PSLCE English flashcards
PSLCE English · Build recall with a focused review session.
32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Main idea
- The central point that the whole passage develops. It is broad enough to cover every paragraph but narrow enough to exclude unrelated topics.
- Supporting detail
- A fact, example, or reason in the passage that backs up the main idea. Detail questions are answered by locating stated information, not by guessing.
- Inference
- A conclusion drawn from evidence in the passage but not stated directly. A valid inference must be strongly supported by the text.
- Context clue: contrast
- A nearby signal word such as however, unlike, or but that shows the unknown word means the opposite of something stated in the same sentence.
- Passage tone
- The writer's attitude toward the subject, revealed through word choice. Tone can be critical, neutral, admiring, or humorous.
- Connotation
- The emotional or evaluative shade a word carries beyond its literal meaning. Thrifty and stingy share a meaning but differ in connotation.
- Homophone pairs
- Words that sound alike but differ in spelling and meaning, such as their, there, and they're, or its and it's.
- Affect versus effect
- Affect is usually a verb meaning to influence. Effect is usually a noun meaning a result. The medicine affected her; the effect was quick.
- Prefix meaning: inter-
- A prefix meaning between or among, as in international (between nations) or interact (act with one another).
- Simile and metaphor
- A simile compares using like or as; a metaphor states one thing is another without like or as. Both create figurative comparison.
- Subject-verb agreement rule
- The verb agrees with the simple subject, not with nouns in intervening phrases. In 'The list of items is long', list is singular, so is is correct.
- Dependent clause
- A group of words with a subject and verb that cannot stand alone because it begins with a subordinating word such as because, although, or when.
- Dangling modifier
- An introductory phrase that does not clearly describe the subject of the main clause, as in 'Walking home, the rain began'.
- Parallel structure
- Items in a list or comparison must share grammatical form. 'Hiking, swimming, and biking' is parallel; mixing nouns and verbs is not.
- Singular indefinite pronouns
- Each, either, neither, everyone, nobody, and somebody take singular verbs, as in 'Everyone is here' and 'Neither of them was ready'.
- Comma splice
- An error that joins two independent clauses with only a comma. Fix it with a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a conjunction.
- Semicolon use
- A semicolon joins two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction. It never appears before and, but, or, nor, for, so, yet.
- Colon rule
- A colon follows a complete clause and introduces a list, explanation, or quotation. It should not separate a verb from its object.
- Nonrestrictive clause commas
- Extra, removable information is set off by paired commas. If removing it does not change the sentence's core meaning, the commas belong.
- Its versus it's
- Its is possessive, showing ownership, as in 'the dog wagged its tail'. It's is a contraction of it is or it has.
- Capitalizing titles
- Capitalize the first and last words and all major words in a title. Do not capitalize short articles, conjunctions, or prepositions unless first.
- I before E rule
- Write i before e except after c, or when the sound is ay. Examples: receive, ceiling, weigh, neighbor, and their.
- Dropping silent final e
- Drop a silent final e before a suffix starting with a vowel, as in make to making. Keep it before a consonant suffix, as in hope to hopeful.
- Doubling final consonants
- Double the final consonant of a one-syllable word ending in consonant-vowel-consonant before a vowel suffix: run becomes running, stop becomes stopped.
- Changing y to i
- Change a final y to i after a consonant when adding a suffix, as in carry to carried. Keep the y after a vowel, as in play to played.
- Topic sentence
- The sentence that states a paragraph's controlling idea, usually placed first. Every other sentence should support or explain it.
- Thesis statement
- A single sentence in the introduction that states the essay's main claim and previews the points the body paragraphs will develop.
- Transitional words
- Words that signal relationships between ideas: however for contrast, therefore for cause, moreover for addition, and for instance for example.
- Revising versus editing
- Revising reshapes content, organization, and clarity. Editing corrects grammar, punctuation, and spelling. Revise first, then edit.
- Active voice
- The subject performs the action, as in 'The committee approved the plan'. Active voice is usually clearer and more direct than passive voice.
- Redundancy in writing
- Repeating the same meaning in paired words, such as return back, very unique, or each and every. Removing one word tightens the sentence.
- Formal writing register
- Formal writing avoids slang, contractions, and second-person you when the prompt calls for an objective tone. It favors precise, complete sentences.