Kagoshima Entrance English cheat sheet

Numbers, times, and prices are usually stated once and then restated with a correction marker (actually, sorry, I mean); the second value is the answer.

Question order follows audio order in dialogue and monologue tasks, so a missed item should be abandoned immediately and the next question located.

Distractors are built by repeating a word from the audio in an option that answers a different question; matching vocabulary alone does not confirm an answer.

Signal phrases introduce the key content: the reason follows because/since, the contrast follows but/however, and the conclusion follows so/that's why.

In Japanese-exam English listening, map and picture tasks require identifying a starting point plus one direction sequence (turn left at the second corner, go straight past the bank).

Numbers that sound alike require discrimination practice: thirteen/thirty, fifteen/fifty, -teen stress is on the second syllable, -ty stress on the first.

When the speaker uses rising then falling intonation on a statement, it signals certainty; a rising tag (right?, isn't it?) invites confirmation, not new information.

Note-taking during the second reading should record only nouns, verbs, and numbers, since full sentences cause the listener to fall behind the audio.

Short-passage questions map to a single sentence; locate the keyword from the question stem, then read the sentence before and after it for context.

Main-idea answers must cover the whole passage; an option that is true but narrow (one detail) is a distractor, not the answer.

For dialogue completion, the missing line must satisfy both the preceding utterance's function and the following response's presupposition.

Pronoun reference questions (it, they, this) resolve to the nearest preceding noun phrase that agrees in number and makes logical sense.

Negative questions (NOT true, except) require checking every option against the text and eliminating the three that are supported.

Inference answers must be forced by the text; if an option requires outside knowledge the passage never supplies, it is wrong.

Discourse markers (however, therefore, for example) indicate the relationship between sentences and often carry the answer to logic questions.

Time-order in short narratives is fixed by tense and connectors (before, after, as soon as), so sequence questions are answered from those markers, not from paragraph position.

Subject-verb agreement: the verb agrees with the head noun, not with a phrase between them (The number of students is / A number of students are).

Tense sequence: a past main clause takes past subordination unless a universal truth or present relevance is stated (He said he was tired / He said the sun rises in the east).

Participles: present participle (-ing) for active or ongoing meaning, past participle (-ed/irregular) for passive or completed meaning after nouns and in reduced clauses.

Relative pronouns: who for people, which for things, whose for possession, that in defining clauses, and preposition + which in formal style.

Conditionals: If + past, would + base (unreal present); If + had + past participle, would have + past participle (unreal past); If + present, future (real).

Subjunctive after demand, insist, suggest, request: that + subject + base verb (She insisted that he leave).

Comparison: as ... as for equality, the comparative for two, the superlative for three or more, and the + comparative, the + comparative for parallel change.

Article rules: a/an for first mention and singular countable nouns, the for shared or previously mentioned referents, zero article for general plurals and abstract nouns.

Collocation decides the answer when two options share meaning: make a decision, take a decision is British, do homework, have breakfast.

Preposition-dependent verbs must be memorized as units: depend on, consist of, result in, result from, be responsible for, apologize for.

Phrasal verbs change meaning with the particle: turn up (arrive), turn down (refuse), turn out (result), turn into (become).

Word-family questions are answered by part of speech first: the blank's position after an article or before a noun requires an adjective, after a subject requires a verb.

Confusable pairs: affect (verb) / effect (noun), advise (verb) / advice (noun), lend (give) / borrow (receive), raise (needs object) / rise (no object).

Countability controls quantifiers: much/little/fewer with uncountable or plural respectively; many/few with plural countables; a few vs few differ in positive vs negative stance.

Formal-register items on entrance exams favor Latinate verbs (purchase, obtain, require) over phrasal equivalents in written notices and announcements.

Context clues in the sentence (contrast, cause, example) narrow the meaning before the options are compared, so the blank is predicted first, then matched.

Free-writing tasks are scored on four traits: content/task fulfillment, organization, vocabulary range, and grammatical accuracy; a short accurate essay outranks a long error-ridden one.

A standard four-paragraph structure: introduction with a clear opinion, two body paragraphs each with one reason plus one example, conclusion restating the opinion without new arguments.

Topic sentences come first in each body paragraph, followed by support, then a linking sentence; this makes the logic visible to the rater.

Transition set: first/second/finally for sequence, however/on the other hand for contrast, therefore/as a result for consequence, for example/for instance for illustration.

Guided-writing tasks supply prompts or notes; every prompt point must appear in the answer, and unused points lose content marks.

Sentence variety is scored: mix simple, compound (and/but/so), and complex (because/although/if/when) sentences rather than repeating one pattern.

Japanese-exam English writing penalizes direct translation of Japanese word order; English requires subject + verb early and modifiers after the noun.

Word-count limits are hard constraints; staying 10 percent under the minimum loses marks, so count and add one supporting detail if short.

Long-passage questions are ordered by paragraph, so the answer to question 3 lies after the answer to question 2; use this to locate text fast.

Paragraph-function questions (what is the purpose of paragraph 3?) are answered from the paragraph's topic sentence and its relation to the previous paragraph.

Information-transfer tasks (tables, charts, notices, schedules) require matching a condition in the question to a cell; check units, dates, and qualifiers such as weekday-only or members only.

Author-attitude questions are decided by evaluative adjectives and adverbs (surprisingly, unfortunately, remarkably), not by topic alone.

Vocabulary-in-context questions are answered by substituting each option into the sentence and checking that the surrounding logic still holds.

Charts with two variables require reading the legend and axis units before comparing; a common trap is a percentage versus an absolute number.

Cross-paragraph synthesis questions (both passages agree that ...) require one supporting line from each text; an option supported by only one text is wrong.

Time budget: roughly one minute per question plus three minutes for the first skim, and answers are transferred to the answer sheet as they are decided.

Situational tasks combine a short text (email, notice, announcement) with spoken or written response; the response must match register and addressee (teacher vs friend).

Functional language by situation: requesting (Could you ...?), offering (Shall I ...?), apologizing (I'm sorry for ...), declining politely (I'm afraid I can't ...).

Summary-writing integration: read or listen, select two or three main points, and restate them in your own words; copied phrases are not credited as summary.

Note-completion tasks require the exact form of the source: a number stays a number, a proper noun keeps its capitalization, and the word limit stated in the instruction is enforced.

Cross-skill sequencing: gather information from the text, confirm it against the audio or chart, then write; contradictions between sources are resolved by the more specific source.

Email and letter conventions: greeting, opening purpose sentence, body, closing request, and sign-off must all be present; omission of the purpose sentence loses marks.

Politeness levels shift with the relationship: imperatives and direct questions for peers, modal past forms (Would it be possible to ...?) for superiors.

Announcement and schedule tasks are answered by extracting who, what, when, where, and cost; any item missing from the answer is usually the tested point.