Entry Level 1 English: Foundations of Reading and Writing
Entry Level 1 English tests the basic reading, writing, and speaking and listening skills needed in everyday life. You will read short texts such as signs, labels, simple messages, and lists; write short sentences and fill in personal details; and show you can follow simple instructions and take part in a short conversation.
Core rules and concepts
- A simple sentence needs a subject and a verb: 'The bus stopped.'
- Start every sentence with a capital letter and end with a full stop, question mark, or exclamation mark.
- Use a capital letter for the pronoun I, names of people and places, days, and months.
- Use a question mark only when the sentence asks a direct question: 'Where is the office?'
- Read for the main idea: who, what, where, when.
- In writing, keep to one idea per sentence; short sentences are safer than long run-ons.
- Common sight words (the, was, said, they, come) should be recognised quickly.
- Fill in forms with personal details: first name, surname, date of birth, address.
Worked example
Text: 'i went to the shop it was closed' Reasoning: The pronoun I must be capitalised. Two complete ideas are joined with no punctuation, so split them into two sentences. 'i' becomes 'I'; add a full stop after 'shop'; capitalise 'It' because it starts a new sentence. Correct: 'I went to the shop. It was closed.' Do not add a comma between the two sentences.
Traps that cost marks
- Writing 'i' instead of 'I'.
- Joining two sentences with a comma (comma splice) or with nothing.
- Forgetting capital letters for names, days, and months.
- Adding apostrophes where no contraction or possession exists: 'The dog's barked.'
- Writing too much when the task asks for one short sentence or a form entry.
- Copying a word incorrectly from the reading text.