UIIC AO: English Language

What the section tests

The UIIC AO English Language paper checks accurate reading and controlled writing, often through insurance- or banking-themed passages. Typical items are reading comprehension, error spotting, sentence improvement, cloze test, para jumbles, fillers and synonym/antonym questions. The test rewards grammar logic and passage evidence, not decorative vocabulary.

Core rules

• Subject–verb agreement: the verb follows the grammatical subject. Phrases such as along with, as well as and in addition to do not make a singular subject plural.
• Parallelism: items joined by and, or or not only … but also must have the same grammatical form.
• Modifiers: an introductory participial phrase must describe the subject of the main clause.
• Pronouns: every pronoun needs one clear antecedent; avoid ambiguous he/they references.
• In comprehension, answer from what the passage states or implies, not from outside knowledge.

Worked example

The number of policyholders who have opted for the new rider are increasing. The subject is the number, which is singular, so the verb should be is, not are. Who have opted is correct because the relative pronoun refers to policyholders, plural. In error spotting, bracket the main subject and verb before looking at the options.

Traps

• Choosing an option because it sounds formal rather than checking the subject.
• Missing a dangling modifier after an introductory phrase.
• Treating one of the + plural noun as plural: one of the proposals is.
• Ignoring connector and pronoun clues in para jumbles.
• Selecting extreme comprehension options when the passage uses qualified language.