question mark.
- Subject-verb agreement
- The rule that a verb agrees with its subject in number and person. Each, every, everyone and news are singular; both, few and several are plural.
- Modal verbs
- Auxiliary verbs such as can, may, must, should and ought to that express ability, permission, obligation or advice. They take the bare infinitive.
- Idiom
- A fixed expression whose meaning cannot be worked out from its individual words. 'To let the cat out of the bag' means to reveal a secret.
- Phrasal verb
- A verb combined with a particle that creates a new meaning, such as give up or look after. Separable ones allow the object between verb and particle.
- One-word substitution
- A single word replacing a descriptive phrase, such as bibliophile for one who loves books. It is tested by matching the phrase's defining feature to the word's root.
- Antonym
- A word opposite in meaning to another. Antonyms may be graded (hot/cold), complementary (alive/dead) or relational (buy/sell), and the type affects the choice.
- Character sketch
- A description of a character built from actions, speech and the narrator's comments. Each trait must be supported by a specific incident from the text.
- Theme
- The central idea a literary work explores, such as courage or sacrifice. It is stated abstractly and supported by events rather than by plot summary.
- Narrator
- The voice that tells a story. A first-person narrator participates in the action; a third-person omniscient narrator knows characters' thoughts.
- Conflict
- The opposition of forces in a story: person against person, society, nature or self. Its resolution reveals the work's theme and characters.
- Metaphor
- A figure of speech that states one thing is another without using 'like' or 'as'. The comparison transfers a quality from one object to another.
- Simile
- A figure of speech comparing two things using 'like' or 'as'. It makes description vivid by linking an unfamiliar thing to a familiar one.
- Alliteration
- The repetition of initial consonant sounds in nearby words, used for emphasis and rhythm. It is identified by naming the repeated sound and the words.
- Rhyme scheme
- The pattern of end rhymes in a poem, labelled with letters so that rhyming lines share a letter, as in abab or aabb.
- Personification
- Giving human qualities to non-human things, as when a tree weeps or the wind whispers. It differs from apostrophe, which addresses an absent thing.
- Reference to context
- A three-part answer naming the speaker and situation, explaining the quoted lines, and stating their significance to the work's theme.
- Extract identification
- Naming who speaks the quoted lines, to whom, and in what situation. Omitting this step usually caps the answer at half marks.
- Significance
- The part of a reference-to-context answer that links the quoted lines to a theme, a character's development, or the work's title.
- Stage direction
- A bracketed instruction in a play describing action, tone or setting. It explains how a line is delivered and should be mentioned when relevant.
- Oxymoron
- A phrase combining contradictory words, such as 'sweet sorrow'. The contradiction draws attention to a complex idea rather than stating a simple one.
- Enjambment
- The running of a sentence past the end of a line without punctuation. It speeds the reading and can suggest agitation or continuity of thought.
- Collocation
- The habitual pairing of words, such as 'make a decision' or 'heavy rain'. A synonym that does not collocate is marked wrong despite correct meaning.
- Formal letter of complaint
- A letter stating the problem, giving factual evidence, requesting specific action and closing politely. It avoids emotional adjectives and uses verifiable details.