Civil Service Verbal Test flashcards
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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 mostly about. It is broader than any single detail and is often expressed in the opening or closing sentence.
- Supporting detail
- A specific fact, example, or reason in a passage that explains or proves the main idea. It must be traceable directly to the text.
- Author's tone
- The attitude a writer expresses toward the subject, revealed through word choice, sentence structure, and emphasis rather than by direct statement.
- Fact versus opinion
- A fact can be verified by evidence; an opinion expresses a judgment, belief, or value. Passages often mix both, so classify each statement separately.
- Pronoun reference
- The noun a pronoun replaces. To resolve it, choose the nearest preceding noun that agrees in number and gender and makes sense in context.
- Valid inference
- A conclusion drawn from stated evidence plus reasoning. It is not explicitly written but must follow necessarily or with high probability from the text.
- Overreach in inference
- A conclusion that goes beyond what the passage supports, often by adding assumptions, certainty, or scope that the text does not provide.
- Author's purpose
- The reason a text was written, such as to inform, persuade, entertain, or instruct. Purpose is inferred from structure, language, and intended effect.
- Assumption in argument
- An unstated premise that must be true for an argument's conclusion to follow. Identifying it helps test whether the reasoning is complete.
- Implied meaning
- A meaning suggested indirectly by wording or context rather than stated outright. It requires combining clues in the text with ordinary reasoning.
- Context clue
- Information in surrounding words, sentences, or paragraph topic that helps determine an unfamiliar word's meaning. Common types include definition, example, contrast, and cause-effect.
- Denotation versus connotation
- Denotation is a word's literal dictionary meaning; connotation is its emotional or cultural association. Two words may denote the same thing but carry different connotations.
- Synonym substitution
- A vocabulary strategy that replaces a word with a candidate synonym and checks whether the sentence's meaning, grammar, and tone remain unchanged.
- Homonym
- A word that shares spelling or pronunciation with another word but has a different meaning, such as bank for a river edge or a financial institution.
- Figurative language
- Language that is not literal, including simile, metaphor, and idiom. Meaning depends on comparison or convention rather than the words' ordinary senses.
- Subject-verb agreement
- A grammatical rule requiring a verb to match its subject in number and person. Phrases between subject and verb do not change the subject's number.
- Dangling modifier
- A phrase that describes a word not clearly present in the sentence. It creates confusion because the intended subject is missing or misplaced.
- Parallel structure
- Using the same grammatical form for items in a list, series, or comparison. Parallelism makes sentences clearer and more balanced.
- Independent clause
- A group of words containing a subject and verb that expresses a complete thought. It can stand alone as a sentence.
- Run-on sentence
- Two or more independent clauses joined without correct punctuation or a conjunction. It can be fixed with a period, semicolon, or coordinating conjunction.
- Active versus passive voice
- In active voice the subject performs the action; in passive voice the subject receives it. Active voice is usually clearer and more direct.
- Premise
- A statement offered as evidence or reason in an argument. Premises support the conclusion and may be stated or left unstated.
- Valid argument
- A deductive argument whose structure guarantees that if all premises are true, the conclusion must also be true. Validity concerns form, not factual truth.
- Sound argument
- A deductive argument that is valid and has all true premises. Soundness requires both correct logical form and factual accuracy.
- Correlation versus causation
- Correlation means two things occur together; causation means one produces the other. A correlation alone cannot prove causation because other factors may explain it.
- Counterexample
- A specific case that shows a general claim or argument is false. One valid counterexample can disprove a universal statement.
- False dilemma
- A fallacy that presents only two options when more exist. It pressures a conclusion by wrongly limiting the available alternatives.
- Summary
- A brief restatement of a text's main idea and key supporting points in the writer's own words. It excludes minor details and examples.
- Paraphrase
- Restating a passage's meaning using different words and sentence structure while preserving the original sense. It is usually similar in length to the source.
- Compare and contrast
- Comparing identifies similarities between two texts or ideas; contrasting identifies differences. Using consistent criteria makes the analysis clearer and fairer.
- Point of agreement
- A claim or fact that two passages both support. Identifying it helps distinguish shared ground from genuine disagreement.
- Scope of a passage
- The range of material a text covers, including its topic, time frame, and level of detail. Answers outside that range are unsupported.