CLT Cheat Sheet 2026

The 30 highest-yield CLT facts, distilled from real exam questions. Print it, save it as a PDF, or study it here — free, no sign-up.

1. A text features two speakers who disagree, and neither is labeled 'correct' by the narrator. This form is most characteristic of: → A Socratic dialogue exploring competing views
2. The ratio of boys to girls in a class is 3:5. If there are 24 boys, how many girls are there? → 40
3. The Magellan-Elcano expedition (1519–1522) was historically significant because it: → Completed the first circumnavigation of the globe
4. Dactylic hexameter, the meter of Homer's and Virgil's epics, uses six feet per line. A single dactyl consists of what syllabic pattern? → One long syllable followed by two short syllables
5. A valid syllogism in classical logic requires that? → The conclusion follows necessarily from the premises if they are true
6. Aristotle identified four causes to fully explain any natural thing. Which of the following is NOT one of Aristotle's four causes? → The mathematical cause (its quantitative properties)
7. The area of a circle with radius 5 is closest to: → 78.5
8. A passage opens: 'It is a truth universally acknowledged…' The ironic force of this opening depends on the reader recognizing that: → What follows will likely challenge or subvert the supposedly universal truth
9. What does the narrative technique 'in medias res' mean? → Beginning the narrative in the middle of the action
10. Plato's allegory of the cave is primarily intended to illustrate: → The difference between mere appearances and genuine knowledge of reality
11. Which logical form represents a valid modus ponens argument? → If P then Q; P; therefore Q
12. The slippery slope fallacy wrongly assumes that: → One event will inevitably lead to extreme, often unwarranted consequences
13. The Platonic Form of the Good occupies what role in Plato's metaphysics? → It is the highest Form, the source of truth and being for all other Forms
14. Which rhetorical device involves the deliberate omission of conjunctions between successive phrases? → Asyndeton
15. Which principle, fundamental to classical logic, states that a proposition cannot be both true and false at the same time and in the same respect? → The law of non-contradiction
16. HOMER : ILIAD :: VIRGIL : ? → Aeneid
17. Stoic philosophers held that human happiness (eudaimonia) depends primarily on? → Virtue and right reason alone, regardless of external circumstances
18. Horace's 'Ars Poetica' famously advises that good poetry should achieve which dual purpose? → To delight and to instruct (aut delectare aut prodesse)
19. Rome's Twelve Tables (c. 450 BC) were historically significant primarily because they: → Were the first Roman laws publicly displayed in written form
20. Which pair of words are antonyms? → Laconic / Garrulous
21. What is the difference between deductive and inductive reasoning? → Deductive goes from general to specific; inductive goes from specific to general
22. A text's tone can best be described as the author's: → Attitude toward the subject or audience as revealed through word choice
23. A passage describes a character who is 'quixotic in his ambitions.' What does 'quixotic' mean? → Idealistic and impractical, pursuing romantic ideals
24. In critical reading, an 'inference' is best described as: → A conclusion drawn from evidence in the text that is not explicitly stated
25. In categorical logic, the statement 'No S is P' is classified as: → A universal negative (E proposition)
26. Which scenario most clearly illustrates the problem with moral relativism? → Arguing that all moral judgments are binding only within one's own cultural group
27. What is the value of 2¹⁰? → 1024
28. What is an allegory? → A narrative where characters and events represent abstract ideas or moral concepts
29. Dante Alighieri chose to write 'The Divine Comedy' in the Tuscan vernacular rather than Latin primarily in order to: → Make the work accessible to readers beyond the educated clergy
30. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published 'The Communist Manifesto' in: → 1848