English Language Skills (ELS)
Core concepts
English Language Skills questions test standard edited American English: sentence completeness, coordination and subordination, subject-verb agreement, pronoun case and reference, verb tense and mood, modifier placement, parallelism, punctuation, capitalization, spelling, vocabulary, and idioms. Know the difference between a fragment, a run-on, and a comma splice. A semicolon joins independent clauses; a colon introduces a list or explanation; commas set off nonessential information but not essential information. Make every pronoun have a clear antecedent and every modifier sit next to the word it describes.
Traps
The test often hides an agreement error behind a prepositional phrase, as in The box of ornaments is heavy, not are. Indefinite pronouns such as each, everyone, and neither are usually singular. Collective nouns are singular when acting as a unit. Do not choose a word because it sounds formal; check its meaning and idiom. Watch affect/effect, its/it's, their/there/they're, who/whom, lie/lay, and fewer/less. A long sentence is not automatically better; unnecessary words and tangled clauses create errors.
Worked example
In Each of the students (has/have) submitted a draft, the subject is Each, not students, so choose has. Rule of thumb: cross out prepositional phrases and parenthetical material, then match the verb to the true subject.