BSEH SS OSS English common mistakes
BSEH SS OSS English · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Reading the passage once, then answering comprehension items from memory without returning to the exact sentence that decides the answer, so 'according to the text' items get answered from general knowledge or personal opinion.
Candidates under time pressure treat reading as a single pass and trust recall; exam items are deliberately built so that a plausible option matches the topic but contradicts one specific word in the passage.
What to do instead
For every item, locate and underline the one sentence or clause that justifies the choice, and write the question number beside it. If no single sentence supports an option, eliminate it. Practise with a rule: no evidence line, no answer.
Ignoring discourse markers and reference words (however, therefore, this, the former, such measures) and answering as if each sentence stood alone, which flips the meaning of contrast and cause-effect paragraphs.
Candidates read for content words only and skim over short function words, so a paragraph that concedes a point before rejecting it is read as straightforward endorsement.
What to do instead
Do a dedicated pass marking every connector and pronoun and writing what each refers back to in the margin. Then answer inference and 'writer's attitude' items. Build a short list of contrast, concession, and result markers and drill them until recognition is automatic.
Spending the same time on every gap in a cloze or word-formation task, so the last items are answered in a rush or left blank, and multi-word gaps are filled with the first word that fits grammatically but not in collocation.
There is no triage habit; candidates treat each numbered gap as equally hard and do not notice that some are decided by grammar alone while others need a fixed phrase.
What to do instead
Two-pass method: first pass fill only gaps decided in under ten seconds, second pass return to the rest. For each remaining gap, decide the part of speech needed before choosing a word, then check the collocation (verb + noun, adjective + preposition) against the sentence. Never leave a gap empty.
Choosing an answer that is grammatically possible but wrong for the register or meaning of the whole text, for example a correct tense in a formal letter that breaks the required polite formula or a synonym that does not collocate with the surrounding noun.
Candidates check only the local sentence for grammar and stop there, forgetting that language-in-use items test meaning and appropriateness as well as form.
What to do instead
After selecting an option, reread the full sentence plus the preceding one and ask two questions: does it mean what the writer intends, and would a native writer use this exact phrase here? Reject options that are grammatically fine but semantically or stylistically off.
Writing a task response that answers the prompt in one general paragraph without the required format features (email conventions, article heading, letter opening and closing, bullet-point coverage), so content points are missed even when the English is accurate.
Candidates prepare grammar and vocabulary but never rehearse the genre conventions, and under exam pressure they default to a school-essay shape regardless of what the task asks for.
What to do instead
Before writing, spend two minutes underlining the task's required elements and listing them as a checklist (audience, purpose, register, number of points, word limit). Tick each off after drafting. Practise one timed response per genre so the format is automatic.
Producing a writing script with accurate sentences but no linking between them, repeated basic vocabulary, and no range of structures, then wondering why the band is low despite few errors.
Candidates equate good writing with error-free writing and spend all revision time on grammar correction rather than on cohesion and lexical range.
What to do instead
Keep a personal bank of ten cohesive devices and ten topic-specific collocations and deliberately insert at least three of each into every practice script. After writing, highlight every repeated word and replace two of them with precise alternatives. Ask a teacher to mark only cohesion and range for one draft.
Losing track during a listening text after missing one word, then missing the next two answers while trying to reconstruct the lost item.
Candidates treat listening as total comprehension and panic at gaps, not realising that answers are usually signposted and that the recording continues regardless.
What to do instead
Train a recovery routine: on a missed item, immediately write a dash, look at the next question, and rejoin the audio. Before listening, underline the key word in each question and predict the answer type (number, name, reason) so attention is targeted rather than general.
Writing the first number, spelling, or date heard rather than the one confirmed by the speaker, falling for distractors where a figure is mentioned and then corrected ('at first we said Tuesday, but it's actually Thursday').
Candidates do not anticipate self-correction and treat the first matching word as the answer, while item writers deliberately include a corrected or negated value.
What to do instead
Listen for correction cues (actually, sorry, I mean, no wait) and for negation, and hold the answer until the speaker finishes the point. In practice, transcribe the whole relevant exchange and mark where the real answer was confirmed.
In the speaking test, giving one-sentence answers to personal questions and then running out of things to say in the long turn, leaving long silences.
Candidates answer the literal question only and have no strategy for extending, so fluency and range scores stay low even when accuracy is decent.
What to do instead
Use an extension formula for short answers: direct answer, one reason, one example or contrast. For the long turn, prepare a mental structure (what, when, why it matters, how I feel now) and practise speaking for the full time on unfamiliar prompts with a timer.
Memorising a pre-prepared speech or overusing fillers and hesitation sounds to the point where delivery becomes hard to follow, and not engaging with the examiner's follow-up questions.
Candidates believe a rehearsed script guarantees a high mark and use fillers to buy time instead of paraphrasing, so the speech sounds unnatural and interaction breaks down.
What to do instead
Rehearse frameworks and topic vocabulary rather than full scripts. Replace fillers with paraphrase strategies ('the word I need is something like...', 'what I mean is...'). Record yourself, count fillers, and re-record the same answer with fewer than three.