TABE flashcards
TABE · 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 is built to support. Every paragraph should relate to it, and it is usually stated in the opening or closing sentence.
- Supporting detail
- A specific fact, example, or reason in a passage that backs up the main idea. It can be pointed to in a single sentence.
- Inference
- A conclusion a reader draws from evidence in the text rather than from an explicit statement. It must be defensible using details the passage actually gives.
- Fact versus opinion
- A fact can be checked and proven true or false. An opinion expresses a judgment, belief, or feeling and often uses words such as best, should, or seems.
- Context clue
- Information surrounding an unfamiliar word that hints at its meaning, such as a definition, example, restatement, or contrast signaled by words like but or unlike.
- Author's purpose
- The reason a writer produces a text, most often to inform, explain, persuade, or entertain. The wording of a question usually names the intended purpose directly.
- Cause and effect
- A text structure that links why something happened to what happened as a result. Signal words include because, therefore, since, and as a result.
- Sequence
- A text structure that arranges events or steps in time order. Signal words include first, next, then, finally, before, and after.
- Compare and contrast
- A text structure that shows how two or more things are alike and how they differ. Signal words include similarly, both, unlike, whereas, and however.
- Tone
- The author's attitude toward the subject, conveyed through word choice and connotation rather than stated outright. Common tones include humorous, critical, and matter-of-fact.
- Summary
- A brief restatement of a passage's main idea and most important supporting points, with no personal opinion and no minor details included.
- Order of operations
- The sequence for evaluating an expression: parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplication and division left to right, then addition and subtraction left to right.
- Common denominator
- A shared multiple of two or more denominators. Fractions must be rewritten with one before they can be added or subtracted.
- Reciprocal
- The number that results from flipping a fraction so numerator and denominator trade places. Dividing by a fraction is the same as multiplying by its reciprocal.
- Percent
- A ratio comparing a number to 100. The relationship part = percent × whole lets you find a missing part, percent, or whole.
- Percent change
- The amount of increase or decrease expressed as a percent of the original value, found by subtracting old from new, dividing by the old value, then multiplying by 100.
- Mean
- The average of a data set, found by adding all the values and dividing the sum by the number of values.
- Median
- The middle value in a list of numbers arranged in order from least to greatest. If the list has an even count, average the two middle values.
- Area of a triangle
- The space inside a triangle, calculated as one-half times the base times the height, written as A = ½bh.
- Proportion
- An equation stating that two ratios are equal, such as a/b = c/d. Cross-multiplying gives ad = bc and lets you solve for a missing value.
- Slope
- A measure of steepness found by dividing the change in y by the change in x between two points on a line.
- Pythagorean theorem
- For a right triangle, the sum of the squares of the two legs equals the square of the hypotenuse, written a² + b² = c².
- Unit rate
- A rate expressed as a quantity per one unit of another, found by dividing. Examples include miles per hour and cost per ounce.
- Subject-verb agreement
- A rule requiring a singular subject to take a singular verb and a plural subject to take a plural verb, with phrases between them ignored.
- Comma splice
- An error in which two independent clauses are joined by only a comma. Fix it with a period, a semicolon, or a comma plus a conjunction.
- Sentence fragment
- A group of words punctuated as a sentence but missing a subject, a verb, or a complete thought, so it cannot stand alone.
- Run-on sentence
- Two or more complete sentences run together with no punctuation or connecting word placed between them.
- Possessive apostrophe
- A punctuation mark showing ownership. Add 's to a singular noun and add only an apostrophe to a plural noun already ending in s.
- Pronoun-antecedent agreement
- A pronoun must match the noun it replaces in number and gender. Words like each, everyone, and either are singular and take singular pronouns.
- Parallel structure
- Using the same grammatical form for items in a list or comparison, such as all verbs ending in -ing or all infinitive phrases.
- Dangling modifier
- A descriptive phrase that does not clearly attach to the word it is meant to describe, often because the intended subject is missing from the sentence.
- Semicolon
- A punctuation mark used between two closely related independent clauses, or before a conjunctive adverb such as however or therefore.