English Proficiency
English Proficiency covers standard written English: grammar and usage, vocabulary in context, sentence completion, error identification, and short reading passages. It tests control of conventions that appear in academic and workplace writing, not literary interpretation.
Grammar checks that recur
Make the verb agree with its subject, not with a phrase between them: 'The list of items is long.' With 'neither … nor,' the verb agrees with the nearer subject: 'Neither the manager nor the assistants were informed.' Keep tenses consistent, keep lists parallel ('planning, writing, and editing'), and place modifiers next to what they describe.
Vocabulary and sentence completion
Use the sentence's logic before the options: contrast words ('although,' 'but') point to an opposite; cause words ('because,' 'therefore') point to a consequence. For vocabulary, substitute each option into the sentence and check both meaning and collocation ('make a decision,' not 'do a decision').
Reading passages
Answer only from the passage. Distinguish main idea from supporting detail and from inference. An inference must be tightly supported; a true statement about the world is still wrong if the passage does not imply it.
Worked example: 'Neither the supervisor nor the technicians ___ aware of the schedule change.' Options: was, were, is, has. The subject is compound with 'neither … nor,' so the verb agrees with the nearer noun, 'technicians,' which is plural. The sentence is past tense, so 'were' is correct.
Traps: relying on how a sentence sounds rather than identifying the subject; comma splices; confusing 'its/it's,' 'affect/effect,' and 'fewer/less'; missing EXCEPT or NOT; choosing an answer because it is true rather than because the passage says it.