NES EAS Writing (NT002) flashcards
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- Subject-verb agreement rule
- The verb must match the number of the true subject, not nouns in intervening prepositional phrases. In "The list of items is long," the singular subject "list" governs "is."
- Compound subject with or/nor
- When two subjects are joined by "or" or "nor," the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it. "Neither the students nor the teacher was present."
- Indefinite pronoun agreement
- Each, either, neither, everyone, nobody, and anybody are singular and take singular verbs and pronouns. Both, few, many, and several are plural.
- Collective noun agreement
- Team, jury, committee, and family take a singular verb when acting as one unit and a plural verb when members act individually.
- Pronoun case after prepositions
- Objects of prepositions require object pronouns: me, him, her, them, whom. Write "between you and me," never "between you and I."
- Who versus whom
- Use who when the pronoun is a subject and whom when it is an object. Substitute he/she or him/her to test which form fits.
- Possessive with gerunds
- A noun or pronoun before a gerund takes possessive form. Write "His singing annoyed us," not "Him singing annoyed us."
- Misplaced limiting modifier
- Words like only, almost, and nearly should sit directly before the word they limit, since moving them changes the sentence's meaning.
- Comma splice definition
- Two independent clauses joined by only a comma. Repair by adding a coordinating conjunction, replacing the comma with a semicolon, or splitting into two sentences.
- Fused sentence (run-on)
- Two independent clauses joined with no punctuation at all. Correct it with a period, semicolon, or comma plus coordinating conjunction.
- FANBOYS conjunctions
- For, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. A comma precedes one only when it links two independent clauses, not when it links words or phrases.
- Semicolon use
- A semicolon joins two independent clauses without a conjunction, or separates series items that already contain commas. It cannot follow a comma.
- Colon use
- A colon follows a complete independent clause and introduces a list, explanation, or quotation. The clause before the colon must stand alone.
- Restrictive versus nonrestrictive clauses
- Restrictive clauses are essential to meaning and take no commas. Nonrestrictive clauses add extra information and are set off by commas.
- Apostrophe for possession
- Add 's to singular nouns and to plurals not ending in s. Add only an apostrophe to plurals ending in s, as in "the teachers' lounge."
- Introductory element comma
- A dependent clause or long introductory phrase is followed by a comma before the main clause. Short adverb phrases may omit it.
- Revision order
- Revise from largest to smallest: organization and content first, then sentence clarity, then grammar, punctuation, and spelling during final proofreading.
- Conciseness editing
- Replace wordy phrases with shorter equivalents: "due to the fact that" becomes "because," and "each and every" becomes "every."
- Active versus passive voice
- Active voice names the doer and is usually clearer. Passive voice suits cases where the actor is unknown or unimportant to the point.
- Parallel structure rule
- Items in a series and paired comparisons must share grammatical form. Write "hiking, swimming, and biking," not "hiking, swimming, and to bike."
- Dangling modifier
- An introductory modifier must describe the subject of the main clause. "Walking home, I saw the sign" is correct; "Walking home, the sign appeared" is not.
- Verb tense consistency
- Keep one tense across a passage unless a genuine time shift requires a change. Unmotivated tense shifts confuse readers and weaken coherence.
- Homophone proofreading pairs
- Check their/there/they're, its/it's, and your/you're during proofreading, since spelling errors in these pairs are common and easily missed.
- Thesis statement
- A single sentence stating the essay's central, debatable claim and previewing the main supporting points. It typically ends the introduction.
- Topic sentence function
- A topic sentence states the paragraph's controlling idea and links it to the thesis, signaling what the rest of the paragraph will develop.
- Paragraph unity
- Every sentence in a paragraph should support one controlling idea. Unrelated sentences weaken unity and should be cut or moved elsewhere.
- Coherence through transitions
- Transition words such as however, therefore, in addition, and consequently show relationships between ideas and guide readers through the argument.
- Body paragraph evidence and commentary
- Each body paragraph needs concrete evidence plus analysis explaining how that evidence supports the claim, not evidence alone.
- Conclusion requirements
- A conclusion restates the thesis in fresh words, summarizes key points, and states a broader implication, without introducing new evidence.
- Prompt task verb
- The task verb (analyze, argue, explain, compare) defines what the response must do. Identify it before drafting to address every part of the prompt.
- Counterargument concession and rebuttal
- For argument prompts, acknowledge an opposing view, concede its valid point, then rebut it with reasoning to strengthen the position.
- Timed essay time budget
- Divide available time among planning, drafting, and proofreading. Reserve final minutes to check agreement, sentence boundaries, and punctuation.