WBBSE Madhyamik English (Second Language) flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Skimming versus scanning

Skimming reads quickly for the general idea of a passage. Scanning runs the eyes for one specific detail such as a date, name or figure. Use skimming first, then scan to locate answers.

Inference in comprehension

An inference is a conclusion the text implies but does not state. Support it with a clue from the passage plus your deduction, for example 'he gripped the rail, so he was nervous'.

Paraphrasing for own-words answers

Restate the meaning using different vocabulary and sentence structure while keeping the original sense. Do not merely swap one or two words or copy the sentence with minor edits.

Speaker and addressee in poetry

The speaker is the voice narrating the poem, not necessarily the poet. The addressee is whom the speaker addresses, signalled by pronouns or direct address such as 'O friend'.

Simile and metaphor

A simile compares using like or as, as in 'cheeks like roses'. A metaphor states the comparison directly, as in 'her cheeks were roses'. Both create an implied resemblance.

Personification

Personification gives human qualities or actions to non-human things, as in 'the wind whispered' or 'the moon smiled'. It is identified by a human verb or attribute attached to an object.

Rhyme scheme notation

Rhyme scheme labels end sounds with letters from the start of the stanza. Lines rhyming together share a letter, so abab means lines one and three rhyme and lines two and four rhyme.

Alliteration and assonance

Alliteration repeats initial consonant sounds, as in 'silent, soft snow'. Assonance repeats vowel sounds inside words, as in 'the low moan of the wind'. Judge by sound, not spelling.

Reported speech tense shift

When the reporting verb is past, move the reported verb one step back: present to past, past to past perfect, will to would. Time and place words shift too, as now becomes then.

Passive voice formation

Form the passive with a form of be plus the past participle, keeping the original tense, as in 'The letter was written'. Only transitive verbs, which take an object, can be made passive.

Reported question word order

Reported questions use statement order with no question mark and no auxiliary inversion. 'Where do you live?' becomes 'He asked me where I lived', not 'where did I live'.

Clause joining conjunctions

Use although or though for contrast, because or since for reason, so that for purpose or result, unless for 'if not', and who or which as relative pronouns for people and things.

Common phrasal verbs

Fixed verb-plus-particle pairs with idiomatic meaning: put off means postpone, give up means abandon, look after means take care of, break down means stop working, turn down means reject.

Word formation suffixes

Nouns take -ness, -ment, -tion or -ity; adjectives take -ful, -less, -ous or -able; adverbs take -ly. Negative prefixes include un-, in-, im-, dis- and ir-, as in irregular.

Subject-verb agreement rules

Each, every, either and neither take a singular verb. 'One of the boys is' takes a singular verb because the subject is one, not boys. Two subjects joined by and take a plural verb.

Notice format essentials

A notice carries the institution's name, the word NOTICE, the date, a heading, a short body of about 50 words, and the writer's name and designation. It uses no salutation or address.

Report writing essentials

A report has a heading, the reporter's name and place, past-tense third-person factual prose, and covers what happened, when, where, who was involved and the outcome, in about 100 to 120 words.

Formal letter conventions

A formal letter includes the sender's address, date, receiver's designation, a subject line, 'Dear Sir/Madam', formal body without contractions, and closes with 'Yours faithfully' when the name is unknown.

Informal letter conventions

An informal letter uses the sender's address, date, a personal salutation such as 'Dear Rohan', a conversational body where contractions are acceptable, and a closing like 'Yours affectionately'.

Topic sentence and supporting detail

The topic sentence states the paragraph's single controlling idea, usually first. Supporting sentences give examples, reasons or facts, and the closing sentence rounds off without introducing a new topic.

Story structure

A story needs a setting, a complication and a resolution. Keep simple past as the narrative base and use past perfect for events that happened before the main action.

Process description language

Describe a process with sequence markers such as first, next, then, after that and finally, using simple present passive verbs like 'is heated' and 'are added' because the doer is unimportant.

Dialogue punctuation

Put a comma or colon before the opening quotation mark, capitalise the first word inside it, keep end punctuation inside the closing mark, and start each new speaker on a fresh line.

Character trait with evidence

Answer character questions by naming the quality and then citing the incident or line that proves it. 'He was generous, as he gave his only coat away' is complete; a bare adjective is not.

Theme versus plot

Plot is the sequence of events; theme is the underlying idea the events explore, such as sacrifice, freedom or hypocrisy. A theme answer states the idea generally and supports it with a moment from the text.

Textual reference answers

Quote the exact phrase the question points to, then explain its meaning or effect in your own sentence. The quotation supplies the evidence and the explanation earns the reasoning mark.

Comma splice

A comma splice joins two independent clauses with only a comma, as in 'He ran, he fell'. Repair it with a full stop, a semicolon, or a coordinating conjunction such as and or but.

Apostrophe uses

An apostrophe marks possession, as in Ram's book and children's toys, or a contraction, as in don't and it's meaning it is. The possessive its takes no apostrophe.

Sentence fragment

A fragment lacks a subject, a finite verb, or a complete thought, as in 'Because he was late.' Attach it to a main clause or supply the missing element to make a full sentence.

Commonly misspelled words

Frequently tested spellings include receive, separate, necessary, occurred, beginning, accommodation, privilege, government and environment. Check doubled consonants and the ie or ei order.

Answer length and mark weight

Match length to marks: a two-mark item needs two distinct points or one point with textual support. Stay within ten per cent of any stated word limit, since both excess and shortfall lose marks.

Time allocation in the paper

Reserve roughly fifteen minutes for the prose passage and ten for the poem, bank quick grammar marks next, and protect at least twenty-five minutes for composition so no task is rushed.