Chiba Entrance English common mistakes
Chiba Entrance English · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Choosing an answer option because it repeats a word or phrase from the passage, without locating the sentence that actually supports the choice.
Under time pressure, candidates scan for lexical matches and mistake word overlap for meaning; distractors are often built from exactly the same vocabulary as the passage.
What to do instead
Before marking an option, underline the one sentence in the passage that proves it and paraphrase that sentence in the margin. Reject any option whose support you cannot point to, even if it contains familiar words.
Reading a long passage paragraph by paragraph and answering detail questions without forming a map of the overall argument, so main-idea and inference items collapse into guesswork.
Candidates treat each paragraph as an isolated block and run out of time before they have understood how the claims, evidence, and conclusion connect.
What to do instead
Spend the first two minutes writing a five-word skeleton beside each paragraph: claim, evidence, counterpoint, conclusion. Answer detail questions with the skeleton visible, and check main-idea options against the whole skeleton rather than one paragraph.
Starting a composition with a general statement such as 'Recently, many people think...' and then listing opinions without a thesis or paragraph topic sentences.
Candidates try to save time by writing immediately, so the essay has no controlling idea and each paragraph drifts; markers cannot see the logic even when the English is correct.
What to do instead
Use a ten-minute plan: write a one-sentence thesis that answers the prompt directly, then three topic sentences that each support it. Draft only after the plan is complete, and make every body paragraph begin with one of those topic sentences.
In a data-response composition, describing every number in the chart in the order it appears instead of selecting a trend and two supporting figures.
Candidates believe more data equals more content, and they lack a routine for deciding which figures are significant.
What to do instead
Before writing, state the overall trend in one sentence and choose two contrasting data points that prove it. Describe only those figures, then devote the final paragraph to the implication or limitation rather than adding more numbers.
Selecting a vocabulary or grammar option by its dictionary meaning alone, ignoring collocation, verb pattern, preposition, or register.
Candidates translate the blank in isolation and do not test how the word behaves in the surrounding sentence.
What to do instead
Insert each option back into the full sentence and check four things: common collocation, verb pattern or preposition, singular/plural agreement, and whether the register fits. Eliminate options that are grammatically possible but collocationally unnatural.
Trying to transcribe every word during listening and then missing the next question because writing falls behind the audio.
Candidates treat listening as dictation and fear losing information, so they keep writing after the relevant point has passed.
What to do instead
Use a keyword-and-symbol shorthand and write only content words, numbers, and logical arrows. Preview the questions before each section, decide what information you need, and stop writing as soon as the next question begins.
Missing answers because connected speech is heard as separate words: contractions, linking, weak forms, and reduced vowels are not recognised.
Classroom listening is often slower and clearer than exam audio, so candidates have not trained their ears on natural reductions such as 'gonna', 'wanna', or linked final consonants.
What to do instead
Do ten minutes of shadowing daily with a transcript: mark contractions, linking, and weak forms, then read aloud with the recording. In the exam, predict the likely phrase from the question before listening so reduced forms are easier to match.
Copying whole sentences from the source passage into an information-retrieval or summary answer, often exceeding the word limit.
Candidates equate copying with accuracy and worry that paraphrasing will change the meaning, so they lift text and then run out of space.
What to do instead
Locate the source sentence, delete examples and repeated modifiers, then rewrite it with a different subject-verb structure and a synonym for the key noun. Count words after each sentence and cut anything that does not answer the question directly.
Summarising a chart by listing visible values without checking the axis labels, units, legend, or baseline, so the stated trend is wrong or exaggerated.
Candidates look only at the shape of the line or the height of the bars and assume the units are obvious.
What to do instead
Read the title, both axes, units, legend, and any note about a broken axis before writing. Compute one simple ratio or difference to verify the visual impression, then state the trend in words that include the correct unit and direction.
Inserting a cohesive device such as 'however', 'therefore', or 'for example' without checking the logical relationship between the two sentences, producing a contradiction or a non sequitur.
Candidates memorise connector lists and choose by sound or frequency rather than by labelling the relationship between ideas.
What to do instead
Before choosing a connector, write the relationship in the margin: addition, contrast, cause, result, or example. Then select a connector from that category only, and reread the sentence before and after to confirm the logic still holds.