JCE English cheat sheet

Main idea = the claim the whole passage supports; a detail supports it but cannot replace it. Test: can the statement cover every paragraph without adding new information?

Question-stem keywords decide the task: 'primarily' and 'mainly' signal main idea; 'according to the passage' signals explicit detail; 'suggests' and 'implies' signal inference.

Inference must be forced by the text: if a choice needs outside knowledge or a second assumption, it is wrong even when true in real life.

Scope words (all, some, never, always, most) are the most common trap in answer choices; an answer broader than the passage is incorrect.

Tone words are graded: 'critical' is stronger than 'skeptical', which is stronger than 'cautious'; match the intensity of the author's language.

Passage organization questions map onto signposts: contrast (however, yet), cause (therefore, as a result), example (for instance), concession (admittedly, granted).

Vocabulary-in-context items: return to the sentence, substitute each option, and keep the one that preserves both meaning and grammatical fit.

Paired-passage questions: identify each author's claim first, then classify the relationship as agreement, qualification, or direct disagreement before reading the choices.

Subject-verb agreement ignores prepositional phrases: the verb agrees with the head noun, so 'The box of tools is' not 'are'.

Neither/nor and either/or take a verb agreeing with the nearer subject: 'Neither the manager nor the clerks were informed.'

Pronoun case after a preposition or as an object is objective (me, him, her, whom); as a subject it is subjective (I, he, she, who).

A pronoun must have one unambiguous antecedent; if two nouns could be the referent, the sentence is faulty.

Restrictive clauses take 'that' with no commas; nonrestrictive clauses take 'which' with commas and can be removed without changing the core claim.

Comparisons must be logical and complete: 'taller than any other student' not 'taller than any student'; compare like categories only.

Dangling modifiers: the opening phrase must describe the grammatical subject of the main clause, so 'Walking home, I saw...' not 'Walking home, the rain...'.

Parallel structure: items joined by and, or, not only...but also must share the same grammatical form (all nouns, all gerunds, all infinitives).

Context clues operate by type: definition (that is, or), contrast (but, unlike), example (such as), and cause-effect (because, consequently).

Connotation separates near-synonyms: 'thrifty' is approving, 'frugal' neutral, 'stingy' disapproving, though all denote careful spending.

Affixes carry meaning: bene- good, mal- bad, circum- around, -cred- believe, -dict- say, -spect- look, -port- carry.

False friends to check: 'notorious' means famous for something bad; 'famous' is neutral; 'infamous' is strongly negative.

Precision pairs: 'imply' is what a speaker suggests, 'infer' is what a listener concludes; 'fewer' counts items, 'less' measures mass.

Register matters: 'commence' and 'terminate' are formal; 'start' and 'end' are neutral; choosing the wrong register makes an answer wrong even if the meaning fits.

Word pairs with opposite direction: 'flout' (openly disobey) versus 'flaunt' (show off); 'appraise' (evaluate) versus 'apprise' (inform).

Analogy items test a fixed relationship (part-to-whole, cause-to-effect, degree); state the relationship in a sentence before evaluating the options.

A sentence fragment lacks a subject, a finite verb, or a complete thought; a subordinate clause alone (Because it rained.) is a fragment.

A comma splice joins two independent clauses with only a comma; fix it with a period, semicolon, or coordinating conjunction.

A run-on (fused sentence) joins independent clauses with no punctuation at all; the semicolon or a subordinating conjunction repairs it.

Semicolons separate independent clauses and items in a list that already contain commas; colons follow a complete clause and introduce a list or explanation.

Coordination links equal ideas (and, but, or, so); subordination ranks them (although, because, while), and the main clause should carry the main point.

Active voice puts the actor in the subject slot and usually shortens the sentence; passive voice is justified when the actor is unknown or unimportant.

Conciseness rule: delete redundant pairs (each and every, basic fundamentals, return back) and empty openers (It is important to note that).

Modifier placement: a single-word modifier sits next to the word it limits, so 'only the manager approved' differs from 'the manager only approved'.

Predict from the question stem before audio plays: a 'why' question signals a reason marker, a 'what will happen next' question signals a future or intention statement.

Signpost words carry the answer: 'however' and 'actually' flag corrections; 'so' and 'therefore' flag conclusions; 'in fact' flags emphasis.

Numbers, names, and dates are often self-corrected; the second figure spoken is usually the operative one.

Speaker attitude is carried by intonation and stress, not only by words; rising pitch on a statement can signal doubt or a challenge.

Distractors repeat words from the audio verbatim; correct answers usually paraphrase, so exact-wording matching is a warning sign.

Note-taking should record relationships (cause, contrast, sequence) rather than transcription; full sentences cause missed subsequent content.

Inference items about a speaker's intent (suggesting, complaining, requesting) hinge on the final turn, where the purpose is usually resolved.

For lecture items, the opening statement and the final summary each typically yield one main-idea or purpose answer.