English

Rules of Standard Language Usage

• “I” before “E”: The rule is to write “I” before “E” except when the letters follow “C” or when the sound is like “A,” such as in neighbor or weigh.
  Examples: believe, hygiene, friend
  Except after “C”: ceiling, conceit, receive
  When the sound is like “A”: beige, rein, sleigh
  Exceptions: codeine, leisure, caffeine
• Dropping the final “E”:
  When adding a suffix, drop the final “E” if the suffix starts with a consonant but keep the “E” if the suffix starts with a vowel.
  Examples:
  Before a vowel: believable, advising, guidance
  Before a consonant: nicely, amazement, rudeness
  Exceptions: noticeable, argument, courageous
• Doubling the final consonant:
  If a word ends with a single vowel followed by a consonant in the last syllable, double the consonant when adding a suffix.
  Examples: planner, beginning
  Do not double: bleeding, plowed, despairing
  Exceptions: traveling/travelling, canceled/cancelled, modeled/modelled
• Changing “Y” to “I”:
  When a word ends with “Y” after a consonant, change it to “I”; leave the “Y” when following a vowel or when the suffix starts with “I”.
  Examples:
  After a consonant: beautiful, worried, supplier
  After a vowel: days, obeyed, relays
  When the suffix starts with “I”: crying, worrying, supplying
  Exceptions: shyly, daily, memorize
• Homophones:
  Words that are pronounced the same but have different spellings.
  Examples:
  to/too/two, it’s/its, lead/led, bare/bear, their/there/they’re
• Homographs:
  Words that share the same spelling but have different meanings.
  Examples:
  bow – to bend at the waist, the front of a boat, a decoration, something that shoots arrows
  fair – reasonable, an appearance, an exhibition
  lead – to show the way, a metal
  perfect – flawless, to make flawless
  tear – to rip something, water from the eye

Parts of Speech

• Noun: A word that represents a person, place, thing, or idea (e.g., cat, city, freedom).
• Pronoun: A word that replaces a noun (e.g., he, she, it, they).
• Verb: A word that expresses action or being (e.g., run, jump, is, are).
• Adjective: A word that describes or modifies a noun (e.g., tall, blue, quiet).
• Adverb: A word that describes or modifies a verb, adjective, or another adverb (e.g., quickly, very, slowly).
• Preposition: A word that shows the relationship between a noun (or pronoun) and other words in a sentence (e.g., under, before, during).
• Conjunction: A word that connects words, phrases, or clauses (e.g., and, but, because).
• Interjection: A word or phrase that expresses a sudden emotion or feeling (e.g., wow!, ouch!, hey!).

Vowels: a, e, i, o, u, y (occasionally).
Consonants: b, c, d, f, g, h, j, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, v, w, x, z, y (occasionally).

Reading

Components of a Passage

Topic: The subject matter of the passage.
Main idea: The central message or argument, highlighting what is essential to understand about the topic.
Key points: The main concepts or arguments that expand on the central idea in each paragraph.
Supporting details: Specific information that further explains or backs up each key point.
Tone: The writer’s emotional stance toward the topic, often expressed through word choices such as “enthusiastic” or “indifferent”.

Inference: A deduction drawn from the clues and evidence presented in the text.
Conclusion: The logical outcome or result based on the provided details and evidence in the text.

• Explicit evidence: Directly presented or stated in the text.
• Implicit evidence: Suggested or hinted at, but not directly stated.

Order and Relationship

• Initially
• Ultimately
• Upon
• Subsequently
• Currently
• Conclusively
• Following
• Then
• Prior to
• Thirdly
• During
• Later

Example: adhering to steps in a process or cooking instructions.
Can be applied to uncover missing details.

Text Features

Glossary: a collection of terms used in the text, typically found at the end of the document.
Index: a detailed list of subjects or names with corresponding page numbers, located at the back of the text.
Table of Contents: an organized list of chapters or sections and their locations, found at the start of the text.
Heading: the primary title or label for the document.
Subheading: a title for a specific section or group of related paragraphs within the document.
Footnotes: additional information or references placed at the bottom of a page, providing further context or citations.
Legend: an explanation of symbols, diagrams, or illustrations within the text, often referred to as a “key”.

Key Terms To Know

• Anecdote: A brief and often funny story about a real event or person.
• Audience: The group of people the writer aims to engage with the text.
• Authorial Intent: The reason or purpose behind the author’s creation of the text.
• Bias: A tendency to favor or oppose something in a way that is considered unfair.
• Chronological: The sequence in which events occur, arranged from earliest to most recent.
• Connotation: The emotional or cultural associations that a word evokes beyond its literal meaning.
• Contradiction: Statements or ideas that oppose each other.
• Counterclaim: A statement or argument that contradicts a previous claim.
• Delineate: To describe or outline something in detail.
• Denotation: The direct, literal meaning of a word.
• Figurative Language: Creative language that departs from the literal meaning, including techniques like similes, metaphors, and personification.
  • Simile: A comparison of two things using “like” or “as”.
  • Metaphor: A symbolic comparison where something is described as something it is not (e.g., “love is a battlefield”).
  • Oxymoron: The combination of two opposing or contradictory terms (e.g., “pretty ugly”).
  • Hyperbole: An exaggerated statement used for emphasis (e.g., “he’s as slow as a sloth”).
  • Idiom: A phrase with a meaning that can’t be interpreted literally but represents a broader concept (e.g., “there are bigger fish to fry”).
  • Personification: Giving human traits to non-human entities or objects (e.g., “the sun smiled down on us”).
  • Alliteration: The repetition of consonant sounds at the beginning of words in close proximity (e.g., “green grass grew”).
  • Onomatopoeia: A word that imitates the sound it represents (e.g., “the ghost said boo”).
  • Pun: A humorous play on words, often exploiting multiple meanings (e.g., “a horse is a very stable animal”).
  • Irony: A situation where something said is opposite of what is actually meant, often in a sarcastic manner (e.g., saying “I feel great” when feeling unwell).
• Implicit: Suggested by the content without being explicitly stated.
• Imply: To hint at something rather than stating it outright.
• Paraphrase: Rewording or restating information in your own language.
• Peer-reviewed Journal: Scholarly articles reviewed and assessed by experts in the relevant field before publication.
• Primary Source: Original materials or firsthand accounts of information.
• Secondary Source: Analysis, interpretations, or summaries of primary sources.
• Tertiary Source: A mix of both primary and secondary sources, often used for reference.
• Qualitative Data: Descriptive information that characterizes something, which can be observed but not numerically measured.
• Quantitative Data: Information that can be measured and expressed in numerical terms.
• Query: A question or inquiry.
• Sequential: Occurring in a specific, organized order.