PERT Reading flashcards
PERT Reading · 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 a passage communicates about its topic, expressible in one sentence that the remaining sentences support or explain.
- Topic
- The broad subject a passage addresses, expressed as a word or short phrase rather than as a complete claim about that subject.
- Stated Main Idea
- A main idea written directly in the passage, most often located in the opening or closing sentence of the first or final paragraph.
- Implied Main Idea
- A central point never written directly, which the reader constructs from a pattern of details that the author repeats or emphasizes.
- Supporting Detail
- A fact, example, statistic, or reason that explains or proves the main idea rather than introducing an unrelated subject.
- Objective Summary
- A short restatement of a passage's main idea and key details in the reader's own words, containing no opinion and no minor examples.
- Valid Inference
- A conclusion the passage's evidence logically requires even though the author never states it outright in the text.
- Chronological Order
- A text structure that arranges events in the order they occurred, signaled by words such as first, next, then, and finally.
- Cause and Effect
- A structure linking why something happened to what resulted; the cause answers why, and the effect answers what happened.
- Irrelevant Detail
- Information that may be accurate but does not support the main idea, so it is left out of an accurate summary.
- Text Evidence
- Specific words, phrases, or details quoted or paraphrased from a passage in order to justify an answer or conclusion.
- Context Clue
- Surrounding words, phrases, or sentences that hint at an unfamiliar word's meaning, allowing a reader to infer it without a dictionary.
- Restatement Clue
- A context clue in which the unfamiliar word is defined nearby, often after a comma, dash, or the phrase in other words.
- Contrast Clue
- A context clue built on an opposite idea, signaled by words such as but, however, or unlike, showing what a word does not mean.
- Connotation
- The emotional or implied associations a word carries beyond its literal meaning, such as the warmth of home versus house.
- Denotation
- The literal, dictionary meaning of a word, considered apart from any feelings or associations the word may suggest to readers.
- Author's Purpose
- The reason a writer produces a text, such as to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain, revealed by what the text actually does.
- Tone
- The author's attitude toward the subject, conveyed through word choice and detail rather than stated directly in the passage.
- Mood
- The feeling a reader experiences while reading, created by the author's tone, imagery, setting, and pacing of the text.
- Comparison-Contrast Structure
- A text organization showing similarities and differences between two subjects, signaled by words like similarly, unlike, both, and whereas.
- Problem-Solution Structure
- A text organization that first presents a difficulty and then offers one or more ways of resolving that difficulty.
- Metaphor
- A direct comparison stating that one thing is another without using like or as, as in the sentence the classroom was a zoo.
- Claim
- The arguable position an author wants readers to accept, usually stated in a thesis or topic sentence and backed by reasons.
- Relevant Evidence
- Facts, examples, or expert statements that directly support a specific claim rather than a loosely related or tangential idea.
- Fact
- A statement that can be verified with objective evidence and remains the same no matter who checks it.
- Opinion
- A statement of belief, judgment, or feeling that cannot be proven true or false through objective evidence.
- Bias
- A one-sided slant in which an author favors a position by selecting, omitting, or overemphasizing information unfairly.
- Loaded Language
- Word choices with strong positive or negative connotations that push readers toward a judgment instead of letting evidence persuade them.
- Counterargument
- An opposing view that an author acknowledges and then answers, a move that usually strengthens rather than weakens the argument.
- Primary Source
- An original firsthand account or document created by a participant or witness at the time the event occurred.
- Secondary Source
- A source that interprets, summarizes, or analyzes primary evidence, such as a textbook, review article, or encyclopedia entry.
- Synthesis
- Combining information from two or more passages to reach one conclusion about how their ideas agree, conflict, or overlap.