RBSE VU English cheat sheet

Skimming reads topic sentences and first/last lines for gist; scanning hunts specific names, dates, or figures without reading every word.

Inference questions ask what is implied, not stated; the answer must be supported by textual evidence, never by outside knowledge.

Tone and attitude words: critical, sympathetic, neutral, ironic, optimistic, sarcastic - match the author's word choice, not the topic.

Reference questions (what does 'it' refer to) resolve to the nearest grammatically agreeing noun phrase preceding the pronoun.

Vocabulary-in-context questions require substituting each option into the sentence and checking coherence with surrounding lines.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option true of only one paragraph is a detail, not the main idea.

Sequence and cause-effect items are answered by locating chronological markers: first, then, afterwards, as a result, consequently.

True/False/Not Given: if the passage never addresses the claim, the answer is Not Given rather than False.

Synonyms share core meaning but differ in connotation and register: 'childish' is negative, 'childlike' is neutral or positive.

Common confusable pairs: affect (verb) / effect (noun); principal (main, or head) / principle (rule); stationary (still) / stationery (paper).

Prefix meanings: un-, in-, im-, dis- negate; re- means again; pre- before; post- after; sub- under; super- above; mis- wrongly.

Suffixes set word class: -tion/-ment/-ness make nouns; -able/-ive/-ous make adjectives; -ly usually makes adverbs; -ify/-ise make verbs.

One-word substitutions for exams: audible (heard), illegible (cannot be read), inevitable (unavoidable), omnipresent (everywhere), misanthrope (hater of people).

Idioms are fixed: 'a piece of cake' = easy; 'to let the cat out of the bag' = reveal a secret; 'once in a blue moon' = rarely.

Collocation rules: 'make a decision', 'do homework', 'take an exam', 'pay attention', 'strong tea' - wrong partners mark an error even if meaning is clear.

Antonym pairs often carry negation prefixes: possible/impossible, legal/illegal, literate/illiterate, regular/irregular.

Subject-verb agreement: each, every, either, neither, nobody, everyone take singular verbs; 'neither...nor' agrees with the nearer subject.

Articles: 'a' before consonant sounds, 'an' before vowel sounds (an hour, a university); 'the' for unique or already-mentioned nouns.

Tense sequence: after 'if' in real conditions use present simple for future meaning ('If it rains, we will cancel'); past perfect marks the earlier of two past actions.

Passive voice = form of 'be' + past participle; use it when the doer is unknown or unimportant, and keep the tense of the active version.

Reported speech shifts tense back one step and changes pronouns and time words: now becomes then, today becomes that day, tomorrow becomes the next day.

Relative pronouns: 'who' for people, 'which' for things, 'whose' for possession, 'that' for defining clauses; omit only object pronouns in defining clauses.

Modals: 'must' = obligation, 'should' = advice, 'can' = ability, 'may' = permission or possibility, 'might' = weaker possibility.

Dangling modifiers occur when the opening participle's implied subject differs from the main clause subject; fix by naming the subject in the main clause.

Formal letter layout order: sender's address, date, receiver's designation and address, subject line, salutation (Dear Sir/Madam), body, closing (Yours faithfully/sincerely), signature.

'Yours faithfully' pairs with 'Dear Sir/Madam'; 'Yours sincerely' pairs with a named recipient such as 'Dear Mr Sharma'.

Notice format: the word NOTICE at the top, name of the issuing institution, date, a bold heading, body under 50 words, and the writer's name and designation.

Paragraph unity means one controlling idea per paragraph; the topic sentence states it, supporting sentences develop it, the concluding sentence rounds it off.

Essay structure: introduction with thesis, two to four body paragraphs each with one argument and evidence, conclusion restating the position without new points.

Cohesive devices: addition (moreover, furthermore), contrast (however, nevertheless), cause (therefore, consequently), example (for instance, such as).

Letter types differ in purpose: complaint states the problem, evidence, and requested remedy; enquiry asks specific questions; application matches skills to the advertised post.

Formal register forbids contractions, slang, and emotive exaggeration; use full forms (do not, cannot) and impersonal constructions.

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

Rhyme scheme is labelled by end-sound letters (abab, aabb); a couplet is two rhyming lines, a quatrain is four lines, a sonnet has fourteen lines.

Stanza forms: couplet (2), tercet (3), quatrain (4), sestet (6), octave (8); blank verse is unrhymed iambic pentameter.

Meter counts stressed beats per line: iambic pentameter has five iambs (ten syllables) with stress on the second syllable of each foot.

Theme is the central idea or insight, distinct from subject matter; a moral is an explicit lesson, not every theme is stated directly.

Character types: protagonist (central), antagonist (opposing), foil (contrast figure), round (developed) versus flat (single trait).

Irony types: verbal (saying the opposite), situational (outcome reverses expectation), dramatic (audience knows what a character does not).

Prose forms: short story, novella, novel, essay, biography (written by another), autobiography (written by the subject).

The communication cycle: sender, encoding, message, channel, receiver, decoding, feedback; noise is any interference at any stage.

Barriers divide into physical (noise, distance), semantic (jargon, ambiguity), psychological (prejudice, emotion), and organizational (hierarchy, unclear channels).

Channel choice: written for records and complex detail, oral for speed and immediate feedback, face-to-face for sensitive or emotional matters.

7 Cs of effective communication: clear, concise, concrete, correct, coherent, complete, courteous.

Active listening involves paraphrasing, asking clarifying questions, and withholding judgement; passive hearing without feedback does not confirm understanding.

Non-verbal elements - body language, tone, eye contact, proxemics - can contradict words; when verbal and non-verbal conflict, receivers trust the non-verbal.

Functional writing formats include agenda, minutes, memo, email, and notice; a memo records sender, receiver, date, subject, and body with no salutation.

Grapevine is informal organizational communication; it travels fast but is unreliable, so formal channels must carry decisions.