Use of English

Exam Practice

Many students preparing for an English exam discover that success depends on more than simply learning long lists of words. In fact, one of the best ways to improve is to become familiar with the kind of language that regularly (0) APPEARS in exam tasks. In a Multiple Choice Cloze exercise, candidates must choose the option that best fits each gap, paying close attention to meaning, grammar and common word combinations. This part of the test is designed to (1) .......... how well students understand collocations, fixed phrases and phrasal verbs. It is not enough to know the general meaning of a word; learners must also be aware of the context in which it is usually (2) .......... . For this reason, teachers often advise students to (3) .......... notes of useful expressions while reading articles, stories and reviews. Another helpful strategy is to look (4) .......... mistakes after completing a task, rather than simply checking the score. In this way, students can focus (5) .......... the language points that caused difficulty. With regular practice, they begin to (6) .......... up confidence and recognise patterns more quickly. As a result, they are less likely to be (7) .......... in by distractors and more likely to (8) .......... the correct answer with care.