SOF IEO study guide
SOF IEO · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The International English Olympiad (IEO) is an annual academic competition run by the Science Olympiad Foundation (SOF) for students in classes 1 to 12, built to assess knowledge and skills in English language and comprehension. It runs in two levels: Level 1 is open to classes 1 to 12, while Level 2 is open only to classes 3 to 12, with no second level for classes 1 and 2. Level 1 is a one-hour offline exam delivered in English, and the registration fee is ₹170. Entry is through school authorities only - students cannot apply individually and should submit forms at least 30 days before the exam date. Topics on this exam: English language and comprehension (word order, conditionals, modals, collocations, phrasal verbs, idioms, language and people) and Problem-solving and critical thinking tasks in English. The SOF IEO study guide has 2 sections and about 871 words.
01English Language and Comprehension: Grammar, Vocabulary and Register
This SOF IEO domain rewards spotting the one grammatical or idiomatic option among near-misses: sentence completion and reordering, error spotting, and short passages testing word order, conditionals, modals, collocations, phrasal verbs, idioms and register. Declaratives run subject–verb–object–manner–place–time. Frequency adverbs precede the main verb but follow be : she often works late; he is always late . A fronted negative adverbial forces inversion: Never have I seen such rain; No sooner had he left than it poured.
448 words, about 2 min02Problem-solving and Critical Thinking in English
Verbal reasoning questions in the IEO ask you to see structure rather than recall facts: analogies, odd-one-out sets, letter and word series, syllogisms, coded words, and short inference passages where only one option is actually supported. Build a precise sentence for the stem pair - a wheel is part of a car , a pen is used to write , warm is less than hot - then test every option against that same sentence, keeping direction and part of speech. Common relations: synonym/antonym, part–whole, category–member, worker–tool, cause–effect, degree. Name the property shared by all but one.
423 words, about 2 min