Preparing and sitting for tests may seem stressful due to the desire to score high in English tests, but if smart strategies are employed, it can end up being quite fun and fulfilling. The efficient study comes by studying smart (not harder). Implementing the following strategies enables you to get the most of your limited time as well as gain the most from your study sessions. Here are the general steps to prepare for the test.
How to score high in English tests
Proper preparation
Reading is a bigger part of preparation than any other strategy you may employ to pass English. Preparation will help the questions make more sense hence allowing you to have an easier time answering them.
Make a time table of what lessons to cover at different times such that you always know what you need to do when studying. This will help you reduce time wastage. Besides, you can utilize different forms/mediums of learning, such as games, audio, video among others to improve efficiency.
Research on how the particular exam will be like
Working on sample questions is a great way of understanding how to tackle your upcoming test. You may be asked to differentiate, complete the gaps or explain what a statement means. Ensure you are comfortable with all kinds of settings for different questions. Doing practice exercises will also help you familiarize yourself with test questions and how to answer them.
Quiz yourself
Do your homework and also look for more exercises to practice your English. In addition to learning by yourself, study with friends too as it helps to get the context in certain questions that you would have otherwise not understood on your own.
Doing practice tests before the main test will help you have more confidence, understand the formatting of questions better and have better decision making in answers meant to trick you. It’s a cinch you will score high in English tests once you imbibe all these tips.
Learn from your mistakes
Go through your answers with a keen note on what you got wrong. Most people are quick to see what they got right. However, they forget there is still more work to be done to improve their scores. Understand why you got them wrong and look for ways to improve in the future.
Always read the instructions well and make sure you know which language structures or grammar rules you are supposed to use in each exercise. In sentence fill-ins, always read the whole sentence up to its end, understand the context, and only then address the grammar point at hand.
Remember, working on your weaknesses is the only way you become better.
Develop a method of eliminating answers
Multiple choice answers are meant to trick you. If the answers confuse you, read the question over and over again until one of the answers makes more sense. Do not leave any unanswered questions as you may lose points you would have otherwise got right. Once you eliminate the wrong answers, then choose one of the remaining.
This strategy will help you score higher points, which you would probably have lost if you ignored the question completely.
Find a way to control your nerves
It’s okay to pause, take a breath to relax then go on with the test. If that does not work, you can try sipping water to calm your nerves. Either way, find a method that works for you. Also, do not be afraid to take your time on these questions. Being in a hurry may cost more points than being out of time.
Begin with the simple questions then head on to the more complicated ones. This way, you do not lose points you could have otherwise gotten because you ran out of time. Starting with the simpler questions will also give you a boost of confidence to face tougher questions.
Watch this video to find out six top tips to help you in your writing exam. Then visit our website and test your understanding in our quiz: http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/…
Sample ways to score high in English Tests
Question 1.
Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or the best completion of the statement.
Sometimes when we don‘t get enough sleep, we become very short-tempered.
It is important to set a time to go to bed that is realistic.
How are these two sentences related?
- a) The second sentence contradicts the first.
- b) The first sentence explains the meaning of the second.
- c) The second sentence explains why a lack of sleep affects us.
- d) The second sentence proposes a solution.
Answer: D
Sentence one depicts a problem: a lack of sleep and a bad mood. Sentence two shows how to solve that problem.
Question 2.
Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or the best completion of the statement.
When we write a check that we know is going to “bounce,” we are, in fact performing a criminal act.
It is a crime to knowingly write a “bad” check, one we know we don’t have sufficient funds to cover.
What does the second statement do?
- a) It provides a contradictory point of view.
- b) It provides supporting evidence for the first statement.
- c) It draws a conclusion from the first sentence.
- d) It restates the central idea of the first sentence.
Answer: D
Notice the repeated terms: “criminal act” and “crime,” and “check that…is going to ‘bounce’” and “‘bad’ check.” These are the same ideas phrased in different ways.
Question 3.
Read the passage and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the question based on what is stated or implied in the passage.
In the words of Thomas De Quincey, “It is notorious that the memory strengthens as you lay burdens upon it.” If, like most people, you have trouble recalling the names of those you have just met, try this: The next time you are introduced, plan to remember the names. Say to yourself, “I’ll listen carefully; I’ll repeat each person’s name to be sure I have it, and I will remember.” You’ll discover how effective this technique is and probably recall those names for the rest of your life.
The passage suggests that people remember names best when they;
- a) are interested in people
- b) decide to do so
- c) are intelligent
- d) meet new people
Answer: B
With this question, the key sentence from the passage is “The next time you are introduced, plan to remember the names.” This indicates that memory is a decision.
Question 4.
Read the passage and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the question based on what is stated or implied in the passage.
Samuel Morse, best known today as the inventor of Morse Code and one of the inventors of the telegraph, was originally a prominent painter. While he was always interested in technology and studied electrical engineering in college, Morse went to Paris to learn from famous artists of his day and later painted many pictures that now hang in museums, including a portrait of former President John Adams. In 1825, Morse was in Washington, D.C., painting a portrait of the Marquis de Lafayette when a messenger arrived on horseback to tell him that his wife was gravely ill back at his home in Connecticut. The message had taken several days to reach him because of the distance. Morse rushed to his home as fast as he could, but his wife had already passed away by the time he arrived. Grief-stricken, he gave up painting and devoted the rest of his life to finding ways to transmit messages over long distances faster.
Morse left the art world and helped to invent the telegraph because he;
- a) experienced a personal tragedy in his life
- b) was tired of painting
- c) wanted to communicate with people far away
- d) was fascinated by science
Answer: A
The first two sentences discuss Morse’s background in painting, while the rest of the paragraph explains how his wife’s death led him to develop better communication technology.
Question 5:
Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or the best completion of the statement.
Serving on a jury is an important obligation of citizenship.
Many companies allow their employees paid leaves of absence to serve on juries.
What does the second sentence do?
- a) It draws a conclusion based on the first sentence.
- b) It identifies the cause of the first sentence.
- c) It counters what is stated in the first sentence.
- d) It reinforces what is stated in the first sentence.
Answer: A
The company policy described in sentence two is supporting evidence for the claim that jury duty is important.
Question 6.
Read the passage and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the question based on what is stated or implied in the passage.
Many people have owned, or have heard of, traditional “piggy banks,” coin banks shaped like pigs. A logical theory about how this tradition started might be that because pigs often symbolize greed, the object is to “fatten” one’s piggy bank with as much money as possible.
However, while this idea makes sense, it is not the correct origin of the term. The genesis of the piggy bank is the old English word “pygg,” which was a common kind of clay hundreds of years ago in England.
People used pots and jars made out of this red “pygg” clay for many different purposes in their homes. Sometimes they kept their money in one of the pots, and this was known as a pygg bank.
Over the years, because “pygg” and “pig” sounded the same, glaziers began making novelty banks out of pottery in the shape of a pig as a kind of joke. These banks were given as gifts and exported to countries where people spoke other languages and where no one had ever heard of pygg clay. The tradition caught on all over the world, and today piggy banks come in all colors and are made of all kinds of materials, including plastic.
This passage is mainly about how
- a) people in different countries save their money
- b) a common term originated in a surprising way
- c) an unusual custom got started
- d) people in England made pottery centuries ago
Answer: B
The first paragraph introduces a common conception about the term “piggy bank,” while the second paragraph explains the actual origins.
Question 7.
Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or the best completion of the statement.
Carrots and apples are very healthy foods.
Dietitians often eat these foods and recommend them to patients.
How is the second sentence related to the first sentence?
- a) It parrots the first sentence.
- b) It disagrees with the first sentence.
- c) It gives a solution to the first sentence.
- d) It supports the first sentence
Answer: C
Great job! The second sentence provides evidence to back up the claim in the first sentence. If anyone doubted that carrots and apples were healthy, sentence two would respond to those doubts
Question 8.
Read the underlined sentences, then choose the best answer to the question or the best completion of the statement.
Anthony got a substantial raise at work.
He will now have much more work to do.
How is the second sentence related to the first sentence?
- a) It reinforces the first statement.
- b) It expands on the first statement.
- c) It states a consequence.
- d) It contrasts with the first statement.
Answer: C
The sentences suggest that Anthony’s higher pay will result in him having to work more. Notice how well the sentences work together if you add the phrase “As a result” to the beginning of sentence two.
Question 9.
Read the passage and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the question based on what is stated or implied in the passage.
In 1970 about sixty small and medium-sized factories in the United States adopted a four-day workweek. According to the plan, workers work forty hours but instead of the usual five-day week, they now work only four days. Workers are enthusiastic about the three-day weekly vacation. According to management, productivity has increased by about 18% since the inception of the new plan. Absenteeism has dropped by 69% and lateness is almost non-existent.
The passage suggests that a four-day workweek may result in
- a) increased productivity, enthusiasm, and attendance.
- b) significant changes in the 1970s.
- c) 40-hour workweeks for factory workers.
- d) 69% lateness or absenteeism among workers.
Answer: A
This passage notes several positive results from the four-day workweek. Good job reading the passage and question carefully.
Question 10.
Read the passage and then choose the best answer to the question. Answer the question based on what is stated or implied in the passage.
With varying success, many women around the world today struggle for equal rights. Historically, women have achieved greater equality with men during periods of social adversity. The following factors initiated the greatest number of improvements for women: violent revolution, world war, and the rigors of pioneering in undeveloped land. In all three cases, the essential element that improved the status of women was a shortage of men, which required women to perform many of society’s vital tasks.
We can conclude from the information in this passage that
- a) historically, women have only achieved equality through force
- b) only pioneer women have been considered equal to men
- c) historically, the principle of equality alone has not been enough to secure women equal rights
- d) women today are highly successful in winning equal rights.
Answer: A
This is one instance where you can arrive at the solution by the process of elimination. None of the other statements line up with the content of the paragraph. According to the passage, equal rights have come about not because of the principle of equality but because of a very practical reason: “a shortage of men.”
After taking the quiz several times, I drew two conclusions.
- First, it improves my decision making. The mistakes from indecisions in the first-round decrease as I understand why I failed and correct this error when faced with a similar question.
- Secondly, the time taken to answers questions reduces in the subsequent attempts. With improved decision making and confidence, I easily tackle the questions with more ease and at a shorter time period.
It is thus correct to say that by using the above techniques I have improved my scores substantially.
Taking a test does not have to be a grueling task that gives you butterflies every time you think about it. Besides, preparing for a test is not only about the reading but also involves mental preparation. Utilizing these and other tested strategies will improve how well you score in English tests.
Many offers are out there to help you score high in your English tests. The difficulty stems mainly from deciding which advice to follow, but with the Internet out there, you can be equipped by constantly searching for tips and lots of practice.
One last tip: In all the tests, don’t remember the answers but how the correct answers were obtained.
