- Main idea
- The central point a passage conveys — what the whole text is mostly about.
- Supporting detail
- A fact, example, statistic, or reason that explains or develops the main idea.
- Author's purpose
- The reason a text was written — to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain.
- Tone
- The author's attitude toward the subject, shown through word choice.
- Mood
- The feeling a passage creates in the reader.
- Inference
- A logical conclusion drawn from text evidence plus reasoning — not stated outright.
- Conclusion (reading)
- A judgment the reader reaches based on the details in a passage.
- Fact
- A statement that can be verified or proven true.
- Opinion
- A belief, judgment, or feeling that cannot be proven.
- Fact vs. opinion
- Facts can be proven; opinions are beliefs or judgments that cannot.
- Context clues
- Hints in surrounding words and sentences that reveal an unfamiliar word's meaning.
- Denotation
- The literal, dictionary meaning of a word.
- Connotation
- The emotional or implied meaning a word carries beyond its literal sense.
- Topic sentence
- The sentence (often first) that states a paragraph's main idea.
- Summary
- A short restatement of a passage's main idea and key points in your own words.
- Paraphrase
- Restating a passage's meaning in different words, keeping the original idea.
- Text structure
- How a passage is organized — cause/effect, compare/contrast, sequence, problem/solution.
- Cause and effect
- A text structure showing why something happens (cause) and its result (effect).
- Compare and contrast
- A text structure showing how two things are alike and different.
- Sequence
- A text structure presenting events or steps in order.
- Problem and solution
- A text structure that presents an issue and a way to resolve it.
- Chronological order
- Arrangement of events in the order they happened in time.
- Argument
- A claim supported by reasons and evidence.
- Claim
- A debatable statement an author argues for.
- Evidence
- Facts, examples, and reasoning used to support a claim.
- Counterargument
- A point that opposes or challenges the author's main claim.
- Assumption
- An unstated belief an author takes for granted within an argument.
- Bias
- A one-sided slant favoring a particular view, often shown by loaded language.
- Loaded language
- Emotionally charged words used to influence the reader's feelings.
- Persuasion
- Writing meant to convince the reader to accept a view or take action.
- Generalization
- A broad statement applied to a whole group, which may or may not be supported.
- Valid argument
- An argument whose conclusion is well supported by sufficient, relevant evidence.
- Relevant evidence
- Information that directly supports the claim being made.
- Point of view
- The perspective from which a text is written or an issue is considered.
- Audience
- The intended readers a text is written for.
- Implied main idea
- A central point the passage suggests without stating directly.
- Theme
- The underlying message or insight about life in a literary passage.
- Literal meaning
- What a text says directly, word for word.
- Figurative language
- Language that goes beyond literal meaning, such as metaphor or simile.
- Metaphor
- A comparison that states one thing is another (without 'like' or 'as').
- Simile
- A comparison using 'like' or 'as'.
- Table of contents
- A list at a book's front showing chapters/sections and their page numbers.
- Index
- An alphabetical list at a book's back giving the pages where topics appear.
- Glossary (reference)
- An alphabetical list of specialized terms and their definitions.
- Citation
- Source information identifying an author, title, and publication details.
- Primary source
- A firsthand or original record of an event or idea.
- Secondary source
- A source that analyzes or interprets primary sources.
- Skimming
- Reading quickly to get the general idea or find a section.
- Scanning
- Reading quickly to locate a specific fact or detail.
- Interpreting a graph
- Reading a trend, value, or comparison from a chart, table, or graph.
- Legend (key)
- The part of a chart or map that explains its symbols or colors.
- Transition word
- A word like however or therefore that links ideas and signals relationships.
- Coherence (reading)
- The logical, connected flow of ideas in a text.
- Drawing conclusions
- Combining text evidence to reach a reasonable judgment.
- Predicting
- Using clues in a passage to anticipate what will come next.
- Main idea vs. theme
- Main idea is what a text is about; theme is the deeper message it conveys.
- Objective writing
- Writing based on facts, free of personal feelings or bias.
- Subjective writing
- Writing shaped by personal opinions, feelings, or interpretation.
- Rhetoric
- The art of using language effectively to persuade an audience.
- Word analysis
- Using prefixes, roots, and suffixes to determine a word's meaning.
- Prefix
- A word part added to the front of a root that changes its meaning (e.g., un-).
- Suffix
- A word part added to the end of a root (e.g., -ful, -tion).
- Root word
- The base part of a word that carries its core meaning.
- Synonym
- A word with the same or nearly the same meaning as another.
- Antonym
- A word with the opposite meaning of another.
- Detail question
- A question asking you to find a specific fact stated in the passage.
- Best summarizes
- A main-idea question asking which choice captures the whole passage.
- Explicit information
- Information stated directly in the text.
- Implicit information
- Information suggested by the text but not stated directly.
- Logical relationship
- How ideas connect — such as cause/effect, sequence, or contrast.
- Evaluating sources
- Judging whether a source is credible, relevant, and well supported.
- Heading
- A label that introduces a section and signals its content.
- Caption
- Text that explains an image, table, or figure.
- Footnote
- A note at the bottom of a page giving a source or extra detail.
- Outline
- A structured plan listing a text's main points and subpoints.
- Inference vs. fact
- An inference is reasoned from clues; a fact is stated directly.
- Supporting an inference
- Pointing to the specific lines that justify a conclusion.
- Comparing two passages
- Identifying how two texts agree, differ, or address an issue.
- Estimation
- Rounding numbers to convenient values to compute a quick, approximate answer.
- Rounding
- Replacing a number with a nearby simpler value (e.g., 7.89 ≈ 8).
- Place value
- The value a digit has based on its position (ones, tens, hundreds…).
- Whole numbers
- The numbers 0, 1, 2, 3, … with no fractions or decimals.
- Integer
- Any whole number and its negative (…, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, …).
- Sum
- The result of addition.
- Difference
- The result of subtraction.
- Product
- The result of multiplication.
- Quotient
- The result of division.
- Factor
- A number that divides evenly into another number.
- Multiple
- The product of a number and an integer (e.g., 12 is a multiple of 4).
- Prime number
- A number greater than 1 with exactly two factors: 1 and itself.
- Composite number
- A number greater than 1 with more than two factors.
- Even number
- An integer divisible by 2.
- Odd number
- An integer not divisible by 2.
- Greatest common factor (GCF)
- The largest factor two or more numbers share.
- Least common multiple (LCM)
- The smallest multiple two or more numbers share.
- Fraction
- A number written a/b showing parts of a whole.
- Numerator
- The top number of a fraction — how many parts you have.
- Denominator
- The bottom number of a fraction — the total equal parts.
- Equivalent fractions
- Fractions that name the same value (e.g., ½ = 2/4).
- Simplifying a fraction
- Dividing numerator and denominator by their GCF to reduce it.
- Common denominator
- A shared denominator used to add or subtract fractions.
- Improper fraction
- A fraction whose numerator is greater than or equal to its denominator.
- Mixed number
- A whole number combined with a fraction (e.g., 2½).
- Adding fractions
- Find a common denominator, add the numerators, keep the denominator.
- Multiplying fractions
- Multiply numerators and denominators straight across.
- Dividing fractions
- Multiply by the reciprocal of the second fraction.
- Reciprocal
- The fraction flipped: the reciprocal of 3/4 is 4/3.
- Decimal
- A number using a point to show parts of a whole (e.g., 0.25).
- Decimal place value
- Positions after the point: tenths, hundredths, thousandths.
- Fraction to decimal
- Divide the numerator by the denominator (¾ = 3 ÷ 4 = 0.75).
- Decimal to percent
- Multiply by 100 (0.25 → 25%).
- Percent
- A part per hundred; 25% means 25 out of 100.
- Percent to decimal
- Divide by 100, or move the point two places left (25% = 0.25).
- Percent of a number
- Convert the percent to a decimal and multiply: 20% of 80 = 0.20 × 80 = 16.
- Percent change
- (new − old) ÷ old × 100.
- Percent increase
- A positive percent change when a value goes up.
- Percent decrease
- A negative percent change when a value goes down.
- Discount
- A reduction in price; a 25%-off price equals 0.75 × the original.
- Equivalent forms
- A fraction, decimal, and percent that name the same value (½ = 0.5 = 50%).
- Ratio
- A comparison of two quantities by division (3 to 4, or 3:4).
- Proportion
- An equation stating two ratios are equal; solve by cross-multiplying.
- Cross-multiplying
- Setting the cross products of a proportion equal to solve for a variable.
- Unit rate
- A ratio with a denominator of 1, such as miles per hour or price per item.
- Scale factor
- The ratio by which a quantity or figure is enlarged or reduced.
- Order of operations
- Parentheses, Exponents, Multiplication/Division, Addition/Subtraction (PEMDAS).
- PEMDAS
- The order: Parentheses, Exponents, Multiply/Divide (left to right), Add/Subtract (left to right).
- Exponent
- A small number showing how many times a base is multiplied by itself (3² = 9).
- Square
- A number multiplied by itself (5² = 25).
- Square root
- A value that, multiplied by itself, gives the number (√25 = 5).
- Absolute value
- A number's distance from zero, always non-negative (|−4| = 4).
- Negative number
- A number less than zero.
- Mean
- The average — add all values and divide by how many there are.
- Median
- The middle value of a data set arranged in order.
- Mode
- The value that appears most often in a data set.
- Range (statistics)
- The difference between the highest and lowest values.
- Outlier
- A value far from the rest of a data set, which can skew the mean.
- Mean vs. median
- The median resists outliers; the mean is affected by extreme values.
- Probability
- Favorable outcomes ÷ total outcomes, a number from 0 to 1.
- Certain event
- An event with probability 1 — it will always happen.
- Impossible event
- An event with probability 0 — it never happens.
- Data table
- A grid organizing values in rows and columns.
- Bar graph
- A graph using bars to compare quantities across categories.
- Line graph
- A graph using points connected by lines to show change over time.
- Pie chart
- A circular graph showing parts of a whole as slices.
- Reading a graph
- Use the title, axis labels, and units to find the value you need.
- Word problem
- A math question stated in words that you translate into a calculation.
- Keyword: 'of'
- In word problems, 'of' usually signals multiplication.
- Keyword: 'per'
- Signals a rate or division (miles per hour).
- Keyword: 'total'
- Signals addition or a sum.
- Measurement
- Quantifying length, weight, volume, or time using units.
- Unit conversion
- Changing a measurement from one unit to another (feet to inches).
- Perimeter
- The total distance around the outside of a shape.
- Area
- The amount of surface a shape covers, measured in square units.
- Area of a rectangle
- Length × width.
- Area of a triangle
- ½ × base × height.
- Volume
- The amount of space a solid occupies, in cubic units.
- Average speed
- Total distance divided by total time.
- Elapsed time
- The amount of time that passes between a start and end time.
- Estimating a product
- Round each factor, then multiply: 6 × 7.89 ≈ 6 × 8 = 48.
- Number line
- A line showing numbers in order, used to compare and locate values.
- Comparing numbers
- Rewrite values in one form (all decimals or fractions) to order them.
- Greater than / less than
- Symbols > and < show which value is larger or smaller.
- Pattern
- A sequence that follows a rule; find the rule to extend it.
- Sequence (math)
- An ordered list of numbers following a pattern.
- Variable
- A letter standing in for an unknown number.
- Expression
- A combination of numbers, variables, and operations with no equals sign.
- Equation
- A statement that two expressions are equal (has an = sign).
- Solving an equation
- Doing the same inverse operation to both sides to isolate the variable.
- Inverse operations
- Operations that undo each other (addition/subtraction; multiplication/division).
- Coordinate plane
- A grid formed by a horizontal x-axis and vertical y-axis.
- Ordered pair
- Coordinates (x, y) that locate a point on the plane.
- Rounding to estimate sums
- Round addends to friendly numbers, then add to approximate.
- Fraction of a quantity
- Multiply the fraction by the quantity (⅓ of 90 = 30).
- Halving and doubling
- ½ of a number is dividing by 2; doubling is multiplying by 2.
- Tip / sales tax
- A percent added to a bill; compute the percent and add it on.
- Common percent fractions
- 25% = ¼, 20% = ⅕, 50% = ½, 10% = ⅒ — useful for mental math.
- Rate
- A ratio comparing quantities with different units (e.g., $ per pound).
- Proportional reasoning
- Using equal ratios to scale a quantity up or down.
- Estimating a quotient
- Round to compatible numbers that divide easily.
- Mental math
- Computing without paper or a calculator — required on the CBEST.
- Logical reasoning
- Drawing a valid conclusion from given numerical information.
- Mixed operations
- A problem requiring more than one operation, done in PEMDAS order.
- Interpreting remainders
- Deciding what a remainder means in a real-world division problem.
- Significant digits in estimates
- Keeping enough precision to compare answer choices.
- Equivalent ratios
- Ratios that reduce to the same value (2:4 = 1:2).
- Thesis
- A clear sentence stating an essay's central idea or position.
- Expressive essay
- The CBEST essay about and reflecting on a specific personal experience.
- Analytical essay
- The CBEST essay that takes and defends a position with reasons and examples.
- Two CBEST essays
- One expressive (personal experience) and one analytical (defend a position).
- Prompt
- The question or topic an essay must respond to.
- Introduction
- The opening paragraph that states the thesis and previews the essay.
- Body paragraph
- A paragraph that develops one main point with specific support.
- Conclusion (essay)
- The closing paragraph that restates the central idea briefly.
- Topic development
- Supporting a point with specific, relevant details and examples.
- Specific support
- Concrete examples and details that prove a point, not vague claims.
- Coherence
- The logical flow of ideas across an essay.
- Unity
- Keeping every sentence in a paragraph focused on one main idea.
- Transition
- A word or phrase (however, therefore, for example) that links ideas.
- Organization
- The logical order and structure of an essay's ideas.
- Focus
- Keeping an essay centered on the prompt and the thesis.
- Audience (writing)
- The readers a piece of writing is intended for.
- Purpose (writing)
- The reason for writing — to narrate, explain, or persuade.
- Standard written English
- The conventional grammar, usage, punctuation, and spelling of formal writing.
- Grammar
- The rules governing how words combine into correct sentences.
- Usage
- The accepted way words and phrases are used in standard English.
- Mechanics
- Punctuation, capitalization, and spelling conventions.
- Subject
- The noun or pronoun that performs the action in a sentence.
- Predicate
- The part of a sentence containing the verb and what it says about the subject.
- Subject-verb agreement
- A singular subject takes a singular verb; a plural subject a plural verb.
- Verb tense
- The form of a verb showing when an action happens (past, present, future).
- Consistent tense
- Keeping verb tense the same unless the time frame truly changes.
- Pronoun
- A word that replaces a noun (he, she, it, they).
- Pronoun-antecedent agreement
- A pronoun must match the noun it refers to in number.
- Pronoun reference
- Every pronoun must clearly point to one specific noun.
- Complete sentence
- A group of words with a subject, a verb, and a complete thought.
- Sentence fragment
- An incomplete sentence missing a subject, verb, or complete thought.
- Run-on sentence
- Two complete sentences joined without proper punctuation or a conjunction.
- Comma splice
- Two complete sentences joined by only a comma — an error.
- Independent clause
- A clause that can stand alone as a complete sentence.
- Dependent clause
- A clause that cannot stand alone and needs a main clause.
- Conjunction
- A word that joins words or clauses (and, but, or, because).
- Coordinating conjunction
- Joins equal parts: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (FANBOYS).
- Comma
- Punctuation that separates items and sets off phrases and clauses.
- Apostrophe
- Shows possession or contraction — not plurals.
- Semicolon
- Joins two closely related independent clauses without a conjunction.
- Colon
- Introduces a list, explanation, or quotation after a complete sentence.
- Capitalization
- Beginning sentences and proper nouns with a capital letter.
- Parallel structure
- Items in a list or comparison share the same grammatical form.
- Modifier
- A word or phrase that describes another part of a sentence.
- Misplaced modifier
- A modifier positioned so it seems to describe the wrong word.
- Dangling modifier
- A modifier with no clear word in the sentence to describe.
- Word choice (diction)
- Choosing precise, appropriate words for the meaning and tone.
- Wordiness
- Using more words than needed; concise writing scores higher.
- Active voice
- The subject performs the action (The teacher graded the tests).
- Passive voice
- The subject receives the action (The tests were graded).
- Concise writing
- Expressing ideas clearly in as few words as needed.
- Spelling
- Writing words with their correct letters.
- Homophones
- Words that sound alike but differ in meaning/spelling (their/there/they're).
- Proofreading
- Reviewing writing to catch grammar, usage, and mechanics errors.
- Revising
- Improving an essay's ideas, organization, and clarity.
- Outline (writing)
- A plan listing the thesis and supporting points before drafting.
- Supporting example
- A specific instance used to back up a point.
- Counterargument (writing)
- Acknowledging the opposing view to strengthen your own argument.
- Restating the thesis
- Reminding the reader of your central idea in the conclusion.
- Sentence variety
- Mixing sentence lengths and types to keep writing engaging.
