WEST-B 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 or claim that a passage develops and supports; it is broader than any single detail and is often stated in the introduction or conclusion.
- Supporting detail
- A fact, example, statistic, or reason that explains, illustrates, or proves the main idea; details answer who, what, when, where, why, or how.
- Inference
- A logical conclusion drawn from stated evidence combined with background knowledge; it is not directly stated, so it must be supported by textual clues.
- Author's purpose
- The reason an author writes a text, commonly to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain; purpose influences tone, structure, and choice of details.
- Text structure
- The organizational pattern of a passage, such as cause-effect, compare-contrast, chronological, problem-solution, or description; signal words often reveal the pattern.
- Context clue
- Information in nearby words or sentences that helps a reader determine an unfamiliar word's meaning; common types include definition, example, contrast, and inference clues.
- Fact versus opinion
- A fact is a statement that can be verified with evidence; an opinion expresses a belief, value, or judgment and often uses evaluative language.
- Bias
- An unfair preference for or against an idea, shown through loaded language, selective evidence, omitted counterarguments, or one-sided framing of a topic.
- Summary
- A brief, accurate restatement of a text's main idea and key supporting points in neutral language, without adding personal opinions or new information.
- Compare and contrast
- A reading pattern that examines similarities and differences between two or more subjects; look for signal words such as similarly, unlike, both, and however.
- Tone
- The author's attitude toward the subject or audience, conveyed through word choice, imagery, and sentence structure; tone differs from the reader's mood.
- Sentence fragment
- A group of words that is punctuated as a sentence but lacks a subject, a verb, or a complete thought; it cannot stand alone.
- Run-on sentence
- Two or more independent clauses joined without correct punctuation or conjunction; repair it with a period, semicolon, or comma plus coordinating conjunction.
- Subject-verb agreement
- The rule that a singular subject takes a singular verb and a plural subject takes a plural verb, even when phrases separate the subject from the verb.
- Pronoun-antecedent agreement
- The rule that a pronoun must match its antecedent in number and gender; singular antecedents require singular pronouns such as he, she, or it.
- Comma splice
- An error in which two independent clauses are joined only by a comma; correct it with a period, semicolon, or comma plus coordinating conjunction.
- Parallel structure
- Using the same grammatical form for items in a list, series, or comparison, such as all infinitives or all past-tense verbs, to create balance and clarity.
- Dangling modifier
- A modifying phrase that does not clearly attach to the word it describes, often because the intended subject is missing from the main clause.
- Apostrophe for possession
- An apostrophe shows ownership: add -'s to a singular noun and usually only an apostrophe to a plural noun ending in -s.
- Active versus passive voice
- In active voice the subject performs the action; in passive voice the subject receives the action, often using a form of be plus a past participle.
- Thesis statement
- A sentence that states the central claim of an essay and previews the main supporting points; it usually appears near the end of the introduction.
- Transition word
- A word or phrase that shows the relationship between ideas, such as addition, contrast, cause-effect, or sequence, helping readers follow the argument.
- Order of operations
- The agreed sequence for evaluating expressions: parentheses first, then exponents, then multiplication and division left to right, then addition and subtraction left to right.
- Equivalent fractions
- Fractions that represent the same value; multiply or divide both numerator and denominator by the same nonzero number to create an equivalent fraction.
- Percent equation
- The relationship part = percent × whole, where the percent is written as a decimal; it is used to find a part, a whole, or a percent.
- Proportion
- An equation stating that two ratios are equal; cross-multiplication solves it, since a/b = c/d implies ad = bc.
- Slope formula
- For a line through points (x1, y1) and (x2, y2), slope m equals (y2 − y1) divided by (x2 − x1), measuring vertical change over horizontal change.
- Area of a rectangle
- The amount of surface inside a rectangle, calculated as length times width; area is expressed in square units.
- Mean
- A measure of central tendency found by adding all data values and dividing by the number of values; it is affected by extreme outliers.
- Median
- The middle value in an ordered data set; if there is an even number of values, it is the average of the two middle values.
- Probability
- The chance of an event occurring, calculated as favorable outcomes divided by total equally likely outcomes; probability ranges from 0 to 1.
- Exponent product rule
- When multiplying powers with the same base, add the exponents: a^m × a^n = a^(m+n); the base stays the same.