Grammar
FANBOYS for Coordinating Conjunctions — Remember For, And, Nor, But, Or, Yet, So to identify coordinating conjunctions that join independent clauses. Use commas before these when connecting two complete sentences.
Modal Memory: MUST/CAN/MAY/SHOULD — Must = strong obligation/certainty; Can = ability/permission; May = polite permission/possibility; Should = advice/expectation. Remember: Must never takes "to" after it; "must have" shows past certainty.
BAUS for Articles — Use "a/an" for: Before singular countable nouns (first mention), Any member of a group, Universal truths with professions, Some expressions (a lot, a few). "The" = specific/second mention.
Reporting Verb Tense Shift — Direct to Indirect: Present→Past, Past→Past Perfect, Will→Would, Can→Could. Exception: Universal truths stay present tense (e.g., "Earth revolves" remains "revolves").
Subject-Verb: Prepositional Phrase Trap — Ignore prepositional phrases between subject-verb. "The box of chocolates IS" not "are"—box is singular subject. Cross out "of chocolates" mentally to check agreement.
Active-Passive Formula — Passive = Object + be-form + V3 + by + Subject. Tense stays: is written (present), was written (past), will be written (future). Modal passives: can be + V3.
Vocabulary
RAVEN for Homophones — Read context carefully, Associate spelling with meaning (to/two/too), Visualize the word in sentence, Eliminate wrong options, Never guess without context clues.
Common Collocation Pairs — Heavy rain (not strong), Make a mistake (not do), Do homework (not make), Take a decision (British)/Make a decision (American), Fast food (not quick).
I before E Rule — "I before E except after C, or when sounding like A as in neighbor and weigh." Works for: believe, receive, eight. Exceptions: weird, science, species.
Prefix Memory: UN/DIS/IN/MIS — UN = not/reverse (unhappy, undo); DIS = not/opposite/apart (disagree, disarm); IN/IM/IL/IR = not (invisible, impossible); MIS = wrongly (misplace, misspell).
One-Word Substitution: -CIDE endings — Suicide (self), Homicide (human), Patricide (father), Matricide (mother), Fratricide (brother), Infanticide (infant), Genocide (race/nation). All mean "killing of."
Comprehension and Composition
6W1H for Comprehension — Always identify: Who, What, When, Where, Why, Which, How. Answer questions by locating these elements; most answers directly mention or paraphrase these from passage.
Para Jumble: Opening-Closing Rule — Opening sentence = introduces topic (no pronouns/references to previous context). Closing sentence = conclusion/summary words (thus, therefore, finally). Fix these first, then connect middle sentences.
Cloze Test: Read-Through Strategy — First read entire passage ignoring blanks to grasp context. Second reading: fill easy blanks (articles, prepositions). Third: use surrounding words for tense/agreement clues before filling difficult blanks.
Formal Letter Format: HEADING-CONTENT-CLOSING — Heading = sender's address (top right) + date; Content = receiver's address (left) + salutation (Sir/Madam) + 3 paragraphs (intro, body, conclusion); Closing = Yours faithfully/sincerely + signature.
Speech and Pronunciation
Word Stress: Noun-Verb Shift — Two-syllable words: nouns stress first syllable (PREsent, REcord, OBject), verbs stress second (preSENT, reCORD, obJECT). Test with: produce, conflict, permit, desert, subject.
Silent Letter Mnemonics — KNIGHT has silent K+GH; ISLAND has silent S; DEBT/DOUBT have silent B; PSYCHOLOGY/PSYCHIATRIST have silent P; WRESTLING has silent T; WEDNESDAY drops first D in speech.
Schwa Sound (ə) — Most unstressed syllables = "uh" sound (schwa). Examples: About (ə-BOUT), Banana (bə-NA-nə), Camera (CAM-rə), Separate (SEP-ə-rate). Recognize this weak, neutral vowel in multi-syllable words.
Scholar Section
Figures of Speech: S-M-P-A — Simile (like/as comparison), Metaphor (direct comparison without like/as), Personification (human qualities to non-human), Alliteration (repeated initial consonant sounds). Peter Piper = alliteration.
Literary Device: SOAP — Symbolism (object represents idea), Onomatopoeia (sound words: buzz, hiss), Allusion (reference to known work/event), Paradox (contradictory statement that's true: "less is more").