Shimane Public High School Entrance Examination - English common mistakes
Shimane Public High School Entrance Examination - English · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
Leaving a fill-in-the-blank item empty or guessing randomly when the sentence contains an unfamiliar word, instead of using the grammar around the gap to narrow the answer.
Shimane-style grammar/vocabulary items are usually solvable from the surrounding structure (part of speech needed, tense, preposition collocation, subject-verb agreement), but candidates panic at one unknown word and abandon the sentence as a whole.
What to do instead
Before choosing, label the gap: what part of speech must go here, is the clause singular or plural, does the verb need -ing or to-infinitive, does the preposition fix the meaning? Eliminate options that fail any one of these checks, then choose among survivors. Practise by covering the options and predicting your own word first.
Writing a grammatically correct English sentence in a reordering task that ignores the given Japanese translation or the provided first/last word, producing a sentence with the right words in an acceptable order but the wrong meaning.
Candidates treat word-order items as a puzzle to be solved word by word, so they build a plausible sentence rather than the sentence the Japanese prompt demands; they also forget that the supplied opening or closing word constrains the whole structure.
What to do instead
Read the Japanese prompt first and say aloud what the sentence must mean. Identify the main verb and its object, then place modifiers (time, place, adverb) in the standard English order: subject–verb–object–manner–place–time. Finally check that the fixed first/last word fits your order; if not, restructure rather than force it.
In dialogue-completion items, choosing a response that is polite and grammatical but does not answer the actual question asked (for example replying 'Yes, I like it' to 'Would you like some more tea?').
Candidates match on tone and keyword overlap rather than on the function of the utterance (invitation, request, offer, apology, permission), and Japanese politeness instincts pull them toward longer, softer options.
What to do instead
Label the first speaker's line by function before reading the options: is it asking for information, offering, inviting, requesting, or apologising? Then require the answer to match that function and to be consistent in tense and person. Cross out any option that answers a different function even if it sounds natural.
In short reading passages, answering from general knowledge or personal opinion instead of locating the sentence that supports the answer in the text.
Shimane reading passages are short and familiar in topic, so candidates feel they already know the answer and skip the confirming sentence; distractors are deliberately written to match common-sense expectations.
What to do instead
For every answer, underline the exact words in the passage that justify it, and write the paragraph number beside your choice. If you cannot point to a supporting sentence, the choice is wrong regardless of how true it sounds. Practise identifying which line each distractor would need in order to be correct.
Missing the final question in a listening task because attention drops while the speaker is still giving background information, then guessing from a single remembered word.
School-entrance listening scripts place the key information late, after context-setting sentences, and candidates relax once they think they have understood the gist; they also try to write full answers while the audio continues.
What to do instead
Before the audio starts, read the question and predict what kind of information is needed (a time, a place, a number, a reason). Take abbreviated notes (numbers, arrows, single letters) rather than full sentences, and keep writing until the track ends. If a detail is missed, mark the spot and keep listening rather than freezing.
In the Japanese-prompt English composition, writing a short, safe answer that lists one idea with no reason or example, falling below the required length and content conditions.
Candidates translate a Japanese plan sentence by sentence and stop when they run out of translated material; they also avoid risk by keeping sentences simple, which leaves the required word count and the 'give a reason' condition unmet.
What to do instead
Before writing, make a three-part plan in Japanese: opinion, reason, example or experience. Then write one English sentence per part plus a closing sentence, aiming to exceed the minimum length by about 20 percent. Use a fixed frame such as 'I think ... because ... For example, ...' and check afterwards that every condition in the prompt (length, number of reasons, tense) is satisfied.
Producing an English composition that is on topic but contains repeated basic errors in third-person -s, plurals, articles, and tense consistency, losing accuracy marks that are separately awarded.
Under time pressure candidates focus entirely on content and never reread; Japanese has no articles or number marking, so these forms are not monitored automatically.
What to do instead
Reserve the last three minutes for a fixed proofreading checklist in this order: every present-tense verb with a he/she/it subject has -s; every countable noun after a number or 'many' is plural; every singular countable noun has a/an/the; tense is the same throughout. Read the composition backwards sentence by sentence so meaning does not mask the errors.
In integrated reading–writing and information-transfer tasks, copying sentences from the source text into the answer instead of selecting and rewording the relevant information to fit the required format (table, message, or short paragraph).
Candidates equate 'use the passage' with 'copy the passage', and they overlook the format constraints (word limit, who is writing to whom, which columns must be filled) stated in the Japanese instructions.
What to do instead
Read the Japanese task instructions first and note the format: word limit, writer, reader, and purpose. Highlight only the two or three source facts that the format requires, then rewrite them in your own words in the required person and tense. Check the finished answer against each instruction item one by one.
Running out of time because the candidate spends too long on one difficult reading or grammar item and leaves the composition and the final listening or transfer section unfinished.
The paper mixes skill types with different time costs, and candidates treat each item as equally important, with no time budget set before starting.
What to do instead
Set a written budget before the exam (for example: grammar and word order fast, reading with a per-passage cap, composition last with a guaranteed block of time). If an item resists for more than about a minute, mark it and move on, then return only after the composition is written. Practise full papers with a visible timer to internalise the pace.
Answering sentence-transformation items by changing only the word order or one word, without preserving the original meaning and without applying the required structural change (active to passive, direct to indirect speech, joining with a given conjunction).
Candidates see the given words as a word-order puzzle and do not identify which grammatical transformation the Japanese instruction is asking for, so they produce a sentence that is grammatical but means something different.
What to do instead
State the required transformation in one word before writing (passive, reported speech, relative clause, too...to, not...until). Then check three things: the original meaning survives, the tense and subject of the new sentence are correct, and any supplied word is used exactly once. Compare the finished sentence with the original by asking 'do these say the same thing?'