Exam Tip!

If you choose an answer because you like the sound of it, you should stick to it. English
loves alliteration so there are many examples where the first letters in an expression are the
same:
the coast is clear
it's a cheap and cheerful restaurant
he's a strong, silent type
There are also many poetic expressions in English. Which sounds better out of these:
time flies
time goes
time runs
The rhyme in the first one creates a better, more poetic effect and if you are unsure of the
answer in this section of the Use of English paper, think about either alliteration or poetry.

Exam Tip!
Don't go changing all the answers at the end. Research shows that students are more likely
to change a correct answer into a wrong answer than the other way around. Students will
often pick an answer based on its "feel" or their instinct, based for example on the sounds
we were talking about above. These "guesses" should be left as they are!

Exam Tip!
Read the whole sentence or the whole text. Often the answer required for the space is
dependent on a word or reference many words before or after it. Look at this example:
Kathy spent the afternoon looking for the phone and finally John admitted taking it because
he hadn't known that it was ______.
The answer is "HERS" but you wouldn't know that unless you'd read the name that appears
TWENTY-ONE words before the gap!

Exam Tip!
Keep a database of difficult open cloze questions. This could be on your computer or in a
notebook. You might list them like this:
put it IN order (to put something in order)
licked ITS paw (pronoun for objects/animals)
set UP a company (phrasal verb 'set up', to establish, create)
Exam Tip!
If you are sure that the word is, for example, an adjective but you can't think what the exact
word is, try thinking of "usual" prefixes and suffixes. Perhaps it needs the suffix "ive" or
the prefix "de". Try a few out and see which ones seem to be best. This can also be done
with nouns and verbs. Remember one thing: you know more English than you think you
do! If you don't try, when you see the answer, you'll say "I knew that!" so think a little first,
try to build your way to the answer!

Exam Tip!
Read the entire text/sentence to get a good idea of context. What "type" of word do you
need? It's good practice to go through one of these exercises just thinking about "what
category of word?" and "positive or negative?" Is it a positive noun (competitiveness) or a
negative adjective (unfriendly). Always be thinking in those terms and it will make the
word formation part of the Use of English exam easier.
Exam Tip!
Each question is marked in two halves and it's perfectly possible to get one whole point in
the exam just for getting a single word correctly, even if you don't know the other words to
put in the gap. So you should always give every question a try.

Exam Tip!
Reading Exam - Things To Do
1. If you have to fill in a paragraph, make sure that it doesn't only make grammatical
sense, but that the new paragraph makes sense in the context of the entire passage.
2. Keep a "map" of the text in your head. This may be just a few key ideas/sentences.
e.g. Dreams can be interpreted, people believed this hundreds of years ago, dreams
can be altered by what's happening in your life, dream analysis may help you. This
map of the reading passage will help you fill any gaps in it.
3. Don't reject any options without checking it against the text.
Exam Tip!
Reading Exam - Things To Do
1. Read the instructions very carefully, even if you think you already know what you
have to do.
2. Read the entire text carefully before you try to answer the questions. This will give
you an overall impression and understanding of it.
3. Be careful to read all titles and sub-titles too, they can be very helpful.
4. If there is a gap, read the words around the gap carefully, both before and after the
gap.

Exam Tip!
Reading Exam - Things Not To Do
1. Don't try to answer any questions without looking carefully at the text.
2. Don't waste too much time on a difficult reading exercise. Move on!
3. Don't presume that if you find a key word in both a question and the text, that you
have found the answer.

Exam Tip!
Reading Exam - ...And Most Importantly
Prepare for the exam by reading more! Read as many different types of things in English as
possible, it will help your reading skills.

Formal and informal English

Short stories and leaflets
Magazine and newspaper articles
Websites and non-fiction
Manuals and instructions