PNG Grade 12 English flashcards

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

Skimming

Rapid reading of headings, first sentences, and key words to grasp a passage's general topic and main idea before detailed reading begins.

Scanning

Fast reading that searches a text for a specific item such as a name, date, figure, or key term, ignoring unrelated content.

Main idea

The central point a passage makes about its topic, stated in a topic sentence or inferred from the whole text rather than one detail.

Supporting detail

A fact, example, reason, or statistic that explains or proves the main idea; it answers who, what, when, where, why, or how.

Inference

A logical conclusion drawn from textual evidence combined with general knowledge, rather than stated directly by the writer.

Tone

The writer's attitude toward the subject or reader, conveyed through word choice and revealed by adjectives such as critical, ironic, or sympathetic.

Fact versus opinion

A fact can be verified by evidence; an opinion expresses judgement or feeling and often uses words such as should, best, clearly, or unfortunately.

Cause and effect

A text pattern linking reasons to results, signalled by words such as because, therefore, consequently, as a result, and leads to.

Subject-verb agreement

A singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb, regardless of phrases placed between them.

Collective noun agreement

Collective nouns such as team or committee take a singular verb when acting as one unit and a plural verb when members act separately.

Pronoun case

Use subject pronouns (I, he, she, they, who) for subjects and object pronouns (me, him, her, them, whom) after verbs and prepositions.

Past perfect tense

Formed with had plus a past participle, it shows an action completed before another past action or time in the narrative.

Active versus passive voice

Active voice makes the doer the subject and is direct; passive voice makes the receiver the subject and is used when the doer is unknown or unimportant.

Dangling modifier

A descriptive phrase that lacks a logical subject in the sentence, so it appears to describe the wrong word.

Comma splice

An error joining two independent clauses with only a comma; it is corrected with a full stop, semicolon, or coordinating conjunction.

Apostrophe use

Apostrophes mark possession (the boy's book, the boys' books) or contraction (it's for it is); possessive its takes no apostrophe.

Parallel structure

Items in a list or comparison use the same grammatical form, such as all gerunds or all infinitives, for clarity and rhythm.

Essay thesis statement

A single sentence that states a debatable claim and predicts the essay's structure, distinct from a simple statement of fact.

Paragraph unity

The quality of a paragraph in which every sentence supports the topic sentence and no unrelated material is included.

Coherence

The smooth logical flow of ideas achieved through transitions, pronoun reference, and consistent organisation from one point to the next.

Expository writing

Writing that explains or informs, often organised by comparison, cause and effect, definition, or process rather than by story.

Formal register

A style suited to academic and official writing that avoids contractions, slang, and casual first-person opinion.

Counterargument and rebuttal

In argumentative writing, the opposing view is acknowledged fairly and then answered with evidence to strengthen the writer's claim.

Paraphrase versus summary

A paraphrase restates a passage in your own words at similar length; a summary condenses only the main ideas much more briefly.

Redundancy

Unnecessary repetition of meaning in phrases such as free gift or repeat again, which weakens concise writing and should be edited out.

Plot structure

The arrangement of events as exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution, driven by conflict.

Indirect characterisation

Revealing a character's traits through speech, actions, thoughts, appearance, and the reactions of other characters rather than direct statement.

Setting

The time, place, and social conditions of a story, which can establish mood, foreshadow events, or symbolise a theme.

Theme

The central insight about life or human nature conveyed by a text, expressed as a full statement rather than a single word.

Third-person omniscient

A narrative point of view in which the narrator knows and reports the thoughts and feelings of all characters.

Dramatic irony

A situation in drama or narrative where the audience knows something important that a character does not, creating tension or humour.

Soliloquy

A speech in drama delivered by a character alone on stage, revealing private thoughts to the audience rather than to other characters.