SPM English 1119 flashcards

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

Section A reading focus

The multiple-choice reading section of Paper 1. Each item asks for main idea, detail, inference, purpose, tone or word meaning, and the answer must be directly supported by the text.

Inference question

A reading item whose answer is not stated word for word but follows logically from clues in the passage. Reject options that go beyond what the evidence supports.

Distractor option

A wrong multiple-choice answer designed to attract readers. It may repeat vocabulary from the passage, state a general truth, or reverse the writer's attitude without textual support.

Summary focus

The specific question a summary must answer, such as causes, benefits or problems. Only points that address this focus earn content marks, however accurate other details may be.

Summary word limit

The maximum length allowed for the summary task, usually about 130 words. Exceeding it or lifting long phrases from the original reduces the language mark.

Paraphrasing in summary

Rewriting source points in your own words using synonyms, changed word class or restructured clauses. Direct copying earns no credit even when the point is correct.

Directed writing format

The layout conventions required by the task type: salutation and sign-off for letters, headline and byline for articles, headings and signature for reports.

Register

The level of formality suited to audience and purpose. Informal writing uses contractions and phrasal verbs; formal writing avoids them and prefers complete, impersonal constructions.

Content versus language marks

Composition scoring in Paper 1 splits roughly 30 marks for relevant, developed ideas and 20 marks for accuracy, vocabulary and sentence variety.

Topic sentence

The first sentence of a body paragraph, stating the paragraph's controlling idea. It gives the essay visible structure and helps the examiner follow the argument.

Cohesive devices

Linking words and reference words such as however, therefore, in addition, this and such, which connect sentences and paragraphs so the writing reads as one text.

Narrative tense consistency

Narratives normally use past tenses throughout, with past perfect for earlier events and present tenses only inside direct speech or comment.

Subject-verb agreement

The verb must match its subject in number: 'the list of items is long' (singular head noun) but 'the items on the list are long'.

Listening for gist

Identifying the main idea or purpose of a recording rather than every detail. Gist items ask what the speaker is mainly doing or saying.

Listening for specific detail

Catching exact information such as times, prices, names or numbers. Answers must match the recording precisely, including units and prepositions.

Speaker attitude item

A listening question asking how the speaker feels or what they think, signalled by tone, stress and evaluative words such as 'unfortunately' or 'surprisingly'.

Prediction before listening

Using the question stem to guess the answer type, such as a number, a place or a reason, so attention is directed to the relevant part of the recording.

False listening distractor

An option that repeats a word heard in the recording but contradicts the actual meaning, often because the speaker mentions it only to reject or correct it.

Fluency

The ability to speak at a steady pace with few long pauses, false starts or self-corrections, linking ideas smoothly rather than producing isolated words.

Intelligibility

How easily a listener understands the speaker. It depends on clear sounds, word stress and pacing, not on adopting a particular native accent.

Word stress

The syllable given greatest emphasis in a word, as in PHO-to-graph versus pho-TO-graphy. Wrong stress is a common cause of misunderstanding.

Sentence stress

Emphasis placed on content words (nouns, verbs, adjectives) while function words are weakened. It carries meaning, as in 'I said THIS one'.

Rising intonation

A pitch pattern that rises at the end of an utterance, used for yes/no questions and for lists that are not finished.

Falling intonation

A pitch pattern that drops at the end of an utterance, used for statements, wh-questions and the final item of a list.

Turn-taking

The convention of letting one speaker finish before another begins, using phrases such as 'May I add something?' to signal an intention to speak.

Interactive communication

A speaking criterion measuring how well a candidate initiates, responds, asks for clarification and keeps a conversation going with the examiner or partner.

Individual speaking task

A short monologue, usually about two minutes, on a given topic, followed by examiner questions. It needs an opening, developed points and a closing.

Structured talk

A spoken presentation organised as introduction, two or three main points with examples, and a conclusion, often supported by brief notes rather than a full script.

Email register

The formality level of a message. Emails to friends use contractions and informal phrases; emails to institutions use titles, full forms and no slang.

Report structure

A formal document with a title, an introduction stating purpose, headed sections for findings, and a conclusion or recommendation, written impersonally.

Stimulus-based writing

A Paper 2 writing task built from given material such as notes, an advertisement or a short text, all of whose relevant points must be incorporated.

Clarification request

A speaking strategy such as 'Could you repeat that?' or 'Do you mean...?', which shows interactive competence rather than weakness.