GED: The Language of the Test: The Language of the Test, List 6

Difference has many meanings, but they all describe things that are not the same. When comparing two ideas or passages, you might be asked to identify similarities and differences. On the GED Mathematical Reasoning Test, the number that is the result of a subtraction problem is called "the difference" because it is the difference between two values.

This is another word that will come up when you are comparing things. Two things are similar when they are almost the same. When you notice that two things are similar, you are identifying similarities.

When you reveal something, you make known something that was hidden, unknown, or secret. Reveal can be used as a synonym for show. If you are asked what a particular action reveals about a character or what part of a graph reveals about a set of data, you need to identify what the action or graph shows.

To carry out an in-depth discussion or investigation of something is to examine it in detail. Other words related to examine include study, investigate, and analyze.

Explicit points are made directly; you won't have to read between the lines to find them in a reading passage. If a question asks you about what a writer has explicitly stated, you better head back to the passage to find it. It will be right there in front of you. Explicit is the opposite of implicit, meaning "suggested or implied, but not stated directly."

Can you see the word imply in the word implicit? That can help you remember that implicit is an adjective to describe something that is not directly (or explicitly) stated. You may have to figure out the implicit message conveyed by a passage or author.

A portion is a part or section of something. Questions on the GED may refer to "the underlined portion" of a passage.

On a standardized test, the word propose isn't about asking someone to marry you! To propose is to suggest an idea. Propose isn't as strong as assert or contend. You propose something when you have an idea you're not sure of and you are testing it out. For example, a scientist may propose a hypothesis and then test that hypothesis through experimentation.

An author is a writer, and you will spend some of your time on the GED Reasoning Through Language Arts Test trying to figure out what messages different authors are trying to express through their writing. Be careful not to confuse an author with a narrator, the fictional person telling a story.

Tone refers to an author's attitude or point of view toward his or her subject. A line, paragraph, or an entire passage could be described as communicating a gloomy tone, an optimistic tone, a playful tone, a critical tone, etc. You get the idea.

An intention is the result you mean to happen from an action you take. Other words that are related to intention are purpose and reason.

Graphics, including charts and graphs, are images that convey data or other kinds of information. On the GED Test, you will see charts and graphs on the Mathematical Reasoning Test and you also may see graphics on the Science Test and the Social Studies Test.