AP SSC Special English (Second Language) common mistakes
AP SSC Special English (Second Language) · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Answering an unseen comprehension question by copying a whole sentence or paragraph from the passage instead of framing a short answer in the candidate's own words, so the response contains extra irrelevant material and scores partial or zero.
Candidates feel safer copying text verbatim because it is guaranteed correct English; they have not practised the skill of locating the answer, then trimming it to the question's focus (who, why, how many, what reason).
What to do instead
Use the locate-trim-frame routine: underline the key word in the question, find the sentence in the passage containing that key word, then write one sentence that begins with the question's stem (e.g. 'The narrator felt anxious because...'). Practise with ten unseen passages, rewriting answers in under fifteen words each.
Misreading inference and 'why do you think' questions as literal fact questions, so the answer merely repeats a stated detail rather than reasoning from it, or the candidate writes 'I don't know, it is not given' when the passage clearly implies the answer.
Candidates are trained to hunt for exact wording; they do not distinguish 'state' questions from 'infer' questions, and they do not know that inference answers must be supported by a clue in the text plus a logical step.
What to do instead
Before answering, label each question S (stated) or I (inferred). For I questions, write the supporting clue in the margin first, then write the answer as clue plus deduction ('Because she kept checking the clock, we can infer she was worried about being late'). Do a sorting exercise with twenty mixed questions from one passage.
Leaving tense, subject-verb agreement, and article errors in gap-fill and editing tasks even when the surrounding sentence signals the correct form, e.g. writing 'He go to school yesterday' or 'She is one of the best player' in a passage about a past event.
Candidates edit word by word rather than reading the full sentence for time markers and singular/plural cues; they also transfer spoken forms into written answers and do not re-read after filling.
What to do instead
Use a two-pass method: first pass fills gaps, second pass reads each completed sentence aloud silently, checking the verb against its subject and against time words (yesterday, since, next week). Build a personal checklist of five errors to scan for and apply it to every editing passage.
Confusing easily mixed word pairs and word forms in vocabulary items, e.g. choosing 'affect' for 'effect', 'advice' for 'advise', 'economic' for 'economical', or supplying the noun when the blank needs an adjective.
These pairs sound similar and are memorised as single items without their grammatical slots; candidates also ignore the word before and after the blank, which signals the part of speech needed.
What to do instead
Keep a confusable-pairs log with a short original sentence for each member showing its part of speech (e.g. 'The new rule will affect us.' / 'The effect was immediate.'). Before choosing, identify the part of speech the blank requires, then eliminate any option of the wrong class.
Guessing the meaning of an unfamiliar word from its general feel instead of from context clues, and choosing a synonym that fits the topic but not the sentence, e.g. reading 'reluctant' as 'ready' in a sentence where the person is being persuaded.
Candidates rely on approximate recognition and topic expectation; they skip the contrast or cause-effect signals (but, although, therefore) that actually define the word's meaning in that sentence.
What to do instead
Practise the substitution test: insert each option into the sentence and check whether the sentence still makes logical sense with the surrounding contrast or result. Train on ten short paragraphs containing one hard word each, underlining the context clue that decides the meaning before looking at options.
Writing a formal letter that omits required format elements or mixes registers, e.g. no sender's address, no date, a missing subject line in a letter to an editor, and slang or contractions ('I wanna say', 'It's really bad') inside a formal complaint.
Candidates concentrate on content and forget that marks are allotted for layout and tone; they also draft in the same informal voice they use in messages, without switching register.
What to do instead
Memorise one layout template (sender's address, date, receiver's address, subject, salutation, body, closing, signature) and rehearse it until automatic. Keep a formal phrase bank ('I wish to draw your attention to', 'I would be grateful if') and a banned list of contractions and slang for formal tasks.
Writing a notice or description that buries the essential facts (what, when, where, who to contact) in long sentences, or that exceeds the word limit so the key information is diluted and format marks are lost.
Candidates treat notices as essays and try to fill space with description; they do not plan the five or six facts before writing, and they do not count words.
What to do instead
Before writing any notice, list the required facts as bullet points, then convert each bullet into one short line. Draft, count words, and cut adjectives. Practise three notices in twelve minutes each, checking that a reader could act on the notice without asking a question.
Producing a free-composition piece with no clear structure: a story with no climax or resolution, an argument with no stated opinion, and paragraphs that are one long block, so the reader cannot follow the line of thought.
Candidates write whatever comes next, sentence by sentence, without an outline; under time pressure they skip planning and run out of ideas mid-piece, then repeat themselves.
What to do instead
Spend three minutes on a five-line plan before writing: opening situation, complication, turning point, resolution, closing line for a story; or opinion, two reasons, example, conclusion for an argument. Write one paragraph per plan point and check that the last line answers the task.
Using the dictionary entry incompletely in reference-skill tasks: taking the first meaning listed without checking the part of speech or the example sentence, and failing to use guide words and stress marks to locate or pronounce a word.
Candidates read dictionary entries top to bottom and stop at the first definition; they have not been taught that entries are ordered by part of speech and that the example sentence shows which sense fits.
What to do instead
Drill the four-step entry check: part of speech, matching sense, example sentence fit, then stress mark. Do ten items where one word has multiple senses and the sentence decides the sense, and five alphabetical-order and guide-word exercises per week.
Writing a summary or notes that copy long stretches of the passage or include the candidate's own opinion, and note-making that uses full sentences instead of headings, sub-headings, and accepted abbreviations.
Candidates equate summary with retelling; they do not know the rules of compression (keep main ideas, drop examples and repetition, use own words) and have not practised a note-making layout.
What to do instead
Use the read-label-compress sequence: number the passage's main points, give each a two-word heading, then write one clause per point in your own words, with no examples and no opinion. For notes, adopt a fixed indent-and-abbreviation style (e.g. 'govt.', 'imp.', '→') and check the summary against the original for missing main points rather than added detail.