IN State Police cheat sheet

Main idea: the central claim about the topic; supporting details answer who, what, when, where, why, or how and cannot substitute for the central claim.

Inference rule: a correct inference must be necessarily supported by the passage; an answer that requires an unstated assumption is incorrect.

Detail questions: locate the keyword or synonym in the passage, then read the sentence before and after; the answer must match that context, not outside knowledge.

EXCEPT questions: three choices are supported and one is not; eliminate each supported choice and select the remaining unsupported choice.

Tone is signaled by word choice: neutral verbs and factual qualifiers indicate objective reporting; evaluative adjectives indicate judgment.

Pronoun reference: the antecedent must agree in number and gender and make sense in context; the nearest noun is not automatically correct.

Two-passage questions: determine each author's position separately, then classify the relationship as agreeing, opposing, or qualifying.

Sequence questions: use time markers such as before, after, finally, and meanwhile; chronology is determined by those markers, not by paragraph order alone.

Subject-verb agreement: the verb agrees with the grammatical subject, not with a noun in a prepositional phrase; each, every, either, and neither are singular.

Compound subjects joined by and take a plural verb unless the pair names one idea; subjects joined by or or nor agree with the nearer subject.

Comma splice: two independent clauses need a period, semicolon, or comma plus a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

Apostrophe rule: singular possessive adds 's; plural possessive ending in s adds only the apostrophe; plural nonpossessive takes no apostrophe.

Modifier rule: an introductory phrase must describe the subject immediately after the comma; otherwise it is dangling and the sentence must be rewritten.

Parallelism: items in a list or comparison must use the same grammatical form; not only...but also, either...or, and neither...nor join parallel elements.

Pronoun case: use I, he, she, they for subjects; use me, him, her, them for objects and after prepositions.

Common confusions: affect is usually a verb meaning influence; effect is usually a noun meaning result; then marks time, than marks comparison.

Percent change = (new value - original value) / original value × 100; positive = increase, negative = decrease.

Part = whole × (percent/100); whole = part ÷ (percent/100).

Ratio a:b has a+b total parts; one part = total ÷ (a+b); quantity a = a × one part.

Average = sum ÷ count; sum = average × count; missing value = target sum - sum of known values.

Distance = rate × time; rate = distance ÷ time; time = distance ÷ rate; convert units before calculating.

Combined work rate = 1/a + 1/b; combined time = 1 ÷ (1/a + 1/b).

Probability = favorable outcomes ÷ total outcomes; independent events multiply; mutually exclusive events add.

Geometry: rectangle area = length × width; triangle area = ½ × base × height; circle area = πr²; circumference = 2πr.

Conditional if P then Q: P is sufficient for Q; Q is necessary for P. Valid inference: not Q → not P (contrapositive).

Invalid inferences: Q → P (converse) and not P → not Q (inverse); neither follows from if P then Q.

P only if Q translates to P → Q; Q is necessary, not sufficient.

All A are B and all B are C implies all A are C; an undistributed middle term makes a syllogism invalid.

Strengthen/weaken questions target the link between evidence and conclusion; an answer that repeats evidence or attacks an irrelevant detail does neither.

Causal claims require ruling out reverse causation, common cause, coincidence, and selection effects; correlation alone does not prove causation.

Either/or is inclusive unless the text says but not both; not both means at most one, and neither/nor means zero.

Percentage comparisons require the same base; a 10% increase from 100 differs from a 10% increase from 200.

Change blindness: changes go unnoticed when attention is not directed; systematic comparison reduces missed differences.

Serial position effect: first and last items are recalled best; middle items are recalled worst.

Working memory holds about four chunks; chunking groups items into meaningful units and increases effective capacity.

Divided attention impairs detection; a fixed scanning order (left to right, top to bottom) reduces omissions.

Weapon focus: stress narrows attention toward a threat, reducing memory for faces, clothing, and surrounding details.

Eyewitness confidence is not a reliable accuracy measure; post-event information and feedback can inflate confidence.

Descriptions are more complete when organized top-down or general-to-specific and when permanent features are recorded before transient ones.

Expectation bias: prior assumptions can cause a person to misidentify an object or person; record observable features independently of expectation.

Force decision rule: use only the amount of force reasonably necessary to address the threat; reduce force when the threat decreases.

Procedural justice elements: voice, neutrality, respect, and trustworthy motives; these increase cooperation and compliance.

Active listening sequence: open question → paraphrase → reflect feeling → summarize; this confirms understanding.

De-escalation conditions: no immediate threat, time, distance, and cover available; calm tone and slower pace reduce arousal.

Interpreter rule: use a qualified interpreter for limited English proficiency or hearing disability; do not use children, family, or bystanders as interpreters.

Report writing: record observable facts, exact statements, times, and actions; label opinions as opinions and correct errors promptly.

Conflict resolution: separate people from the problem, identify interests rather than positions, and generate options before deciding.

Officer safety priority: an immediate threat to life takes precedence over report completion or routine questioning; request backup and medical aid as needed.